Vince Dooley's Georgia Bulldogs were coming off of a 6-5 season and based their hopes on a freshman running back. That is not a sentence that should ever be followed with "...and then they won the national title."
While we all focus on BYU as the least likely/deserving/good national champion of the 1980s, the decade actually started with one of the least [your choice of adjective] we'll ever see. The Dawgs beat three Est. S&P+ top-20 teams by a combined 15 points. And hey, they did win all three of those games, and only one was at home. But they also played four teams ranked between 30th and 59th and won those four games by a combined 22. They finished the season having played just three teams that finished better than 6-5.
The SEC wasn't very good in 1980, with four of 10 teams ranking outside of the top 50. Plus, six-game conference schedules meant that you might miss a couple of the better teams in your given conference. Of the five best non-UGA teams in this relatively watered-down SEC, the Dawgs played just two, missing No. 5 Alabama, No. 22 Mississippi State, and No. 42 LSU.
Still, Georgia didn't lose. Everybody else did.
This was a crazy year that featured phenomenal teams playing brutal schedules; I don't included SOS rankings in these tables, but Penn State ranked first in SOS, Florida State second, USC fifth, Pitt ninth, and Nebraska 17th.
FSU beat Nebraska and Pitt in back-to-back weeks but lost to Miami right before that, Nebraska lost to FSU but beat Penn State, Penn State lost to NU and Pitt, Pitt lost to FSU but beat Penn State. Meanwhile, after playing poorly and losing to both Stanford and Texas in the early-going, Oklahoma caught fire late, handing UNC its only loss (41-7), then beating both Nebraska and Florida State.
Because a) there was no playoff, and b) Georgia didn't lose, none of these great teams finished as champion. College football seasons used to be so ... incomplete.
That said, while I marvel at how mediocre this Georgia team may have been, I also marvel at the season the Dawgs had. There's a reason they're ending up in my book. Herschel Walker ran over Bill Bates, and UGA beat Tennessee by 1. Scott Woerner returned a punt and an interception for touchdowns, and the Dawgs beat Clemson, 20-16. Walker was hurt against Ole Miss, so Carnie Norris and Buck Belue combined to rush for 250+ in a 28-21 win. Walker outrushed eventual Heisman winner George Rogers, 225-174, and Rogers lost a late fumble in a 13-10 UGA victory. Lindsay Scott's famous 92-yard catch and run beat Florida, 26-21. And Walker separated his shoulder against Notre Dame, then rushed for 150 yards anyway.
Would Georgia have won two games in a College Football Playoff? Almost certainly not. In this era, the ending wouldn't have been as happy. But wow, what a season this was, and it was almost made more awesome and amazing by how flawed the team itself was. This was the third-best Georgia team of the Herschel Walker era, but it was the one that secured Vince Dooley a title.
| S&P+ Rk | Team | Record | Est S&P+ | Percentile | Off. S&P+ | Rk | Def. S&P+ | Rk |
| 1 | Florida State | 10-2 | 27.4 | 99.59% | 33.3 | 5 | 6.0 | 1 |
| 2 | Nebraska | 10-2 | 26.9 | 99.53% | 37.6 | 2 | 10.8 | 9 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh | 11-1 | 26.0 | 99.40% | 34.2 | 4 | 8.3 | 4 |
| 4 | Penn State | 10-2 | 22.0 | 98.34% | 31.0 | 7 | 8.9 | 6 |
| 5 | Alabama | 10-2 | 21.1 | 97.95% | 29.3 | 11 | 8.2 | 3 |
| 6 | BYU | 12-1 | 20.4 | 97.56% | 43.0 | 1 | 22.6 | 82 |
| 7 | USC | 8-2-1 | 19.0 | 96.68% | 27.6 | 15 | 8.6 | 5 |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 10-2 | 18.3 | 96.19% | 34.4 | 3 | 16.1 | 28 |
| 9 | Notre Dame | 9-2-1 | 17.0 | 95.01% | 24.1 | 37 | 7.1 | 2 |
| 10 | Michigan | 10-2 | 15.9 | 93.77% | 26.7 | 21 | 10.8 | 10 |
| 11 | North Carolina | 11-1 | 15.5 | 93.28% | 25.5 | 31 | 10.0 | 7 |
| 12 | Miami-FL | 9-3 | 15.1 | 92.85% | 25.7 | 28 | 10.6 | 8 |
| 13 | UCLA | 9-2 | 14.3 | 91.64% | 27.2 | 19 | 12.9 | 14 |
| 14 | SMU | 8-4 | 13.5 | 90.44% | 28.3 | 13 | 14.7 | 22 |
| 15 | Ohio State | 9-3 | 13.0 | 89.53% | 30.2 | 9 | 17.2 | 39 |
| 16 | South Carolina | 8-4 | 13.0 | 89.49% | 29.3 | 10 | 16.4 | 30 |
| 17 | Georgia | 12-0 | 12.6 | 88.81% | 25.9 | 27 | 13.3 | 17 |
| 18 | Missouri | 8-4 | 12.3 | 88.33% | 27.3 | 18 | 15.0 | 24 |
| 19 | Baylor | 10-2 | 12.2 | 88.04% | 25.9 | 25 | 13.7 | 19 |
| 20 | Florida | 8-4 | 10.1 | 83.66% | 23.5 | 41 | 13.3 | 18 |
| 21 | Oregon | 6-3-2 | 9.6 | 82.44% | 25.5 | 30 | 15.9 | 26 |
| 22 | Mississippi State | 9-3 | 9.5 | 82.04% | 27.6 | 17 | 18.1 | 47 |
| 23 | Boston College | 7-4 | 9.5 | 82.00% | 22.7 | 50 | 13.2 | 16 |
| 24 | Maryland | 8-4 | 9.2 | 81.19% | 20.2 | 74 | 11.0 | 11 |
| 25 | Arizona State | 7-4 | 9.0 | 80.90% | 28.5 | 12 | 19.5 | 64 |
| S&P+ Rk | Team | Record | Est S&P+ | Percentile | Off. S&P+ | Rk | Def. S&P+ | Rk |
| 26 | Houston | 7-5 | 8.9 | 80.48% | 21.8 | 57 | 12.9 | 15 |
| 27 | Washington | 9-3 | 8.5 | 79.47% | 26.4 | 22 | 17.9 | 42 |
| 28 | Purdue | 9-3 | 8.4 | 79.16% | 27.6 | 16 | 19.2 | 60 |
| 29 | Stanford | 6-5 | 8.2 | 78.69% | 30.9 | 8 | 22.6 | 85 |
| 30 | Tennessee | 5-6 | 7.1 | 75.44% | 23.8 | 40 | 16.7 | 32 |
| 31 | McNeese State | 10-2 | 6.9 | 74.83% | 24.9 | 33 | 17.9 | 44 |
| 32 | Southern Miss | 9-3 | 6.6 | 73.89% | 23.0 | 48 | 16.4 | 31 |
| 33 | Texas | 7-5 | 6.2 | 72.47% | 23.1 | 46 | 16.9 | 35 |
| 34 | Furman | 9-1-1 | 6.1 | 72.36% | 26.2 | 23 | 20.1 | 69 |
| 35 | Virginia Tech | 8-4 | 6.1 | 72.13% | 17.6 | 93 | 11.6 | 12 |
| 36 | Wake Forest | 5-6 | 6.1 | 72.10% | 24.1 | 38 | 18.1 | 46 |
| 37 | Navy | 8-4 | 6.0 | 71.97% | 18.5 | 87 | 12.4 | 13 |
| 38 | Rutgers | 7-4 | 5.8 | 71.19% | 22.7 | 51 | 16.9 | 34 |
| 39 | Kansas | 4-5-2 | 5.6 | 70.76% | 20.0 | 78 | 14.4 | 21 |
| 40 | Syracuse | 5-6 | 5.1 | 68.81% | 22.0 | 55 | 17.0 | 36 |
| 41 | Iowa State | 6-5 | 4.9 | 68.26% | 21.9 | 56 | 17.0 | 38 |
| 42 | LSU | 7-4 | 4.6 | 67.28% | 20.7 | 68 | 16.1 | 29 |
| 43 | Arkansas | 7-5 | 4.2 | 65.92% | 23.3 | 42 | 19.1 | 55 |
| 44 | UNLV | 7-4 | 4.2 | 65.80% | 31.3 | 6 | 27.1 | 121 |
| 45 | North Texas | 6-5 | 4.2 | 65.68% | 25.6 | 29 | 21.4 | 74 |
| 46 | West Virginia | 6-6 | 3.9 | 64.80% | 26.8 | 20 | 22.8 | 87 |
| 47 | Utah | 5-5-1 | 3.7 | 63.97% | 27.8 | 14 | 24.1 | 99 |
| 48 | The Citadel | 7-4 | 3.6 | 63.61% | 22.7 | 49 | 19.1 | 57 |
| 49 | Clemson | 6-5 | 3.5 | 63.36% | 21.7 | 59 | 18.2 | 49 |
| 50 | NC State | 6-5 | 3.4 | 62.80% | 21.4 | 62 | 18.0 | 45 |
| S&P+ Rk | Team | Record | Est S&P+ | Percentile | Off. S&P+ | Rk | Def. S&P+ | Rk |
| 51 | Auburn | 5-6 | 3.2 | 62.21% | 23.1 | 47 | 19.9 | 67 |
| 52 | Villanova | 6-5 | 3.1 | 61.88% | 17.2 | 98 | 14.1 | 20 |
| 53 | Central Michigan | 9-2 | 2.9 | 61.20% | 17.8 | 91 | 14.9 | 23 |
| 54 | Louisville | 5-6 | 2.8 | 60.76% | 18.5 | 86 | 15.7 | 25 |
| 55 | Ball State | 6-5 | 2.8 | 60.49% | 21.2 | 65 | 18.5 | 52 |
| 56 | Long Beach State | 8-3 | 2.7 | 60.20% | 22.1 | 53 | 19.5 | 63 |
| 57 | Yale | 8-2 | 1.6 | 56.33% | 17.6 | 94 | 16.0 | 27 |
| 58 | Tulsa | 8-3 | 1.6 | 56.23% | 20.8 | 67 | 19.1 | 58 |
| 59 | Ole Miss | 3-8 | 1.5 | 55.94% | 24.9 | 34 | 23.3 | 90 |
| 60 | Miami-OH | 5-6 | 0.9 | 53.40% | 20.1 | 75 | 19.2 | 61 |
| 61 | Western Michigan | 7-4 | 0.6 | 52.46% | 19.0 | 83 | 18.4 | 51 |
| 62 | Utah State | 6-5 | 0.5 | 51.86% | 25.9 | 26 | 25.4 | 113 |
| 63 | Northern Illinois | 7-4 | 0.2 | 50.61% | 17.8 | 92 | 17.7 | 40 |
| 64 | San Jose State | 7-4 | -0.2 | 49.30% | 26.0 | 24 | 26.2 | 117 |
| 65 | Texas A&M | 4-7 | -0.2 | 49.16% | 18.6 | 84 | 18.9 | 53 |
| 66 | Texas Tech | 5-6 | -0.5 | 47.95% | 16.3 | 106 | 16.9 | 33 |
| 67 | Brown | 6-4 | -0.7 | 47.49% | 23.1 | 45 | 23.8 | 96 |
| 68 | Wyoming | 6-5 | -0.8 | 46.97% | 25.1 | 32 | 25.8 | 114 |
| 69 | Rice | 5-6 | -0.9 | 46.68% | 17.3 | 97 | 18.1 | 48 |
| 70 | Appalachian State | 6-4-1 | -1.0 | 46.30% | 18.2 | 88 | 19.2 | 59 |
| 71 | Tulane | 7-5 | -1.0 | 46.11% | 21.3 | 64 | 22.3 | 78 |
| 72 | Colgate | 5-4-1 | -1.3 | 45.13% | 24.1 | 39 | 25.3 | 111 |
| 73 | Michigan State | 3-8 | -1.3 | 45.04% | 22.1 | 54 | 23.4 | 93 |
| 74 | Minnesota | 5-6 | -1.6 | 43.69% | 20.1 | 76 | 21.7 | 75 |
| 75 | Washington State | 4-7 | -1.8 | 42.90% | 24.5 | 36 | 26.3 | 118 |
| S&P+ Rk | Team | Record | Est S&P+ | Percentile | Off. S&P+ | Rk | Def. S&P+ | Rk |
| 76 | Cornell | 5-5 | -2.2 | 41.42% | 16.7 | 101 | 19.0 | 54 |
| 77 | Ohio | 6-5 | -2.3 | 41.23% | 17.8 | 89 | 20.1 | 70 |
| 78 | Wisconsin | 4-7 | -2.3 | 41.19% | 14.7 | 115 | 17.0 | 37 |
| 79 | UT-Chattanooga | 6-1 | -2.4 | 40.66% | 22.6 | 52 | 25.1 | 107 |
| 80 | Bowling Green | 4-7 | -2.6 | 40.16% | 15.7 | 108 | 18.3 | 50 |
| 81 | UL-Monroe | 7-4 | -2.8 | 39.27% | 20.5 | 70 | 23.3 | 91 |
| 82 | East Carolina | 4-7 | -3.1 | 38.25% | 21.5 | 61 | 24.6 | 103 |
| 83 | Virginia | 4-7 | -3.2 | 37.86% | 16.7 | 102 | 19.9 | 66 |
| 84 | Oklahoma State | 3-7-1 | -3.2 | 37.72% | 19.1 | 82 | 22.3 | 79 |
| 85 | Dartmouth | 4-6 | -3.3 | 37.33% | 17.5 | 95 | 20.9 | 73 |
| 86 | Kentucky | 3-8 | -3.6 | 36.54% | 18.5 | 85 | 22.1 | 77 |
| 87 | Drake | 8-3 | -3.7 | 36.03% | 21.6 | 60 | 25.3 | 110 |
| 88 | Indiana | 6-5 | -3.7 | 35.94% | 20.4 | 71 | 24.1 | 100 |
| 89 | Toledo | 4-7 | -4.0 | 34.97% | 15.1 | 112 | 19.1 | 56 |
| 90 | Hawaii | 8-3 | -4.1 | 34.48% | 19.5 | 79 | 23.6 | 95 |
| 91 | Richmond | 5-6 | -4.2 | 34.26% | 19.4 | 80 | 23.6 | 94 |
| 92 | Arizona | 5-6 | -4.4 | 33.39% | 20.1 | 77 | 24.5 | 102 |
| 93 | Army | 3-7-1 | -4.5 | 33.03% | 20.3 | 72 | 24.8 | 105 |
| 94 | UL-Lafayette | 7-4 | -4.8 | 32.19% | 12.9 | 124 | 17.7 | 41 |
| 95 | Colorado State | 6-4-1 | -4.8 | 32.17% | 23.2 | 44 | 28.0 | 123 |
| 96 | Iowa | 4-7 | -5.0 | 31.44% | 15.3 | 111 | 20.3 | 71 |
| 97 | Illinois | 3-7-1 | -5.1 | 31.11% | 23.3 | 43 | 28.4 | 125 |
| 98 | Wichita State | 5-5-1 | -5.2 | 30.63% | 16.8 | 100 | 22.1 | 76 |
| 99 | Temple | 4-7 | -5.3 | 30.57% | 17.1 | 99 | 22.3 | 80 |
| 100 | Indiana State | 6-5 | -5.3 | 30.29% | 17.8 | 90 | 23.2 | 89 |
| S&P+ Rk | Team | Record | Est S&P+ | Percentile | Off. S&P+ | Rk | Def. S&P+ | Rk |
| 101 | Georgia Tech | 1-9-1 | -5.3 | 30.26% | 14.2 | 117 | 19.6 | 65 |
| 102 | California | 3-8 | -5.4 | 30.16% | 21.1 | 66 | 26.4 | 119 |
| 103 | West Texas A&M | 5-6 | -5.6 | 29.37% | 21.3 | 63 | 26.9 | 120 |
| 104 | Duke | 2-9 | -5.9 | 28.53% | 20.3 | 73 | 26.1 | 116 |
| 105 | Harvard | 7-3 | -6.2 | 27.44% | 11.7 | 132 | 17.9 | 43 |
| 106 | New Mexico | 4-7 | -6.6 | 26.19% | 24.5 | 35 | 31.1 | 130 |
| 107 | TCU | 1-10 | -6.9 | 25.10% | 16.4 | 105 | 23.4 | 92 |
| 108 | Kansas State | 3-8 | -7.2 | 24.29% | 12.0 | 129 | 19.3 | 62 |
| 109 | Princeton | 6-4 | -7.3 | 24.10% | 15.3 | 110 | 22.6 | 84 |
| 110 | Air Force | 2-9-1 | -7.7 | 22.97% | 14.9 | 113 | 22.6 | 83 |
| 111 | VMI | 3-7-1 | -7.7 | 22.94% | 12.3 | 126 | 20.0 | 68 |
| 112 | Illinois State | 4-7 | -8.5 | 20.46% | 12.0 | 128 | 20.6 | 72 |
| 113 | Holy Cross | 3-8 | -8.5 | 20.45% | 13.9 | 118 | 22.4 | 81 |
| 114 | New Mexico State | 3-7-1 | -8.8 | 19.64% | 16.4 | 104 | 25.3 | 109 |
| 115 | William & Mary | 2-9 | -9.4 | 18.17% | 13.3 | 122 | 22.7 | 86 |
| 116 | Fullerton State | 4-7 | -9.5 | 17.89% | 20.7 | 69 | 30.2 | 128 |
| 117 | Southern Illinois | 3-8 | -9.5 | 17.85% | 15.5 | 109 | 25.1 | 106 |
| 118 | Fresno State | 5-6 | -9.6 | 17.61% | 14.4 | 116 | 24.0 | 97 |
| 119 | Louisiana Tech | 5-6 | -11.2 | 14.00% | 11.9 | 130 | 23.1 | 88 |
| 120 | San Diego State | 4-8 | -11.4 | 13.60% | 13.3 | 123 | 24.6 | 104 |
| 121 | Western Carolina | 3-7-1 | -11.6 | 13.07% | 13.8 | 119 | 25.4 | 112 |
| 122 | Vanderbilt | 2-9 | -11.7 | 12.94% | 16.5 | 103 | 28.2 | 124 |
| 123 | Colorado | 1-10 | -12.1 | 12.02% | 21.8 | 58 | 33.9 | 137 |
| 124 | Kent | 3-8 | -12.3 | 11.75% | 13.8 | 121 | 26.0 | 115 |
| 125 | Cincinnati | 2-9 | -12.4 | 11.53% | 11.6 | 133 | 24.0 | 98 |
| 126 | Pacific | 4-8 | -13.2 | 10.04% | 16.3 | 107 | 29.5 | 127 |
| 127 | UT-Arlington | 3-8 | -13.6 | 9.47% | 19.3 | 81 | 32.8 | 136 |
| 128 | Memphis | 2-9 | -15.2 | 7.13% | 9.2 | 135 | 24.4 | 101 |
| 129 | East Tennessee State | 2-9 | -15.3 | 6.90% | 12.1 | 127 | 27.4 | 122 |
| 130 | Pennsylvania | 1-9 | -16.1 | 5.93% | 12.4 | 125 | 28.5 | 126 |
| 131 | Marshall | 2-8-1 | -16.7 | 5.35% | 8.6 | 137 | 25.2 | 108 |
| 132 | Oregon State | 0-11 | -17.4 | 4.66% | 13.8 | 120 | 31.2 | 132 |
| 133 | UTEP | 1-11 | -17.8 | 4.26% | 14.8 | 114 | 32.6 | 134 |
| 134 | Northwestern | 0-11 | -19.5 | 2.97% | 17.4 | 96 | 36.9 | 138 |
| 135 | Lamar | 3-8 | -20.9 | 2.18% | 11.7 | 131 | 32.6 | 135 |
| 136 | Eastern Michigan | 1-9 | -21.8 | 1.76% | 9.8 | 134 | 31.6 | 133 |
| 137 | Columbia | 1-9 | -22.5 | 1.46% | 8.6 | 136 | 31.2 | 131 |
| 138 | Arkansas State | 2-9 | -23.9 | 1.03% | 6.7 | 138 | 30.7 | 129 |
Who gets in?
A hypothetical College Football Playoff in 1980 would have been fascinating. Three teams were nearly shoo-ins, and I have no idea who gets the fourth spot.
Here are your end-of-regular-season AP rankings:
1. Georgia (11-0)
2. FSU (10-1)
3. Pitt (10-1)
4. OU (9-2)
5. Michigan (9-2)
6. Baylor (10-1)
7. Notre Dame (9-1-1)
8. Nebraska (9-2)
9. Alabama (9-2)
10. Penn State (9-2)
11. Ohio State (9-2)
12. USC (8-2-1)
13. North Carolina (10-1)
The top three are easy enough. UGA is unbeaten, FSU is 10-1 with wins over Pitt and Nebraska, and Pitt is 10-1 with only the FSU loss. And the fourth spot goes to ... ?
As mentioned, OU was smoking hot and would have stood a solid chance of getting the final Playoff bid because of the wins over North Carolina and Nebraska. But Baylor was the SWC champ with wins over SMU, Arkansas, and Texas (which beat OU) and had only one loss ... to San Jose State. San Jose State! (The Bears would get smoked by Alabama in the Cotton Bowl.) Notre Dame was 9-1-1 with wins over Alabama and Miami, a 17-point loss to USC ... and a tie against a dreadful Georgia Tech team. North Carolina had one loss but, it was by 34 points to OU.
You have a lot of drastically flawed one-loss teams (two of which were conference champions) and some amazing two-loss teams. I think OU gets the nod here, but losing 31-14 to Stanford at home, and then losing AGAIN, isn't a particularly good. That said, a 1 Georgia vs. 4 Oklahoma and 2 FSU vs. 3 Pitt Playoff is pretty damn strong, even if OU wasn't even the best two-loss team available. And if you're looking to avoid rematches, FSU-OU and UGA-Pitt would be good, too.
Other thoughts
- Miami's 1983 run wasn't nearly as out-of-nowhere as we want to think it was. Howard Schnellenberger's Hurricanes ranked 12th, seventh, and 26th from 1980-82 and had a series of big wins -- they beat three ranked opponents (including FSU) in 1980, three in 1981 (including Penn State), and suffered three super-tight losses to ranked teams in 1982. The warning signs were there.
- The Division 1-A/1-AA split came at a pretty interesting time, as the midsection of Division 1 was messy and crowded, and a lot of the soon-to-be 1-AA teams were doing pretty well: McNeese State (No. 31 here, with a tight loss to Southern Miss in the Independence Bowl), Furman (34), The Citadel (48), Villanova (52), Yale (57), Brown (67), Appalachian State (70), Colgate (72), Cornell (76), Chattanooga (79). Meanwhile, some teams that would stay in 1-A were playing anything but 1-A ball: EMU (136), Northwestern (134), UTEP (133), Oregon State (132), Memphis (128), Pacific (126), Cincinnati (125). One day it would be interesting to take a look at the decision-making behind some of the up-or-down moves. Like, did McNeese State consider sticking around at the 1-A level? And how close did EMU come to saying "Forget this."
- BYU lost 25-21 to New Mexico on the first weekend of the season, then went nuts. The Cougars beat Wyoming 52-17, Utah State 70-46, UTEP 83-7, and scored at least 41 points in each of their last five games (including the famous 46-45 win over SMU in the Holiday Bowl). This was LaVell Edwards' craziest team (led by junior Jim McMahon), and one of his best.
Next up: Reviewing the strange, confusing 1980s.
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