The 1980 UCLA Bruins football team was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team that represented the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

during the

1980 NCAA Division I-A football season The 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season saw a university from the state of Georgia take its first national title since 1942. Nine days following the bowl games to close the 1979 season, tragedy struck when new LSU coach Bo Rein died when the ...

. In their fifth year under head coach

Terry Donahue Terrence Michael Donahue (June 24, 1944 – July 4, 2021) was an American football coach and executive. He served as the head coach at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1976 to 1995, compiling a record of 151–74–8. His 15 ...

, the Bruins compiled a 9–2 record (5–2 Pac-10), finished in second place in the

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...

, and were ranked #13 in the final

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

. UCLA's offensive leaders in 1980 were quarterback

Tom Ramsey Tom Ramsey (born July 9, 1961) is a former professional American football quarterback, who played five seasons in the NFL for the New England Patriots and one season for the Indianapolis Colts. Earlier he played for the Los Angeles Express and ...

with 1,116 passing yards, running back

Freeman McNeil Freeman McNeil (born April 22, 1959) is a former professional American football player. He was selected by the New York Jets in the first round as the third overall pick of the 1981 NFL Draft. Early life McNeil was born in Jackson, Mississippi. ...

with 1,105 rushing yards, and wide receiver

Cormac Carney Cormac Joseph Carney (born May 6, 1959) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Early life and education Carney was born in Detroit, Michigan to Irish immigrant parents, both ...

with 591 receiving yards.

Schedule

Personnel

Game summaries

Colorado

At Ohio State

USC

's first win versus USC

Team players in the NFL

The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.

Awards and honors

Kenny Easley Kenneth Mason Easley Jr. (born January 15, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was a strong safety in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons during the 1980s. He played college football for the UCLA Bruins ...

, S, All American (consensus), All-Conference Honor *

Irv Eatman Irvin Humphrey "Irv" Eatman (born January 1, 1961) is a former American football offensive tackle, who played professionally for 3 seasons in the United States Football League (USFL) and 11 seasons with the National Football League (NFL). Playi ...

, DT, All-Conference Honor * Avon Riley, LB, All-Conference Honor *

Tim Wrightman Timothy John Wrightman (born March 27, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end. He played for two seasons for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). Wrightman played college football fo ...

, TE, All-Conference Honor * Larry Lee, OG, All-Conference Honor *

, TB, All American, All-Conference Honor

References

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

UCLA Bruins football seasons

UCLA Bruins football The UCLA Bruins football program represents the University of California, Los Angeles, in college football as members of the Pac-12 Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. The Bruins play their home games at the ...

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