1980 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team

The 1980 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team represented the University of Tulsa during the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth year under head coach John Cooper, the Golden Hurricane compiled an 8–3 record (4–1 against conference opponents) and won the Missouri Valley Conference championship.[1][2]

1980 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football
MVC champion
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record8–3 (4–1 MVC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorLarry Coker (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorMike Knoll (1st season)
Home stadiumSkelly Stadium
Seasons
← 1979
1981 →
1980 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Tulsa $ 4 1 0 8 3 0
Wichita State 4 1 1 5 5 1
Indiana State 4 2 0 6 5 0
Drake 3 2 0 8 3 0
West Texas State 2 4 0 5 6 0
New Mexico State 1 4 1 3 7 1
Southern Illinois 1 5 0 3 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Kenny Jackson with 1,208 passing yards, Kenneth Session with 662 rushing yards, and Paul Johns with 420 receiving yards.[3] Head coach John Cooper was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Schedule edit

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 13Cincinnati*W 31–1319,941
September 20at Wichita StateL 10–2319,010[4]
September 27at No. 15 Arkansas*L 10–1341,082
October 4Kansas State* 
  • Skelly Stadium
  • Tulsa, OK
W 3–023,213
October 11North Texas State*
  • Skelly Stadium
  • Tulsa, OK
W 28–2718,315[5]
October 18at TCU*W 23–1712,367
October 25West Texas State
  • Skelly Stadium
  • Tulsa, OK
W 44–2418,011[6]
November 1at No. 5 Florida State*L 2–4547,683
November 8Indiana State
  • Skelly Stadium
  • Tulsa, OK
W 30–717,647
November 15at Southern IllinoisW 41–76,432
November 22at New Mexico StateW 21–2010,081
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[7]

Roster edit

1980 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
OT 79 Sid Abramowitz So
WR 3 Paul Johns Sr
RB 5 Ken Lacy So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 49 Don Blackmon Sr
DE 14 Eugene Williams Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

After the season edit

1981 NFL Draft edit

The following Golden Hurriane players were selected in the National Football League Draft following the season.[8][9]

Round Pick Player Position NFL club
4 102 Don Blackmon Linebacker New England Patriots
8 199 Denver Johnson Tackle Tampa Bay Buccaneers

References edit

  1. ^ "1980 Missouri Valley Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  2. ^ "1980 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  3. ^ "1980 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  4. ^ "Wichita tames Tulsa, 23–10". The Daily Oklahoman. September 21, 1980. Retrieved February 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Tulsa's last-minute flings flatten Mean Green, 28–27". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 12, 1980. Retrieved October 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Hurricane wipes out West Texas". The Daily Oklahoman. October 26, 1980. Retrieved May 2, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Tulsa Golden Hurricane Football Record & Fact Book 2022" (PDF). University of Tulsa. p. 185. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  8. ^ "1981 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  9. ^ "Tulsa Drafted Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 23, 2023.