1980 Lehigh Engineers football team
The 1980 Lehigh Engineers football team was an American football team that represented Lehigh University as an independent during the 1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Lehigh went undefeated through the regular season and was the No. 1-ranked team in Division I-AA, but lost its national semifinal game.
1980 Lehigh Engineers football | |
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Division I-AA Semifinal, L 20–23 vs Eastern Kentucky | |
Conference | Independent |
1980 record | 9–1–2 |
Head coach | John Whitehead (5th season) |
Captains |
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Home stadium | Taylor Stadium |
1980 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 1 Lehigh ^ | – | 9 | – | 1 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 6 Delaware | – | 9 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Southeastern Louisiana | – | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 8 Northwestern State | – | 8 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Portland State | – | 8 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bucknell | – | 6 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
James Madison | – | 4 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lafayette | – | 3 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nicholls State | – | 2 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northeastern | – | 2 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In their fifth year under head coach John Whitehead, the Engineers compiled a 9–1–2 record (9–0–2 in the regular season).[1] Mike Crowe and Mark Yeager were the team captains.[2]
The Engineers' participation in the 1980 Division I-AA playoff marked their third year of postseason play in a four-year stretch, beginning with the NCAA Division II Football Championship in 1977, and continuing with their loss in the 1979 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game.
Lehigh played its home games at Taylor Stadium on the university's main campus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Schedule
Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source | ||
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September 13 | at Maine | W 37–6 | 6,000 | [3] | ||||
September 20 | Colgate |
| T 17–17 | 8,000 | [4] | |||
September 26 | at Penn | W 35–6 | 14,864 | [5] | ||||
October 4 | No. 2 Delaware | No. 10 |
| W 27–20 | 14,500 | [6] | ||
October 11 | at Army | No. 3 | T 24–24 | 32,850 | [7] | |||
October 18 | at Davidson | No. 3 | W 49–14 | 6,500 | [8] | |||
October 25 | Bucknell | No. 3 |
| W 13–0 | 5,000 | [9] | ||
November 1 | James Madison | No. 3 |
| W 31–14 | [1] | |||
November 8 | Rhode Island | No. 2 |
| W 23–10 | 10,000 | [10] | ||
November 15 | Northeastern | No. 2 |
| W 42–19 | 7,363 | [11] | ||
November 22 | at Lafayette | No. 1 | W 20–23 | 17,000 | [12] | |||
December 13 | No. 3 Eastern Kentucky | No. 1 |
| L 20–23 | 11,500 | [13] | ||
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References
- "Year-by-Year Results". Lehigh Football Record Book (PDF). Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University. p. 22. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- "Lehigh Football Captains". Lehigh Football Record Book (PDF). Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University. p. 12. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- Haskell, Bob (September 15, 1980). "Bicknell Stunned After Lehigh Rips Maine, 37-6". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Maine. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Lehigh Passes Sting Colgate, 17-17". The Sunday Press. Binghamton, N.Y. Associated Press. September 21, 1980. p. 4B – via Newspapers.com.
- Shister, Gail (September 27, 1980). "Lehigh Has Easy Time with Penn". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. 1-C – via Newspapers.com.
- Larimer, Terry (October 5, 1980). "Lehigh Jolts Delaware, 27-20". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Army Ties Lehigh on Record FG". The Sunday Record. Woodland Park, N.J. October 12, 1980. p. C-3 – via Newspapers.com.
- Fulwood, Sam, III (October 19, 1980). "Lehigh Crushes Davidson". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, N.C. p. 6C – via Newspapers.com.
- Larimer, Terry (October 26, 1980). "Lehigh Zips Bucknell". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Lehigh Beats Rhode Island with Rally". Sunday News Journal. Wilmington, Del. Associated Press. November 9, 1980. p. D-8 – via Newspapers.com.
- Doherty, Bill (November 16, 1980). "Lehigh Fells Northeastern". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 86 – via Newspapers.com.
- Newman, Chuck (November 23, 1980). "Unbeaten Lehigh Crushes Lafayette". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. 9-F – via Newspapers.com.
- Larimer, Terry (December 14, 1980). "E. Kentucky Ruins Lehigh's Hopes, 23-20". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.