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
ConferenceIndependent
Record9–1–2
Head coach
Captains
  • Mike Crowe
  • Mark Yeager
Home stadiumTaylor Stadium
1980 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW 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
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll

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
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 13 at Maine
W 37–6 6,000 [3]
September 20 Colgate
  • Taylor Stadium
  • Bethlehem, PA
T 17–17 8,000 [4]
September 26 at Penn
W 35–6 14,864 [5]
October 4 No. 2 Delaware No. 10
  • Taylor Stadium
  • Bethlehem, PA (rivalry)
W 27–20 14,500 [6]
October 11 at Army No. T–3
T 24–24 32,850 [7]
October 18 at Davidson No. 3
W 49–14 6,500 [8]
October 25 Bucknell No. 3
  • Taylor Stadium
  • Bethlehem, PA
W 13–0 5,000 [9]
November 1 James Madison No. 3
  • Taylor Stadium
  • Bethlehem, PA
W 31–14 [10]
November 8 Rhode Island No. 2
  • Taylor Stadium
  • Bethlehem, PA
W 23–10 10,000 [11]
November 15 Northeastern No. 2
  • Taylor Stadium
  • Bethlehem, PA
W 42–19 7,363 [12]
November 22 at Lafayette No. 1
W 23–20 17,000 [13]
December 13 No. 3 Eastern Kentucky No. 1
L 20–23 11,500 [14]
  • ^ Parents Day
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References
  1. "Year-by-Year Results". Lehigh Football Record Book (PDF). Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University. p. 22. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  2. "Lehigh Football Captains". Lehigh Football Record Book (PDF). Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University. p. 12. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  3. Haskell, Bob (September 15, 1980). "Bicknell Stunned After Lehigh Rips Maine, 37-6". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Maine. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Lehigh Passes Sting Colgate, 17-17". The Sunday Press. Binghamton, N.Y. Associated Press. September 21, 1980. p. 4B – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Shister, Gail (September 27, 1980). "Lehigh Has Easy Time with Penn". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. 1-C – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Larimer, Terry (October 5, 1980). "Lehigh Jolts Delaware, 27-20". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Army Ties Lehigh on Record FG". The Sunday Record. Woodland Park, N.J. October 12, 1980. p. C-3 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Fulwood, Sam, III (October 19, 1980). "Lehigh Crushes Davidson". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, N.C. p. 6C – via Newspapers.com.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. Larimer, Terry (October 26, 1980). "Lehigh Zips Bucknell". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Lehigh recovers for 31–14 victory". The Morning Call. November 2, 1980. Retrieved October 11, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Lehigh Beats Rhode Island with Rally". Sunday News Journal. Wilmington, Del. Associated Press. November 9, 1980. p. D-8 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. Doherty, Bill (November 16, 1980). "Lehigh Fells Northeastern". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 86 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Newman, Chuck (November 23, 1980). "Unbeaten Lehigh Crushes Lafayette". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. 9-F – via Newspapers.com.
  14. Larimer, Terry (December 14, 1980). "E. Kentucky Ruins Lehigh's Hopes, 23-20". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.