1980 New Mexico Lobos football team

The 1980 New Mexico Lobos football team was an American football team that represented the University of New Mexico in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first season under head coach Joe Morrison, the Lobos compiled a 4–7 record (3–4 against WAC opponents) and were outscored by a total of 364 to 246.[1][2]

1980 New Mexico Lobos football
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Record4–7 (3–4 WAC)
Head coach
Home stadiumUniversity Stadium
Seasons
← 1979
1981 →
1980 Western Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 12 BYU $ 6 1 0 12 1 0
Colorado State 5 1 1 6 4 1
Hawaii 3 3 0 8 3 0
Wyoming 4 4 0 6 5 0
San Diego State 4 4 0 4 8 0
New Mexico 3 4 0 4 7 0
Utah 2 3 1 5 5 1
Air Force 1 3 0 2 9 1
UTEP 1 6 0 1 11 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The first game of the season proved to be most notable victory for the team, as the Lobos upset BYU, 25-21. The Jim McMahon-led Cougars went undefeated the rest of the season, finishing with a 12-1 record and #12 national ranking in the final Associated Press poll.

The team's statistical leaders included Robin Gabriel with 1,083 passing yards, Jimmy Sayers with 691 rushing yards, Ricky Martin with 850 receiving yards, and kicker Pete Parks with 58 points scored.[3]

Schedule edit

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendance
September 6BYU
  • University Stadium
  • Albuquerque, NM
W 25–2116,840
September 13at No. 17 Missouri*L 16–47
September 20at Texas Tech*L 17–2838,873
September 27New Mexico State*
  • University Stadium
  • Albuquerque, NM (rivalry)
W 52–19
October 4at WyomingW 24–21
October 11Colorado State
  • University Stadium
  • Albuquerque, NM
L 26–3119,154
October 18Hawaii
  • University Stadium
  • Albuquerque, NM
L 14–3115,813
October 25at UTEPW 22–2117,008
November 1UNLV*
  • University Stadium
  • Albuquerque, NM
L 7–7214,250
November 8at UtahL 21–4921,248
November 22at San Diego StateL 22–2421,900
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References edit

  1. ^ "1980 New Mexico Lobos Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  2. ^ "University of New Mexico Football Record Book" (PDF). University of New Mexico. 2013. pp. 36, 40. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
  3. ^ "1980 New Mexico Lobos Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 2, 2019.