1980 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

American college football season

1980 Mississippi State Bulldogs football
Sun Bowl, L 17–31 vs. Nebraska
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 19
Record	9–3 (5–1 SEC)
Head coach	Emory Bellard (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Melvin Robertson (2nd season)
Home stadium	Scott Field Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium
Seasons← 1979 1981 →

1980 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 Georgia $	6	–	0	–	0	12	–	0	–	0
No. 19 Mississippi State	5	–	1	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
No. 6 Alabama	5	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
LSU	4	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Florida	4	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Tennessee	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Ole Miss	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Kentucky	1	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Auburn	0	–	6	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Vanderbilt	0	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1980 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University during the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. The season is best known for a win over then-#1 Alabama, often considered to be the greatest win in school history.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 6	at Memphis State*		Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN		W 34–7	45,789
September 13	Louisiana Tech*		Scott Field Starkville, MS		W 31–11	32,812
September 20	at Vanderbilt		Dudley Field Nashville, TN		W 24–14	29,300
September 27	at Florida		Florida Field Gainesville, FL		L 15–21	56,225
October 4	at Illinois*		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL		W 28–21	60,889
October 11	Southern Miss*		Scott Field Starkville, MS		L 14–42	36,211
October 18	at No. 18 Miami (FL)*		Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL		W 34–31	17,806
October 25	Auburn		Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS		W 24–21	40,822
November 1	No. 1 Alabama		Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS (rivalry)		W 6–3	50,891
November 15	LSU	No. 19	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS (rivalry)		W 55–31	48,863
November 22	vs. Ole Miss	No. 17	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS (Egg Bowl)		W 19–14	62,520
December 27	vs. No. 8 Nebraska*	No. 17	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX (Sun Bowl)	CBS	L 17–31	34,723
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1980 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR		Black
QB	`13`	John Bond	Fr
WR		James Otis Doss
OL		Matt Edwards
WR		David Ellis
OL		Ronman Grace
RB		Michael Haddix
OL		Wayne Harris
C	`58`	Kent Hull
RB		Donald Ray King
RB		Danny Knight
RB		Henry Koontz
OL		Alan Massey
RB		Mardye McDole
OL		Mike McDonald
QB		Robby Mink
QB		Tim Parenton
WR		Jerry Price
RB		Lamar Windham
RB		George Wonsley
WR		Glen Young

Defense

Pos.	#	Name
DL		Eamie Barnes
DE	`79`	Glen Collins
LB	`99`	Johnie Cooks
LB		Don Edwards
DB		Lawrence Evans
DB		Rob Fesmire
DB		Larry Friday
DL		Ricky George
DL		Billy Jackson
DB		Willie Jackson
DB		Steve Johnson
DL		Tyrone Keys
LB		Rusty Martin
DL		Mike McEnany
LB		Curtis Stowers

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K, P		Dana Moore
K		Bob Morgan

Head coach

Emory Bellard

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Game summaries

vs Ole Miss

Ole Miss Rebels (3–7) vs. #17 Mississippi State Bulldogs (8–2)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Mississippi St	10	0	3	6	19
Ole Miss	0	7	0	7	14

at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, Jackson, Mississippi

Date: November 22, 1980
Game weather: Rain
Game attendance: 62,520

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Mississippi St	Passing	John Bond	8/14, 151 Yds
	Rushing	John Bond	15 Rush, 163 Yds, TD
	Receiving
Ole Miss	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	MSU	MISS
1					Mississippi St	24-yard field goal by Dana Moore	3	0
1					Mississippi St	John Bond 57-yard touchdown run, Dana Moore kick good	10	0
2			68		Ole Miss	Kinny Hopper 1-yard touchdown run, kick good	10	7
3					Mississippi St	32-yard field goal by Dana Moore	13	7
4	8:20				Ole Miss	Gino English 7-yard touchdown reception from John Fourcade, kick good	13	14
4	7:40				Mississippi St	Michael Haddix 10-yard touchdown run, kick no good	19	14
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							19	14

References

Metal Building Dawg (October 23, 2012). "History of MSU vs. Alabama". ForWhomtheCowbellTolls.com.
The Croom Diaries (October 27, 2012). "Is This the Biggest Game in MSU History?". MaroonAndWhiteNation.com.
"Growling Bulldogs bite, then bury Tigers". The Commercial Appeal. September 7, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Miss. State 31, Louisiana Tech 11". The Clarion-Ledger. September 14, 1980. Retrieved July 2, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
"Vandy drops first SEC game 24–14". The Daily News-Journal. September 21, 1980. Retrieved October 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Florida snaps SEC jinx". The Tennessean. September 28, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"State holds on to defeat Illinois 28–21". The Greenwood Commonwealth. October 5, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"42–14: USM hands out a 'Dog-whippin'". The Clarion-Ledger. October 12, 1980. Retrieved March 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
"'Canes blow opportunity". The Tampa Tribune-Times. October 19, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"24–21, State's goal-line stand saved a MSU victory and may have cost Auburn's Doug Barfield his job". The Clarion-Ledger. October 26, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Mississippi State stuns Alabama". The Montgomery Advertiser. November 2, 1980. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
"Third quarter explosion blows Maroons by LSU". The Crowley Post-Signal. November 16, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Bond leads 'Dogs over Rebels". Enterprise-Journal. November 23, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Cornhuskers mug Mississippi State". The Cincinnati Enquirer. December 28, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"1980 Mississippi State Bulldogs Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
"Bond Leads MSU Over Mississippi." Ocala Star-Banner. pg. 3C. 1980-Nov-23. Retrieved 2022-Dec-17.

v t e Mississippi State Bulldogs football
Venues	Davis Wade Stadium (1914–present) Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium (alternate, 1953–1990)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Alabama LSU Ole Miss: Egg Bowl
Culture & lore	Bully "Hail State" Famous Maroon Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1895 1896 1897–1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

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