1980 LSU Tigers football team

1980 LSU Tigers football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record7–4 (4–2 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGeorge Belu (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorGreg Williams (2nd season)
Home stadiumTiger Stadium
Seasons
← 1979
1981 →
1980 Southeastern Conference football standings
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 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University (LSU) as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Jerry Stovall, the Tigers compiled an overall record of 7–4, with a mark of 4–2 in conference play, and finished tied for fourth in the SEC.[1]

Bo Rein was hired November 30, 1979 after four seasons at North Carolina State as the successor to Charles McClendon, who compiled a 137–59–7 record in 18 seasons. Rein's tenure was cut short after only 42 days when he died in a plane crash January 10, 1980. Jerry Stovall, a former LSU All-American and nine-year National Football League veteran with the St. Louis Cardinals, was approved as Rein's successor approximately 36 hours after the plane crash.

LSU was tied for first place in the Southeastern Conference following a Nov. 1 victory over Ole Miss, but subsequent one-sided road losses to Alabama and Mississippi State led bowls to snub the Tigers. LSU ended on a high note by drubbing bowl-bound Tulane.

As of 2021, this is the last LSU team to finish with a winning record and not be invited to a bowl.

  1. ^ "1980 LSU Fighting Tigers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 31, 2023.