1980 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

1980 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football
Conference	Independent
Record	7–4
Head coach	Frank R. Burns (8th season)
Home stadium	Rutgers Stadium

1980 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Pittsburgh		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
Tennessee State		–		–				9	–	1	–	0
No. 5 Florida State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Penn State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 9 Notre Dame		–		–				9	–	2	–	1
No. 18 Miami (FL)		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Navy		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Boston College		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
UNLV		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Tulane		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Colgate		–		–				5	–	4	–	1
North Texas State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Villanova		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				6	–	6	–	0
Louisville		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Richmond		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Illinois State		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Temple		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Army		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
Holy Cross		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
William & Mary		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		–				1	–	9	–	1
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1980 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represented Rutgers University in the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their eighth season under head coach Frank R. Burns, the Scarlet Knights compiled a 7–4 record while competing as an independent and outscored their opponents 279 to 156. The team's statistical leaders included Ed McMichael with 1,761 passing yards, Albert Ray with 778 rushing yards, and Tim Odell with 718 receiving yards.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Source
September 13	at Temple		W 21–3
September 20	Cincinnati		W 24–7
September 27	Princeton		W 44–13
October 4	at Cornell		W 44–3
October 11	No. 1 Alabama		L 13–17
October 18	William & Mary		L 18–21
October 25	at Syracuse		L 9–17
November 1	at Army		W 37–21
November 8	at Virginia		W 19–17
November 15	West Virginia		L 15–24
November 22	Colgate		W 35–13
Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1980 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 31 Joe Burke So WR David Dorne Sr C 61 Mike Flynn So WR 84 Jed Karpinski So QB 7 Ralph Leek So C 59 Frank Naylor Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class S 18 Deron Cherry Sr CB Bill Hill Sr CB 4 Carl Howard So DT 62 Bill Pickel So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Frank R. Burns Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt