# 1980 Utah Utes football team

The 1980 Utah Utes football team was an American football team that represented the University of Utah as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth season under head coach Wayne Howard, the Utes compiled an overall record of 5–5–1 with a mark of 2–3–1 against conference opponents, placing seventh in the WAC. Home games were played on campus at Robert Rice Stadium in Salt Lake City.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 6 | 7:30 pm | Boise State* | Robert Rice StadiumSalt Lake City, UT | L 7–28 | 27,231 |
| September 13 | 12:30 pm | at No. 8 Nebraska* | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE | L 9–55 | 75,526 |
| September 20 | 7:30 pm | UNLV* | Robert Rice StadiumSalt Lake City, UT | W 45–29 | 23,645 |
| September 27 | 7:30 pm | Fresno State | Robert Rice StadiumSalt Lake City, UT | W 27–12 | 25,645 |
| October 4 | 1:30 pm | at Utah State* | Romney StadiumLogan, UT (Battle of the Brothers) | W 23–19 | 20,166 |
| October 11 | 7:30 pm | at UTEP | Sun BowlEl Paso, TX | W 31–17 | 19,700 |
| October 18 | 1:30 pm | at Wyoming | War Memorial StadiumLaramie, WY | L 21–24 | 5,515 |
| October 25 | 1:30 pm | Colorado State | Robert Rice StadiumSalt Lake City, UT | T 21–21 | 23,562 |
| November 8 | 1:30 pm | New Mexico | Robert Rice StadiumSalt Lake City, UT | W 49–21 | 21,248 |
| November 22 | 1:30 pm | No. 13 BYU | Rice StadiumSalt Lake City, UT (Holy War) | L 6–56 | 30,520 |
| November 29 | 8:30 pm | at San Diego State | San Diego StadiumSan Diego, CA | L 20–21 | 18,050 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Mountain time |||||||

## Game summaries
### BYU

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| BYU | 7 | 14 | 21 | 14 | 56 |
| Utah | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
at Rice Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah
* Date: November 22, 1980
* Game weather: Light rain, 42 °F (6 °C)
* Game attendance: 30,520
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
BYU – Eric Lane 1-yard run (Kurt Gunther kick). BYU 7–0.
Second quarter
BYU – Jim McMahon 7-yard run (Kurt Gunther kick). BYU 14–0.
BYU – Clay Brown 5-yard pass from Jim McMahon (Kurt Gunther kick), 1:47. BYU 21–0.
Third quarter
BYU – Eric Lane 11-yard pass from Jim McMahon (Kurt Gunther kick). BYU 28–0.
BYU – Eric Lane 1-yard run (Kurt Gunther kick). BYU 35–0.
BYU – Clay Brown 76-yard pass from Jim McMahon (Kurt Gunther kick). BYU 42–0.
Fourth quarter
UTAH – Hilria Johnson 1-yard run (pass failed). BYU 42–6.
BYU – Steve Carlsen 1-yard run (Kurt Gunther kick). BYU 49–6.
BYU – Scott Pettis 5-yard run (Kurt Gunther kick). BYU 56–6.
Top passers
BYU – Jim McMahon – 21/34, 399 yards, 3 TD, INT
UTAH – Ricky Hardin – 19/31, 258 yards, 2 INT
Top rushers
BYU – Scott Pettis – 4 rushes, 81 yards, TD
UTAH – Tony Lindsay – 22 rushes, 93 yards
Top receivers
BYU – Clay Brown – 5 receptions, 184 yards, 2 TD
UTAH – James Teahan – 7 receptions, 92 yards :

## NFL draft

Three Utes were selected in the 1981 NFL draft.
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL team |
| Dean Miraldi | Guard | 2 | 55 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| Jeff Griffin | Defensive back | 3 | 61 | St. Louis Cardinals |
| Steve Folsom | Tight end | 10 | 261 | Miami Dolphins |