1980 Indiana Hoosiers football team

The 1980 Indiana Hoosiers football team was an American football team that represented Indiana University Bloomington in the 1980 Big Ten Conference football season. In their eighth season under head coach Lee Corso, the Hoosiers finished in a tie for sixth place in the Big Ten Conference (Big Ten), compiled a 6–5 (3–5 against Big Ten opponents), and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 255 to 235.^[1] The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana.

1980 Indiana Hoosiers football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	6–5 (3–5 Big Ten)
Head coach	Lee Corso (8th season)
MVP	Tim Clifford
Captain	Tim Clifford, Terry Tallen, Lucky Wallace, Craig Walls
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1979 1981 →

1980 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Michigan $	8	–	0	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 15 Ohio State	7	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 17 Purdue	7	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Iowa	4	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Minnesota	4	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Indiana	3	–	5	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Illinois	3	–	5	–	0			3	–	7	–	1
Michigan State	2	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Northwestern	0	–	9	–	0			0	–	11	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Tim Clifford with 1,391 passing yards, Lonnie Johnson with 1,075 receiving yards and 66 points scored, and Nate Lundy with 459 receiving yards.^[2] Several Indiana players also ranked among the Big Ten leaders in various statistical categories, including the following:

• Lonnie Johnson led the Big Ten with 11 rushing touchdowns and 200 rushing attempts, ranked second with 1,075 rushing yards and 1,146 yards from scrimmage, and ranked third with 5.4 yards per rushing attempt.^[3]
• Tim Wilbur led the Big Ten with 9.1 yard per punt return and 256 punt return yards.^[3]
• Tim Clifford ranked fourth in the Big Ten with a 53.0 pass completion percentage, 16 total touchdowns, and 7.0 yards per passing attempt, and ranked seventh with 1,391 passing yards.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 13		Iowa	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	L 7–16	50,173
September 20		at Kentucky*	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)	W 36–30	57,869	[4]
September 27		at Colorado*	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	W 49–7	40,219
October 4		Duke*	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	W 31–21	43,120	[5]
October 11		Wisconsin	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	W 24–0	51,029
October 18	1:30 p.m.	at No. 9 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 17–27	87,957
October 25		at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 35–20	19,535	[6]
November 1		No. 18 Michigan	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	L 0–35	52,071
November 8		at Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	L 7–31	30,092
November 15		Illinois	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (rivalry)	W 26–24	38,128	[7]
November 22		at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)	L 23–24	71,629	[8]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^{[9][10][11][12]}

Game summaries

Iowa

See also: 1980 Iowa Hawkeyes football team

On September 13, Indiana opened its season with a 16–7 loss to Iowa. Jeff Brown rushed for 176 yards and caught five passes in his first start as Iowa's tailback.^[13]

At Kentucky

On September 20, the Hoosiers played the annual Bourbon Barrel rivalry game. Indiana defeated Kentucky, 36–30, at Lexington, Kentucky. The game was tied at 30–30 when Indiana intercepted a Kentucky pass at midfield with 1:01 remaining in the game. Indiana took the lead on a touchdown pass to Steve Corso (the son of Indiana head coach Lee Corso); Corso called the play the "old pine tree slant".^[14]

At Colorado

On September 27, Indiana defeated Colorado, 49–7, before a crowd of 40,219 at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado. Flanker Nate Lundy shattered Indiana's single game receiving record (previously 178 yards) with five catches for 256 yards and three touchdowns. After the game, coach Lee Corso said: "Nate Lundy had a great game. 'Doctor Deep' can run on anyone."^[15] Quarterback Tim Clifford also tied the school's single game passing yardage record (set in 1943 by Robert Hoernschemeyer), completing 11 of 14 passes for 345 yards and five touchdowns. Clifford also broke the school's career record with 262 completions. Mike Harkrader also became the school's career rushing leader with 2,791 yards.^[15]

Duke

On October 4, Indiana defeated Duke, 31–21, before a crowd of 43,120 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. Running back Lonnie Johnson tied Indiana's single game rushing record (set by Courtney Snyder in 1974) with 211 rushing yards against Duke. After the game, coach Lee Corso called Johnson "the best all-around back in the Big Ten."^[16]

Wisconsin

Indiana defeated Wisconsin, 24–0, in front of a homecoming crowd of 51,029 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. Indiana's defense held Wisconsin to 204 yards of total offense (only 65 in the second half) and had seven tackles for loss. Quarterback Tim Clifford completed 17 of 25 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns.^[17]

At Ohio State

On October 18, Indiana lost to #9 Ohio State, 27–17, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. Ohio State running back Calvin Murray rushed for 224 yards, the fourth highest single-game tally in Ohio State history to that time, on 35 carries and scored two touchdowns on his 22nd birthday. Indiana running back Mike Harkrader rushed for 117 yards on 18 carries. Harkrader became the seventh leading rusher in Big Ten history with 3,034 yards.^[18]

At Northwestern

On October 25, Indiana defeated Northwestern, 35–20, in Evanston. Lonnie Johnson rushed for 160 yards on 22 carries, and Mike Harkrader added 102 rushing yards.^[6]

Michigan

On November 1, #18 Michigan defeated Indiana, 35–0, at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. Michigan totaled 349 rushing yards, including 152 by Butch Woolfolk and 123 by Lawrence Ricks. Ricks scored two touchdowns in a span of 28 seconds, running 29 yards for the first, then scoring again after Indiana fumbled the ensuing kickoff. Anthony Carter caught a 34-yard touchdown pass from Wangler, and Woolfolk added a 64-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Michigan also intercepted four of Tim Clifford's passes.^[19]

At Minnesota

On November 8, Minnesota defeated Indiana, 31–7, in Minneapolis. Quarterback Tim Clifford was knocked out of the game in the first half by "a savage blindside tackle" by Jeff Schuh. Minnesota running back Garry White rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns.^[20]

Illinois

On November 15, Indiana defeated Illinois, 26–24, in Bloomington. Indiana tailback Lonnie Johnson rushed for a school record 237 yards on 37 carries. Illinois quarterback Dave Wilson kept the game close as he passed for 403 yards and three touchdowns.^[7]

At Purdue

See also: Old Oaken Bucket

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Indiana	3	7	0	13	23
Purdue	0	3	14	7	24

Game information

First quarter IND – Kevin Kellogg 20-yard field goal. Indiana 3–0. Second quarter IND – Lonnie Johnson 5-yard run (Kevin Kellogg kick), 6:16. Indiana 10–0. Drive: 84 yards. PUR – Rick Anderson 19-yard field goal. Indiana 10–3. Third quarter PUR – Ben McCall 1-yard run (Rick Anderson kick). Tie 10–10. PUR – Bart Burrell 20-yard pass from Mark Herrmann (Rick Anderson kick). Purdue 17–10. Fourth quarter IND – Lonnie Johnson 1-yard run (Kevin Kellogg kick). Tie 17–17. PUR – Ben McCall 4-yard run (Rick Anderson kick), 8:56. Purdue 24–17. IND – Steve Corso 10-yard pass from Tim Clifford (pass failed), 0:17. Purdue 24–23. Top passers PUR – Mark Herrmann – 19/23, 323 yards, TD Top rushers IND – Lonnie Johnson – 220 yards, 2 TD

Indiana Hoosiers (6–4) at Purdue Boilermakers (7–3)

at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

• Date: November 22, 1980
• Game attendance: 71,629

External videos
1980 Indiana at Purdue game film – Part 1 (no sound)
1980 Indiana at Purdue game film - Part 2 (no sound)

On November 22, in the annual battle for the Old Oaken Bucket, Purdue defeated Indiana, 24–23, in West Lafayette. Purdue led, 24–17, with 21 seconds left when Tim Clifford threw a touchdown pass to Steve Corso (Indiana coach Lee Corso's son). Rather than kick an extra point to tie the game, Indiana coach Corso called for a pass play to win the game; the pass was knocked down, and Purdue preserved a one-point margin of victory.^[8]

Roster

1980 Indiana Hoosiers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 14 Tim Clifford Sr WR 7 Steve CorsoMuncy Sr TE 81 Dave Harangody Sr RB 44 Lonnie Johnson Sr WR 89 Nate Lundy Sr TE 84 Scot McNabb Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 92 Ken Bell Jr DT 93 Greg Brown Jr LB 17 Marlin Evans Jr LB 27 Mike Kazanowski So FS 1 Steve Mitchell Jr DB 19 Mike Pendleton So DB 21 Dart Ramsey Jr LB 60 Craig Walls Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 3 Kevin Kellogg Sr	Head coach Lee Corso Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

1981 NFL draftees

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Tim Clifford	Quarterback	10	260	Chicago Bears
Lonnie Johnson	Running back	11	287	Chicago Bears
Nate Lundy	Wide receiver	12	329	Dallas Cowboys

^[21]

References

1. "1980 Indiana Hoosiers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
2. "1980 Indiana Hoosiers Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
3. "1980 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
4. Mark Bradley (September 21, 1980). "Indiana Bypasses Kentucky on Corso's Catch". Sunday Herald-Leader. pp. D1, D6 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Hoosiers overcome errors to down Duke". Wisconsin State Journal. October 5, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Bob Collins (October 26, 1980). "Indiana oversleeps 'gimmee'". The Indianapolis Star. pp. 4–1, 4–6.
7. Max Stultz (November 16, 1980). "Johnson leads 26–24 I.U. victory". The Indianapolis Star. p. 4-3.
8. Max Stultz (November 23, 1980). "Boilers beat I.U., 24–23, for Bucket: Marks this one up for Purdue". The Indianapolis Star. p. 4-1.
9. "1980 Indiana Hoosiers Schedule and Results". College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
10. "1980 Football Schedule". Indiana University. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
11. "Indiana Football 2023 Record Book" (PDF). Indiana University. p. 15. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
12. "1980 Homecoming". Indiana Arbutus (yearboook). Archived from the original on April 21, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
13. "Iowa gets sweet revenge; Hawks hold Indiana this time, 16–7". Des Moines Register. September 14, 1980. p. 1D.
14. Bill Benner (September 21, 1980). "Tie an I.U. Victory 'Round a Pine Tree". The Indianapolis Star. pp. 4–1, 4–10.
15. Bob Collins (September 28, 1980). "Colorado Passed By In Hoosier Air Show". The Indianapolis Star. p. 4-1.
16. "Hoosiers Limp By Duke, 31-21". The Indianapolis Star. October 5, 1980. p. 4-1.
17. Bill Benner (October 12, 1980). "IU Strols". The Indianapolis Star. pp. D1, D12.
18. "Murray's Birthday No Party For I.U." The Indianapolis Star. October 19, 1980. p. 4-1.
19. Mick McCabe (November 2, 1980). "Michigan awesome in Indiana win, 35–0". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1H, 8H.
20. "I.U.'s forecast: cold December". The Indianapolis Star. November 9, 1980. p. 4-1, 4-7.
21. "1981 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.