Fun Facts
1980 – Air Force joins the WAC (Previously Independent)
1981 – Holding Penalties are reduced from 15 to 10
1981 – Offensive Lineman are now allowed to block with extended arms with open hands
1981 – The Final Season the Ivy League, Southern Conference, and Southland Conference would compete in Division I-A Football
1982 – A Facemask was reduced from 15 yards to 5 but would go back to 15 in 2008
1982 – The use of Stickum is prohibited
1983 – The Winner of the Coin Toss now has the choice to defer
1983 – Roughing the Passer is now an automatic first down
1983 – The visiting team must wear white jerseys
1983 – North Texas State was demoted to Division I-AA but moved back up to in 1995 as North Texas
1983 – Georgia Tech joined the ACC Conference (Previously Independent)
1983 – New Mexico State went Independent (Previously Missouri Valley)
1984 – An Offensive Facemask is now a 15-yard penalty
1985 – Tennessee won its first SEC Championship and were nicknamed the “Sugar Vols”
1985 – Last Year for the Missouri Valley Conference as a Division I-A League
1986 – Kickoffs are moved from the 40-yard line to the 35
1986 – Drake drops their program
1987 – Conference Rivals Nebraska and Oklahoma enter the season #1 and #2
1987 – Akron’s first year in Division I-A
1987 – Wichita St. drops their program
1988 – Florida St. entered the season at #1 but lost 31-0 to Miami in the first game
1988 – Defensive teams can now run back blocked kicks
1988 – Teams can now take consecutive timeouts
1988 – The Pacific Coast Athletic Association is now the Big West Conference
1989 – Notre Dame #1 and Michigan #2 entered the season on top of the polls and met in Week 2 with Notre Dame winning 24-19
1989 – Kicking tees are prohibited during field goals
1989 – Louisiana Tech enters Division I-A
80s College Football
The Miami Hurricanes are the Team of the Decade winning 3 National Championships with 3 different coaches
In 1986 Vinny Testaverde won the Heisman Trophy by 1541 votes making it the largest margin of the 80s
National Champions
1980 - Georgia Coach: Vince Dooley
1981 - Clemson Coach: Danny Ford
1982 - Penn State Coach: Joe Paterno
1983 - Miami (FL) Coach: Howard Schnellenberger
1984 - BYU Coach: LaVell Edwards
1985 - Oklahoma Coach: Barry Switzer
1986 - Penn State Coach: Joe Paterno
1987 - Miami (FL) Coach: Jimmy Johnson
1988 - Notre Dame Coach: Lou Holtz
1989 - Miami (FL) Coach: Dennis Erickson
Heisman Trophy Winners
1980 – George Rogers RB South Carolina
1981 – Marcus Allen RB USC
1981 – Herschel Walker RB Georgie
1983 – Mike Rozier RB Nebraska
1984 – Doug Flutie QB Boston College
1985 – Bo Jackson RB Auburn
1986 – Vinny Testaverde QB Miami
1987 – Tim Brown WR Notre Dame
1988 – Barry Sanders RB Oklahoma St.
1989 – Andre Ware QB Houston
Mike Rozier won the Heisman Trophy by 29 votes making it the closest margin of the 80s
Butkus Award Winners (Best Linebacker)
Began 1985
1985 – Brian Bosworth Oklahoma
1986 – Brian Bosworth Oklahoma
1987 – Paul McGowan Florida St.
1988 – Derrick Thomas Alabama
1989 – Percy Snow Michigan St.
Maxwell Award Winners (College Player of the Year)
1980 – Hugh Green LB Pittsburgh
1981 – Marcus Allen RB USC
1981 – Herschel Walker RB Georgie
1983 – Mike Rozier RB Nebraska
1984 – Doug Flutie QB Boston College
1985 – Chuck Long QB Iowa
1986 – Vinny Testaverde QB Miami
1987 – Don McPerson QB Syracuse
1988 – Barry Sanders RB Oklahoma St.
1989 – Anthony Thompson RB Indiana
Barry Sanders is the only player to win the Heisman Trophy from Oklahoma St.
Outland Trophy Winners (Best Lineman)
1980 – Mark May OT Pittsburgh
1981 – Dave Rimington C Nebraska
1982 – Dave Rimington C Nebraska
1983 – Dean Steinkuhler G Nebraska
1984 – Bruce Smith DT Virginia Tech
1985 – Mike Ruth DT Boston College
1986 – Jason Buck DT BYU
1987 – Chad Hennings DT Air Force
1988 – Tracy Rocker DT Auburn
1989 – Mohammed Elewonibi G BYU
Lombardi Award (Best Lineman or Linebacker)
1980 - Hugh Green DE Pittsburgh
1981 - Kenneth Sims DT Texas
1982 - Dave Rimington C Nebraska
1983 - Dean Steinkuhler OT Nebraska
1984 - Tony Degrate DT Texas
1985 - Tony Casillas DT Oklahoma
1986 - Cornelius Bennett LB Alabama
1987 - Chris Spielman LB Ohio State
1988 - Tracy Rocker DT Auburn
1989 - Percy Snow LB Michigan State
Davey O’Brien Trophy (Best Quarterback)
Since 1981
1981 - Jim McMahon BYU
1982 - Todd Blackledge Penn State
1983 - Steve Young BYU
1984 - Doug Flutie Boston College
1985 - Chuck Long Iowa
1986 - Vinny Testaverde Miami (FL)
1987 - Don McPherson Syracuse
1988 - Troy Aikman UCLA
1989 - Andre Ware Houston
Walter Camp Award
1980 - Hugh Green LB Pittsburgh
1981 - Marcus Allen RB USC
1982 - Herschel Walker RB Georgia
1983 - Mike Rozier RB Nebraska
1984 - Doug Flutie QB Boston College
1985 - Bo Jackson RB Auburn
1986 - Vinny Testaverde QB Miami (FL)
1987 - Tim Brown QB Notre Dame
1988 - Barry Sanders RB Oklahoma State
1989 - Anthony Thompson RB Indiana
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