1980 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

{{Infobox college sports team season

| year = 1980

| team = Eastern Illinois Panthers

| sport = football

| image =

| image_size =

| conference = Association of Mid-Continent Universities

| short_conf = Mid-Con

| record = 11–3

| conf_record = 4–0

| head_coach = Darrell Mudra

| hc_year = 3rd

| off_coach =

| off_scheme =

| oc_year =

| def_coach =

| def_scheme =

| dc_year =

| captain =

| stadium = O'Brien Stadium

| champion = Mid-Con champion

| bowl = NCAA Division II Championship

| bowl_result = L 13–21 vs. Cal Poly

}}

{{1980 Association of Mid-Continent Universities football standings}}

The 1980 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented the Eastern Illinois University during the 1980 NCAA Division II football season, and completed the 79th season of Panther football. The Panthers played their home games at O'Brien Stadium in Charleston, Illinois. This season was the last that Eastern Illinois played at the Division II level.

Schedule

{{CFB schedule

| rankyear = 1980

| rankdivision = NCAA Division II

| poll = Associated Press

| timezone = Central

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = September 6

| w/l = w

| nonconf = y

| opponent = South Dakota

| site_stadium = O'Brien Stadium

| site_cityst = Charleston, IL

| score = 34–21

| attend = 6,500

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = September 13

| w/l = l

| away = y

| nonconf = y

| opponent = Southern Illinois

| site_stadium = McAndrew Stadium

| site_cityst = Carbondale, IL

| score = 35–37

| attend = 17,150

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = September 20

| w/l = l

| away = y

| nonconf = y

| opponent = Indiana State

| site_stadium = Memorial Stadium

| site_cityst = Terre Haute, IN

| score = 0–14

| attend = 15,368

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = September 27

| w/l = w

| nonconf = y

| opponent = {{cfb link|year=1980|team=Northeast Missouri State Bulldogs|title=Northeast Missouri State}}

| site_stadium = O'Brien Stadium

| site_cityst = Charleston, IL

| score = 41–7

| attend = 5,700

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = October 4

| w/l = w

| nonconf = y

| opponent = Illinois State

| site_stadium = O'Brien Stadium

| site_cityst = Charleston, IL

| gamename = rivalry

| score = 31–14

| attend = 10,500

| source = {{cite news |last1=Tupper |first1=Mark |title=Slaughter, like Sims, knows the way to victory |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90802963/herald-and-review/ |access-date=December 18, 2021 |work=Herald and Review |date=October 5, 1980 |page=B1 |via=Newspapers.com}}

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = October 11

| w/l = w

| away = y

| nonconf = y

| rank = 8

| opponent = {{cfb link|year=1980|team=Central State Marauders|title=Central State (OH)}}

| site_stadium = McPherson Stadium

| site_cityst = Wilberforce, OH

| score = 40–15

| attend = 3,500

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = October 18

| w/l = w

| away = y

| rank = 6

| opponent = {{cfb link|year=1980|team=Western Illinois Leathernecks|title=Western Illinois}}

| site_stadium = Hanson Field

| site_cityst = Macomb, IL

| score = 37–7

| attend = 12,144

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = October 25

| w/l = w

| rank = 5

| opponent = {{cfb link|year=1980|team=Youngstown State Penguins|title=Youngstown State}}

| site_stadium = O'Brien Stadium

| site_cityst = Charleston, IL

| score = 32–7

| attend = 5,200

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = November 1

| w/l = w

| away = y

| rank = 2

| opponent = {{cfb link|year=1980|team=Northern Michigan Wildcats|title=Northern Michigan}}

| opprank = 1

| site_stadium = Superior Dome

| site_cityst = Marquette, MI

| score = 35–28

| attend = 3,719

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = November 8

| w/l = w

| rank = 1

| opponent = Northern Iowa

| opprank = T–9

| site_stadium = O'Brien Stadium

| site_cityst = Charleston, IL

| score = 14–9

| attend = 12,600

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = November 15

| w/l = w

| nonconf = y

| rank = 1

| opponent = {{cfb link|year=1980|team=Augustana University Vikings|title=Augustana (SD)}}

| site_stadium = O'Brien Stadium

| site_cityst = Charleston, IL

| score = 52–13

| attend = 3,200

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = November 29

| time = 12:30 p.m.

| w/l = w

| rank = 1

| opponent = {{cfb link|year=1980|team=Northern Colorado Bears|title=Northern Colorado}}

| opprank = 10

| site_stadium = O'Brien Stadium

| site_cityst = Charleston, IL

| gamename = NCAA Division II First Round

| score = 21–14

| source = {{cite news |author= |title=EIU playoff foe revealed |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86954895/journal-gazette/ |newspaper=Journal Gazette |location=Mattoon, Illinois |date=November 24, 1980 |page=8 |access-date=October 12, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com {{Open access}} }}

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = December 6

| w/l = w

| away = y

| rank = 1

| opponent = {{cfb link|year=1980|team=North Alabama Lions|title=North Alabama}}

| opprank = 5

| site_stadium = Braly Municipal Stadium

| site_cityst = Florence, AL

| gamename = NCAA Division II Semifinal

| score = 56–31

}}

|{{CFB schedule entry

| date = December 13

| w/l = l

| neutral = y

| rank = 1

| opponent = Cal Poly

| opprank = 3

| site_stadium = University Stadium

| site_cityst = Albuquerque, NM

| gamename = NCAA Division II Championship Game—Zia Bowl

| score = 13–21

| attend = 2,056

| source = {{cite news|title=Cal Poly SLO Wins Title|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times|location=Los Angeles, California|date=December 14, 1980|page=III-15|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9087505/cal_poly_slo_wins_title/|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=February 21, 2017}}{{Open access}}

}}

{{cite web |author= |title=Final 1980 Cumulative Football Statistics Report |url=https://stats.ncaa.org/team/201/stats/13636 |publisher=National Collegiate Athletic Association |access-date=June 4, 2022 }}{{cite web|url=https://static.eiupanthers.com/custompages/football/2019/EIU_Football_Online_Guide_2019.pdf|title=EIU Football Online Guide, 2019|publisher=Eastern Illinois athletics|accessdate=February 12, 2020}}