1980 Kansas Jayhawks football team

The 1980 Kansas Jayhawks football team represented the University of Kansas in the Big Eight Conference during the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their sixth season under head coach Don Fambrough, the Jayhawks compiled a 4–5–2 record (3–3–1 against conference opponents), and were outscored by opponents by a combined total of 208 to 171. They played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.

1980 Kansas Jayhawks football
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Record	4–5–2 (3–3–1 Big 8)
Head coach	Don Fambrough (6th season)
Captain	Harry Sydney, Frank Wattlelet
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium

1980 Big Eight Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Oklahoma $	7	–	0	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 7 Nebraska	6	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Missouri	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Iowa State	3	–	4	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Oklahoma State	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Kansas State	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Kansas	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	1
Colorado	1	–	6	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The team's statistical leaders included Frank Seurer with 797 passing yards, Kerwin Bell with 1,114 rushing yards, and David Verser with 576 receiving yards. Harry Sydney and Frank Wattlelet were the team captains.

In October 1982, an NCAA investigation revealed that running back Kerwin Bell was not an eligible player for the 1980 and 1981 seasons due to not surpassing the 2.0 minimum high school GPA. The Big Eight Conference ruled that all Kansas games in which Bell played were to be forfeited, bringing their conference record to 1–6 on the year. However, Kansas still records these games as victories in their record book, including their 20–18 victory over rival Kansas State. The two schools dispute the overall series record because of this.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 13	at Oregon*	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR	T 7–7	27,750
September 20	No. 5 Pittsburgh*	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	L 3–18	41,300
September 27	Louisville*	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	L 9–17	32,800
October 4	at Syracuse*	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	W 23–8	43,126
October 11	No. 10 Nebraska	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS (rivalry)	L 0–54	50,268
October 18	No. 19 Iowa State	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	W 28–17	30,000
October 25	at Oklahoma State	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	T 14–14	41,000
November 1	at Kansas State	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS (Sunflower Showdown)	W 20–18	43,276
November 8	No. 11 Oklahoma	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	L 19–21	40,150
November 15	at Colorado	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	W 42–3	24,187
November 22	at Missouri	Faurot Field Columbia, MO (Border War)	L 6–31	64,356
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1980 Kansas Jayhawks football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 20 Wayne Capers So RB 44 Larry Kemp Sr WR 3 Lester Mickens Sr QB 10 Frank Seurer Fr RB 24 Harry Sydney Sr WR 89 David Verser Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 95 Jeff Fox Sr LB 81 Kyle McNorton Jr CB 32 Elvis Patterson Fr DT 77 Greg Smith Jr CB 41 Joe Tumpich Sr DB 5 Dan Wagoner Jr S 40 Frank Wattelet Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 8 Bucky Scribner So	Head coach Don Fambrough (6th year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt