1980 UNLV Rebels football team

The 1980 UNLV Rebels football team was an American football team that represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas as an independent during the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fifth year under head coach Tony Knap, the team compiled a 7–4 record.

1980 UNLV Rebels football
Conference	Independent
Record	7–4
Head coach	Tony Knap (5th season)
Home stadium	Las Vegas Silver Bowl

1980 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Pittsburgh		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
Tennessee State		–		–				9	–	1	–	0
No. 5 Florida State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Penn State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 9 Notre Dame		–		–				9	–	2	–	1
No. 18 Miami (FL)		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Navy		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Boston College		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
UNLV		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Tulane		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Colgate		–		–				5	–	4	–	1
North Texas State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Villanova		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				6	–	6	–	0
Louisville		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Richmond		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Illinois State		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Temple		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Army		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
Holy Cross		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
William & Mary		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		–				1	–	9	–	1
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 13	Fresno State	Las Vegas Silver Bowl Whitney, NV	W 35–6	19,085
September 20	at Utah	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	L 29–45	23,645
September 27	at Colorado State	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO	W 56–15	25,972
October 4	Cal State Fullerton	Las Vegas Silver Bowl Whitney, NV	W 36–17	21,974
October 11	at San Diego State	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 28–17	28,212
October 18	UTEP	Las Vegas Silver Bowl Whitney, NV	W 53–14	20,552
October 25	at Oregon	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR	L 9–32	31,651
November 1	at New Mexico	University Stadium Albuquerque, NM	W 72–7	14,250
November 8	Wyoming	Las Vegas Silver Bowl Whitney, NV	W 33–26	20,277
November 15	Hawaii	Las Vegas Silver Bowl Whitney, NV	L 19–24	27,239
November 29	No. 12 BYU	Las Vegas Silver Bowl Whitney, NV	L 14–54	31,406
Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game