1980 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

The 1980 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented 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.

1980 Eastern Illinois Panthers football
Mid-Con champion
NCAA Division II Championship, L 13–21 vs. Cal Poly
Conference	Association of Mid-Continent Universities
Record	11–3 (4–0 Mid-Con)
Head coach	Darrell Mudra (3rd season)
Home stadium	O'Brien Stadium
Seasons ← 1979 1981 →

1980 Association of Mid-Continent Universities football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Eastern Illinois $^	4	–	0	–	0	11	–	3	–	0
Northern Michigan ^	3	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Northern Iowa	2	–	2	–	0	7	–	4	–	0
Youngstown State	1	–	3	–	0	2	–	8	–	1
Western Illinois	0	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6		South Dakota*		O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 34–21	6,500
September 13		at Southern Illinois*		McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	L 35–37	17,150
September 20		at Indiana State*		Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	L 0–14	15,368
September 27		Northeast Missouri State*		O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 41–7	5,700
October 4		Illinois State*		O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL (rivalry)	W 31–14	10,500	^[1]
October 11		at Central State (OH)*	No. 8	McPherson Stadium Wilberforce, OH	W 40–15	3,500
October 18		at Western Illinois	No. 6	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	W 37–7	12,144
October 25		Youngstown State	No. 5	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 32–7	5,200
November 1		at No. 1 Northern Michigan	No. 2	Superior Dome Marquette, MI	W 35–28	3,719
November 8		No. T–9 Northern Iowa	No. 1	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 14–9	12,600
November 15		Augustana (SD)*	No. 1	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 52–13	3,200
November 29	12:30 p.m.	No. 10 Northern Colorado	No. 1	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL (NCAA Division II First Round)	W 21–14		^[2]
December 6		at No. 5 North Alabama	No. 1	Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL (NCAA Division II Semifinal)	W 56–31
December 13		vs. No. 3 Cal Poly	No. 1	University Stadium Albuquerque, NM (NCAA Division II Championship Game—Zia Bowl)	L 13–21	2,056	^[3]
*Non-conference game Rankings from Associated Press Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^ Tupper, Mark (October 5, 1980). "Slaughter, like Sims, knows the way to victory". Herald and Review. p. B1. Retrieved December 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "EIU playoff foe revealed". Journal Gazette. Mattoon, Illinois. November 24, 1980. p. 8. Retrieved October 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Cal Poly SLO Wins Title". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. December 14, 1980. p. III-15. Retrieved February 21, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Final 1980 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
^ "EIU Football Online Guide, 2019" (PDF). Eastern Illinois athletics. Retrieved February 12, 2020.