NCAA football standings at the end of October 24, 1980
| Atlantic Coast Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
|---|
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
|---|
|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
|---|
| #7 North Carolina | 6 | 0 | 0 | 149 | 36 | Won 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 20 | Dick Crum | 
| Clemson | 4 | 2 | 0 | 109 | 101 | Lost 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 58 | Danny Ford | 
| Maryland | 4 | 3 | 0 | 85 | 109 | Won 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 27 | Jerry Claiborne | 
| Duke | 1 | 5 | 0 | 117 | 158 | Won 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 51 | 37 | Red Wilson | 
| Wake Forest | 3 | 3 | 0 | 104 | 75 | Lost 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 45 | John Mackovic | 
| North Carolina State | 3 | 3 | 0 | 111 | 112 | Lost 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 68 | Monte Kiffin | 
| Virginia | 2 | 4 | 0 | 84 | 149 | Lost 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 57 | 71 | Dick Bestwick | 
| Big Ten Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
|---|
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
|---|
|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
|---|
| #10 Ohio State | 5 | 1 | 0 | 206 | 76 | Won 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 137 | 17 | Earle Bruce | 
| Michigan | 4 | 2 | 0 | 160 | 106 | Won 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 81 | 47 | Bo Schembechler | 
| Purdue | 4 | 2 | 0 | 130 | 90 | Won 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 33 | Jim Young | 
| Illinois | 3 | 3 | 1 | 143 | 185 | Lost 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 95 | 85 | Mike White | 
| Iowa | 2 | 4 | 0 | 65 | 102 | Won 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 55 | 30 | Hayden Fry | 
| Indiana | 4 | 2 | 0 | 164 | 101 | Lost 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 48 | 43 | Lee Corso | 
| Wisconsin | 2 | 4 | 0 | 61 | 118 | Won 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 43 | Dave McClain | 
| Minnesota | 2 | 4 | 0 | 115 | 164 | Lost 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 70 | 126 | Joe Salem | 
| Michigan State | 1 | 5 | 0 | 108 | 132 | Lost 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 47 | 64 | Frank Waters | 
| Northwestern | 0 | 7 | 0 | 71 | 276 | Lost 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 43 | 189 | Rick Venturi | 
| Big Eight Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
|---|
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
|---|
|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
|---|
| #9 Nebraska | 5 | 1 | 0 | 249 | 41 | Won 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 102 | 7 | Tom Osborne | 
| #16 Missouri | 5 | 1 | 0 | 226 | 73 | Won 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 14 | Warren Powers | 
| #17 Oklahoma | 3 | 2 | 0 | 173 | 121 | Won 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 117 | 63 | Barry Switzer | 
| Iowa State | 5 | 1 | 0 | 196 | 55 | Lost 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 35 | Donnie Duncan | 
| Kansas | 2 | 3 | 1 | 70 | 121 | Won 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 71 | Don Fambrough | 
| Kansas State | 2 | 4 | 0 | 83 | 100 | Lost 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 66 | Jim Dickey | 
| Oklahoma State | 0 | 5 | 0 | 71 | 155 | Lost 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 78 | Jimmy Johnson | 
| Colorado | 0 | 6 | 0 | 112 | 296 | Lost 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 127 | Chuck Fairbanks | 
| Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
|---|
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
|---|
|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
|---|
| San Jose State | 3 | 3 | 0 | 133 | 139 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jack Elway | 
| Fresno State | 3 | 4 | 0 | 131 | 169 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jim Sweeney | 
| Utah State | 2 | 4 | 0 | 134 | 169 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bruce Snyder | 
| Ivy League | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
|---|
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
|---|
|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
|---|
| Yale | 4 | 1 | 0 | 121 | 80 | Won 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 27 | Carmen Cozza | 
| Dartmouth | 2 | 3 | 0 | 97 | 77 | Won 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 19 | Joe Yukica | 
| Brown | 3 | 2 | 0 | 139 | 131 | Won 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 119 | 103 | John Anderson | 
| Harvard | 4 | 1 | 0 | 87 | 71 | Lost 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 58 | 48 | Joseph Restic | 
| Princeton | 2 | 3 | 0 | 76 | 118 | Won 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 64 | Frank Navarro | 
| Cornell | 1 | 4 | 0 | 77 | 141 | Lost 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 54 | 59 | Bob Blackman | 
| Pennsylvania | 1 | 4 | 0 | 59 | 133 | Lost 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 53 | 95 | Harry Gamble | 
| Columbia | 1 | 4 | 0 | 54 | 111 | Lost 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 48 | 111 | Robert Naso | 
| Missouri Valley Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
|---|
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
|---|
|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
|---|
| Wichita State | 4 | 2 | 0 | 120 | 152 | Lost 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 44 | Willie Jeffries | 
| Indiana State | 4 | 2 | 0 | 110 | 98 | Lost 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 62 | Dennis Raetz | 
| West Texas A&M | 4 | 3 | 0 | 149 | 163 | Lost 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 42 | Bill Yung | 
| New Mexico State | 3 | 3 | 0 | 100 | 113 | Won 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 34 | Gil Krueger | 
| Drake | 5 | 2 | 0 | 216 | 117 | Won 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 65 | 68 | Chuck Shelton | 
| Southern Illinois | 3 | 4 | 0 | 167 | 151 | Won 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 71 | 96 | Rey Dempsey | 
| Tulsa | 4 | 2 | 0 | 105 | 93 | Won 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 23 | John Cooper | 
| Mid-America Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
|---|
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
|---|
|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
|---|
| Western Michigan | 5 | 2 | 0 | 169 | 101 | Won 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 131 | 51 | Elliot Uzelac | 
| Bowling Green State | 3 | 4 | 0 | 132 | 105 | Won 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 74 | 41 | Denny Stolz | 
| Central Michigan | 5 | 2 | 0 | 96 | 92 | Lost 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 80 | 92 | Herb Deromedi | 
| Ohio University | 3 | 3 | 0 | 124 | 97 | Won 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 110 | 59 | Brian Burke | 
| Ball State | 3 | 3 | 0 | 104 | 111 | Won 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 97 | 87 | Dwight Wallace | 
| Northern Illinois | 4 | 3 | 0 | 120 | 128 | Won 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 66 | 74 | Bill Mallory | 
| Miami (Ohio) | 2 | 4 | 0 | 124 | 108 | Lost 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 63 | 41 | Tom Reed | 
| Kent State | 1 | 5 | 0 | 55 | 135 | Lost 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 45 | 87 | Ron Blackledge | 
| Toledo | 1 | 5 | 0 | 96 | 102 | Lost 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 79 | 82 | Chuck Stobart | 
| Eastern Michigan | 1 | 5 | 0 | 41 | 183 | Lost 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 31 | 162 | Mike Stock | 
| Pac Ten Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
|---|
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
|---|
|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
|---|
| #8 Southern California | 5 | 0 | 1 | 124 | 75 | Tied 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 57 | 38 | John Robinson | 
| #3 UCLA | 5 | 0 | 0 | 166 | 49 | Won 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 21 | Terry Donahue | 
| #18 Washington | 5 | 1 | 0 | 197 | 96 | Won 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 78 | 64 | Don James | 
| Arizona State | 3 | 2 | 0 | 140 | 109 | Won 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 90 | 58 | Darryl Rogers | 
| California | 2 | 4 | 0 | 127 | 148 | Won 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 82 | 43 | Roger Theder | 
| Washington State | 2 | 4 | 0 | 161 | 149 | Won 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 59 | 41 | Jim Walden | 
| Stanford | 4 | 3 | 0 | 178 | 166 | Lost 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 80 | 87 | Paul Wiggin | 
| Oregon | 2 | 2 | 2 | 114 | 97 | Tied 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 72 | 83 | Rich Brooks | 
| Arizona | 2 | 3 | 0 | 73 | 107 | Lost 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 55 | 89 | Larry Smith | 
| Oregon State | 0 | 5 | 0 | 36 | 175 | Lost 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 110 | Joe Avezzano | 
| Southeastern Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
|---|
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
|---|
|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
|---|
| #1 Alabama | 6 | 0 | 0 | 215 | 51 | Won 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 172 | 35 | Paul "Bear" Bryant | 
| #5 Georgia | 6 | 0 | 0 | 181 | 55 | Won 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 36 | Vince Dooley | 
| Louisiana State | 5 | 2 | 0 | 113 | 87 | Won 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 34 | Jerry Stovall | 
| Florida | 4 | 1 | 0 | 129 | 67 | Won 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 42 | Charley Pell | 
| Mississippi State | 5 | 2 | 0 | 180 | 147 | Won 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 35 | Emory Bellard | 
| Tennessee | 3 | 3 | 0 | 132 | 96 | Lost 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 57 | 43 | Johnny Majors | 
| Auburn | 4 | 2 | 0 | 134 | 128 | Won 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 63 | Doug Barfield | 
| Kentucky | 2 | 4 | 0 | 85 | 157 | Lost 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 62 | Fran Curci | 
| Mississippi | 1 | 6 | 0 | 186 | 186 | Lost 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 59 | 102 | Steve Sloan | 
| Vanderbilt | 0 | 5 | 0 | 41 | 180 | Lost 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 106 | George MacIntyre | 
| Southern Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
|---|
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
|---|
|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
|---|
| Furman | 5 | 1 | 0 | 165 | 121 | Won 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dick Sheridan | 
| Appalachian State | 5 | 2 | 0 | 194 | 97 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Mike Working | 
| Citadel | 5 | 2 | 0 | 163 | 89 | Won 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Art Baker | 
| Tennessee-Chattanooga | 5 | 2 | 0 | 179 | 118 | Won 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bill "Brother" Oliver | 
| Virginia Military | 3 | 4 | 0 | 92 | 150 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bob Thalman | 
| Marshall | 2 | 4 | 0 | 75 | 110 | Lost 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Sonny Randle | 
| Western Carolina | 2 | 5 | 0 | 109 | 147 | Lost 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bob Waters | 
| Southwestern Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
|---|
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
|---|
|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
|---|
| #11 Baylor | 6 | 0 | 0 | 198 | 72 | Won 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 113 | 50 | Grant Teaff | 
| #2 Texas | 5 | 0 | 0 | 154 | 75 | Won 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 45 | Fred Akers | 
| Houston | 3 | 3 | 0 | 86 | 102 | Won 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 42 | Bill Yeoman | 
| #15 Arkansas | 4 | 1 | 0 | 134 | 67 | Won 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 61 | 30 | Lou Holtz | 
| Southern Methodist | 4 | 2 | 0 | 167 | 105 | Lost 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 56 | 59 | Ron Meyer | 
| Texas Tech | 3 | 3 | 0 | 100 | 88 | Won 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 55 | Rex Dockery | 
| Rice | 2 | 4 | 0 | 93 | 136 | Lost 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 59 | 75 | Ray Alborn | 
| Texas A&M | 2 | 4 | 0 | 87 | 171 | Lost 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 55 | 84 | Tom Wilson | 
| Texas Christian | 0 | 6 | 0 | 72 | 156 | Lost 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 45 | 89 | F.A. Dry | 
| Western Athletic Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
|---|
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
|---|
|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
|---|
| Colorado State | 4 | 3 | 0 | 132 | 232 | Won 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 42 | Sark Arslanian | 
| #19 Brigham Young | 5 | 1 | 0 | 247 | 127 | Won 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 108 | 53 | Lavell Edwards | 
| Wyoming | 4 | 2 | 0 | 172 | 141 | Won 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 107 | 117 | Pat Dye | 
| New Mexico | 3 | 4 | 0 | 174 | 198 | Lost 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 89 | 104 | Joe Morrison | 
| Utah | 4 | 3 | 0 | 163 | 174 | Lost 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 52 | 31 | Wayne Howard | 
| Texas-El Paso | 1 | 6 | 0 | 94 | 202 | Lost 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 45 | Bill Michael | 
| Hawaii | 4 | 2 | 0 | 147 | 120 | Won 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 65 | 93 | Dick Tomey | 
| San Diego State | 1 | 5 | 0 | 67 | 165 | Lost 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 71 | Claude Gilbert | 
| Air Force | 1 | 5 | 1 | 90 | 169 | Lost 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 34 | Ken Hatfield | 
| Southland Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
|---|
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
|---|
|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
|---|
| McNeese State | 5 | 1 | 0 | 143 | 82 | Won 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ernie Duplechin | 
| Louisiana-Monroe | 4 | 2 | 0 | 160 | 122 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | John David Crow | 
| Louisiana Tech | 4 | 2 | 0 | 114 | 108 | Won 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Billy Brewer | 
| Louisiana-Lafayette | 3 | 3 | 0 | 78 | 95 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Sam Robertson | 
| Arkansas State | 1 | 5 | 0 | 51 | 137 | Lost 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Larry Lacewell | 
| Major Independents | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
|---|
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
|---|
|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
|---|
| #20 Southern Mississippi | 6 | 0 | 0 | 195 | 68 | Won 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bobby Collins | 
| #4 Notre Dame | 5 | 0 | 0 | 148 | 75 | Won 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dan Devine | 
| #14 South Carolina | 6 | 1 | 0 | 239 | 61 | Won 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jim Carlen | 
| #6 Florida State | 6 | 1 | 0 | 235 | 60 | Won 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bobby Bowden | 
| Virginia Tech | 6 | 1 | 0 | 170 | 43 | Won 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bill Dooley | 
| UNLV | 5 | 1 | 0 | 237 | 114 | Won 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Tony Knap | 
| #12 Pittsburgh | 5 | 1 | 0 | 170 | 70 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jackie Sherrill | 
| #13 Penn State | 5 | 1 | 0 | 163 | 78 | Won 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Joe Paterno | 
| Rutgers | 4 | 2 | 0 | 164 | 64 | Lost 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Frank Burns | 
| Navy | 4 | 2 | 0 | 144 | 51 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | George Welsh | 
| Miami (Florida) | 4 | 2 | 0 | 142 | 92 | Lost 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Howard Schnellenberger | 
| Tulane | 4 | 3 | 0 | 181 | 133 | Won 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Vince Gibson | 
| West Virginia | 4 | 3 | 0 | 207 | 172 | Lost 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Don Nehlen | 
| North Texas | 4 | 3 | 0 | 170 | 139 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jerry Moore | 
| Syracuse | 3 | 3 | 0 | 145 | 130 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Frank Maloney | 
| Louisville | 3 | 3 | 0 | 101 | 129 | Won 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bob Weber | 
| East Carolina | 3 | 3 | 0 | 118 | 171 | Won 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ed Emory | 
| Colgate | 2 | 3 | 1 | 134 | 136 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Frederick Dunlap | 
| Army | 2 | 3 | 1 | 109 | 126 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ed Cavanaugh | 
| Villanova | 2 | 4 | 0 | 80 | 91 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Richard Bedsem | 
| Holy Cross | 2 | 4 | 0 | 82 | 118 | Lost 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Neil Wheelwright | 
| Boston College | 2 | 4 | 0 | 79 | 118 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ed Chlebek | 
| Temple | 2 | 4 | 0 | 88 | 129 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Wayne Hardin | 
| Richmond | 2 | 5 | 0 | 138 | 191 | Lost 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dal Shealy | 
| Illinois State | 2 | 5 | 0 | 108 | 176 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Charlie Cowdrey | 
| William & Mary | 2 | 5 | 0 | 64 | 166 | Won 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jimmye Laycock | 
| Georgia Tech | 1 | 5 | 0 | 56 | 152 | Lost 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bill Curry | 
| Memphis | 1 | 5 | 0 | 70 | 182 | Lost 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Richard Williamson | 
| Cincinnati | 0 | 6 | 0 | 68 | 181 | Lost 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ralph Staub |