There were 15 college football bowl games played for the 1980 season.

Key detail

  • The 1980–81 NCAA Division I-A postseason featured 15 team-competitive bowl games (not counting separate all-star games like the Senior Bowl).
  • Historical overviews of bowl-game growth in college football also list the total at 15 for 1980, noting that the number had risen from 11 in 1970 to 15 by 1980.

TL;DR: For the 1980 season, the bowl lineup consisted of 15 games.

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