1981 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

1981 Arkansas Razorbacks football
Gator Bowl vs. North Carolina, L, 27–31
Conference Southwest Conference
Ranking
Coaches #16
1981 record 8–4–0 (5–3–0 SWC)
Head coach Lou Holtz
Offensive coordinator Larry Beightol
Defensive coordinator Don Lindsey
Home stadium Razorback Stadium
War Memorial Stadium
1981 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#5 SMU $ 7 1 0     10 1 0
#2 Texas 6 1 1     10 1 1
Houston 5 2 1     7 4 1
Arkansas 5 3 0     8 4 0
Texas A&M 4 4 0     7 5 0
Rice 3 5 0     4 7 0
Baylor 3 5 0     5 6 0
TCU 1 6 1     2 7 2
Texas Tech 0 7 1     1 9 1
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 Arkansas Razorbacks football team represented the University of Arkansas during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The biggest win of the year was against a #1 Texas team, which the Razorbacks were rivals with already. Although unranked, the Razorbacks came out on top by 31 points, removing Texas' #1 ranking. The Hogs received a Gator Bowl berth against a 10–2–0 North Carolina team ranked 11th, while the Hogs were unranked at the time.[1] The SWC's champion, SMU, could not participate in a bowl game due to probation.[2]

Defensive lineman Billy Ray Smith was a consensus All-American for Arkansas.[3] Bruce Lahay, a kicker, also received first-team honors. Lahay was in a three-way tie for field goals per game in 1981, hitting on 1.73 per game. This mark was also held by Kevin Butler of Georgia and Larry Roach of Oklahoma State.

Schedule

Date Opponent# Rank# Site Result Attendance
September 12, 1981 Tulsa* Razorback StadiumFayetteville, AR W 14–10   42,118
September 19, 1981 Northwestern* War Memorial StadiumLittle Rock, AR W 38–7   54,532
September 26, 1981 at Mississippi* Memorial StadiumJackson, MS (Rivalry) W 27–13   63,522
October 3, 1981 at TCU Amon G. Carter StadiumFort Worth, TX L 24–28   30,313
October 10, 1981 at Texas Tech Jones StadiumLubbock, TX W 26–14   41,866
October 17, 1981 #1 Texas Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, AR W 42–11   44,031
October 24, 1981 Houston #12 War Memorial Stadium • Little Rock, AR L 17–20   54,618
October 31, 1981 at Rice #20 Rice StadiumHouston, TX W 41–7   12,000
November 7, 1981 Baylor #19 War Memorial Stadium • Little Rock, AR W 41–39   54,560
November 14, 1981 at Texas A&M #16 Kyle FieldCollege Station, TX (Rivalry) W 10–7   60,003
November 21, 1981 SMU #16 Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, AR L 12–32   43,842
December 28, 1981 vs. #11 North Carolina* Gator Bowl StadiumJacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl) L 27–31   71,009
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll.

Game notes

Texas

1 234Total
Texas 0 308 11
Arkansas 15 10143 42

[4]

References

  1. "1981 Bowl Recap with Top 20 Teams." Gator Bowl. Information Please. Retrieved on August 14, 2007.
  2. "1981 Conference Champions." Information Please Database. Information Please. Retrieved on December 9, 2007.
  3. "1981 Consensus All-Americans." Information Please Database. Information Please. Retrieved on August 14, 2007.
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