1981: Week 1
37 games. One ranked team lost, to an unranked team. Winners are listed first; numbers before names are AP ranks going in.
The week in review
Upsets
A ranked team beaten as the betting favorite, or, where no line is on file, by an unranked or lower-ranked team.
FBS vs. FBS
| Sep 5, 1981 | 4Alabama 24, LSU 7 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | Auburn 24, TCU 16 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | 16BYU 31, Long Beach State 8 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | East Carolina 42, Western Carolina 6 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | 19Florida State 17, Louisville 0 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | Fresno State 23, Oregon 16 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | 10Georgia 44, Tennessee 0 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | Houston 21, New Mexico 10 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | Kansas 15, Tulsa 11upset | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | Kentucky 28, North Texas 6 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | Lamar 18, Baylor 17upset | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | UL Monroe 38, Indiana State 8 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | McNeese 27, Southern Illinois 12 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | Miami 21, 17Florida 20upset | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | Ole Miss 19, Tulane 18 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | 14Mississippi State 20, Memphis 3 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | UNLV 16, San José State 6 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | New Mexico State 14, UTEP 7 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | NC State 27, Richmond 21 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | Pacific 10, Central Michigan 3upset | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | 8Pittsburgh 26, Illinois 6 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | Rutgers 29, Syracuse 27 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | South Carolina 23, Wake Forest 6 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | SMU 48, Texas–Arlington 0 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | Southern Miss 33, Louisiana 7 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | Temple 42, William & Mary 0 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | Texas A&M 29, California 28 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | Utah 10, Utah State 0 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | West Texas 17, Louisiana Tech 10 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | Wyoming 38, Cal State Fullerton 13 | Box score |
Everyone else
| Sep 5, 1981 | App State 48, Lenoir Rhyne 9 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | Clemson 45, Wofford 10 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | Drake 39, Northern Iowa 30 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | East Tennessee State 31, Tennessee Tech 22 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | Illinois State 31, Western Illinois 7 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | Wichita State 38, Missouri Southern 6 | Box score |
| Sep 5, 1981 | Youngstown State 19, Cincinnati 13upset | Box score |