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1981 Alabama

9–⁠2–⁠1 (7–⁠0 Southeastern Conference), coached by Bear Bryant, finished No. 7 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Alabama in 1981, game by game: won at LSU 24–7; lost vs. Georgia Tech 21–24; won at Kentucky 19–10; won at Vanderbilt 28–7; won vs. Ole Miss 38–7; tied at Southern Miss 13–13; won vs. Tennessee 38–19; won vs. Rutgers 31–7; won vs. No. 7 Mississippi State 13–10; won at No. 5 Penn State 31–16; won vs. Auburn 28–17; lost vs. No. 6 Texas 12–14+31−3Won 24–7 at LSU+17LSULost 21–24 vs. Georgia Tech-3Georgia TechWon 19–10 at Kentucky+9KentuckyWon 28–7 at Vanderbilt+21VanderbiltWon 38–7 vs. Ole Miss+31Ole MissTied 13–13 at Southern Miss0Southern MissWon 38–19 vs. Tennessee+19TennesseeWon 31–7 vs. Rutgers+24RutgersWon 13–10 vs. No. 7 Mississippi State+3No. 7 Mississippi Sta…Won 31–16 at No. 5 Penn State+15No. 5 Penn StateWon 28–17 vs. Auburn+11AuburnLost 12–14 vs. No. 6 Texas-2No. 6 Texas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5atLSUW 24–⁠763%
Sep 12vsGeorgia TechL 21–⁠2490%
Sep 19atKentuckyW 19–⁠1071%
Sep 26atVanderbiltW 28–⁠784%
Oct 3vsOle MissW 38–⁠783%
Oct 10atSouthern MissT 13–⁠1356%
Oct 17vsTennesseeW 38–⁠1980%
Oct 24vsRutgersW 31–⁠781%
Oct 31vs7Mississippi StateW 13–⁠1074%
Nov 14at5Penn StateW 31–⁠1645%
Nov 28vsAuburnW 28–⁠1781%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs6TexasCotton BowlL 12–⁠1465%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Texas 14–⁠12 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 7 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 29th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 4
  2. Wk 2: 2
  3. Wk 3: 12
  4. Wk 4: 10
  5. Wk 5: 11
  6. Wk 6: 7
  7. Wk 7: 15
  8. Wk 8: 11
  9. Wk 9: 8
  10. Wk 10: 7
  11. Wk 11: 6
  12. Wk 12: 4
  13. Wk 13: 4
  14. Wk 14: 3
  15. Final: 7

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1981.

Southeastern Conference champions7–⁠0 in the conference, shared with Georgia

Consensus All-AmericanTommy Wilcox, DB

Record
9–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠0 shared first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 7 peak No. 2
Points
296–⁠151
Coach
Bear Bryant
Elo
1780 +75 this season
SP+ rating
20.2 No. 13 of 132; offense No. 26, defense No. 11
SRS
18.0 No. 12 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Mal Moore
Defensive coordinator
Ken Donahue
Captains
Warren Lyles and Alan Gray
Offense
Wishbone
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1982

The 1982 draft
Rd 3Benny Perrin DBSt. Louis Cardinals

All-SEC

9 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

  • Doug VickersOGAP-2
  • Steve MottCAP-2
  • Robbie JonesLBAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1981 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1981 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama7–⁠09–⁠2–⁠17
Georgia6–⁠010–⁠26
Mississippi State4–⁠28–⁠4
Tennessee3–⁠38–⁠4
Florida3–⁠37–⁠5
Auburn2–⁠45–⁠6
Kentucky2–⁠43–⁠8
LSU1–⁠4–⁠13–⁠7–⁠1
Ole Miss1–⁠5–⁠14–⁠6–⁠1
Vanderbilt1–⁠54–⁠7

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.