CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1981 Arkansas

8–⁠4 (5–⁠3 Southwest Conference), coached by Lou Holtz.

Schedule and results

Arkansas in 1981, game by game: won vs. Tulsa 14–10; won vs. Northwestern 38–7; won at Ole Miss 27–13; lost at TCU 24–28; won at Texas Tech 26–14; won vs. No. 1 Texas 42–11; lost vs. Houston 17–20; won at Rice 41–7; won vs. Baylor 41–39; won at Texas A&M 10–7; lost vs. No. 6 SMU 18–32; lost vs. No. 11 North Carolina 27–31+34−14Won 14–10 vs. Tulsa+4TulsaWon 38–7 vs. Northwestern+31NorthwesternWon 27–13 at Ole Miss+14Ole MissLost 24–28 at TCU-4TCUWon 26–14 at Texas Tech+12Texas TechWon 42–11 vs. No. 1 Texas+31No. 1 TexasLost 17–20 vs. Houston-3HoustonWon 41–7 at Rice+34RiceWon 41–39 vs. Baylor+2BaylorWon 10–7 at Texas A&M+3Texas A&MLost 18–32 vs. No. 6 SMU-14No. 6 SMULost 27–31 vs. No. 11 North Carolina-4No. 11 North Carolina
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12vsTulsaW 14–⁠1067%
Sep 19vsNorthwesternW 38–⁠789%
Sep 26atOle MissW 27–⁠1353%
Oct 3atTCUL 24–⁠2873%
Oct 10atTexas TechW 26–⁠1464%
Oct 17vs1TexasW 42–⁠1154%
Oct 24vsHoustonL 17–⁠2065%
Oct 31atRiceW 41–⁠768%
Nov 7vsBaylorW 41–⁠3963%
Nov 14atTexas A&MW 10–⁠759%
Nov 21vs6SMUL 18–⁠3251%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvs11North CarolinaGator BowlL 27–⁠3141%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to North Carolina 31–⁠27 in the Gator Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 4th in the Southwest Conference.

In program history: The 26th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 19
  2. Wk 8: 12
  3. Wk 9: 20
  4. Wk 10: 19
  5. Wk 11: 16
  6. Wk 12: 16

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.

Consensus All-AmericanBilly Ray Smith Jr., DE

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 4th in Southwest Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 12
Points
325–⁠219
Coach
Lou Holtz
Elo
1631 +46 this season
SP+ rating
14.5 No. 23 of 132; offense No. 18, defense No. 50
SRS
14.9 No. 19 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Larry Beightol
Defensive coordinator
Don Lindsey
Captains
Darryl Mason and Teddy Morris

1981 Southwest Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
SMU7–⁠110–⁠15
Texas6–⁠1–⁠110–⁠1–⁠12
Houston5–⁠2–⁠17–⁠4–⁠1
Arkansas5–⁠38–⁠4
Texas A&M4–⁠47–⁠5
Baylor3–⁠55–⁠6
Rice3–⁠54–⁠7
TCU1–⁠6–⁠12–⁠7–⁠2
Texas Tech0–⁠7–⁠11–⁠9–⁠1

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