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1981 BYU

11–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Western Athletic Conference), coached by LaVell Edwards, finished No. 13 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

BYU in 1981, game by game: won at Long Beach State 31–8; won vs. Air Force 45–21; won at UTEP 65–8; won at Colorado 41–20; won vs. Utah State 32–26; lost vs. UNLV 41–45; won at San Diego State 27–7; lost at Wyoming 20–33; won vs. New Mexico 31–7; won at Colorado State 63–14; won at No. 19 Hawai’i 13–3; won vs. Utah 56–28; won vs. No. 20 Washington State 38–36+57−13Won 31–8 at Long Beach State+23Long Beach StateWon 45–21 vs. Air Force+24Air ForceWon 65–8 at UTEP+57UTEPWon 41–20 at Colorado+21ColoradoWon 32–26 vs. Utah State+6Utah StateLost 41–45 vs. UNLV-4UNLVWon 27–7 at San Diego State+20San Diego StateLost 20–33 at Wyoming-13WyomingWon 31–7 vs. New Mexico+24New MexicoWon 63–14 at Colorado State+49Colorado StateWon 13–3 at No. 19 Hawai’i+10No. 19 Hawai’iWon 56–28 vs. Utah+28UtahWon 38–36 vs. No. 20 Washington State+2No. 20 Washington State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5atLong Beach StateW 31–⁠867%
Sep 12vsAir ForceW 45–⁠2191%
Sep 19atUTEPW 65–⁠891%
Sep 26atColoradoW 41–⁠2084%
Oct 2vsUtah StateW 32–⁠2684%
Oct 10vsUNLVL 41–⁠4583%
Oct 17atSan Diego StateW 27–⁠767%
Oct 24atWyomingL 20–⁠3371%
Oct 31vsNew MexicoW 31–⁠787%
Nov 7atColorado StateW 63–⁠1487%
Nov 14at19Hawai’iW 13–⁠354%
Nov 21vsUtahW 56–⁠2874%
Dec 18Bowls & playoffvs20Washington StateHoliday BowlW 38–⁠3674%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Washington State 38–⁠36 in the Holiday Bowl; No. 13 in the final AP poll; Western Athletic Conference champions.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 102 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 16
  2. Wk 2: 15
  3. Wk 3: 13
  4. Wk 4: 11
  5. Wk 5: 10
  6. Wk 6: 8
  7. Wk 7: 17
  8. Wk 8: 13
  9. Wk 12: 18
  10. Wk 13: 14
  11. Wk 14: 14
  12. Final: 13

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.

Western Athletic Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Heisman voteJim McMahon, third

Led the nationJim McMahon: passer rating (155.0), total offense per game (345.8)

Davey O’Brien AwardJim McMahon, QB

Consensus All-AmericanJim McMahon, QB

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 first in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
No. 13 peak No. 8
Points
503–⁠256
Coach
LaVell Edwards
Elo
1748 +53 this season
SP+ rating
17.8 No. 19 of 132; offense No. 3, defense No. 95
SRS
14.5 No. 21 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Roger French
Defensive coordinator
Fred Whittingham
Offense
West Coast
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1982

The 1982 draft
Rd 1Jim McMahon QBChicago Bears
Rd 4Dan Plater WRDenver Broncos

1981 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
BYU7–⁠111–⁠213
Hawai’i5–⁠19–⁠2
Wyoming6–⁠28–⁠3
Utah4–⁠1–⁠18–⁠2–⁠1
New Mexico3–⁠4–⁠14–⁠7–⁠1
Air Force2–⁠34–⁠7
San Diego State3–⁠56–⁠5
UTEP1–⁠61–⁠10
Colorado State0–⁠80–⁠12

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