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1981 Fresno State

5–⁠6 (2–⁠3 Pacific Coast Athletic Association), coached by Jim Sweeney.

Schedule and results

Fresno State in 1981, game by game: won vs. Oregon 23–16; lost at Oregon State 28–31; lost at Montana State 26–30; lost vs. San José State 33–65; lost at Cal State Fullerton 10–13; lost vs. Southern Illinois 18–24; won at Pacific 30–27; lost at Utah State 0–20; won vs. UNLV 42–26; won at Long Beach State 31–30; won at Arizona 23–17+16−32Won 23–16 vs. Oregon+7OregonLost 28–31 at Oregon State-3Oregon StateLost 26–30 at Montana State-4Montana StateLost 33–65 vs. San José State-32San José StateLost 10–13 at Cal State Fullerton-3Cal State Fulle…Lost 18–24 vs. Southern Illinois-6Southern Illino…Won 30–27 at Pacific+3PacificLost 0–20 at Utah State-20Utah StateWon 42–26 vs. UNLV+16UNLVWon 31–30 at Long Beach State+1Long Beach StateWon 23–17 at Arizona+6Arizona
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsOregonW 23–⁠1639%
Sep 12atOregon StateL 28–⁠3160%
Sep 19atMontana StateL 26–⁠3065%
Oct 3vsSan José StateL 33–⁠6538%
Oct 10atCal State FullertonL 10–⁠1349%
Oct 17vsSouthern IllinoisL 18–⁠2450%
Oct 24atPacificW 30–⁠2736%
Oct 31atUtah StateL 0–⁠2026%
Nov 7vsUNLVW 42–⁠2639%
Nov 14atLong Beach StateW 31–⁠3038%
Nov 21atArizonaW 23–⁠1727%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Arizona 23–⁠17; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Pacific Coast Athletic Association.

In program history: The 42nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 97 on file).

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.

Record
5–⁠6
Conference
2–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Pacific Coast Athletic Association
AP final
Unranked
Points
264–⁠299
Coach
Jim Sweeney
Elo
1425 +8 this season
SP+ rating
-11.5 No. 111 of 132; offense No. 59, defense No. 123
SRS
−6.7 No. 102 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—

1981 Pacific Coast Athletic Association standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
San José State5–⁠09–⁠3
Utah State4–⁠15–⁠5–⁠1
Pacific2–⁠35–⁠6
Fresno State2–⁠35–⁠6
Cal State Fullerton1–⁠43–⁠8
Long Beach State1–⁠42–⁠8

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