CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1981 Georgia

10–⁠2 (6–⁠0 Southeastern Conference), coached by Vince Dooley, finished No. 6 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Georgia in 1981, game by game: won vs. Tennessee 44–0; won vs. California 27–13; lost at Clemson 3–13; won vs. South Carolina 24–0; won at Ole Miss 37–7; won at Vanderbilt 53–21; won vs. Kentucky 21–0; won vs. Temple 49–3; won vs. Florida 26–21; won vs. Auburn 24–13; won at Georgia Tech 44–7; lost vs. No. 10 Pittsburgh 20–24+46−10Won 44–0 vs. Tennessee+44TennesseeWon 27–13 vs. California+14CaliforniaLost 3–13 at Clemson-10ClemsonWon 24–0 vs. South Carolina+24South CarolinaWon 37–7 at Ole Miss+30Ole MissWon 53–21 at Vanderbilt+32VanderbiltWon 21–0 vs. Kentucky+21KentuckyWon 49–3 vs. Temple+46TempleWon 26–21 vs. Florida+5FloridaWon 24–13 vs. Auburn+11AuburnWon 44–7 at Georgia Tech+37Georgia TechLost 20–24 vs. No. 10 Pittsburgh-4No. 10 Pittsburgh
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsTennesseeW 44–⁠073%
Sep 12vsCaliforniaW 27–⁠1383%
Sep 19atClemsonL 3–⁠1357%
Sep 26vsSouth CarolinaW 24–⁠068%
Oct 10atOle MissW 37–⁠767%
Oct 17atVanderbiltW 53–⁠2184%
Oct 24vsKentuckyW 21–⁠088%
Oct 31vsTempleW 49–⁠376%
Nov 7vsFloridaW 26–⁠2166%
Nov 14vsAuburnW 24–⁠1380%
Dec 5atGeorgia TechW 44–⁠790%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs10PittsburghSugar BowlL 20–⁠2447%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Pittsburgh 24–⁠20 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 6 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 22nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 champions6–⁠0 in the conference, shared with Alabama

Heisman voteHerschel Walker, second

Consensus All-AmericanHerschel Walker, RB

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠0 shared first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 6 peak No. 2
Points
372–⁠122
Coach
Vince Dooley
Elo
1730 +86 this season
SP+ rating
27.1 No. 5 of 132; offense No. 6, defense No. 8
SRS
26.2 No. 2 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
George Haffner
Defensive coordinator
Bill Lewis

Drafted in 1982

The 1982 draft
Rd 1Lindsay Scott WRNew Orleans Saints

All-SEC

6 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

  • Jimmy HarperOGAP-2
  • Joe HappeCAP-2
  • Ronnie StewartRBAP-2
  • Tommy ThursonLBAP-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.