CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1981 Kansas State

2–⁠9 (1–⁠6 Big Eight), coached by Jim Dickey.

Schedule and results

Kansas State in 1981, game by game: won vs. South Dakota 31–10; lost at No. 15 Washington 3–20; lost vs. Drake 17–18; lost at Tulsa 21–35; lost at No. 13 Missouri 13–58; lost vs. No. 19 Nebraska 3–49; lost at Kansas 14–17; won vs. No. 11 Iowa State 10–7; lost vs. No. 17 Oklahoma 21–28; lost at Oklahoma State 10–31; lost at Colorado 21–24+21−46Won 31–10 vs. South Dakota+21South DakotaLost 3–20 at No. 15 Washington-17No. 15 WashingtonLost 17–18 vs. Drake-1DrakeLost 21–35 at Tulsa-14TulsaLost 13–58 at No. 13 Missouri-45No. 13 MissouriLost 3–49 vs. No. 19 Nebraska-46No. 19 NebraskaLost 14–17 at Kansas-3KansasWon 10–7 vs. No. 11 Iowa State+3No. 11 Iowa StateLost 21–28 vs. No. 17 Oklahoma-7No. 17 OklahomaLost 10–31 at Oklahoma State-21Oklahoma StateLost 21–24 at Colorado-3Colorado
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12vsSouth DakotaW 31–⁠1087%
Sep 19at15WashingtonL 3–⁠2019%
Sep 26vsDrakeL 17–⁠1842%
Oct 3atTulsaL 21–⁠3532%
Oct 10at13MissouriL 13–⁠5813%
Oct 17vs19NebraskaL 3–⁠4920%
Oct 24atKansasL 14–⁠1727%
Oct 31vs11Iowa StateW 10–⁠731%
Nov 7vs17OklahomaL 21–⁠2821%
Nov 14atOklahoma StateL 10–⁠3123%
Nov 21atColoradoL 21–⁠2446%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Colorado 24–⁠21; unranked in the final AP poll; 8th in the Big Eight.

In program history: The 94th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

Record
2–⁠9
Conference
1–⁠6 8th in Big Eight
AP final
Unranked
Points
164–⁠297
Coach
Jim Dickey
Elo
1344 −67 this season
SP+ rating
-7.7 No. 99 of 132; offense No. 86, defense No. 98
SRS
−4.7 No. 90 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Jerry Boyce
Defensive coordinator
Gary Darnell

Drafted in 1982

The 1982 draft
Rd 3Eugene Goodlow WRNew Orleans Saints

All-Big Eight

1 first team, 1 second team

First team

  • Reggie SingletaryDEAP-1; UPI-1

Second team

  • Gary MorrillDBAP-2; UPI-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 Big Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Nebraska7–⁠09–⁠311
Oklahoma4–⁠2–⁠17–⁠4–⁠120
Kansas4–⁠38–⁠4
Oklahoma State4–⁠37–⁠5
Missouri3–⁠48–⁠419
Iowa State2–⁠4–⁠15–⁠5–⁠1
Colorado2–⁠53–⁠8
Kansas State1–⁠62–⁠9

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