CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1981 Kansas

8–⁠4 (4–⁠3 Big Eight), coached by Don Fambrough.

Schedule and results

Kansas in 1981, game by game: won at Tulsa 15–11; won vs. Oregon 19–10; won vs. Kentucky 21–16; won vs. Arkansas State 17–16; lost vs. Oklahoma State 7–20; lost at Oklahoma 7–45; won vs. Kansas State 17–14; lost at No. 12 Nebraska 15–31; won at Iowa State 24–11; won vs. Colorado 27–0; won vs. Missouri 19–11; lost vs. Mississippi State 0–10+27−38Won 15–11 at Tulsa+4TulsaWon 19–10 vs. Oregon+9OregonWon 21–16 vs. Kentucky+5KentuckyWon 17–16 vs. Arkansas State+1Arkansas StateLost 7–20 vs. Oklahoma State-13Oklahoma StateLost 7–45 at Oklahoma-38OklahomaWon 17–14 vs. Kansas State+3Kansas StateLost 15–31 at No. 12 Nebraska-16No. 12 NebraskaWon 24–11 at Iowa State+13Iowa StateWon 27–0 vs. Colorado+27ColoradoWon 19–11 vs. Missouri+8MissouriLost 0–10 vs. Mississippi State-10Mississippi Sta…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5atTulsaW 15–⁠1133%
Sep 12vsOregonW 19–⁠1054%
Sep 26vsKentuckyW 21–⁠1664%
Oct 3vsArkansas StateW 17–⁠1673%
Oct 10vsOklahoma StateL 7–⁠2064%
Oct 17atOklahomaL 7–⁠4525%
Oct 24vsKansas StateW 17–⁠1473%
Oct 31at12NebraskaL 15–⁠3117%
Nov 7atIowa StateW 24–⁠1136%
Nov 14vsColoradoW 27–⁠079%
Nov 21vsMissouriW 19–⁠1145%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsMississippi StateHall of Fame ClassicL 0–⁠1043%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Mississippi State 10–⁠0 in the Hall of Fame Classic; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Eight.

In program history: The 34th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 131 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
8–⁠4
Conference
4–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Big Eight
AP final
Unranked
Points
188–⁠195
Coach
Don Fambrough
Elo
1532 +59 this season
SP+ rating
4.4 No. 62 of 132; offense No. 97, defense No. 31
SRS
4.7 No. 47 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Captains
David Lawrence and Greg Smith

Drafted in 1982

The 1982 draft
Rd 7Greg Smith DTKansas City Chiefs

All-Big Eight

3 first team, 4 second team

First team

  • Wayne CapersWRAP-1; UPI-1
  • Kyle McNortonLBAP-1; UPI-1
  • Bucky ScribnerPAP-1; UPI-1

Second team

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.