CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1981 Miami

9–⁠2, coached by Howard Schnellenberger, finished No. 8 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Miami in 1981, game by game: won vs. No. 17 Florida 21–20; won vs. Houston 12–7; lost at No. 4 Texas 7–14; won vs. Vanderbilt 48–16; lost at No. 16 Mississippi State 10–14; won at East Carolina 31–6; won vs. No. 1 Penn State 17–14; won at No. 14 Florida State 27–19; won vs. Virginia Tech 21–14; won at NC State 14–6; won vs. Notre Dame 37–15+32−7Won 21–20 vs. No. 17 Florida+1No. 17 FloridaWon 12–7 vs. Houston+5HoustonLost 7–14 at No. 4 Texas-7No. 4 TexasWon 48–16 vs. Vanderbilt+32VanderbiltLost 10–14 at No. 16 Mississippi State-4No. 16 Mississippi Sta…Won 31–6 at East Carolina+25East CarolinaWon 17–14 vs. No. 1 Penn State+3No. 1 Penn StateWon 27–19 at No. 14 Florida State+8No. 14 Florida StateWon 21–14 vs. Virginia Tech+7Virginia TechWon 14–6 at NC State+8NC StateWon 37–15 vs. Notre Dame+22Notre Dame
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vs17FloridaW 21–⁠2065%
Sep 19vsHoustonW 12–⁠758%
Sep 26at4TexasL 7–⁠1445%
Oct 3vsVanderbiltW 48–⁠1684%
Oct 17at16Mississippi StateL 10–⁠1443%
Oct 24atEast CarolinaW 31–⁠659%
Oct 31vs1Penn StateW 17–⁠1439%
Nov 7at14Florida StateW 27–⁠1931%
Nov 14vsVirginia TechW 21–⁠1471%
Nov 21atNC StateW 14–⁠670%
Nov 27vsNotre DameW 37–⁠1565%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Notre Dame 37–⁠15; No. 8 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 20th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 96 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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.

Consensus All-AmericanFred Marion, DB

Record
9–⁠2
Conference
—
AP final
No. 8 peak No. 8
Points
245–⁠145
Coach
Howard Schnellenberger
Elo
1707 +118 this season
SP+ rating
24.7 No. 7 of 132; offense No. 22, defense No. 2
SRS
19.5 No. 9 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Kim Helton
Defensive coordinator
Tom Olivadotti
Most valuable player
Jim Kelly
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1982

The 1982 draft
Rd 1Lester Williams DTNew England Patriots
Rd 5Fred Marion DBNew England Patriots
Rd 5Bob Nelson DTMiami Dolphins