CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1981 Rice

4–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Southwest Conference), coached by Ray Alborn.

Schedule and results

Rice in 1981, game by game: lost at No. 8 Texas 3–31; lost at Missouri 10–42; lost at LSU 14–28; won vs. Tulane 20–16; won vs. TCU 41–28; won at Texas Tech 30–23; lost vs. Texas A&M 26–51; lost vs. No. 20 Arkansas 7–41; lost at No. 10 SMU 12–33; won at Baylor 17–14; lost vs. Houston 3–40+13−37Lost 3–31 at No. 8 Texas-28No. 8 TexasLost 10–42 at Missouri-32MissouriLost 14–28 at LSU-14LSUWon 20–16 vs. Tulane+4TulaneWon 41–28 vs. TCU+13TCUWon 30–23 at Texas Tech+7Texas TechLost 26–51 vs. Texas A&M-25Texas A&MLost 7–41 vs. No. 20 Arkansas-34No. 20 ArkansasLost 12–33 at No. 10 SMU-21No. 10 SMUWon 17–14 at Baylor+3BaylorLost 3–40 vs. Houston-37Houston
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12at8TexasL 3–⁠3130%
Sep 19atMissouriL 10–⁠4224%
Sep 26atLSUL 14–⁠2829%
Oct 3vsTulaneW 20–⁠1650%
Oct 10vsTCUW 41–⁠2859%
Oct 17atTexas TechW 30–⁠2345%
Oct 24vsTexas A&ML 26–⁠5149%
Oct 31vs20ArkansasL 7–⁠4132%
Nov 7at10SMUL 12–⁠3312%
Nov 14atBaylorW 17–⁠1420%
Nov 28vsHoustonL 3–⁠4032%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Houston 40–⁠3; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Southwest Conference.

In program history: The 66th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 115 on file).

Record
4–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 6th in Southwest Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
183–⁠347
Coach
Ray Alborn
Elo
1420 −47 this season
SP+ rating
-9.0 No. 104 of 132; offense No. 62, defense No. 118
SRS
−4.2 No. 86 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—

1981 Southwest Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
SMU7–⁠110–⁠15
Texas6–⁠1–⁠110–⁠1–⁠12
Houston5–⁠2–⁠17–⁠4–⁠1
Arkansas5–⁠38–⁠4
Texas A&M4–⁠47–⁠5
Baylor3–⁠55–⁠6
Rice3–⁠54–⁠7
TCU1–⁠6–⁠12–⁠7–⁠2
Texas Tech0–⁠7–⁠11–⁠9–⁠1

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