CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1981 Rutgers

5–⁠6, coached by Frank Burns.

Schedule and results

Rutgers in 1981, game by game: won at Syracuse 29–27; won vs. Colgate 13–5; won vs. Virginia 3–0; lost at Cincinnati 0–10; won vs. Cornell 31–17; won at Army 17–0; lost vs. Temple 12–24; lost at No. 11 Alabama 7–31; lost vs. No. 1 Pittsburgh 3–47; lost at West Virginia 3–20; lost at Boston College 21–27+17−44Won 29–27 at Syracuse+2SyracuseWon 13–5 vs. Colgate+8ColgateWon 3–0 vs. Virginia+3VirginiaLost 0–10 at Cincinnati-10CincinnatiWon 31–17 vs. Cornell+14CornellWon 17–0 at Army+17ArmyLost 12–24 vs. Temple-12TempleLost 7–31 at No. 11 Alabama-24No. 11 AlabamaLost 3–47 vs. No. 1 Pittsburgh-44No. 1 PittsburghLost 3–20 at West Virginia-17West VirginiaLost 21–27 at Boston College-6Boston College
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5atSyracuseW 29–⁠2748%
Sep 12vsColgateW 13–⁠570%
Sep 18vsVirginiaW 3–⁠077%
Sep 26atCincinnatiL 0–⁠1074%
Oct 3vsCornellW 31–⁠1775%
Oct 10atArmyW 17–⁠061%
Oct 17vsTempleL 12–⁠2468%
Oct 24at11AlabamaL 7–⁠3119%
Nov 7vs1PittsburghL 3–⁠4724%
Nov 14atWest VirginiaL 3–⁠2030%
Nov 21atBoston CollegeL 21–⁠2746%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Boston College 27–⁠21; unranked in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 38th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 152 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
5–⁠6
Conference
1–⁠4 tied for 6th in the Major eastern college football independents (Wikipedia)
AP final
Unranked
Points
139–⁠208
Coach
Frank Burns
Elo
1482 −75 this season
SP+ rating
-0.7 No. 75 of 132; offense No. 105, defense No. 41
SRS
−1.9 No. 75 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
George DeLeone