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1981 Southern Miss

9–⁠2–⁠1, coached by Bobby Collins.

Schedule and results

Southern Miss in 1981, game by game: won vs. Louisiana 33–7; won vs. Tulane 21–3; won at Richmond 17–10; won vs. Texas–Arlington 52–9; tied vs. No. 7 Alabama 13–13; won at Memphis 10–0; won at North Texas 22–0; won vs. No. 15 Mississippi State 7–6; won at No. 20 Florida State 58–14; lost at Louisville 10–13; won vs. Lamar 45–14; lost vs. Missouri 17–19+44−3Won 33–7 vs. Louisiana+26LouisianaWon 21–3 vs. Tulane+18TulaneWon 17–10 at Richmond+7RichmondWon 52–9 vs. Texas–Arlington+43Texas–ArlingtonTied 13–13 vs. No. 7 Alabama0No. 7 AlabamaWon 10–0 at Memphis+10MemphisWon 22–0 at North Texas+22North TexasWon 7–6 vs. No. 15 Mississippi State+1No. 15 Mississippi Sta…Won 58–14 at No. 20 Florida State+44No. 20 Florida StateLost 10–13 at Louisville-3LouisvilleWon 45–14 vs. Lamar+31LamarLost 17–19 vs. Missouri-2Missouri
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsLouisianaW 33–⁠769%
Sep 19vsTulaneW 21–⁠372%
Sep 26atRichmondW 17–⁠1068%
Oct 3vsTexas–ArlingtonW 52–⁠984%
Oct 10vs7AlabamaT 13–⁠1344%
Oct 17atMemphisW 10–⁠076%
Oct 31atNorth TexasW 22–⁠073%
Nov 7vs15Mississippi StateW 7–⁠664%
Nov 14at20Florida StateW 58–⁠1440%
Nov 21atLouisvilleL 10–⁠1381%
Nov 28vsLamarW 45–⁠1492%
Dec 19Bowls & playoffvsMissouriTangerine BowlL 17–⁠1964%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Missouri 19–⁠17 in the Tangerine Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 90 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 10: 20
  2. Wk 11: 14
  3. Wk 12: 9
  4. Wk 13: 17
  5. Wk 14: 18

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
9–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
—
AP final
Unranked peak No. 9
Points
305–⁠108
Coach
Bobby Collins
Elo
1675 +102 this season
SP+ rating
20.2 No. 13 of 132; offense No. 35, defense No. 6
SRS
16.6 No. 16 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—

Drafted in 1982

The 1982 draft
Rd 5Sammy Winder RBDenver Broncos