CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1981 Texas A&M

7–⁠5 (4–⁠4 Southwest Conference), coached by Tom Wilson.

Schedule and results

Texas A&M in 1981, game by game: won at California 29–28; lost at Boston College 12–13; won vs. Louisiana Tech 43–7; won at Texas Tech 24–23; won vs. Houston 7–6; lost at Baylor 17–19; won at Rice 51–26; lost vs. No. 13 SMU 7–27; lost vs. No. 16 Arkansas 7–10; won at TCU 37–7; lost vs. No. 7 Texas 13–21; won vs. Oklahoma State 33–16+36−20Won 29–28 at California+1CaliforniaLost 12–13 at Boston College-1Boston CollegeWon 43–7 vs. Louisiana Tech+36Louisiana TechWon 24–23 at Texas Tech+1Texas TechWon 7–6 vs. Houston+1HoustonLost 17–19 at Baylor-2BaylorWon 51–26 at Rice+25RiceLost 7–27 vs. No. 13 SMU-20No. 13 SMULost 7–10 vs. No. 16 Arkansas-3No. 16 ArkansasWon 37–7 at TCU+30TCULost 13–21 vs. No. 7 Texas-8No. 7 TexasWon 33–16 vs. Oklahoma State+17Oklahoma State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5atCaliforniaW 29–⁠2850%
Sep 19atBoston CollegeL 12–⁠1341%
Sep 26vsLouisiana TechW 43–⁠770%
Oct 3atTexas TechW 24–⁠2353%
Oct 10vsHoustonW 7–⁠644%
Oct 17atBaylorL 17–⁠1935%
Oct 24atRiceW 51–⁠2651%
Oct 31vs13SMUL 7–⁠2742%
Nov 14vs16ArkansasL 7–⁠1041%
Nov 21atTCUW 37–⁠764%
Nov 26vs7TexasL 13–⁠2142%
Dec 12Bowls & playoffvsOklahoma StateIndependence BowlW 33–⁠1650%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Oklahoma State 33–⁠16 in the Independence Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 5th in the Southwest Conference.

In program history: The tied 68th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 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.

Led the nationMike Whitwell: yards per catch (27.1)

Record
7–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠4 5th in Southwest Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
280–⁠203
Coach
Tom Wilson
Elo
1567 +60 this season
SP+ rating
11.6 No. 34 of 132; offense No. 37, defense No. 42
SRS
13.2 No. 26 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—

Drafted in 1982

The 1982 draft
Rd 2Keith Baldwin DECleveland Browns
Rd 6Mike Whitwell WRCleveland Browns

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.