CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1981 Texas

10–⁠1–⁠1 (6–⁠1–⁠1 Southwest Conference), coached by Fred Akers, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Texas in 1981, game by game: won vs. Rice 31–3; won vs. North Texas 23–10; won vs. No. 14 Miami 14–7; won vs. No. 10 Oklahoma 34–14; lost at Arkansas 11–42; won at No. 8 SMU 9–7; won vs. Texas Tech 26–9; tied at Houston 14–14; won vs. TCU 31–15; won vs. Baylor 34–12; won at Texas A&M 21–13; won vs. No. 3 Alabama 14–12+28−31Won 31–3 vs. Rice+28RiceWon 23–10 vs. North Texas+13North TexasWon 14–7 vs. No. 14 Miami+7No. 14 MiamiWon 34–14 vs. No. 10 Oklahoma+20No. 10 OklahomaLost 11–42 at Arkansas-31ArkansasWon 9–7 at No. 8 SMU+2No. 8 SMUWon 26–9 vs. Texas Tech+17Texas TechTied 14–14 at Houston0HoustonWon 31–15 vs. TCU+16TCUWon 34–12 vs. Baylor+22BaylorWon 21–13 at Texas A&M+8Texas A&MWon 14–12 vs. No. 3 Alabama+2No. 3 Alabama
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12vsRiceW 31–⁠370%
Sep 19vsNorth TexasW 23–⁠1072%
Sep 26vs14MiamiW 14–⁠755%
Oct 10vs10OklahomaW 34–⁠1440%
Oct 17atArkansasL 11–⁠4246%
Oct 24at8SMUW 9–⁠731%
Oct 31vsTexas TechW 26–⁠984%
Nov 7atHoustonT 14–⁠1444%
Nov 14vsTCUW 31–⁠1585%
Nov 21vsBaylorW 34–⁠1267%
Nov 26atTexas A&MW 21–⁠1358%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs3AlabamaCotton BowlW 14–⁠1235%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Alabama 14–⁠12 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 2 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Southwest Conference.

In program history: The 33rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 126 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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.

Lombardi AwardKenneth Sims, DT

2 consensus All-AmericansTerry Tausch, OT; Kenneth Sims, DT

Record
10–⁠1–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠1–⁠1 2nd in Southwest Conference
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 1
Points
262–⁠158
Coach
Fred Akers
Elo
1699 +144 this season
SP+ rating
21.9 No. 10 of 132; offense No. 29, defense No. 4
SRS
17.7 No. 15 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Ron Toman
Defensive coordinator
Leon Fuller

Drafted in 1982

The 1982 draft
Rd 1Kenneth Sims DTNew England Patriots
Rd 2Bruce Scholtz LBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 2Terry Tausch OTMinnesota Vikings
Rd 2Lawrence Sampleton TEPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 4Rodney Tate RBCincinnati Bengals
Rd 5Mike Baab CCleveland Browns
Rd 5Vance Bedford DBSt. Louis Cardinals
Rd 5William Graham DBDetroit Lions
Rd 7Joe Shearin OGLos Angeles Rams

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.