CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1981 UCLA

7–⁠4–⁠1 (5–⁠2–⁠1 Pac-10), coached by Terry Donahue.

Schedule and results

UCLA in 1981, game by game: won at Arizona 35–18; won at No. 20 Wisconsin 31–13; lost at Iowa 7–20; won vs. Colorado 27–7; lost at Stanford 23–26; tied at No. 18 Washington State 17–17; won vs. California 34–6; won at Oregon 28–11; won vs. No. 16 Washington 31–0; won vs. No. 9 Arizona State 34–24; lost at No. 10 USC 21–22; lost vs. No. 16 Michigan 14–33+31−19Won 35–18 at Arizona+17ArizonaWon 31–13 at No. 20 Wisconsin+18No. 20 WisconsinLost 7–20 at Iowa-13IowaWon 27–7 vs. Colorado+20ColoradoLost 23–26 at Stanford-3StanfordTied 17–17 at No. 18 Washington State0No. 18 Washington StateWon 34–6 vs. California+28CaliforniaWon 28–11 at Oregon+17OregonWon 31–0 vs. No. 16 Washington+31No. 16 WashingtonWon 34–24 vs. No. 9 Arizona State+10No. 9 Arizona StateLost 21–22 at No. 10 USC-1No. 10 USCLost 14–33 vs. No. 16 Michigan-19No. 16 Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12atArizonaW 35–⁠1863%
Sep 19at20WisconsinW 31–⁠1361%
Sep 26atIowaL 7–⁠2067%
Oct 3vsColoradoW 27–⁠785%
Oct 10atStanfordL 23–⁠2667%
Oct 17at18Washington StateT 17–⁠1753%
Oct 24vsCaliforniaW 34–⁠681%
Oct 31atOregonW 28–⁠1169%
Nov 7vs16WashingtonW 31–⁠058%
Nov 14vs9Arizona StateW 34–⁠2455%
Nov 21at10USCL 21–⁠2238%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs16MichiganAstro-Bluebonnet BowlL 14–⁠3346%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Michigan 33–⁠14 in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Pac-10.

In program history: The 25th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 102 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 13
  2. Wk 2: 12
  3. Wk 3: 9
  4. Wk 4: 6
  5. Wk 5: 16
  6. Wk 6: 17
  7. Wk 11: 18
  8. Wk 12: 15
  9. Wk 13: 19
  10. Wk 14: 19

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.

Consensus All-AmericanTim Wrightman, TE

Record
7–⁠4–⁠1
Conference
5–⁠2–⁠1 tied for 4th in Pac-10
AP final
Unranked peak No. 6
Points
302–⁠197
Coach
Terry Donahue
Elo
1656 +39 this season
SP+ rating
22.4 No. 9 of 132; offense No. 15, defense No. 14
SRS
17.8 No. 14 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Homer Smith
Defensive coordinator
Jed Hughes

Drafted in 1982

The 1982 draft
Rd 1Luis Sharpe OTSt. Louis Cardinals
Rd 3Tim Wrightman TEChicago Bears

All-Pac-10

3 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

  • Kevin NelsonRBCoaches-2
  • Karl MorganDLCoaches-2
  • Irv EatmanDLCoaches-2
  • Tom SullivanDBCoaches-2

From Wikipedia’s 1981 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1981 Pac-10 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Washington6–⁠210–⁠210
Arizona State5–⁠29–⁠216
USC5–⁠29–⁠314
Washington State5–⁠2–⁠18–⁠3–⁠1
UCLA5–⁠2–⁠17–⁠4–⁠1
Arizona4–⁠46–⁠5
Stanford4–⁠44–⁠7
California2–⁠62–⁠9
Oregon1–⁠62–⁠9
Oregon State0–⁠71–⁠10

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