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1981 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

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American college football season

1981 Arkansas Razorbacks football
Gator Bowl, L 27–31 vs. North Carolina
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
Record8–4 (5–3 SWC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorLarry Beightol (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorDon Lindsey (1st season)
Home stadiumRazorback Stadium
War Memorial Stadium
Seasons← 19801982 →
1981 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 SMU $ 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
No. 2 Texas 6 – 1 – 1 10 – 1 – 1
Houston 5 – 2 – 1 7 – 4 – 1
Arkansas 5 – 3 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Texas A&M 4 – 4 – 0 7 – 5 – 0
Rice 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Baylor 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
TCU 1 – 6 – 1 2 – 7 – 2
Texas Tech 0 – 7 – 1 1 – 9 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 Arkansas Razorbacks football team represented the University of Arkansas during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The biggest win of the year was against a #1 Texas team, which the Razorbacks were rivals with already. Although unranked, the Razorbacks came out on top by 31 points, ending Texas' run at the top of the polls.

Unranked at the end of the regular season, the Hogs still received a Gator Bowl berth against a 10–2 North Carolina team ranked 11th. The SWC's champion, SMU, could not participate in a bowl game due to probation.

Defensive lineman Billy Ray Smith was a consensus All-American for Arkansas. Bruce Lahay, a kicker, also received first-team honors. Lahay was in a three-way tie for field goals per game in 1981, hitting on 1.73 per game. This mark was also held by Kevin Butler of Georgia and Larry Roach of Oklahoma State.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 12Tulsa*W 14–1042,118
September 19Northwestern*W 38–754,532
September 26at Ole Miss*ESPNW 27–1363,522
October 3at TCUL 24–2830,313
October 10at Texas TechABCW 26–1441,866
October 17No. 1 Texas
  • Razorback Stadium
  • Fayetteville, AR (rivalry)
ABCW 42–1144,031
October 24HoustonNo. 12
  • War Memorial Stadium
  • Little Rock, AR
L 17–2054,618
October 31at RiceNo. 20W 41–712,000
November 7BaylorNo. 19
  • War Memorial Stadium
  • Little Rock, AR
ESPNW 41–3954,560
November 14at Texas A&MNo. 16ABCW 10–760,003
November 21SMUNo. 16
  • Razorback Stadium
  • Fayetteville, AR
L 18–3243,842
December 28vs. No. 11 North Carolina*ABCL 27–3171,009
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1981 Arkansas Razorbacks football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
RB Gary Anderson
OL Jay Bequette
RB Darryl Bowles
RB Thomas Brown
RB Jessie Clark
TE Steve Clyde
RB Mark Douglas
OL Charles Ginn
WR Derek Holloway
RB Tim Joiner
QB Tom Jones
WR Keith Kidd
RB Jim Koch
OL Steve Korte
TE Darryl Mason
QB McHan
WR Gerald McMurray
WR Mark Mistler
OL Alfred Mohammed
RB Nellum
QB Bill Pierce
QB Scott Reed
QB Brad Taylor
RB James Tolbert
OL Ronnie Trusty
RB Wagner
TE Eddie White
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DL Phil Boren
DB Keith Burns
DB Kim Dameron Jr
LB Steve Douglas
DL Ron Faurot
LB Jeff Goff
DB Nathan Jones
LB Teddy Morris
DB Kent Reber
DL Richard Richardson
DL Billy Ray Smith
DB Danny Walters
DL Bert Zinamon
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K, P Bruce Lahay
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

References

  1. "1981 Bowl Recap with Top 20 Teams." Gator Bowl. Information Please. Retrieved on August 14, 2007.
  2. "1981 Conference Champions." Information Please Database. Information Please. Retrieved on December 9, 2007.
  3. "1981 Consensus All-Americans." Information Please Database. Information Please. Retrieved on August 14, 2007.
  4. "Lahay boot lifts Arkansas past Tulsa". The News-Star. September 13, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Hog runners dash to win over Wildcats". The Commercial Appeal. September 20, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Arkansas is razor sharm against Rebs". The Commercial Appeal. September 27, 1981. Retrieved November 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "TCU upsets Arkansas 28–24". The El Paso Times. October 4, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Lahay, Arkansas kick Texas Tech". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 11, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Arkansas makes Texas 4th No. 1 team to lose". The Montgomery Advertiser. October 18, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Houston nips 17th-ranked Hogs by 3". Bryan-College Station Eagle. October 25, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Arkansas rips Rice". The Odessa American. November 1, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Late kick sends Arkansas to 41–39 win over Baylor". Austin American-Statesman. November 8, 1981. Retrieved November 1, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Arkansas' rally trips Texas A&M". The Tampa Tribune-Times. November 15, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "SMU belts Arkansas, rules SWC". St. Petersburg Times. November 22, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "North Carolina fogs Arkansas in Gator Bowl". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. December 29, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "1981 Arkansas Razorbacks Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  17. "1981 Arkansas Razorbacks Roster". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
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