1981 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

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, removing Texas' #1 ranking. The Hogs received a Gator Bowl berth against a 10–2 North Carolina team ranked 11th, while the Hogs were unranked at the time.[1] The SWC's champion, SMU, could not participate in a bowl game due to probation.[2]

1981 Arkansas Razorbacks football
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
1981 record8–4 (5–3 SWC)
Head coachLou Holtz (5th season)
Offensive coordinatorLarry Beightol
Defensive coordinatorDon Lindsey
Home stadiumRazorback Stadium
War Memorial Stadium
1981 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW 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

Defensive lineman Billy Ray Smith was a consensus All-American for Arkansas.[3] 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
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendance
September 12Tulsa*
W 14–1042,118
September 19Northwestern*
W 38–754,532
September 26at Ole Miss*
W 27–1363,522
October 3at TCU
L 24–2830,313
October 10at Texas Tech
W 26–1441,866
October 17No. 1 Texas
  • Razorback Stadium
  • Fayetteville, AR (rivalry)
W 42–1144,031
October 24HoustonNo. 12
  • War Memorial Stadium
  • Little Rock, AR
L 17–2054,618
October 31at RiceNo. 20
W 41–712,000
November 7BaylorNo. 19
  • War Memorial Stadium
  • Little Rock, AR
W 41–3954,560
November 14at Texas A&MNo. 16
W 10–760,003
November 21SMUNo. 16
  • Razorback Stadium
  • Fayetteville, AR
L 12–3243,842
December 28vs. No. 11 North Carolina*
L 27–3171,009
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll

Roster
  • QB Brad Taylor

Game summaries

Texas
1 234Total
Texas 0 308 11
• Arkansas 15 10143 42

[4]

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gollark: The lasers can track your hill faster than it can move.

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.


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