1981 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

The 1981 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The one-loss Panthers were selected as national champion by NCAA-designated major selector National Championship Foundation[1] and also by Montgomery Full Season Championship.[2] The school does not claim a national championship for this season.

1981 Pittsburgh Panthers football
National champion (NCF) Sugar Bowl champion
Sugar Bowl, W 24–20 vs. Georgia
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 4
1981 record	11–1
Head coach	Jackie Sherrill (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Joe Moore (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Foge Fazio (3rd season)
Base defense	Multiple front
Home stadium	Pitt Stadium (Capacity: 56,500)

1981 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Penn State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 4 Pittsburgh		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 8 Miami		–		–				9	–	2	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				9	–	2	–	1
No. 17 West Virginia		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Colgate		–		–				7	–	3	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Navy		–		–				7	–	4	–	1
Cincinnati		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Florida State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Holy Cross		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Tulane		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
UNLV		–		–				6	–	6	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				6	–	6	–	0
Temple		–		–				5	–	5	–	0
Boston College		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Louisville		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Notre Dame		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
William & Mary		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				4	–	6	–	1
Richmond		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Army		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
North Texas State		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		–				1	–	10	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				1	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	1:30 p.m.	Illinois	No. 8	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		W 26–6	46,022
September 19	1:30 p.m.	Cincinnati	No. 7	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (River City Rivalry)		W 38–7	40,172
October 3	3:50 p.m.	at South Carolina	No. 4	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	ABC	W 42–28	56,495
October 10	1:30 p.m.	at West Virginia	No. 4	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (Backyard Brawl)		W 17–0	54,280
October 17	1:30 p.m.	No. 11 Florida State	No. 3	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		W 42–14	55,112
October 24	1:30 p.m.	Syracuse	No. 2	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	USA	W 23–10	50,330
October 31	1:00 p.m.	at Boston College	No. 2	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA		W 29–24	25,500
November 7	1:00 p.m.	at Rutgers	No. 1	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ		W 47–3	34,636
November 14	1:30 p.m.	Army	No. 1	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		W 48–0	53,225
November 21	1:30 p.m.	at Temple	No. 1	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA	USA	W 35–0	32,570
November 28	12:25 p.m.	No. 11 Penn State	No. 1	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	ABC	L 14–48	60,260
January 1	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 2 Georgia	No. 10	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	ABC	W 24–20	77,224
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Roster

1981 Pittsburgh Panthers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class G 70 Emil Boures Sr T 75 Jimbo Covert Jr QB 13 Dan Marino Jr G 77 Ron Sams Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 5 Tom Flynn So DB 26 Tim Lewis Jr DT 71 Bill Maas So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Jackie Sherrill Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Coaching staff

1981 Pittsburgh Panthers football staff
	Coaching Staff Jackie Sherrill – Head Coach Foge Fazio – Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Joe Moore – Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Joe Daniels – Quarterbacks Bob Davie – Drop Backs Joe Naunchik – Receivers George Pugh – Tight Ends Andy Urbanic – Running Backs Ray Zingler – Rush Ends			Support Staff Alex Kramer – Administrative Assistant Kevin Dickey – Recruiting Coordinator Anthony Folino – Part-Time Assistant–Defensive Backs Bob Matey – Part-Time Assistant–Defensive Line Jim Miceli – Part-Time Assistant–Defensive Line Michael Sherman – Part-Time Assistant–Offensive Line Steve Heintzelman – Volunteer Coach			Strength and Conditioning Staff Buddy Morris – Weight Training Coordinator

Season summary

Illinois

See also: 1981 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–6	1967	L, 6–34

Illinois Fighting Illini at #8 Pittsburgh Panthers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Illinois	0	6	0	0	6
#7 Pittsburgh	14	0	10	2	26

at Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA

• Date: September 5
• Game time: 1:30 PM EDT
• Game attendance: 46,022

Game information
Illinois Pittsburgh

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Illinois Pittsburgh 1 Pittsburgh DiBartola 4-yard touchdown run, Everett kick good 0 7 1 Pittsburgh Collins 19-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 0 14 2 Illinois 46-yard field goal by Bass 3 14 2 Illinois 33-yard field goal by Bass 6 14 3 Pittsburgh Dawkins 23-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 6 21 3 Pittsburgh 43-yard field goal by Everett 6 24 4 – – – Pittsburgh Safety, Eason tackled in end zone by Maas 6 26 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 6 26

Cincinnati

See also: 1981 Cincinnati Bearcats football team and River City Rivalry

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–0	1979	W, 35–0

Cincinnati Bearcats at #7 Pittsburgh Panthers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cincinnati	0	0	0	7	7
#7 Pittsburgh	21	0	10	7	38

at Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA

• Date: September 19
• Game time: 1:30 PM EDT
• Game attendance: 40,172

Game information
Cincinnati Pittsburgh

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Cincinnati Pittsburgh 1 Pittsburgh Dawkins 16-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 0 7 1 Pittsburgh Dawkins 19-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 0 14 1 Pittsburgh Compton 11-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 0 21 3 Pittsburgh Dawkins 21-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 0 28 3 Pittsburgh 32-yard field goal by Everett 0 31 4 Pittsburgh Dawkins 8-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 0 38 4 — — — Cincinnati Logan recovered blocked punt in end zone, Fogler kick good 7 38 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 7 38

at South Carolina

See also: 1981 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–0	1980	W, 37–9

#4 Pittsburgh Panthers at South Carolina Gamecocks

	1	2	3	4	Total
#4 Pittsburgh	14	14	14	0	42
South Carolina	0	0	21	7	28

at Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC

• Date: October 3
• Game time: 3:50 PM EDT
• Game attendance: 56,495
• TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Frank Broyles, Steve Davis

Game information
Pittsburgh South Carolina

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Pittsburgh South Carolina 1 Pittsburgh Brown 28-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 7 0 1 Pittsburgh Brown 12-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 14 0 2 Pittsburgh Dawkins 53-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 21 0 2 Pittsburgh Compton 6-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 28 0 3 Pittsburgh Dawkins 30-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 35 0 3 South Carolina Aubin 24-yard touchdown reception from Beckham, Fleetwood kick good 35 7 3 Pittsburgh Brown 8-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 42 7 3 South Carolina Berry 58-yard touchdown run, Fleetwood kick good 42 14 3 South Carolina Aubin 58-yard touchdown reception from Hillary, Fleetwood kick good 42 21 4 South Carolina Smith 9-yard touchdown reception from Beckham, Fleetwood kick good 42 28 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 42 28

at West Virginia

See also: 1981 West Virginia Mountaineers football team and Backyard Brawl

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
48–17–1	1980	W, 42–14

#4 Pittsburgh Panthers at West Virginia Mountaineers

	1	2	3	4	Total
#4 Pittsburgh	0	7	10	0	17
West Virginia	0	0	0	0	0

at Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV

• Date: October 10
• Game time: 1:30 PM EDT
• Game attendance: 54,280

Game information
Pittsburgh West Virginia

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Pittsburgh West Virginia 2 Pittsburgh Thomas 43-yard touchdown run, Everett kick good 7 0 3 Pittsburgh 39-yard field goal by Everett 10 0 3 Pittsburgh Thomas 2-yard touchdown run, Everett kick good 17 0 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 17 0

#11 Florida State

See also: 1981 Florida State Seminoles football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–3	1980	L, 22–36

#11 Florida State Seminoles at #3 Pittsburgh Panthers

	1	2	3	4	Total
#11 Florida State	0	7	7	0	14
#3 Pittsburgh	7	14	14	7	42

at Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA

• Date: October 17
• Game time: 1:30 PM EDT
• Game attendance: 55,112

Game information
Florida State Pittsburgh

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Florida State Pittsburgh 1 Pittsburgh DiBartola 22-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 0 7 2 — — — Pittsburgh Interception returned 22 yards for touchdown by Sunseri, Everett kick good 0 14 2 — — — Pittsburgh Flynn 83-yard punt return for a touchdown, Everett kick good 0 21 2 Florida State Whiting 1-yard touchdown run, Rendina kick good 7 21 3 Pittsburgh Dawkins 86-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 7 28 3 Pittsburgh Dawkins 16-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 7 35 3 Florida State Childers 5-yard touchdown reception from Williams, Rendina kick good 14 35 4 Pittsburgh Thomas 6-yard touchdown run, Everett kick good 14 42 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 14 42

Syracuse

See also: 1981 Syracuse Orangemen football team and Pittsburgh–Syracuse football rivalry

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
21–13–2	1980	W, 43–6

Syracuse Orangemen at #2 Pittsburgh Panthers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Syracuse	10	0	0	0	10
#2 Pittsburgh	0	17	0	6	23

at Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA

• Date: October 24
• Game time: 1:30 PM EDT
• Game attendance: 50,330
• TV: USA

Game information
Syracuse Pittsburgh

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Syracuse Pittsburgh 1 Syracuse 36-yard field goal by Anderson 3 0 1 Syracuse Morris 7-yard touchdown run, Anderson kick good 10 0 2 Pittsburgh 32-yard field goal by Everett 10 3 2 Pittsburgh Brown 13-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 10 10 2 Pittsburgh Dawkins 2-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 10 17 4 Pittsburgh Dawkins 7-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick no good 10 23 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 10 23

at Boston College

See also: 1981 Boston College Eagles football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
8–2	1980	W, 14–6

#2 Pittsburgh Panthers at Boston College Eagles

	1	2	3	4	Total
#2 Pittsburgh	7	13	9	0	29
Boston College	3	7	7	7	24

at Alumni Stadium • Chestnut Hill, MA

• Date: October 31
• Game time: 1:00 PM EST
• Game attendance: 25,500

Game information
Pittsburgh Boston College

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Pittsburgh Boston College 1 Boston College 21-yard field goal by Cooper 0 3 1 Pittsburgh Brown 14-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 7 3 2 Boston College Benjamin 8-yard touchdown run, Cooper kick good 7 10 2 Pittsburgh Collins 32-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 14 10 2 Pittsburgh Thomas 11-yard touchdown run, Everett kick no good 20 10 3 – – – Pittsburgh Safety, center snap out of end zone 22 10 3 Pittsburgh Marino 1-yard touchdown run, Everett kick good 29 10 3 Boston College Rikard 30-yard touchdown reception from Flutie, Cooper kick good 29 17 4 Boston College Rikard 17-yard touchdown reception from Flutie, Cooper kick good 29 24 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 29 24

at Rutgers

See also: 1981 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

#1 Pittsburgh Panthers Rutgers Scarlet Knights

	1	2	3	4	Total
#1 Pittsburgh	0	14	14	19	47
Rutgers	3	0	0	0	3

at Giants Stadium • East Rutherford, NJ

• Date: November 7
• Game time: 1:00 PM EST
• Game attendance: 34,636

Game information
Pittsburgh Rutgers

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Pittsburgh Rutgers 1 Rutgers 26-yard field goal by Falcinelli 0 3 2 Pittsburgh DiBartola 6-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 7 3 2 Pittsburgh Brown 31-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 14 3 3 Pittsburgh Thomas 5-yard touchdown run, Everett kick good 21 3 3 Pittsburgh Marino 1-yard touchdown run, Everett kick good 28 3 4 Pittsburgh DiBartola 2-yard touchdown run, Everett kick good 35 3 4 Pittsburgh Compton 30-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick no good 41 3 4 Pittsburgh McIntyre 8-yard touchdown run, Everett kick no good 47 3 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 47 3

Army

See also: 1981 Army Cadets football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
16–6–2	1980	W, 45–7

Army Cadets at #1 Pittsburgh Panthers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Army	0	0	0	0	0
#1 Pittsburgh	14	7	20	7	48

at Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA

• Date: November 14
• Game time: 1:30 PM EST
• Game attendance: 53,225

Game information
Army Pittsburgh

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Army Pittsburgh 1 Pittsburgh Thomas 2-yard touchdown run, Everett kick good 0 7 1 Pittsburgh DiBartola 1-yard touchdown run, Everett kick good 0 14 2 Pittsburgh Dawkins 13-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 0 21 3 Pittsburgh Dawkins 14-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 0 28 3 Pittsburgh Dawkins 6-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick no good 0 34 3 Pittsburgh Dawkins 10-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 0 41 4 Pittsburgh Bailey 1-yard touchdown run, Everett kick good 0 48 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 0 48

at Temple

See also: 1981 Temple Owls football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
9–1–1	1980	W, 36–2

#1 Pittsburgh Panthers at Temple Owls

	1	2	3	4	Total
#1 Pittsburgh	21	0	7	7	35
Temple	0	0	0	0	0

at Veterans Stadium • Philadelphia, PA

• Date: November 21
• Game time: 1:30 PM EST
• Game attendance: 32,570
• TV: USA

Game information
Pittsburgh Temple

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Pittsburgh Temple 1 Pittsburgh Compton 6-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 7 0 1 Pittsburgh Compton 55-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 14 0 1 Pittsburgh Thomas 19-yard touchdown run, Everett kick good 21 0 3 Pittsburgh Dawkins 12-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 28 0 4 Pittsburgh Williams 5-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 35 0 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 35 0

#11 Penn State

See also: 1981 Penn State Nittany Lions football team and Penn State–Pittsburgh football rivalry

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
38–38–3	1980	W, 14–9

#11 Penn State Nittany Lions at #1 Pittsburgh Panthers

	1	2	3	4	Total
#11 Penn State	0	14	17	17	48
#1 Pittsburgh	14	0	0	0	14

at Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA

• Date: November 28
• Game time: 12:25 PM EST
• Game attendance: 60,260
• TV announcers (ABC): Bill Flemming, Darrell Royal

Game information
Penn State Pittsburgh

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Penn State Pittsburgh 1 Pittsburgh Collins 28-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 0 7 1 Pittsburgh Collins 9-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 0 14 2 Penn State Meade 2-yard touchdown run, Franco kick good 7 14 2 Penn State Blackledge 8-yard touchdown run, Franco kick good 14 14 3 Penn State Jackson 42-yard touchdown reception from Blackledge, Franco kick good 21 14 3 Penn State Jackson 45-yard touchdown reception from Blackledge, Franco kick good 28 14 3 Penn State 39-yard field goal by Franco 31 14 4 Penn State 38-yard field goal by Franco 34 14 4 — — — Penn State Fumble recovery returned 0 yards for touchdown by Farrell, Franco kick good 41 14 4 — — — Penn State Interception returned 91 yards for touchdown by Robinson, Franco kick good 48 14 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 48 14

vs. #2 Georgia (Sugar Bowl)

See also: 1981 Georgia Bulldogs football team and 1982 Sugar Bowl

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–0–1	1976	W, 27–3

1982 Sugar Bowl: #10 Pittsburgh Panthers vs. #2 Georgia Bulldogs

	1	2	3	4	Total
#10 Pittsburgh	0	3	7	14	24
#2 Georgia	0	7	6	7	20

at Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, LA

• Date: January 1
• Game time: 8:00 PM EST
• Game attendance: 77,224
• Referee: Ken Faulkner (SWC)
• TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Frank Broyles, Bill Flemming

Game information
Pittsburgh Georgia

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Pittsburgh Georgia 2 Georgia Walker 10-yard touchdown run, Butler kick good 0 7 2 Pittsburgh 41-yard field goal by Everett 3 7 3 Pittsburgh Dawkins 30-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 10 7 3 Georgia Walker 8-yard touchdown run, Butler kick no good 10 13 4 Pittsburgh Brown 6-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 17 13 4 Georgia Kay 6-yard touchdown reception from Belue, Butler kick good 17 20 4 Pittsburgh Brown 33-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Everett kick good 24 20 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 24 20

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
Emil Boures	Center	7	182	Pittsburgh Steelers
Sal Sunseri	Linebacker	10	267	Pittsburgh Steelers
Sam Clancy	Defensive End	11	284	Seattle Seahawks

[3]

Awards and honors

• Dan Marino, Fourth in Heisman Trophy voting

Media

Radio

Flagship station	Play-by-play	Color commentator	Sideline reporter	Studio host
WTAE–AM 1250	Bill Hillgrove	John Sauer

References

1. 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. p. 114. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
2. College Football Data Warehouse; Pittsburgh All National Championships, accessdate=2009-01-29 Archived July 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
3. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1982.htm