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, ending Texas' run at the top of the polls.

1981 Arkansas Razorbacks football
Gator Bowl, L 27–31 vs. North Carolina
Conference	Southwest Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 16
Record	8–4 (5–3 SWC)
Head coach	Lou Holtz (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Larry Beightol (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Don Lindsey (1st season)
Home stadium	Razorback Stadium War Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1980 1982 →

1981 Southwest Conference football standings

v t e	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

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.^[1] The SWC's champion, SMU, could not participate in a bowl game due to probation.^[2]

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

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	Tulsa*		Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR		W 14–10	42,118	[4]
September 19	Northwestern*		War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR		W 38–7	54,532	[5]
September 26	at Ole Miss*		Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS (rivalry)	ESPN	W 27–13	63,522	[6]
October 3	at TCU		Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX		L 24–28	30,313	[7]
October 10	at Texas Tech		Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX (rivalry)	ABC	W 26–14	41,866	[8]
October 17	No. 1 Texas		Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR (rivalry)	ABC	W 42–11	44,031	[9]
October 24	Houston	No. 12	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR		L 17–20	54,618	[10]
October 31	at Rice	No. 20	Rice Stadium Houston, TX		W 41–7	12,000	[11]
November 7	Baylor	No. 19	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR	ESPN	W 41–39	54,560	[12]
November 14	at Texas A&M	No. 16	Kyle Field College Station, TX (rivalry)	ABC	W 10–7	60,003	[13]
November 21	SMU	No. 16	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR		L 18–32	43,842	[14]
December 28	vs. No. 11 North Carolina*		Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	ABC	L 27–31	71,009	[15]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[16]

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 Lou Holtz Coordinators/assistant coaches Dave Wommack – Wide receivers Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

^[17]

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.