1981 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team

The 1981 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team represented Texas Tech University as a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first season under head coach Jerry Moore, the Red Raiders compiled a 1–9–1 record (4–5 against SWC opponents), were outscored by a combined total of 298 to 198, and finished in ninth and last place in the conference.^[2] The team played its home games at Clifford B. and Audrey Jones Stadium in Lubbock, Texas.

1981 Texas Tech Red Raiders football
Conference	Southwest Conference
Record	1–9–1 (0–7–1 SWC)
Head coach	Jerry Moore (1st season)
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Jim Bates[1] (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Jones 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

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	at Colorado*	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	L 27–45	34,884	[3]
September 19	New Mexico*	Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX	W 28–21	42,321	[4]
September 26	at Baylor	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX (rivalry)	L 15–28	40,000	[5]
October 3	Texas A&M	Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX (rivalry)	L 23–24	50,081	[6]
October 10	Arkansas	Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX (rivalry)	L 14–26	41,866	[7]
October 17	Rice	Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX	L 23–30	40,073	[8]
October 24	Washington*	Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX	L 7–14	36,335	[9]
October 31	at No. 6 Texas	Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)	L 9–26	56,439	[10]
November 7	TCU	Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX (rivalry)	T 39–39	37,714	[11]
November 14	at No. 8 SMU	Texas Stadium Irving, TX	L 6–30	24,410	[12]
November 21	at Houston	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX (rivalry)	L 7–15	25,169	[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[14]