1981 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

The 1981 Virginia Tech Hokies football team was an American football team that represented Virginia Tech as an independent during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth year under head coach Bill Dooley, the Hokies compiled an overall record of 7–4.^[1]

1981 Virginia Tech Hokies football
Conference	Independent
Record	7–4
Head coach	Bill Dooley (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	John Gutekunst (1st season)
Home stadium	Lane Stadium
Seasons ← 1980 1982 →

1981 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Pittsburgh		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 3 Penn State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Miami (FL)		–		–				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	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	Richmond	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		W 28–12	30,200	[2]
September 19	William & Mary	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		W 47–3	30,600	[3]
September 26	Wake Forest	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		W 30–14	42,200	[4]
October 3	Memphis State	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		W 17–13	40,100	[5]
October 10	at Duke	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC		L 7–14	32,000	[6]
October 17	at West Virginia	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)		L 6–27	49,115	[7]
October 24	Appalachian State	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		W 34–12	45,200	[8]
October 31	at Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY		W 29–3	54,500	[9]
November 14	at No. 12 Miami (FL)	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (rivalry)		L 14–21	22,257	[10]
November 21	VMI	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	ABC	L 0–6	21,100	[11]
November 28	at Virginia	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA (rivalry)		W 20–3	39,027	[12]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1981 Virginia Tech Hokies football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 14 Jeff Bolton Sr WR 17 Jeff Dahl Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DE 17 Bobby Allen Sr DE 93 Robert Brown Sr DE 78 Bruce Smith Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 6 Bill Renner Jr	Head coach Bill Dooley Coordinators/assistant coaches John Gutekunst (Defensive coordinator & defensive ends coach) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "1981 Virginia Tech Hokies". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
2. "VPI wears out Richmond 28–12 despite Redden". Daily Press. September 13, 1981. Retrieved December 16, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Virginia Tech tops William & Mary". The Palm Beach Post. September 20, 1981. Retrieved December 16, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Va. Tech passing throws Deacons for a 30–14 loss". The Charlotte Observer. September 27, 1981. Retrieved December 16, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Memphis State's bid for upset is thwarted by Virginia Tech rally". The Courier-Journal. October 4, 1981. Retrieved December 16, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Tabron steals one for Blue Devils". The News and Observer. October 11, 1981. Retrieved December 16, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Virginia Tech gets lesson in Luck, 27–6". The Pittsburgh Press. October 18, 1981. Retrieved December 16, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Va. Tech goes to air for victory". The Courier-Journal. October 25, 1981. Retrieved December 2, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "The beat goes on, Va. Tech drums UK". Messenger-Inquirer. November 1, 1981. Retrieved December 16, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "'Canes hang on when it counts". St. Petersburg Times. November 15, 1981. Retrieved December 16, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Keydets surprise Gobblers, 6–0". The Daily News Leader. November 22, 1981. Retrieved December 16, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "VPI overpowers Cavaliers, 20–3". Rocky Mount Telegram. November 29, 1981. Retrieved December 16, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.