1981 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

1981 Arkansas Razorbacks football
Gator Bowl, L 27–31 vs. North Carolina
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
Record8–4 (5–3 SWC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorLarry Beightol (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorDon Lindsey (1st season)
Home stadiumRazorback Stadium
War Memorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1980
1982 →
1981 Southwest Conference football standings
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

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.

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.

  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.