1981 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

1981 South Carolina Gamecocks football
ConferenceIndependent
Record6–6
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorRichard Bell (7th season)
Home stadiumWilliams–Brice Stadium
Seasons
← 1980
1982 →
1981 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
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

The 1981 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina as an independent during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by Jim Carlen in his seventh and final season as head coach, the Gamecocks compiled a record of 6–6.

In 1981, South Carolina started 6–3, highlighted by an upset over No. 3 North Carolina on the road, the first win over a top-5 team in program history.[1][2] It would remain the biggest win in program history until 2010.[2] However, the Gamecocks lost the last three games of the season, which left Carlen's job security in jeopardy, as Carlen and school president James B. Holderman were already constantly at odds over football revenues. Despite Carlen overseeing one of the most successful periods in program history until then (a 45–36–1 record, three of the school's five bowl games, two of the school's three eight-win seasons, and a Heisman Trophy), he was fired.[3][4]

  1. ^ tryptic67 (September 17, 2014). "USC versus AP Top 10 Opponents". Garnet And Black Attack. Retrieved September 28, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b "Some History for the New South Carolina Coach: It's a Good Job But A Hard Job". TMG Sports. November 18, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  3. ^ Gillespie, Bob (July 22, 2020). "Richard Bell, one-and-done as USC coach: How 1982 season shaped him, players, program". The State. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
  4. ^ "South Carolina Gamecocks College Football History, Stats, Records". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2024.