College Football 1981
Ranking of Division I-A Teams

Based on games played between 1981/9/5 and 1982/1/1
Ratings based on Chi Square fit to Score Difference (ScoreDif)

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1981 - Ranking of Division I-A teams based on Chi Square fit to Score Difference
ScoreDif		WinLoss		Schedule		Team	Other Rankings		Division		Global			Conference
Rank	Rating	Rank	Rating	Rank	Rating		AP	Coach	Games	Record	Rank	Games	Record
1	34.55	3	31.77	1	28.92	Penn State	3	7	12	10-2-0	1	12	10-2-0	EIC
2	32.75	1	34.97	45	49.64	Clemson	1	1	11	11-0-0	2	12	12-0-0	ACC
3	29.28	6	26.33	51	51.80	Southern Methodist	5		10	9-1-0	3	11	10-1-0	SWAC
4	28.24	4	28.99	17	41.29	Pittsburgh	4	2	12	11-1-0	4	12	11-1-0	EIC
5	27.97	9	23.47	2	34.33	Nebraska	9	3	12	9-3-0	5	12	9-3-0	BIG 8
6	27.03	2	34.68	9	39.21	Texas	2	5	12	10-1-1	6	12	10-1-1	SWAC
7	25.92	5	26.48	26	45.54	Alabama	7	9	12	9-2-1	7	12	9-2-1	SEC
8	25.40	8	24.26	27	46.00	Georgia	6	4	12	10-2-0	8	12	10-2-0	SEC
9	22.86	21	16.60	42	49.50	Michigan	10	13	12	9-3-0	9	12	9-3-0	BIG 10
10	22.33	7	26.12	11	39.41	Miami (FL)	8	6	11	9-2-0	10	11	9-2-0	SIC
11	21.32	17	17.84	78	66.00	Southern Mississippi	19	19	12	9-2-1	11	12	9-2-1	SIC
12	20.83	10	21.36	37	48.25	Southern California	16	17	12	9-3-0	12	12	9-3-0	PAC-10
13	20.57	20	17.11	69	61.59	Arizona State	11	11	11	9-2-0	14	11	9-2-0	PAC-10
14	20.37	16	18.26	15	40.83	Oklahoma	17	14	12	7-4-1	15	12	7-4-1	BIG 8
15	19.81	13	19.73	59	55.79	West Virginia	13	12	12	9-3-0	16	12	9-3-0	EIC
16	19.32	14	19.55	73	63.54	North Carolina		15	12	10-2-0	17	12	10-2-0	ACC
17	19.18	12	19.99	84	69.88	Brigham Young			13	11-2-0	18	13	11-2-0	WAC
18	18.78	25	15.44	24	44.75	UCLA			12	7-4-1	19	12	7-4-1	PAC-10
19	18.53	28	14.96	31	46.25	Mississippi State			12	8-4-0	20	12	8-4-0	SEC
20	18.27	11	20.46	67	61.08	Washington	12	8	12	10-2-0	21	12	10-2-0	PAC-10
21	18.21	18	17.52	34	47.71	Missouri		20	12	8-4-0	22	12	8-4-0	BIG 8
22	17.48	24	15.44	30	46.25	Arkansas	20	18	12	8-4-0	23	12	8-4-0	SWAC
23	17.01	22	16.08	92	74.80	Hawaii			10	8-2-0	24	11	9-2-0	WAC
24	15.90	23	15.57	14	40.67	Houston			12	7-4-1	25	12	7-4-1	SWAC
25	14.98	15	18.39	57	54.96	Ohio State	15	16	12	9-3-0	26	12	9-3-0	BIG 10
26	14.65	29	14.79	18	42.17	Temple			9	5-4-0	28	10	5-5-0	EIC
27	14.46	32	12.90	40	48.62	Texas A&M			12	7-5-0	27	12	7-5-0	SWAC
28	13.39	19	17.35	29	46.17	Iowa	14	10	12	8-4-0	29	12	8-4-0	BIG 10
29	13.05	31	13.02	55	54.14	Washington State			11	7-3-1	30	12	8-3-1	PAC-10
30	12.52	33	12.34	39	48.42	Florida			12	7-5-0	31	12	7-5-0	SEC
31	12.51	39	9.66	81	68.23	Wyoming			11	8-3-0	33	11	8-3-0	WAC
32	12.37	46	7.17	22	44.41	Notre Dame			11	5-6-0	32	11	5-6-0	EIC
33	10.85	35	11.43	41	48.83	Oklahoma State			12	7-5-0	35	12	7-5-0	BIG 8
34	10.73	38	9.83	36	48.08	South Carolina			12	6-6-0	34	12	6-6-0	SIC
35	10.37	36	11.08	21	43.73	Florida State			11	6-5-0	36	11	6-5-0	SIC
36	9.69	26	15.29	35	47.82	Illinois			11	7-4-0	37	11	7-4-0	BIG 10
37	9.67	34	12.27	47	49.75	Kansas			12	8-4-0	40	12	8-4-0	BIG 8
38	9.52	47	7.15	48	49.91	Auburn			11	5-6-0	39	11	5-6-0	SEC
39	9.48	53	5.28	60	57.59	Tulane			11	6-5-0	38	11	6-5-0	SIC
40	9.26	30	13.95	86	70.15	Utah			10	7-2-1	41	11	8-2-1	WAC
41	8.73	40	9.34	68	61.40	Cincinnati			10	6-4-0	44	11	6-5-0	EIC
42	8.45	52	5.60	99	81.64	San Jose State			11	8-3-0	43	12	9-3-0	BWC
43	7.96	56	4.10	53	53.64	Baylor			11	5-6-0	46	11	5-6-0	SWAC
44	7.79	58	3.78	38	48.36	Maryland			11	4-6-1	42	11	4-6-1	ACC
45	7.45	48	5.89	87	72.32	Navy			11	6-4-1	45	12	7-4-1	EIC
46	7.42	44	7.67	72	63.50	San Diego State			11	6-5-0	47	11	6-5-0	WAC
47	6.54	63	3.14	82	68.73	Tulsa			11	6-5-0	55	11	6-5-0	MVC
48	6.33	27	14.98	64	59.75	Tennessee			12	8-4-0	50	12	8-4-0	SEC
49	6.13	50	5.67	62	58.05	Duke			11	6-5-0	49	11	6-5-0	ACC
50	5.79	69	1.25	104	87.83	McNeese State			9	5-3-1	48	11	7-3-1	SLC
51	5.70	59	3.60	97	79.41	Virginia Tech			11	7-4-0	51	11	7-4-0	SIC
52	5.48	51	5.65	50	50.82	Purdue			11	5-6-0	53	11	5-6-0	BIG 10
53	5.41	49	5.74	20	43.55	Syracuse			11	4-6-1	52	11	4-6-1	EIC
54	5.38	41	9.22	52	52.25	Wisconsin			12	7-5-0	54	12	7-5-0	BIG 10
55	4.61	55	4.39	56	54.55	Michigan State			11	5-6-0	56	11	5-6-0	BIG 10
56	3.19	73	0.52	83	69.59	Arizona			11	6-5-0	59	11	6-5-0	PAC-10
57	2.59	61	3.37	28	46.05	Vanderbilt			11	4-7-0	57	11	4-7-0	SEC
58	2.47	45	7.60	33	47.64	Iowa State	18		11	5-5-1	64	11	5-5-1	BIG 8
59	2.40	80	-1.69	46	49.64	Stanford			11	4-7-0	62	11	4-7-0	PAC-10
60	2.27	64	3.08	76	65.33	Utah State			9	4-4-1	65	11	5-5-1	BWC
61	2.06	65	2.60	32	46.86	LSU			11	3-7-1	63	11	3-7-1	SEC
62	2.01	43	7.77	10	39.32	Mississippi			11	4-6-1	61	11	4-6-1	SEC
63	1.73	42	8.31	5	37.95	Rice			11	4-7-0	67	11	4-7-0	SWAC
64	1.65	62	3.24	4	36.41	Colorado			11	3-8-0	68	11	3-8-0	BIG 8
65	1.58	54	4.82	66	60.91	Minnesota			11	6-5-0	66	11	6-5-0	BIG 10
66	1.26	78	-0.82	100	83.59	Arkansas State			11	6-5-0	72	11	6-5-0	SLC
67	1.05	76	-0.22	16	41.09	Texas Christian			11	2-7-2	70	11	2-7-2	SWAC
68	0.99	70	0.62	12	39.68	Kentucky			11	3-8-0	69	11	3-8-0	SEC
69	0.89	60	3.55	23	44.45	Boston College			10	4-6-0	60	11	5-6-0	EIC
70	0.70	37	10.41	107	89.25	Drake			8	7-1-0	77	11	10-1-0	MVC
71	0.51	57	3.94	105	88.05	Southern Illinois			10	7-3-0	76	11	7-4-0	MVC
72	0.22	67	2.24	95	77.41	West Texas A&M			11	7-4-0	74	11	7-4-0	MVC
73	0.13	98	-8.31	106	88.38	Louisiana Monroe			8	4-4-0	79	11	5-6-0	SIC
74	0.08	74	0.41	44	49.59	North Carolina State			11	4-7-0	71	11	4-7-0	ACC
75	-0.11	66	2.25	63	58.18	Rutgers			11	5-6-0	73	11	5-6-0	EIC
76	-0.52	79	-1.58	90	73.73	Texas Arlington			11	6-5-0	75	11	6-5-0	SLC
77	-1.11	87	-3.96	8	39.14	California			11	2-9-0	80	11	2-9-0	PAC-10
78	-1.97	68	1.68	75	65.25	Louisville			10	5-5-0	95	11	5-6-0	SIC
79	-2.01	75	-0.19	132	116.39	Yale			9	8-1-0	78	10	9-1-0	Ivy
80	-2.13	89	-4.91	80	66.88	New Mexico			12	4-7-1	82	12	4-7-1	WAC
81	-2.81	85	-3.66	102	85.58	Colgate			6	3-3-0	83	10	7-3-0	EIC
82	-3.36	72	0.55	110	97.86	Miami (OH)			11	8-2-1	84	11	8-2-1	MAC
83	-3.38	84	-3.28	7	38.27	Texas Tech			11	1-9-1	85	11	1-9-1	SWAC
84	-3.76	93	-6.70	3	34.95	Kansas State			10	1-9-0	90	11	2-9-0	BIG 8
85	-4.37	82	-2.99	101	85.05	Fresno State			10	5-5-0	91	11	5-6-0	BWC
86	-4.70	83	-3.18	114	103.42	Toledo			12	9-3-0	87	12	9-3-0	MAC
87	-4.81	95	-7.77	94	76.50	Louisiana Tech			10	3-6-1	86	11	4-6-1	SLC
88	-4.82	91	-6.00	88	72.83	Wichita State			9	3-5-1	93	11	4-6-1	MVC
89	-5.26	88	-4.27	65	60.05	Wake Forest			11	4-7-0	88	11	4-7-0	ACC
90	-5.45	77	-0.46	71	63.38	Nevada Las Vegas			12	6-6-0	94	12	6-6-0	SIC
91	-5.66	92	-6.44	79	66.55	Air Force			11	4-7-0	92	11	4-7-0	WAC
92	-6.01	81	-2.65	89	73.45	East Carolina			11	5-6-0	89	11	5-6-0	SIC
93	-6.71	105	-10.94	61	57.82	Oregon			11	2-9-0	97	11	2-9-0	PAC-10
94	-7.21	100	-9.30	121	105.94	Holy Cross			8	5-3-0	98	11	6-5-0	EIC
95	-7.23	86	-3.90	77	65.41	Pacific			11	5-6-0	99	11	5-6-0	BWC
96	-7.49	90	-5.54	85	69.94	Lamar			8	3-4-1	96	11	4-6-1	SLC
97	-7.64	101	-9.42	43	49.59	Memphis			11	1-10-0	104	11	1-10-0	SIC
98	-7.90	111	-12.96	109	92.95	Indiana State			10	4-5-1	110	11	5-5-1	MVC
99	-8.28	71	0.60	19	43.55	Indiana			11	3-8-0	103	11	3-8-0	BIG 10
100	-8.82	104	-10.61	49	50.68	Virginia			11	1-10-0	101	11	1-10-0	ACC
101	-8.88	102	-9.73	122	107.27	Central Michigan			11	7-4-0	105	11	7-4-0	MAC
102	-9.10	108	-12.39	96	77.55	Richmond			10	3-7-0	102	11	4-7-0	SIC
103	-9.13	118	-15.64	91	74.65	Louisiana Lafayette			10	1-8-1	107	11	1-9-1	SLC
104	-10.18	103	-9.78	58	55.50	North Texas			11	2-9-0	112	11	2-9-0	SIC
105	-11.41	120	-18.07	74	64.38	Cal State Fullerton			8	1-7-0	115	11	3-8-0	BWC
106	-11.98	112	-13.43	6	38.23	Georgia Tech			11	1-10-0	116	11	1-10-0	SIC
107	-11.98	121	-18.65	112	100.86	Bowling Green			11	5-5-1	113	11	5-5-1	MAC
108	-12.06	106	-11.45	117	104.07	Citadel			7	3-3-1	106	11	7-3-1	SoCon
109	-12.14	96	-8.13	124	107.60	Virginia Military			10	6-3-1	111	10	6-3-1	SoCon
110	-12.23	117	-15.54	123	107.55	Western Michigan			11	6-5-0	114	11	6-5-0	MAC
111	-12.60	109	-12.43	93	75.05	Cal State Long Beach			10	2-8-0	120	10	2-8-0	BWC
112	-13.08	97	-8.25	120	105.75	Furman			8	5-3-0	109	11	8-3-0	SoCon
113	-13.99	107	-12.01	111	100.82	Ohio University			11	5-6-0	119	11	5-6-0	MAC
114	-14.41	99	-9.26	103	86.95	William & Mary			10	4-6-0	117	11	5-6-0	SIC
115	-14.46	115	-15.24	98	80.14	Army			11	3-7-1	118	11	3-7-1	EIC
116	-16.08	114	-14.86	136	118.83	Dartmouth			9	6-3-0	121	10	6-4-0	Ivy
117	-16.81	94	-6.92	119	105.25	Tennessee Chattanooga			8	4-3-1	100	11	7-3-1	SoCon
118	-18.34	110	-12.75	13	40.55	Northwestern			11	0-11-0	125	11	0-11-0	BIG 10
119	-18.35	116	-15.42	54	53.86	Oregon State			11	1-10-0	126	11	1-10-0	PAC-10
120	-18.39	127	-22.44	118	104.70	Kent State			10	3-7-0	124	11	4-7-0	MAC
121	-18.95	123	-19.90	108	90.35	New Mexico State			10	2-8-0	129	11	3-8-0	MVC
122	-19.17	122	-19.33	113	102.11	Western Carolina			9	3-6-0	122	11	4-7-0	SoCon
123	-19.99	125	-20.97	25	45.17	Colorado State			12	0-12-0	130	12	0-12-0	WAC
124	-20.29	113	-14.12	126	109.44	East Tennessee State			8	4-4-0	123	11	6-5-0	SoCon
125	-20.33	124	-20.84	133	117.50	Harvard			10	5-4-1	127	10	5-4-1	Ivy
126	-21.16	119	-16.84	70	63.05	Texas El Paso			10	1-9-0	132	11	1-10-0	WAC
127	-21.70	128	-27.14	127	110.14	Ball State			11	4-7-0	131	11	4-7-0	MAC
128	-24.58	130	-30.18	116	103.72	Appalachian State			9	1-7-1	128	11	3-7-1	SoCon
129	-24.63	126	-21.55	137	121.06	Princeton			8	5-2-1	133	10	5-4-1	Ivy
130	-25.40	131	-30.75	130	111.95	Northern Illinois			11	3-8-0	134	11	3-8-0	MAC
131	-31.17	129	-27.76	125	107.95	Marshall			10	1-9-0	135	11	2-9-0	SoCon
132	-32.21	134	-36.88	115	103.56	Illinois State			8	1-7-0	137	10	3-7-0	MVC
133	-34.56	132	-30.89	128	111.33	Cornell			9	2-7-0	139	10	3-7-0	Ivy
134	-35.40	133	-34.36	134	117.72	Brown			9	2-7-0	140	10	3-7-0	Ivy
135	-36.05	135	-38.41	131	114.00	Columbia			9	1-8-0	141	10	1-9-0	Ivy
136	-38.50	136	-42.81	135	118.75	Pennsylvania			8	1-7-0	142	10	1-9-0	Ivy
137	-43.16	137	-45.61	129	111.50	Eastern Michigan			10	0-10-0	143	11	0-11-0	MAC

Navigation - College Football
Rankings Home Page	Main Page 1981	Rankings - All Seasons	Teams - All Seasons	Historical Team Comparisons	Top of this page

Links to the same page for other seasons
1989	1988	1987	1986	1985	1984	1983	1982	1981	1980	1979	1978	1977	1976	1975	1974	1973

Navigation - College Football
Rankings Home Page	Main Page 1981	Rankings - All Seasons	Teams - All Seasons	Historical Team Comparisons	Top of this page

       Soren Sorensen  -  Updated Thu Sep  3 18:07:46 2026

College Football 1981Ranking of Division I-A Teams

Based on games played between 1981/9/5 and 1982/1/1Ratings based on Chi Square fit to Score Difference (ScoreDif)

College Football 1981
Ranking of Division I-A Teams

Based on games played between 1981/9/5 and 1982/1/1
Ratings based on Chi Square fit to Score Difference (ScoreDif)