1981 Week 3 College Football Team Rankings

September 15, 1981By PowerUpRankings.com • Posted in 1981 Season Tags: • No Comments

1981 rankings calculated with the Classic formula (Ken's 2016-based hybrid, applied retroactively); records, NOW and game results come from James Howell's historical college football score archive.

entries per pageSearch:

Rank	Change	Rating	Team	Conf	Record	Win %	Place	NOW	Game Status
1	68	0.526	North Carolina (NORTH CAROLINA)	ACC	1–0	1.000	1	+1	Beat East Carolina 56–0
2	31	0.638	Arizona State (ARIZONA STATE)	PAC	1–0	1.000	1	+1	Beat Utah 52–10
3	32	0.797	Arkansas State (ARKANSAS STATE)	IND SLC	1–0	1.000	1	+1	Beat UL Monroe 35–13
4	6	0.813	Pittsburgh (PITTSBURGH)	IND FBSI	1–0	1.000	1	+1	BYE
5	90	0.813	Washington (WASHINGTON)	PAC	1–0	1.000	1	+1	Beat Pacific 34–14
6	69	0.837	Oklahoma (OKLAHOMA)	IND B8	1–0	1.000	1	+1	Beat Wyoming 37–20
7	-6	0.841	SMU	IND SWC	2–0	1.000	1	+1	Beat North Texas 34–7
8	70	0.893	Penn State (PENN STATE)	IND FBSI	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Cincinnati 52–0
9	48	0.941	Iowa State (IOWA STATE)	IND B8	1–0	1.000	1	+1	Beat West Texas A&M 17–13
10	27	0.949	Ball State (BALL STATE)	MAC	1–0	1.000	1	+1	Beat Mcneese State 24–21
11	40	0.949	Georgia Tech (GEORGIA TECH)	IND FBSI	1–0	1.000	1	+1	Beat Alabama 24–21
12	65	0.949	Oregon State (OREGON STATE)	PAC	1–0	1.000	1	+1	Beat Fresno State 31–28
13	-5	0.953	BYU	IND WAC	2–0	1.000	1	+1	Beat Air Force 45–21
14	13	0.964	Lamar (LAMAR)	IND SLC	1–0	1.000	1	+1	BYE
15	13	0.964	Miami (MIAMI)	IND FBSI	1–0	1.000	1	+1	BYE
16	74	1.020	USC	PAC	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Tennessee 43–7
17	-5	1.052	Florida State (FLORIDA STATE)	IND FBSI	2–0	1.000	1	+1	Beat Memphis 10–5
18	-1	1.072	UNLV	IND FBSI	2–0	1.000	1	+1	Beat New Mexico 49–42
19	-17	1.076	Georgia (GEORGIA)	SEC	2–0	1.000	1	0	Beat California 27–13
20	66	1.084	Texas (TEXAS)	IND SWC	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Rice 31–3
21	-18	1.092	Temple (TEMPLE)	IND FBSI	2–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Syracuse 31–19
22	-16	1.100	Southern Miss (SOUTHERN MISS)	IND FBSI	1–0	1.000	1	0	BYE
23	6	1.108	Ole Miss (MISSISSIPPI)	SEC	2–0	1.000	1	+1	Beat South Carolina 20–13
24	-15	1.132	Kentucky (KENTUCKY)	SEC	1–0	1.000	1	0	BYE
25	49	1.140	Ohio State (OHIO STATE)	B10	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Duke 34–13
26	36	1.156	Miami (OH) (MIAMI (OH))	MAC	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat William & Mary 33–14
27	16	1.164	Colorado (COLORADO)	IND B8	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Texas Tech 45–27
28	44	1.164	Notre Dame (NOTRE DAME)	IND FBSI	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat LSU 27–9
29	-16	1.172	Mississippi State (MISSISSIPPI STATE)	SEC	1–0	1.000	1	0	BYE
30	59	1.172	UCLA	PAC	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Arizona 35–18
31	52	1.180	San Diego State (SAN DIEGO STATE)	IND WAC	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Colorado State 30–14
32	62	1.180	Virginia Tech (VIRGINIA TECH)	IND FBSI	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Richmond 28–12
33	33	1.196	Missouri (MISSOURI)	IND B8	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Army 24–10
34	63	1.196	West Virginia (WEST VIRGINIA)	IND FBSI	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Virginia 32–18
35	-19	1.220	Houston (HOUSTON)	IND SWC	1–0	1.000	1	0	BYE
36	31	1.228	Navy (NAVY)	IND FBSI	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Citadel 17–7
37	-18	1.243	Auburn (AUBURN)	SEC	1–0	1.000	1	0	BYE
38	43	1.243	Purdue (PURDUE)	B10	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Stanford 27–19
39	54	1.251	Virginia Military Institute (VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE)	IND SOCON	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Western Carolina 21–14
40	59	1.251	Wisconsin (WISCONSIN)	B10	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Michigan 21–14
41	-16	1.255	Kansas (KANSAS)	IND B8	2–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Oregon 19–10
42	49	1.259	Vanderbilt (VANDERBILT)	SEC	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Maryland 23–17
43	-19	1.263	NC State (NORTH CAROLINA STATE)	ACC	2–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Wake Forest 28–23
44	-18	1.267	Rutgers (RUTGERS)	IND FBSI	2–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Colgate 13–5
45	-11	1.275	Arkansas (ARKANSAS)	IND SWC	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Tulsa 14–10
46	10	1.283	Iowa (IOWA)	B10	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Nebraska 10–7
47	51	1.283	Western Michigan (WESTERN MICHIGAN)	MAC	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Kent State 20–17
48	17	1.291	Minnesota (MINNESOTA)	B10	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Ohio 19–17
49	6	1.299	Indiana (INDIANA)	B10	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Northwestern 21–20
50	-20	1.299	Texas A&M (TEXAS A & M)	IND SWC	1–0	1.000	1	0	BYE
51	75	1.582	Clemson (CLEMSON)	ACC	2–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Tulane 13–5
52	76	1.602	Wichita State (WICHITA STATE)	IND MVC	2–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Southern Illinois 13–7
53	78	1.706	Drake (DRAKE)	IND MVC	2–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Indiana State 17–14
54	-16	1.826	Boston College (BOSTON COLLEGE)	IND FBSI	0–0	0.000	127	0	BYE
55	-15	1.826	Brown (BROWN)	IND IVY	0–0	0.000	127	0	BYE
56	-11	1.826	Columbia (COLUMBIA)	IND IVY	0–0	0.000	127	0	BYE
57	-11	1.826	Cornell (CORNELL)	IND IVY	0–0	0.000	127	0	BYE
58	-11	1.826	Dartmouth (DARTMOUTH)	IND IVY	0–0	0.000	127	0	BYE
59	-7	1.826	Harvard (HARVARD)	IND IVY	0–0	0.000	127	0	BYE
60	-7	1.826	Hawai'i (HAWAII)	IND WAC	0–0	0.000	127	0	BYE
61	15	1.826	Oklahoma State (OKLAHOMA STATE)	IND B8	0–0	0.000	127	0	BYE
62	17	1.826	Pennsylvania (PENNSYLVANIA)	IND IVY	0–0	0.000	127	0	BYE
63	17	1.826	Princeton (PRINCETON)	IND IVY	0–0	0.000	127	0	BYE
64	36	1.826	Yale (YALE)	IND IVY	0–0	0.000	127	0	BYE
65	59	1.865	App State (APPALACHIAN STATE)	IND SOCON	2–0	1.000	1	0	Beat James Madison 45–0
66	-43	1.941	West Texas A&M (WEST TEXAS A&M)	IND MVC	1–1	0.500	61	+1	Lost to Iowa State 13–17
67	62	2.009	Illinois State (ILLINOIS STATE)	IND MVC	1–0	1.000	1	0	BYE
68	33	2.010	Baylor (BAYLOR)	IND SWC	1–1	0.500	61	0	Beat Bowling Green 38–0
69	16	2.017	Tennessee Chattanooga (TENNESSEE-CHATTANOOGA)	IND SOCON	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Middle Tennessee 42–19
70	-12	2.033	Kansas State (KANSAS STATE)	IND B8	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat South Dakota 31–10
71	32	2.100	Florida (FLORIDA)	SEC	1–1	0.500	61	0	Beat Furman 35–7
72	24	2.104	Washington State (WASHINGTON STATE)	PAC	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Montana State 33–21
73	-19	2.136	Holy Cross (HOLY CROSS)	IND FBSI	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Boston University 14–6
74	-14	2.176	Marshall (MARSHALL)	IND SOCON	1–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Morehead State 20–17
75	-64	2.218	Alabama (ALABAMA)	SEC	1–1	0.500	61	0	Lost to Georgia Tech 21–24
76	-5	2.229	Northwestern (NORTHWESTERN)	B10	0–1	0.000	82	0	Lost to Indiana 20–21
77	-62	2.236	Mcneese State (MCNEESE STATE)	IND SLC	1–1	0.500	61	0	Lost to Ball State 21–24
78	-64	2.257	South Carolina (SOUTH CAROLINA)	IND FBSI	1–1	0.500	61	0	Lost to Ole Miss 13–20
79	-6	2.264	Ohio (OHIO)	MAC	0–1	0.000	82	0	Lost to Minnesota 17–19
80	37	2.283	Louisville (LOUISVILLE)	IND FBSI	1–1	0.500	61	0	Beat Toledo 31–6
81	-74	2.283	Wyoming (WYOMING)	IND WAC	1–1	0.500	61	0	Lost to Oklahoma 20–37
82	-64	2.286	Utah (UTAH)	IND WAC	1–1	0.500	61	+1	Lost to Arizona State 10–52
83	-78	2.288	UL Monroe (LOUISIANA MONROE)	IND FBSI	1–1	0.500	61	0	Lost to Arkansas State 13–35
84	-25	2.299	Kent State (KENT STATE)	MAC	0–1	0.000	82	0	Lost to Western Michigan 17–20
85	-17	2.299	Nebraska (NEBRASKA)	IND B8	0–1	0.000	82	0	Lost to Iowa 7–10
86	-66	2.308	Fresno State (FRESNO STATE)	IND PCAA	1–1	0.500	61	0	Lost to Oregon State 28–31
87	49	2.318	Texas Arlington (TEXAS-ARLINGTON)	IND SLC	1–1	0.500	61	+1	Beat New Mexico State 26–13
88	18	2.333	Tulsa (TULSA)	IND MVC	0–2	0.000	82	0	Lost to Arkansas 10–14
89	15	2.351	Tulane (TULANE)	IND FBSI	0–2	0.000	82	0	Lost to Clemson 5–13
90	-29	2.403	Maryland (MARYLAND)	ACC	0–1	0.000	82	0	Lost to Vanderbilt 17–23
91	-28	2.438	Michigan (MICHIGAN)	B10	0–1	0.000	82	0	Lost to Wisconsin 14–21
92	13	2.438	Syracuse (SYRACUSE)	IND FBSI	0–2	0.000	82	0	Lost to Temple 19–31
93	28	2.447	Illinois (ILLINOIS)	B10	1–1	0.500	61	0	Beat Michigan State 27–17
94	8	2.455	California (CALIFORNIA)	PAC	0–2	0.000	82	0	Lost to Georgia 13–27
95	-53	2.472	Colgate (COLGATE)	IND FBSI	0–1	0.000	82	0	Lost to Rutgers 5–13
96	-12	2.472	Stanford (STANFORD)	PAC	0–1	0.000	82	0	Lost to Purdue 19–27
97	15	2.472	TCU	IND SWC	0–1	0.000	82	0	BYE
98	-76	2.474	Pacific (PACIFIC)	IND PCAA	1–1	0.500	61	0	Lost to Washington 14–34
99	24	2.477	Long Beach State (LONG BEACH STATE)	IND PCAA	1–1	0.500	61	0	Beat Northern Illinois 17–7
100	15	2.507	New Mexico (NEW MEXICO)	IND WAC	0–2	0.000	82	0	Lost to UNLV 42–49
101	-60	2.542	Citadel (CITADEL)	IND SOCON	0–1	0.000	82	0	Lost to Navy 7–17
102	-98	2.566	East Carolina (EAST CAROLINA)	IND FBSI	1–1	0.500	61	0	Lost to North Carolina 0–56
103	16	2.577	Memphis (MEMPHIS)	IND FBSI	0–2	0.000	82	0	Lost to Florida State 5–10
104	3	2.577	Richmond (RICHMOND)	IND FBSI	0–2	0.000	82	0	Lost to Virginia Tech 12–28
105	-69	2.681	Army (ARMY)	IND FBSI	0–1	0.000	82	0	Lost to Missouri 10–24
106	-14	2.681	Virginia (VIRGINIA)	ACC	0–1	0.000	82	0	Lost to West Virginia 18–32
107	-63	2.751	Colorado State (COLORADO STATE)	IND WAC	0–1	0.000	82	0	Lost to San Diego State 14–30
108	-76	2.786	Arizona (ARIZONA)	PAC	0–1	0.000	82	0	Lost to UCLA 18–35
109	-22	2.820	Texas Tech (TEXAS TECH)	IND SWC	0–1	0.000	82	0	Lost to Colorado 27–45
110	-62	2.925	Duke (DUKE)	ACC	0–1	0.000	82	0	Lost to Ohio State 13–34
111	-2	2.956	Louisiana Tech (LOUISIANA TECH)	IND SLC	1–1	0.500	61	0	Beat East Tennessee State 31–3
112	-81	3.029	Air Force (AIR FORCE)	IND WAC	0–1	0.000	82	0	Lost to BYU 21–45
113	9	3.046	North Texas (NORTH TEXAS)	IND FBSI	0–2	0.000	82	0	Lost to SMU 7–34
114	-1	3.139	San José State (SAN JOSE STATE)	IND PCAA	1–1	0.500	61	0	Beat Santa Clara 41–7
115	-33	3.168	Rice (RICE)	IND SWC	0–1	0.000	82	0	Lost to Texas 3–31
116	18	3.255	William & Mary (WILLIAM & MARY)	IND FBSI	0–2	0.000	82	0	Lost to Miami (OH) 14–33
117	-3	3.568	Utah State (UTAH STATE)	IND PCAA	1–1	0.500	61	-1	Beat CAL State Fullerton 14–9
118	-97	3.580	New Mexico State (NEW MEXICO STATE)	IND MVC	1–1	0.500	61	-1	Lost to Texas Arlington 13–26
119	16	3.586	Tennessee (TENNESSEE)	SEC	0–2	0.000	82	0	Lost to USC 7–43
120	-10	4.559	Oregon (OREGON)	PAC	0–2	0.000	82	-1	Lost to Kansas 10–19
121	-5	4.646	Southern Illinois (SOUTHERN ILLINOIS)	IND MVC	0–2	0.000	82	-1	Lost to Wichita State 7–13
122	-2	4.664	Wake Forest (WAKE FOREST)	ACC	0–2	0.000	82	-1	Lost to NC State 23–28
123	9	4.713	East Tennessee State (EAST TENNESSEE STATE)	IND SOCON	1–1	0.500	61	-1	Lost to Louisiana Tech 3–31
124	6	4.855	Indiana State (INDIANA STATE)	IND MVC	0–2	0.000	82	-1	Lost to Drake 14–17
125	-7	4.890	LSU	SEC	0–2	0.000	82	-1	Lost to Notre Dame 9–27
126	7	5.029	Western Carolina (WESTERN CAROLINA)	IND SOCON	0–2	0.000	82	-1	Lost to Virginia Military Institute 14–21
127	-19	6.612	Central Michigan (CENTRAL MICHIGAN)	MAC	0–1	0.000	82	-1	BYE
128	-64	6.716	Michigan State (MICHIGAN STATE)	B10	0–1	0.000	82	-1	Lost to Illinois 17–27
129	-59	6.716	Northern Illinois (NORTHERN ILLINOIS)	MAC	0–1	0.000	82	-1	Lost to Long Beach State 7–17
130	-5	6.890	CAL State Fullerton (CAL STATE FULLERTON)	IND PCAA	0–2	0.000	82	-2	Lost to Utah State 9–14
131	-43	7.238	Toledo (TOLEDO)	MAC	0–1	0.000	82	-1	Lost to Louisville 6–31
132	-82	7.342	Furman (FURMAN)	IND SOCON	0–1	0.000	82	-1	Lost to Florida 7–35
133	-6	7.533	Louisiana (LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE)	IND SLC	0–2	0.000	82	0	Lost to Southeastern Louisiana 0–7
134	-95	7.690	Bowling Green (BOWLING GREEN)	MAC	0–1	0.000	82	-1	Lost to Baylor 0–38
135	2	7.968	Cincinnati (CINCINNATI)	IND FBSI	0–2	0.000	82	0	Lost to Penn State 0–52
136	-25	9.551	UTEP	IND WAC	0–2	0.000	82	-1	Lost to Texas A&M Kingsville 15–37
137	-88	11.968	Eastern Michigan (EASTERN MICHIGAN)	MAC	0–1	0.000	82	0	Lost to Akron 7–14