1981 Week 5 College Football Team Rankings

September 29, 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	4	0.515	North Carolina (NORTH CAROLINA)	ACC	3–0	1.000	1	+5	Beat Boston College 56–14
2	1	0.691	Iowa State (IOWA STATE)	IND B8	3–0	1.000	1	+6	Beat Kent State 28–19
3	4	0.720	Minnesota (MINNESOTA)	B10	3–0	1.000	1	+5	Beat Oregon State 42–12
4	-3	0.777	Arizona State (ARIZONA STATE)	PAC	2–1	0.667	37	+5	Lost to Washington State 21–24
5	4	0.937	Pittsburgh (PITTSBURGH)	IND FBSI	2–0	1.000	1	+3	BYE
6	4	0.949	USC	PAC	3–0	1.000	1	+4	Beat Oklahoma 28–24
7	5	1.174	Mississippi State (MISSISSIPPI STATE)	SEC	3–0	1.000	1	+4	Beat Florida 28–7
8	19	1.193	Missouri (MISSOURI)	IND B8	3–0	1.000	1	+3	Beat Louisville 34–3
9	6	1.243	Penn State (PENN STATE)	IND FBSI	2–0	1.000	1	+2	Beat Nebraska 30–24
10	1	1.267	Washington (WASHINGTON)	PAC	3–0	1.000	1	+3	Beat Oregon 17–3
11	23	1.273	Arkansas (ARKANSAS)	IND SWC	3–0	1.000	1	+3	Beat Ole Miss 27–13
12	16	1.299	Washington State (WASHINGTON STATE)	PAC	3–0	1.000	1	+3	Beat Arizona State 24–21
13	19	1.334	Texas (TEXAS)	IND SWC	3–0	1.000	1	+2	Beat Miami 14–7
14	6	1.363	Clemson (CLEMSON)	ACC	3–0	1.000	1	+3	BYE
15	20	1.366	Ohio State (OHIO STATE)	B10	3–0	1.000	1	+2	Beat Stanford 24–19
16	21	1.375	San Diego State (SAN DIEGO STATE)	IND WAC	2–0	1.000	1	+1	Beat Oklahoma State 23–16
17	-13	1.393	Miami (MIAMI)	IND FBSI	2–1	0.667	37	+4	Lost to Texas 7–14
18	0	1.437	BYU	IND WAC	4–0	1.000	1	+2	Beat Colorado 41–20
19	-17	1.477	Oklahoma (OKLAHOMA)	IND B8	1–1	0.500	65	+2	Lost to USC 24–28
20	27	1.499	Iowa (IOWA)	B10	2–1	0.667	37	+3	Beat UCLA 20–7
21	27	1.500	Wisconsin (WISCONSIN)	B10	2–1	0.667	37	+3	Beat Western Michigan 21–10
22	24	1.511	Georgia (GEORGIA)	SEC	3–1	0.750	26	+5	Beat South Carolina 24–0
23	15	1.514	West Virginia (WEST VIRGINIA)	IND FBSI	3–0	1.000	1	+1	Beat Colorado State 49–3
24	16	1.522	Virginia Military Institute (VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE)	IND SOCON	2–0	1.000	1	+1	BYE
25	0	1.526	SMU	IND SWC	4–0	1.000	1	+2	Beat TCU 20–9
26	-9	1.557	Virginia Tech (VIRGINIA TECH)	IND FBSI	3–0	1.000	1	+2	Beat Wake Forest 30–14
27	3	1.568	Kansas (KANSAS)	IND B8	3–0	1.000	1	+2	Beat Kentucky 21–16
28	1	1.623	Southern Miss (SOUTHERN MISS)	IND FBSI	3–0	1.000	1	+2	Beat Richmond 17–10
29	16	1.674	Drake (DRAKE)	IND MVC	4–0	1.000	1	+2	Beat Kansas State 18–17
30	12	1.712	West Texas A&M (WEST TEXAS A&M)	IND MVC	3–1	0.750	26	+5	Beat Texas Arlington 35–31
31	-18	1.790	UCLA	PAC	2–1	0.667	37	+2	Lost to Iowa 7–20
32	42	1.816	Michigan (MICHIGAN)	B10	2–1	0.667	37	+2	Beat Navy 21–16
33	20	1.872	UNLV	IND FBSI	3–1	0.750	26	+4	Beat Long Beach State 32–31
34	-10	1.885	Hawai'i (HAWAII)	IND WAC	2–0	1.000	1	0	Beat Idaho 21–6
35	-4	1.929	Yale (YALE)	IND IVY	2–0	1.000	1	0	Beat UConn 27–18
36	-28	1.993	Boston College (BOSTON COLLEGE)	IND FBSI	1–1	0.500	65	+2	Lost to North Carolina 14–56
37	17	2.045	Alabama (ALABAMA)	SEC	3–1	0.750	26	+2	Beat Vanderbilt 28–7
38	-22	2.079	Ole Miss (MISSISSIPPI)	SEC	3–1	0.750	26	+3	Lost to Arkansas 13–27
39	28	2.105	Citadel (CITADEL)	IND SOCON	2–1	0.667	37	+2	Beat App State 34–20
40	-14	2.189	App State (APPALACHIAN STATE)	IND SOCON	3–1	0.750	26	+1	Lost to Citadel 20–34
41	-20	2.207	Florida (FLORIDA)	SEC	2–2	0.500	65	+2	Lost to Mississippi State 7–28
42	16	2.211	Illinois (ILLINOIS)	B10	2–1	0.667	37	+2	BYE
43	7	2.223	Baylor (BAYLOR)	IND SWC	3–1	0.750	26	+1	Beat Texas Tech 28–15
44	20	2.250	Houston (HOUSTON)	IND SWC	2–1	0.667	37	+2	Beat Utah State 35–7
45	20	2.265	Purdue (PURDUE)	B10	2–1	0.667	37	+1	Beat Notre Dame 15–14
46	-40	2.276	Western Michigan (WESTERN MICHIGAN)	MAC	2–1	0.667	37	+1	Lost to Wisconsin 10–21
47	19	2.279	Ohio (OHIO)	MAC	2–1	0.667	37	+1	Beat Ball State 30–27
48	-25	2.311	Navy (NAVY)	IND FBSI	2–1	0.667	37	+1	Lost to Michigan 16–21
49	0	2.350	Utah (UTAH)	IND WAC	3–1	0.750	26	+1	Beat Northwestern 42–0
50	10	2.449	Nebraska (NEBRASKA)	IND B8	1–2	0.333	80	+1	Lost to Penn State 24–30
51	18	2.498	UL Monroe (LOUISIANA MONROE)	IND FBSI	2–1	0.667	37	+1	BYE
52	30	2.502	Arkansas State (ARKANSAS STATE)	IND SLC	2–1	0.667	37	0	Beat Central Michigan 26–23
53	-34	2.503	NC State (NORTH CAROLINA STATE)	ACC	3–1	0.750	26	+2	Lost to Maryland 9–34
54	18	2.543	San José State (SAN JOSE STATE)	IND PCAA	3–1	0.750	26	0	Beat California 27–24
55	-33	2.601	Rutgers (RUTGERS)	IND FBSI	3–1	0.750	26	0	Lost to Cincinnati 0–10
56	-12	2.633	Colorado (COLORADO)	IND B8	1–2	0.333	80	+1	Lost to BYU 20–41
57	16	2.768	Miami (OH) (MIAMI (OH))	MAC	2–1	0.667	37	0	Beat Eastern Michigan 18–12
58	-1	2.840	Florida State (FLORIDA STATE)	IND FBSI	2–1	0.667	37	+1	BYE
59	30	2.846	Furman (FURMAN)	IND SOCON	2–1	0.667	37	0	Beat Western Carolina 31–27
60	-4	2.914	Texas A&M (TEXAS A & M)	IND SWC	2–1	0.667	37	+1	Beat Louisiana Tech 43–7
61	57	2.934	Maryland (MARYLAND)	ACC	1–2	0.333	80	+1	Beat NC State 34–9
62	-11	2.962	Louisville (LOUISVILLE)	IND FBSI	2–2	0.500	65	+1	Lost to Missouri 3–34
63	22	2.974	Colgate (COLGATE)	IND FBSI	2–1	0.667	37	-1	Beat Cornell 34–10
64	-1	2.980	Wichita State (WICHITA STATE)	IND MVC	2–1–1	0.625	64	0	Tied Indiana State 14–14
65	-3	3.030	Richmond (RICHMOND)	IND FBSI	1–3	0.250	106	+1	Lost to Southern Miss 10–17
66	-14	3.088	South Carolina (SOUTH CAROLINA)	IND FBSI	2–2	0.500	65	0	Lost to Georgia 0–24
67	-26	3.112	Oklahoma State (OKLAHOMA STATE)	IND B8	1–1	0.500	65	0	Lost to San Diego State 16–23
68	36	3.137	Tennessee (TENNESSEE)	SEC	2–2	0.500	65	0	Beat Auburn 10–7
69	24	3.145	East Carolina (EAST CAROLINA)	IND FBSI	2–2	0.500	65	0	Beat Toledo 28–24
70	26	3.151	Indiana State (INDIANA STATE)	IND MVC	1–2–1	0.375	79	0	Tied Wichita State 14–14
71	13	3.233	Tennessee Chattanooga (TENNESSEE-CHATTANOOGA)	IND SOCON	2–1	0.667	37	-1	Beat Jacksonville State 10–3
72	4	3.239	Mcneese State (MCNEESE STATE)	IND SLC	2–1	0.667	37	-1	BYE
73	-5	3.253	Vanderbilt (VANDERBILT)	SEC	1–2	0.333	80	0	Lost to Alabama 7–28
74	-60	3.263	Lamar (LAMAR)	IND SLC	2–1	0.667	37	+3	Lost to Texas State 7–24
75	-20	3.266	Wyoming (WYOMING)	IND WAC	2–1	0.667	37	-1	BYE
76	5	3.280	Army (ARMY)	IND FBSI	1–2	0.333	80	0	Beat Brown 23–17
77	9	3.425	Kansas State (KANSAS STATE)	IND B8	1–2	0.333	80	0	Lost to Drake 17–18
78	13	3.508	Kentucky (KENTUCKY)	SEC	1–2	0.333	80	-1	Lost to Kansas 16–21
79	20	3.537	Notre Dame (NOTRE DAME)	IND FBSI	1–2	0.333	80	0	Lost to Purdue 14–15
80	-37	3.611	Illinois State (ILLINOIS STATE)	IND MVC	2–1	0.667	37	-2	Lost to Northern Illinois 7–40
81	40	3.663	Holy Cross (HOLY CROSS)	IND FBSI	2–1	0.667	37	+1	Beat Harvard 33–19
82	15	3.735	Temple (TEMPLE)	IND FBSI	2–1	0.667	37	+1	BYE
83	-47	3.750	Harvard (HARVARD)	IND IVY	1–1	0.500	65	-1	Lost to Holy Cross 19–33
84	26	3.805	LSU	SEC	2–2	0.500	65	-2	Beat Rice 28–14
85	21	3.839	Oregon State (OREGON STATE)	PAC	1–2	0.333	80	-1	Lost to Minnesota 12–42
86	26	3.906	Michigan State (MICHIGAN STATE)	B10	1–2	0.333	80	-1	Beat Bowling Green 10–7
87	-7	3.934	Utah State (UTAH STATE)	IND PCAA	2–2	0.500	65	-2	Lost to Houston 7–35
88	14	3.947	Memphis (MEMPHIS)	IND FBSI	1–3	0.250	106	-1	Beat Georgia Tech 28–15
89	-6	4.030	Kent State (KENT STATE)	MAC	1–2	0.333	80	-1	Lost to Iowa State 19–28
90	-12	4.052	Tulane (TULANE)	IND FBSI	0–3	0.000	119	-1	BYE
91	16	4.072	Oregon (OREGON)	PAC	1–3	0.250	106	-1	Lost to Washington 3–17
92	-13	4.104	Ball State (BALL STATE)	MAC	1–2	0.333	80	-1	Lost to Ohio 27–30
93	12	4.178	Louisiana Tech (LOUISIANA TECH)	IND SLC	1–3	0.250	106	-1	Lost to Texas A&M 7–43
94	0	4.210	TCU	IND SWC	1–2	0.333	80	-1	Lost to SMU 9–20
95	21	4.300	California (CALIFORNIA)	PAC	1–3	0.250	106	-2	Lost to San José State 24–27
96	21	4.361	Syracuse (SYRACUSE)	IND FBSI	1–3	0.250	106	-2	Beat Indiana 21–7
97	27	4.389	East Tennessee State (EAST TENNESSEE STATE)	IND SOCON	2–2	0.500	65	-3	Beat Marshall 14–0
98	13	4.429	Central Michigan (CENTRAL MICHIGAN)	MAC	1–2	0.333	80	-2	Lost to Arkansas State 23–26
99	15	4.430	Duke (DUKE)	ACC	1–2	0.333	80	-2	Beat Virginia 29–24
100	-13	4.461	Wake Forest (WAKE FOREST)	ACC	1–3	0.250	106	-2	Lost to Virginia Tech 14–30
101	2	4.472	Long Beach State (LONG BEACH STATE)	IND PCAA	1–3	0.250	106	-2	Lost to UNLV 31–32
102	-41	4.564	Toledo (TOLEDO)	MAC	1–2	0.333	80	-3	Lost to East Carolina 24–28
103	5	4.638	Pacific (PACIFIC)	IND PCAA	1–2	0.333	80	-2	BYE
104	27	4.750	Cincinnati (CINCINNATI)	IND FBSI	1–3	0.250	106	+3	Beat Rutgers 10–0
105	-46	4.755	Georgia Tech (GEORGIA TECH)	IND FBSI	1–2	0.333	80	-2	Lost to Memphis 15–28
106	30	4.785	Northern Illinois (NORTHERN ILLINOIS)	MAC	1–2	0.333	80	-3	Beat Illinois State 40–7
107	-6	4.820	Texas Tech (TEXAS TECH)	IND SWC	1–2	0.333	80	-2	Lost to Baylor 15–28
108	1	4.826	Texas Arlington (TEXAS-ARLINGTON)	IND SLC	1–3	0.250	106	-2	Lost to West Texas A&M 31–35
109	19	4.980	Stanford (STANFORD)	PAC	0–3	0.000	119	-2	Lost to Ohio State 19–24
110	-39	5.120	Indiana (INDIANA)	B10	1–2	0.333	80	-3	Lost to Syracuse 7–21
111	-23	5.225	Marshall (MARSHALL)	IND SOCON	1–2	0.333	80	-3	Lost to East Tennessee State 0–14
112	-14	5.275	Auburn (AUBURN)	SEC	1–2	0.333	80	-4	Lost to Tennessee 7–10
113	10	5.415	Arizona (ARIZONA)	PAC	1–2	0.333	80	-4	Beat CAL State Fullerton 37–16
114	13	5.443	New Mexico (NEW MEXICO)	IND WAC	1–3	0.250	106	-4	Beat Air Force 27–10
115	-15	5.501	Rice (RICE)	IND SWC	0–3	0.000	119	-2	Lost to LSU 14–28
116	-83	5.591	Dartmouth (DARTMOUTH)	IND IVY	1–1	0.500	65	0	Lost to Massachusetts 8–10
117	-40	5.803	Virginia (VIRGINIA)	ACC	0–3	0.000	119	-3	Lost to Duke 24–29
118	12	5.849	Colorado State (COLORADO STATE)	IND WAC	0–3	0.000	119	-2	Lost to West Virginia 3–49
119	14	5.932	Louisiana (LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE)	IND SLC	1–3	0.250	106	-1	Beat North Texas 34–11
120	9	6.012	Western Carolina (WESTERN CAROLINA)	IND SOCON	0–4	0.000	119	-4	Lost to Furman 27–31
121	4	6.046	William & Mary (WILLIAM & MARY)	IND FBSI	0–3	0.000	119	-2	BYE
122	-52	6.203	Tulsa (TULSA)	IND MVC	0–4	0.000	119	-4	Lost to Southern Illinois 34–36
123	-84	6.246	Pennsylvania (PENNSYLVANIA)	IND IVY	1–1	0.500	65	0	Lost to Lehigh 0–58
124	-29	6.342	Brown (BROWN)	IND IVY	0–2	0.000	119	-2	Lost to Army 17–23
125	-5	6.406	Northwestern (NORTHWESTERN)	B10	0–3	0.000	119	-3	Lost to Utah 0–42
126	-4	6.430	Fresno State (FRESNO STATE)	IND PCAA	1–2	0.333	80	-1	BYE
127	-1	6.437	New Mexico State (NEW MEXICO STATE)	IND MVC	1–2	0.333	80	-5	BYE
128	7	6.460	Southern Illinois (SOUTHERN ILLINOIS)	IND MVC	1–3	0.250	106	-2	Beat Tulsa 36–34
129	3	6.881	Bowling Green (BOWLING GREEN)	MAC	0–3	0.000	119	-4	Lost to Michigan State 7–10
130	-11	6.925	CAL State Fullerton (CAL STATE FULLERTON)	IND PCAA	0–4	0.000	119	-5	Lost to Arizona 16–37
131	-18	6.986	Air Force (AIR FORCE)	IND WAC	0–3	0.000	119	-4	Lost to New Mexico 10–27
132	-17	7.081	North Texas (NORTH TEXAS)	IND FBSI	0–4	0.000	119	-5	Lost to Louisiana 11–34
133	-58	7.177	Cornell (CORNELL)	IND IVY	0–2	0.000	119	-2	Lost to Colgate 10–34
134	0	8.400	Eastern Michigan (EASTERN MICHIGAN)	MAC	0–3	0.000	119	-2	Lost to Miami (OH) 12–18
135	2	9.142	UTEP	IND WAC	0–3	0.000	119	-2	BYE
136	-46	10.707	Columbia (COLUMBIA)	IND IVY	0–2	0.000	119	-1	Lost to Lafayette 13–28
137	-45	11.403	Princeton (PRINCETON)	IND IVY	0–2	0.000	119	-1	Lost to Delaware 8–61