1981 Week 9 College Football Team Rankings

October 27, 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	2	0.735	Penn State (PENN STATE)	IND FBSI	6–0	1.000	1	+21	Beat West Virginia 30–7
2	-1	0.753	Pittsburgh (PITTSBURGH)	IND FBSI	6–0	1.000	1	+23	Beat Syracuse 23–10
3	10	1.202	Hawai'i (HAWAII)	IND WAC	5–0	1.000	1	+14	Beat San Diego State 28–10
4	1	1.223	Arizona State (ARIZONA STATE)	PAC	6–1	0.857	10	+18	Beat Stanford 62–36
5	4	1.228	Clemson (CLEMSON)	ACC	7–0	1.000	1	+17	Beat NC State 17–7
6	5	1.283	Washington State (WASHINGTON STATE)	PAC	6–0–1	0.929	7	+15	Beat Arizona 34–19
7	-5	1.290	Iowa State (IOWA STATE)	IND B8	5–1–1	0.786	21	+18	Beat Colorado 17–10
8	-4	1.310	North Carolina (NORTH CAROLINA)	ACC	6–1	0.857	10	+16	Lost to South Carolina 13–31
9	8	1.310	Texas (TEXAS)	IND SWC	5–1	0.833	19	+15	Beat SMU 9–7
10	6	1.390	Nebraska (NEBRASKA)	IND B8	5–2	0.714	24	+14	Beat Missouri 6–0
11	1	1.394	Yale (YALE)	IND IVY	6–0	1.000	1	+12	Beat Pennsylvania 24–3
12	-4	1.408	Virginia Military Institute (VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE)	IND SOCON	5–0–1	0.917	8	+12	Beat Marshall 20–16
13	2	1.438	Southern Miss (SOUTHERN MISS)	IND FBSI	5–0–1	0.917	8	+10	BYE
14	0	1.463	Georgia (GEORGIA)	SEC	6–1	0.857	10	+16	Beat Kentucky 21–0
15	-5	1.512	Iowa (IOWA)	B10	5–2	0.714	24	+13	Lost to Minnesota 10–12
16	4	1.517	Drake (DRAKE)	IND MVC	7–0	1.000	1	+14	Beat West Texas A&M 21–13
17	-10	1.518	SMU	IND SWC	6–1	0.857	10	+14	Lost to Texas 7–9
18	-12	1.539	Missouri (MISSOURI)	IND B8	5–2	0.714	24	+14	Lost to Nebraska 0–6
19	4	1.586	Mississippi State (MISSISSIPPI STATE)	SEC	6–1	0.857	10	+13	Beat Auburn 21–17
20	2	1.722	Oklahoma (OKLAHOMA)	IND B8	3–2–1	0.583	55	+9	Beat Oregon State 42–3
21	15	1.724	Miami (MIAMI)	IND FBSI	4–2	0.667	46	+13	Beat East Carolina 31–6
22	-3	1.742	USC	PAC	6–1	0.857	10	+10	Beat Notre Dame 14–7
23	4	1.777	Miami (OH) (MIAMI (OH))	MAC	5–1–1	0.786	21	+11	Beat Ohio 40–14
24	7	1.802	Florida (FLORIDA)	SEC	5–2	0.714	24	+12	BYE
25	10	1.820	Alabama (ALABAMA)	SEC	6–1–1	0.813	20	+12	Beat Rutgers 31–7
26	-2	1.845	West Virginia (WEST VIRGINIA)	IND FBSI	5–2	0.714	24	+10	Lost to Penn State 7–30
27	15	1.859	Wyoming (WYOMING)	IND WAC	5–2	0.714	24	+13	Beat BYU 33–20
28	9	1.870	Utah (UTAH)	IND WAC	6–1	0.857	10	+7	Beat UNLV 69–28
29	3	1.892	Florida State (FLORIDA STATE)	IND FBSI	5–2	0.714	24	+13	Beat LSU 38–14
30	-12	1.985	BYU	IND WAC	6–2	0.750	23	+9	Lost to Wyoming 20–33
31	-10	2.006	San Diego State (SAN DIEGO STATE)	IND WAC	4–2	0.667	46	+10	Lost to Hawai'i 10–28
32	13	2.049	Navy (NAVY)	IND FBSI	5–2	0.714	24	+8	Beat William & Mary 27–0
33	7	2.067	Temple (TEMPLE)	IND FBSI	5–2	0.714	24	+16	Beat Cincinnati 24–13
34	-9	2.075	West Texas A&M (WEST TEXAS A&M)	IND MVC	5–3	0.625	50	+14	Lost to Drake 13–21
35	3	2.095	San José State (SAN JOSE STATE)	IND PCAA	6–1	0.857	10	+6	Beat Utah State 27–24
36	-3	2.098	Washington (WASHINGTON)	PAC	6–1	0.857	10	+6	Beat Texas Tech 14–7
37	-8	2.126	Michigan (MICHIGAN)	B10	5–2	0.714	24	+6	Beat Northwestern 38–0
38	11	2.142	Houston (HOUSTON)	IND SWC	4–3	0.571	56	+11	Beat Arkansas 20–17
39	0	2.182	Ohio State (OHIO STATE)	B10	5–2	0.714	24	+7	Beat Indiana 29–10
40	1	2.215	Furman (FURMAN)	IND SOCON	5–2	0.714	24	+6	Beat Liberty 38–14
41	11	2.240	Minnesota (MINNESOTA)	B10	5–2	0.714	24	+6	Beat Iowa 12–10
42	-16	2.311	UNLV	IND FBSI	4–3	0.571	56	+11	Lost to Utah 28–69
43	-15	2.372	Wisconsin (WISCONSIN)	B10	4–3	0.571	56	+9	Lost to Illinois 21–23
44	-14	2.377	Arkansas (ARKANSAS)	IND SWC	5–2	0.714	24	+5	Lost to Houston 17–20
45	1	2.381	Purdue (PURDUE)	B10	5–2	0.714	24	+4	Beat Michigan State 27–26
46	4	2.401	Virginia Tech (VIRGINIA TECH)	IND FBSI	5–2	0.714	24	+5	Beat App State 34–12
47	7	2.418	Illinois (ILLINOIS)	B10	4–3	0.571	56	+8	Beat Wisconsin 23–21
48	0	2.454	Mcneese State (MCNEESE STATE)	IND SLC	5–2	0.714	24	+3	Beat Arkansas State 21–7
49	12	2.483	Texas A&M (TEXAS A & M)	IND SWC	5–2	0.714	24	+5	Beat Rice 51–26
50	8	2.572	Oklahoma State (OKLAHOMA STATE)	IND B8	4–2	0.667	46	+6	Beat Louisville 19–11
51	13	2.578	South Carolina (SOUTH CAROLINA)	IND FBSI	5–3	0.625	50	+7	Beat North Carolina 31–13
52	5	2.649	Kansas (KANSAS)	IND B8	5–2	0.714	24	+5	Beat Kansas State 17–14
53	-9	2.684	UCLA	PAC	4–2–1	0.643	49	+3	Beat California 34–6
54	6	2.708	Baylor (BAYLOR)	IND SWC	5–3	0.625	50	+6	Beat TCU 34–21
55	-12	2.802	Rutgers (RUTGERS)	IND FBSI	5–3	0.625	50	+3	Lost to Alabama 7–31
56	12	2.838	East Tennessee State (EAST TENNESSEE STATE)	IND SOCON	5–2	0.714	24	0	Beat Wofford 34–8
57	-23	2.845	Tennessee Chattanooga (TENNESSEE-CHATTANOOGA)	IND SOCON	5–2	0.714	24	-1	Lost to Western Carolina 10–24
58	4	2.860	Colgate (COLGATE)	IND FBSI	5–2	0.714	24	-3	Beat Columbia 41–3
59	-8	2.976	NC State (NORTH CAROLINA STATE)	ACC	4–3	0.571	56	+5	Lost to Clemson 7–17
60	9	2.992	Citadel (CITADEL)	IND SOCON	4–3	0.571	56	+1	Beat Newberry 55–14
61	9	3.066	Southern Illinois (SOUTHERN ILLINOIS)	IND MVC	5–3	0.625	50	+8	Beat Louisiana 41–0
62	4	3.106	Tennessee (TENNESSEE)	SEC	4–3	0.571	56	+2	Beat Memphis 28–9
63	8	3.152	Western Michigan (WESTERN MICHIGAN)	MAC	4–3	0.571	56	+1	Beat Ball State 14–3
64	21	3.178	Maryland (MARYLAND)	ACC	3–3–1	0.500	68	+1	Beat Duke 24–21
65	17	3.213	Boston College (BOSTON COLLEGE)	IND FBSI	2–4	0.333	99	+3	Beat Army 41–6
66	-10	3.274	Arizona (ARIZONA)	PAC	4–3	0.571	56	+2	Lost to Washington State 19–34
67	24	3.404	Tulsa (TULSA)	IND MVC	3–4	0.429	77	-2	Beat Wichita State 52–21
68	-9	3.423	Duke (DUKE)	ACC	3–4	0.429	77	+1	Lost to Maryland 21–24
69	19	3.446	Indiana State (INDIANA STATE)	IND MVC	3–3–1	0.500	68	-1	Beat Illinois State 34–14
70	16	3.456	Central Michigan (CENTRAL MICHIGAN)	MAC	4–3	0.571	56	-3	Beat Kent State 24–3
71	-24	3.536	Toledo (TOLEDO)	MAC	4–3	0.571	56	-3	Lost to Bowling Green 0–38
72	-5	3.567	Arkansas State (ARKANSAS STATE)	IND SLC	3–4	0.429	77	-3	Lost to Mcneese State 7–21
73	-18	3.623	Wichita State (WICHITA STATE)	IND MVC	3–4–1	0.438	74	-1	Lost to Tulsa 21–52
74	-9	3.631	Cincinnati (CINCINNATI)	IND FBSI	3–4	0.429	77	+8	Lost to Temple 13–24
75	5	3.779	Notre Dame (NOTRE DAME)	IND FBSI	2–4	0.333	99	-2	Lost to USC 7–14
76	-13	3.784	East Carolina (EAST CAROLINA)	IND FBSI	4–4	0.500	68	-1	Lost to Miami 6–31
77	-3	3.812	Utah State (UTAH STATE)	IND PCAA	3–4–1	0.438	74	-3	Lost to San José State 24–27
78	1	3.865	App State (APPALACHIAN STATE)	IND SOCON	3–4–1	0.438	74	-7	Lost to Virginia Tech 12–34
79	-6	3.892	Louisville (LOUISVILLE)	IND FBSI	4–4	0.500	68	+2	Lost to Oklahoma State 11–19
80	-27	3.932	Army (ARMY)	IND FBSI	3–4	0.429	77	-4	Lost to Boston College 6–41
81	2	3.944	Auburn (AUBURN)	SEC	3–4	0.429	77	-5	Lost to Mississippi State 17–21
82	12	3.957	Holy Cross (HOLY CROSS)	IND FBSI	4–3	0.571	56	+6	Beat Brown 34–24
83	14	3.967	Tulane (TULANE)	IND FBSI	3–4	0.429	77	-4	Beat Georgia Tech 27–10
84	-8	3.983	Kent State (KENT STATE)	MAC	3–4	0.429	77	-4	Lost to Central Michigan 3–24
85	-10	3.994	Rice (RICE)	IND SWC	3–4	0.429	77	-4	Lost to Texas A&M 26–51
86	-5	4.131	Ohio (OHIO)	MAC	3–4	0.429	77	-6	Lost to Miami (OH) 14–40
87	6	4.141	Texas Arlington (TEXAS-ARLINGTON)	IND SLC	3–4	0.429	77	-2	Beat North Texas 7–6
88	-1	4.148	Colorado (COLORADO)	IND B8	2–5	0.286	101	-2	Lost to Iowa State 10–17
89	-12	4.161	Ole Miss (MISSISSIPPI)	SEC	3–5	0.375	92	-2	Lost to Vanderbilt 23–27
90	-18	4.163	TCU	IND SWC	2–4–1	0.357	97	-4	Lost to Baylor 21–34
91	-2	4.224	William & Mary (WILLIAM & MARY)	IND FBSI	2–5	0.286	101	-3	Lost to Navy 0–27
92	-8	4.352	California (CALIFORNIA)	PAC	1–6	0.143	121	-4	Lost to UCLA 6–34
93	20	4.387	Vanderbilt (VANDERBILT)	SEC	2–5	0.286	101	-3	Beat Ole Miss 27–23
94	4	4.424	Wake Forest (WAKE FOREST)	ACC	3–5	0.375	92	-6	Beat Virginia 24–21
95	-3	4.462	Stanford (STANFORD)	PAC	1–6	0.143	121	-6	Lost to Arizona State 36–62
96	6	4.468	Louisiana Tech (LOUISIANA TECH)	IND SLC	3–5	0.375	92	-8	Beat Northwestern State 37–33
97	-19	4.526	UL Monroe (LOUISIANA MONROE)	IND FBSI	3–4	0.429	77	-2	Lost to Southeastern Louisiana 47–50
98	11	4.560	Dartmouth (DARTMOUTH)	IND IVY	3–3	0.500	68	-3	Beat Cornell 42–7
99	-9	4.651	LSU	SEC	3–5	0.375	92	-8	Lost to Florida State 14–38
100	-4	4.654	Michigan State (MICHIGAN STATE)	B10	2–5	0.286	101	-7	Lost to Purdue 26–27
101	-6	4.685	Indiana (INDIANA)	B10	2–5	0.286	101	-7	Lost to Ohio State 10–29
102	6	4.809	New Mexico (NEW MEXICO)	IND WAC	3–5	0.375	92	-9	Beat New Mexico State 17–13
103	0	4.867	Lamar (LAMAR)	IND SLC	3–3	0.500	68	+3	BYE
104	-3	4.884	Syracuse (SYRACUSE)	IND FBSI	1–5–1	0.214	116	-6	Lost to Pittsburgh 10–23
105	-6	4.987	Richmond (RICHMOND)	IND FBSI	2–5	0.286	101	-10	BYE
106	1	5.154	Harvard (HARVARD)	IND IVY	2–3–1	0.417	90	-8	Tied Princeton 17–17
107	21	5.165	Bowling Green (BOWLING GREEN)	MAC	2–4–1	0.357	97	-9	Beat Toledo 38–0
108	6	5.311	Long Beach State (LONG BEACH STATE)	IND PCAA	2–5	0.286	101	-10	Beat CAL State Fullerton 10–9
109	-5	5.322	Ball State (BALL STATE)	MAC	2–5	0.286	101	-10	Lost to Western Michigan 3–14
110	-10	5.434	Pacific (PACIFIC)	IND PCAA	2–5	0.286	101	-10	Lost to Fresno State 27–30
111	-5	5.442	Illinois State (ILLINOIS STATE)	IND MVC	3–4	0.429	77	-16	Lost to Indiana State 14–34
112	18	5.453	Western Carolina (WESTERN CAROLINA)	IND SOCON	2–6	0.250	114	-6	Beat Tennessee Chattanooga 24–10
113	-1	5.465	Kentucky (KENTUCKY)	SEC	1–6	0.143	121	-11	Lost to Georgia 0–21
114	10	5.517	Air Force (AIR FORCE)	IND WAC	2–5	0.286	101	-14	Beat Oregon 20–10
115	0	5.538	Kansas State (KANSAS STATE)	IND B8	1–6	0.143	121	-11	Lost to Kansas 14–17
116	-11	5.672	CAL State Fullerton (CAL STATE FULLERTON)	IND PCAA	2–6	0.250	114	-13	Lost to Long Beach State 9–10
117	-6	5.798	Oregon State (OREGON STATE)	PAC	1–6	0.143	121	-9	Lost to Oklahoma 3–42
118	0	6.020	Texas Tech (TEXAS TECH)	IND SWC	1–6	0.143	121	-14	Lost to Washington 7–14
119	-2	6.135	Memphis (MEMPHIS)	IND FBSI	1–7	0.125	133	-16	Lost to Tennessee 9–28
120	-10	6.191	Oregon (OREGON)	PAC	1–6	0.143	121	-15	Lost to Air Force 10–20
121	-2	6.267	Princeton (PRINCETON)	IND IVY	2–3–1	0.417	90	-5	Tied Harvard 17–17
122	-6	6.322	Georgia Tech (GEORGIA TECH)	IND FBSI	1–6	0.143	121	-15	Lost to Tulane 10–27
123	10	6.442	Northern Illinois (NORTHERN ILLINOIS)	MAC	2–5	0.286	101	-18	Beat Eastern Michigan 30–7
124	-3	6.522	New Mexico State (NEW MEXICO STATE)	IND MVC	2–5	0.286	101	-18	Lost to New Mexico 13–17
125	1	6.569	Marshall (MARSHALL)	IND SOCON	1–6	0.143	121	-16	Lost to Virginia Military Institute 16–20
126	8	6.646	Fresno State (FRESNO STATE)	IND PCAA	2–5	0.286	101	-13	Beat Pacific 30–27
127	2	6.885	Northwestern (NORTHWESTERN)	B10	0–7	0.000	134	-16	Lost to Michigan 0–38
128	-6	7.030	Brown (BROWN)	IND IVY	1–5	0.167	118	-14	Lost to Holy Cross 24–34
129	-4	7.125	North Texas (NORTH TEXAS)	IND FBSI	1–6	0.143	121	-18	Lost to Texas Arlington 6–7
130	-10	7.307	Virginia (VIRGINIA)	ACC	0–7	0.000	134	-20	Lost to Wake Forest 21–24
131	1	7.345	Columbia (COLUMBIA)	IND IVY	1–5	0.167	118	-7	Lost to Colgate 3–41
132	-9	7.376	Cornell (CORNELL)	IND IVY	1–5	0.167	118	-14	Lost to Dartmouth 7–42
133	-6	7.376	Louisiana (LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE)	IND SLC	1–6	0.143	121	-14	Lost to Southern Illinois 0–41
134	3	7.811	UTEP	IND WAC	1–6	0.143	121	-15	Beat Colorado State 35–29
135	-4	7.859	Colorado State (COLORADO STATE)	IND WAC	0–7	0.000	134	-20	Lost to UTEP 29–35
136	-1	8.266	Pennsylvania (PENNSYLVANIA)	IND IVY	1–4	0.200	117	-9	Lost to Yale 3–24
137	-1	9.449	Eastern Michigan (EASTERN MICHIGAN)	MAC	0–7	0.000	134	-20	Lost to Northern Illinois 7–30