Duke
ACC · 1981 Season · Final
All-Time Resume
- 12-Team Playoff & Revenue Era · 2 seasons
- Limited Playoff Era · 26 seasons
- Independents & Bowl Tie-In Era · 16 seasons
- Divisional Era · 26 seasons
- AP Poll & Postwar Era · 20 seasons · 8 Top 10 · 1× #1
- Forward Pass & Stadium Boom Era · 14 seasons
Final finishes, as published; the season in progress counts toward record only. Compare Duke head-to-head · History & Eras
1981 Schedule & Results
| Wk | Date | Opponent | Conf | Opp. Record | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Week 3 · Sep 15 |  Ohio State (OHIO STATE)H2H |  B10 | 9–3 | L 13–34 |
| 4 | Week 4 · Sep 22 |  South Carolina (SOUTH CAROLINA)H2H | IND FBSI | 6–6 | L 3–17 |
| 5 | Week 5 · Sep 29 |  Virginia (VIRGINIA)H2H |  ACC | 1–10 | W 29–24 |
| 6 | Week 6 · Oct 6 |  East Carolina (EAST CAROLINA)H2H | IND FBSI | 5–6 | W 24–14 |
| 7 | Week 7 · Oct 13 |  Virginia Tech (VIRGINIA TECH)H2H | IND FBSI | 7–4 | W 14–7 |
| 8 | Week 8 · Oct 20 |  Clemson (CLEMSON)H2H | ACC | 12–0 | L 10–38 |
| 9 | Week 9 · Oct 27 |  Maryland (MARYLAND)H2H | ACC | 4–6–1 | L 21–24 |
| 10 | Week 10 · Nov 3 |  Georgia Tech (GEORGIA TECH)H2H | IND FBSI | 1–10 | W 38–24 |
| 11 | Week 11 · Nov 10 |  Wake Forest (WAKE FOREST)H2H | ACC | 4–7 | W 31–10 |
| 12 | Week 12 · Nov 17 |  NC State (NORTH CAROLINA STATE)H2H | ACC | 4–7 | W 17–7 |
| 13 | Week 13 · Nov 24 |  North Carolina (NORTH CAROLINA)H2H | ACC | 10–2 | L 10–31 |
Past season results come from the published weekly rankings; home/away is not recorded. Unranked = opponent outside the ranked field. Kickoff times in Eastern Time. TBD = not yet announced. vs* = neutral site. Opp. Record is the current season record; — = unavailable.
Where the rating sits on the 12-tier scale (lower is better).
- Virginia Tech +7
- East Carolina +5
- Wake Forest +4
- NC State +4
- Virginia +1
- Georgia Tech +1
- Clemson 0
- North Carolina -2
- Ohio State -3
- South Carolina -6
- Maryland -6
Each win stacks that opponent's win total to the right; each loss stacks that opponent's loss total to the left.
0.545 Win % · Change 2
Percent of all FBS teams this team is ahead of.
Higher on the chart = better rank.
Bars above the line are wins, below are losses; height = point margin.
Higher = better finish. Ranks as published.