Penn State
FBSI · 1981 Season · Final
All-Time Resume
- 12-Team Playoff & Revenue Era · 2 seasons · 1 Top 10
- Limited Playoff Era · 26 seasons · 7 Top 10
- Independents & Bowl Tie-In Era · 16 seasons · 7 Top 10 · 2× #1
- Divisional Era · 26 seasons · 10 Top 10 · 3× #1
- AP Poll & Postwar Era · 20 seasons · 1 Top 10
- Forward Pass & Stadium Boom Era · 30 seasons · 6 Top 10
- Pioneer Era · 12 seasons · 1 Top 10
Final finishes, as published; the season in progress counts toward record only. Compare Penn State head-to-head · History & Eras
1981 Schedule & Results
| Wk | Date | Opponent | Conf | Opp. Record | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Week 3 · Sep 15 |  Cincinnati (CINCINNATI)H2H | IND FBSI | 6–5 | W 52–0 |
| 5 | Week 5 · Sep 29 |  Nebraska (NEBRASKA)H2H | IND B8 | 9–3 | W 30–24 |
| 6 | Week 6 · Oct 6 |  Temple (TEMPLE)H2H | IND FBSI | 5–5 | W 30–0 |
| 7 | Week 7 · Oct 13 |  Boston College (BOSTON COLLEGE)H2H | IND FBSI | 5–6 | W 38–7 |
| 8 | Week 8 · Oct 20 |  Syracuse (SYRACUSE)H2H | IND FBSI | 4–6–1 | W 41–16 |
| 9 | Week 9 · Oct 27 |  West Virginia (WEST VIRGINIA)H2H | IND FBSI | 9–3 | W 30–7 |
| 10 | Week 10 · Nov 3 |  Miami (MIAMI)H2H | IND FBSI | 9–2 | L 14–17 |
| 11 | Week 11 · Nov 10 |  NC State (NORTH CAROLINA STATE)H2H |  ACC | 4–7 | W 22–15 |
| 12 | Week 12 · Nov 17 |  Alabama (ALABAMA)H2H |  SEC | 9–2–1 | L 16–31 |
| 13 | Week 13 · Nov 24 |  Notre Dame (NOTRE DAME)H2H | IND FBSI | 5–6 | W 24–21 |
| 14 | Week 14 · Dec 1 |  Pittsburgh (PITTSBURGH)H2H | IND FBSI | 11–1 | W 48–14 |
| 18 | Final · Jan 5 |  USCH2H |  PAC | 9–3 | W 26–10 |
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).
- Pittsburgh +11
- Nebraska +9
- West Virginia +9
- USC +9
- Cincinnati +6
- Temple +5
- Boston College +5
- Notre Dame +5
- Syracuse +4
- NC State +4
- Miami -2
- Alabama -2
Each win stacks that opponent's win total to the right; each loss stacks that opponent's loss total to the left.
0.833 Win % · No change
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.