Preseason AP #1 Michigan Wolverines Heisman Trophy Marcus Allen, USC RB Start date 1981 | Bowl games 16 Winner Clemson Tigers Number of teams 137 | |
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The 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Clemson Tigers, unbeaten and untied, claiming the national championship after a victory over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. This was also the first year of the California Bowl, played in Fresno, California; this game fancied itself as a "junior" version of the Rose Bowl as it pitted the Big West Conference champion vs. the Mid-American Conference champion.
Contents
Rule changes
Conference and program changes
Octoberfest
Florida State played a brutal series of games known as "Octoberfest", playing traditional powers Nebraska, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and LSU all on the road and going 3–2 in that stretch.
September
The pre season top 5 was 1. Michigan, 2. Oklahoma, 3. Notre Dame, 4. Alabama, and 5. USC. On September 5, Alabama beat LSU 24–7 and moved up to #2 in the new poll that was 1. Michigan, 2. Alabama, 3, Oklahoma, 4. Notre Dame, and 5. USC. Clemson was not ranked.
On September 12, #1 Michigan opened its season in Madison and lost to Wisconsin, 21-14. #2 Alabama lost in Birmingham to Georgia Tech, 24–21. By beating LSU 27-9, Notre Dame leapfrogged Oklahoma, who beat Wyoming 37–20, into the #1 spot. #4 USC beat Tennessee 43–7 so they also vaulted over Oklahoma to #2. Georgia at #4 and Penn State at #5 replace Michigan and Alabama in the top 5.
On September 19, #1 Notre Dame lost at #11 Michigan 25–7. #4 Georgia lost at unranked Clemson, 13–3. Thus, USC moved up to #1, Oklahoma #2, Penn State #3, Texas joined the top five at #4, and Pittsburgh moved up to #5.
On September 26 in a 1 vs. 2 showdown in Los Angeles, USC scored in the final seconds to nip Oklahoma, 28–24. Thus, Oklahoma slipped to #5 while Penn State, Texas and Pittsburgh were number 2, 3, and 4.
October
On October 3, Oklahoma, still stung by its last second loss to USC, was shocked at home in a 7–7 tie with Iowa State. North Carolina moved up to replace Oklahoma at #5 in the next poll.
On October 10, #1 USC was upset by Arizona, 13–10. #3 Texas beat #10 Oklahoma 34–13 and jumped over Penn State into the #1 spot. Michigan returned to the top 5 in the new poll that was: 1. Texas, 2. Penn State, 3. Pittsburgh, 4. North Carolina, and 5. Michigan.
On October 17, #1 Texas was steamrolled by Arkansas 42–11. #5 Michigan lost at Iowa 9–7 in the game that ultimately decided the Big 10's Rose Bowl berth. Clemson and USC replaced Texas and Michigan in the new top 5 that was: 1. Penn State, 2. Pittsburgh, 3. North Carolina, 4. Clemson, and 5. USC.
The big game on October 24 was between ACC rivals #3 North Carolina and #4 Clemson in Chapel Hill. Clemson won 10–8 to move up to #3, and Georgia replaced North Carolina in the top 5.
On October 31, #1 Penn State was upset by unranked Miami (FL) 17–14 and fell to #6. Texas re-emerged in the top 5 that was: 1. Pittsburgh, 2. Clemson, 3. USC, 4. Georgia, and 5. Texas.
November
On November 7, #5 Texas was tied by Houston 14–14 and was replaced by Penn State at #5. The rest of the top 5 was unchanged.
On November 14, #3 USC lost to Washington, 13–3 and #5 Penn State was knocked off by Alabama, 31–16. The new poll was 1. Pittsburgh, 2. Clemson, 3. Georgia, 4. Alabama, and 5. Nebraska.
On November 21, USC blocked a last second field goal attempt to beat UCLA 22-21 and knock the Bruins out of the Rose Bowl and put Washington in.
The poll would remain unchanged until games of November 28, when Penn State beat #1 Pitt 48–14. The final regular season poll was 1. Clemson, 2. Georgia, 3. Alabama, 4. Nebraska, and 5. SMU.
Important game
Clemson's match-up with North Carolina proved to be the landmark game of the season and a huge turning point for the ACC. This game which Clemson won 10–8 marked the first time two ACC teams met while ranked in the top 10. ABC broadcast this game live nationally, a huge bit of exposure for what was usually known as a basketball conference. The game ended with Jeff Bryant recovering a lateral with a minute left.
Notable rivalry games
Orange Bowl
Clemson's Orange Bowl opponent Nebraska featured future NFL stars Roger Craig, Irving Fryar, Mike Rozier, and Dave Rimington while finishing second nationally in rushing with 330 yards per game. But Clemson was able to take advantage of an injury to Nebraska quarterback Turner Gill. Eight out of twelve Nebraska possessions ended in a three and out, they crossed the 50 only four times and ended up with just two scoring opportunities.
Entering the game, Clemson was ranked #1, Georgia #2, then Alabama and Nebraska in one poll and Pittsburgh in another. After Georgia and Alabama had lost in Sugar and Cotton Bowls respectively, The Orange Bowl was for the national championship, although with Pitt beating Georgia in the last few seconds, it is likely that Nebraska would have split the title with Pitt had they beaten Clemson. The final score was 22–15, in favor of Clemson.
Pittsburgh, which was the consensus number one until being beaten soundly by Penn State in their season finale, beat defending national champion Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Also in the national title hunt till the very end, Alabama lost to number six Texas in the Cotton Bowl Classic.
Kenneth Sims of Texas was the first pick overall in the 1982 NFL Draft and was the winner of the Lombardi Award, given to the nation's best lineman.
Southern Methodist won the Southwest Conference and was ranked fifth, but was ineligible for post-season play due to NCAA probation, but could have still qualified for the national title.
Offense
Defense
Bowl games
Final AP Poll
- Clemson
- Texas
- Penn State
- Pittsburgh
- Southern Methodist
- Georgia
- Alabama
- Miami (FL)
- North Carolina
- Washington
- Nebraska
- Michigan
- Brigham Young
- Southern California
- Ohio State
- Arizona State
- West Virginia
- Iowa
- Missouri
- Oklahoma
Heisman Trophy
- Marcus Allen – TB, Southern California
- Herschel Walker – TB, Georgia
- Jim McMahon – QB, Brigham Young
- Dan Marino – QB, Pittsburgh
- Art Schlichter – QB, Ohio State