1981 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

The 1981 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represented Rutgers University in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their ninth season under head coach Frank R. Burns, the Scarlet Knights compiled a 5–6 record while competing as an independent and were outscored by their opponents 208 to 139.[1][2] The team's statistical leaders included Ralph Leek with 926 passing yards, Albert Ray with 679 rushing yards, and Andrew Baker with 356 receiving yards.[3]

1981 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football
Conference	Independent
1981 record	5–6
Head coach	Frank R. Burns (9th season)
Home stadium	Rutgers Stadium

1981 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Penn State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 4 Pittsburgh		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 8 Miami (FL)		–		–				9	–	2	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				9	–	2	–	1
No. 17 West Virginia		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Colgate		–		–				7	–	3	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Navy		–		–				7	–	4	–	1
Cincinnati		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Florida State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Holy Cross		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Tulane		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
UNLV		–		–				6	–	6	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				6	–	6	–	0
Temple		–		–				5	–	5	–	0
Boston College		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Louisville		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Notre Dame		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
William & Mary		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				4	–	6	–	1
Richmond		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Army		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
North Texas State		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		–				1	–	10	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				1	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Source
September 5	at Syracuse		W 29–27
September 12	Colgate		W 13–5
September 19	Virginia		W 3–0
September 26	at Cincinnati		L 0–10
October 3	Cornell		W 31–17
October 10	at Army		W 17–0
October 17	Temple		L 12–24
October 24	at No. 11 Alabama		L 7–31
November 7	No. 1 Pittsburgh		L 3–47
November 14	at West Virginia		L 3–20
November 21	at Boston College		L 21–27
Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1981 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 31 Joe Burke Jr C 61 Mike Flynn Jr WR 84 Jed Karpinski Jr QB Jacque LaPrarie Fr QB 7 Ralph Leek Jr C 59 Frank Naylor Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 4 Carl Howard Jr DT 62 Bill Pickel Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Frank R. Burns Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "1981 Rutgers Scarlet Knights Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
2. "Rutgers Yearly Results (1980-1984)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
3. "1981 Rutgers Scarlet Knights Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 12, 2016.