1981–82 NCAA football bowl games

Season

1981

Number of bowls

Bowl games

December 12, 1981 –
January 1, 1982

National Championship

1982 Orange Bowl

Location of Championship

Miami Orange Bowl,
Miami, Florida

Champions

Clemson Tigers

Bowl record by conference
Conference	Bowls	Record	Final AP poll
Independents	5	3–2 (0.600)	4
Big Eight	5	2–3 (0.400)	3
SEC	5	2–3 (0.400)	2
Big Ten	4	2–2 (0.500)	3
Pac-10	4	1–3 (0.250)	3
SWC	4	2–2 (0.500)	2
ACC	2	2–0 (1.000)	2
WAC	1	1–0 (1.000)	1
MAC	1	1–0 (1.000)	0
PCAA	1	0–1 (0.000)	0

The 1981–82 NCAA football bowl games were a series of post-season games played in December 1981 and January 1982 to end the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. A total of 16 team-competitive games, and two all-star games, were played. The post-season began with the Independence Bowl on December 12, 1981, and concluded on January 16, 1982, with the season-ending Senior Bowl.

Schedule

Date	Game	Site	Time (US EST)	TV	Matchup (pre-game record)	AP pre-game rank	UPI (Coaches) pre-game rank
12/12	Independence Bowl	Independence Stadium Shreveport, Louisiana		Mizlou	Texas A&M 33 (6–5) (SWC), Oklahoma State 16 (7–4) (Big Eight)	NR NR	NR NR
12/13	Garden State Bowl	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, New Jersey		Mizlou	Tennessee 28 (7–4) (SEC), Wisconsin 21 (7–4) (Big Ten)	NR NR	NR NR
12/18	Holiday Bowl	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, California		ESPN	BYU 38 (10–2) (WAC Champion), Washington State 36 (8–2–1) (Pac-10)	#14 #20	#12 #18
12/19	Tangerine Bowl	Orlando Stadium Orlando, Florida		Mizlou	Missouri 19 (7–4) (Big Eight), Southern Miss 17 (9–1–1) (Independent)	NR #18	NR #15
12/19	California Bowl	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, California		Mizlou	Toledo 27 (8–3) (MAC Champion) San Jose State 25 (9–2) (PCAA Champion)	NR NR	NR #20
12/26	Sun Bowl	Sun Bowl Stadium El Paso, Texas		CBS	Oklahoma 40 (6–4–1) (Big Eight), Houston 14 (7–3–1) (SWC)	NR NR	NR #19
12/28	Gator Bowl	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, Florida		ABC	North Carolina 31 (9–2) (ACC), Arkansas 27 (8–3) (SWC)	#11 NR	#9 #17
12/30	Liberty Bowl	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, Tennessee		USA	Ohio State 31 (8–3) (Big Ten co-Champion), Navy 28 (7–3–1) (Independent)	#15 NR	#14 NR
12/31	Peach Bowl	Fulton County Stadium Atlanta	3:00 PM	CBS	West Virginia 26 (8–3) (Independent), Florida 6 (7–4) (SEC)	NR NR	NR NR
12/31	Hall of Fame Classic	Legion Field Birmingham, Alabama	1:00 PM	Mizlou	Mississippi State 10 (7–4) (SEC), Kansas 0 (8–3) (Big Eight)	NR NR	NR NR
12/31	Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl	Houston Astrodome Houston, Texas	8:00 PM	Mizlou	Michigan 33 (8–3) (Big Ten), UCLA 14 (7–3–1) (Pac-10)	#16 #19	#13 #16
1/1	Cotton Bowl Classic	Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas	12:00 PM	CBS	Texas 14 (9–1–1) (SWC), Alabama 12 (9–1–1) (SEC co-Champion)	#6 #3	#5 #3
1/1	Fiesta Bowl	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona	1:30 PM	NBC	Penn State 26 (9–2) (Independent), USC 10 (9–2) (Pac-10)	#7 #8	#6 #7
1/1	Rose Bowl	Rose Bowl Pasadena, California	4:30 PM	NBC	Washington 28 (9–2) (Pac-10 Champion), Iowa 0 (8–3) (Big Ten co-Champion)	#12 #13	#10 #11
1/1	Sugar Bowl	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana	8:00 PM	ABC	Pittsburgh 24 (10–1) (Independent), Georgia 20 (10–1) (SEC co-Champion)	#10 #2	#8 #2
1/1	Orange Bowl	Miami Orange Bowl Miami	8:00 PM	NBC	Clemson 22 (11–0) (ACC Champion), Nebraska 15 (9–2) (Big Eight Champion)	#1 #4	#1 #4

References

"1981 College Football Bowl Games". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
"N. CAROLINA WINS, 31-27, IN FOGBOUND GATOR BOWL". The New York Times. December 29, 1981. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
"TEXAS TOPPLES ALABAMA BY 14-12". The New York Times. January 2, 1982. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
"PENN ST. TROUNCES U.S.C. BY 26-10". The New York Times. January 2, 1982. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
"Washington Wilts Iowa's Rose, 28-0". The Washington Post. January 2, 1982. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
^ "CLEMSON FINISHES UNBEATEN; PITT RALLY TOPS GEORGIA; TIGERS DEFEAT NEBRASKA FOR 12-0 RECORD". The New York Times. January 2, 1982. Retrieved December 24, 2018.

v t e 1981–82 NCAA football bowl game season
Independence (Dec. 12) Garden State (Dec. 13) Holiday (Dec. 18) Tangerine (Dec. 19) California (Dec. 19) Sun (Dec. 26) Gator (Dec. 28) Liberty (Dec. 30) Peach (Dec. 31) Hall of Fame Classic (Dec. 31) Astro-Bluebonnet (Dec. 31) Orange (Jan. 1) Fiesta (Jan. 1) Sugar (Jan. 1) Cotton (Jan. 1) Rose (Jan. 1)

v t e NCAA football bowl seasons
1901–02 1902–14 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

NCAA football bowl seasons

1901–02
1902–14
1915–16
1916–17
1917–18
1918–19
1919–20
1920–21
1921–22
1922–23
1923–24
1924–25
1925–26
1926–27
1927–28
1928–29
1929–30
1930–31
1931–32
1932–33
1933–34
1934–35
1935–36
1936–37
1937–38
1938–39
1939–40
1940–41
1941–42
1942–43
1943–44
1944–45
1945–46
1946–47
1947–48
1948–49
1949–50
1950–51
1951–52
1952–53
1953–54
1954–55
1955–56
1956–57
1957–58
1958–59
1959–60
1960–61
1961–62
1962–63
1963–64
1964–65
1965–66
1966–67
1967–68
1968–69
1969–70
1970–71
1971–72
1972–73
1973–74
1974–75
1975–76
1976–77
1977–78
1978–79
1979–80
1980–81
1981–82
1982–83
1983–84
1984–85
1985–86
1986–87
1987–88
1988–89
1989–90
1990–91
1991–92
1992–93
1993–94
1994–95
1995–96
1996–97
1997–98
1998–99
1999–2000
2000–01
2001–02
2002–03
2003–04
2004–05
2005–06
2006–07
2007–08
2008–09
2009–10
2010–11
2011–12
2012–13
2013–14
2014–15
2015–16
2016–17
2017–18
2018–19
2019–20
2020–21
2021–22
2022–23
2023–24
2024–25

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