1981 Auburn Tigers football team

American college football season

1981 Auburn Tigers football

Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	5–6 (2–4 SEC)
Head coach	Pat Dye (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Wishbone
Defensive coordinator	Frank Orgel (1st season)
Home stadium	Jordan-Hare Stadium
Seasons← 1980 1982 →

1981 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 6 Georgia +	6	–	0	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 7 Alabama +	6	–	0	–	0	9	–	2	–	1
Mississippi State	4	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Tennessee	3	–	3	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Florida	3	–	3	–	0	7	–	5	–	0
Auburn	2	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Kentucky	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Ole Miss	1	–	4	–	1	4	–	6	–	1
LSU	1	–	4	–	1	3	–	7	–	1
Vanderbilt	1	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the NCAA Division I college football season of 1981. Competing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Pat Dye, in his first year, and played their home games at Jordan–Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. They finished the season with a record of 5–6 (2–4 in the SEC).

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	TCU*	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL		W 24–16	48,000
September 19	Wake Forest*	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL		L 21–24	63,000
September 26	at Tennessee	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)		L 7–10	92,612
October 3	at Nebraska*	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE		L 3–17	76,423
October 10	LSU	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (rivalry)		W 19–7	61,000
October 17	at Georgia Tech*	Grant Field Atlanta, GA (rivalry)		W 31–7	50,263–50,326
October 24	No. 9 Mississippi State	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL		L 17–21	58,000
October 31	Florida	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (rivalry)		W 14–12	65,000
November 7	North Texas State*	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL		W 20–0	63,000
November 14	at No. 4 Georgia	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (rivalry)		L 13–24	82,165
November 28	No. 4 Alabama	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Iron Bowl)	ABC	L 17–28	78,170
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1981 Auburn Tigers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB		Ken Hobby
QB	`5`	Joe Sullivan	Jr
RB	`6`	Lionel James	So
QB	`11`	Mike Mann	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
NT	`61`	Dowe Aughtman	So

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`3`	Al Del Greco	So

Head coach

Pat Dye

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Frank Orgel and Alex Gibbs

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

References

"New season starts with same old story". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 6, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Schofield rallies Wake to 24–21 win at Auburn". The Charlotte Observer. September 20, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Majors proud of Tennessee 10–7 victory". The Selma Times-Journal. September 27, 1981. Retrieved August 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
"Nebraska scores touchdowns fast to top Auburn". The Tampa Tribune-Times. October 4, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Sweetest victory yet for Dye". The Dothan Eagle. October 11, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Auburn rips Jackets 31–7". The Macon Telegraph & News. October 18, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Mississippi State overhauls Auburn". St. Petersburg Times. October 25, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Auburn nips Gators, 14–12". St. Lucie News Tribune. November 1, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"AU sleepwalks to victory". The Montgomery Advertiser. November 8, 1981. Retrieved October 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
"'Dogs top Auburn, have sweet tooth". The Tampa Tribune-Times. November 15, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Bendross sparks Alabama offense". The Montgomery Advertiser. November 29, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"1981 Auburn Tigers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 2, 2023.

v t e Auburn Tigers football
Venues	Drill Field (1892–1910) Drake Field (1911–1939) Legion Field (alternate, 1926–1991) Jordan-Hare Stadium (1939–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Alabama: Iron Bowl (James E. Foy, V-ODK Sportsmanship Trophy) Clemson Florida Georgia: Deep South's Oldest Rivalry Georgia Tech LSU Ole Miss Tennessee Tulane
Culture & lore	History Traditions Aubie "War Eagle" Marching band Toomer's Corner Punt Bama Punt Earthquake Game Prayer at Jordan-Hare Kick Six (Kick Bama Kick) Porter Cup
People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold

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