1981 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

American college football season

1981 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–6
Head coach	Frank R. Burns (9th season)
Home stadium	Rutgers Stadium Giants Stadium
Seasons← 1980 1982 →

1981 Major eastern college football independents records
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 3 Penn State $	5	–	0	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 4 Pittsburgh	5	–	1	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
No. 17 West Virginia	3	–	3	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
Temple	2	–	3	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
Syracuse	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	6	–	1
Boston College	1	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Rutgers	1	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0

$ – Lambert Trophy Winner Rankings from AP Poll

1981 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 4 Pittsburgh		–		–		11	–	1	–	0
No. 3 Penn State		–		–		10	–	2	–	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

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. 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.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 5	at Syracuse	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	W 29–27	38,715
September 12	Colgate	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	W 13–5	18,655
September 18	vs. Virginia	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ	W 3–0	22,816
September 26	at Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH	L 0–10	13,657
October 3	Cornell	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	W 31–17	10,125
October 10	at Army	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	W 17–0	40,567
October 17	Temple	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	L 12–24	22,189
October 24	at No. 11 Alabama	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	L 7–31	60,210
November 7	No. 1 Pittsburgh	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ	L 3–47	34,636
November 14	at West Virginia	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	L 3–20	44,395
November 21	at Boston College	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	L 21–27	16,500
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

Greg Gigantino
(Defensive line coach)

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

References

"1981 Rutgers Scarlet Knights Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
"Rutgers Yearly Results (1980-1984)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on March 27, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
"1981 Rutgers Scarlet Knights Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
"Rutgers edges Orange, 29–17". The Buffalo News. September 6, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Rutgers Needs 2 FGs, 1 Bomb to Edge Colgate". The Sunday Press. Binghamton, N.Y. September 13, 1981. p. 5B – via Newspapers.com.
"Kickers give undefeated Rutgers needed lift". The Sunday Record. September 19, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Rutgers jolted, 10–0". The Star-Ledger. September 27, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
Newman, Chuck (October 4, 1981). "Defense Gets Rutgers Attack Rolling for Win". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. pp. 9-F, 10-F – via Newspapers.com.
"Rutgers wins one it needed". The Record. October 11, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Murphy-passes Owls over Rutgers, 24–12". The Daily Register. October 18, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Bama varies attack, and buries Rutgers". The Anniston Star. October 25, 1981. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
"Pittsburgh proves too much for Rutgers". Asbury Park Press. November 8, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"West Virginia rips sputtering Scarlet". The Home News. November 15, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Boston Coll. 27, Rutgers 21". The Hartford Courant. November 22, 1981. p. C13 – via Newspapers.com.

v t e Rutgers Scarlet Knights football
Venues	College Field (1869–1890) Neilson Field (1891–1938) Old Rutgers Stadium (1938–1992) Giants Stadium (alternate, 1976–1992, 1994-96; primary, 1993) SHI Stadium (1994–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Princeton
Culture & lore	Marching band First American football game (painting)
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 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
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