The 1981 San Diego State Aztecs football team represented San Diego State University during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

The team was led by head coach Doug Scovil, in his first year, and played home games at Jack Murphy Stadium^{[note 1]} in San Diego, California. They finished with a record of six wins and five losses (6–5, 3–5 WAC).

The Aztecs were chosen to participate in the annual Mirage Bowl in 1981. This counted as a regular season game, and was played at the end of the season in Tokyo, Japan. They played the Air Force Academy on Nov. 29.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	at Colorado State	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO	W 30–14	25,287	[1]
September 26	at Oklahoma State*	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	W 23–16	45,000	[2]
October 3	at New Mexico	University Stadium Albuquerque, NM	W 17–15	18,265	[3]
October 10	No. 12 Iowa State*	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA	W 52–31	45,750	[4]
October 17	BYU	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA	L 7–27	41,727	[5]
October 24	Hawaii	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA	L 10–28	33,167	[6]
October 31	at Utah	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	L 14–17	28,513	[7]
November 7	Wyoming	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA	L 13–24	30,361	[8]
November 14	at UNLV*	Las Vegas Silver Bowl Whitney, NV	W 38–20	23,090	[9]
November 21	UTEP	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA	W 59–14	20,824	[10]
November 29	Air Force	Olympic Memorial Stadium Tokyo, Japan (Mirage Bowl)	L 16–21	60,000	[11]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[12][13]

Team players in the NFL

The following were selected in the 1982 NFL Draft.^[14]

The following finished their college career in 1981, were not drafted, but played in the NFL.^[15]

Team awards

^[13]