1981 Texas Longhorns football

Cotton Bowl Classic champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 14–12 vs. Alabama
Conference	Southwest Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 4
AP	No. 2
Record	10–1–1 (6–1–1 SWC)
Head coach	Fred Akers (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Ron Toman (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Leon Fuller (5th season)
Home stadium	Texas Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 77,809)
Seasons ← 1980 1982 →

1981 Southwest Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 5 SMU $	7	–	1	–	0	10	–	1	–	0
No. 2 Texas	6	–	1	–	1	10	–	1	–	1
Houston	5	–	2	–	1	7	–	4	–	1
Arkansas	5	–	3	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Texas A&M	4	–	4	–	0	7	–	5	–	0
Rice	3	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Baylor	3	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
TCU	1	–	6	–	1	2	–	7	–	2
Texas Tech	0	–	7	–	1	1	–	9	–	1

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 Texas Longhorns football team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Longhorns finished the regular season with a 9–1–1 record and defeated Alabama in the 1982 Cotton Bowl Classic.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	7:00 p.m.	Rice	No. 8	Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)		W 31–3	68,497
September 19	7:00 p.m.	North Texas State*	No. 6	Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX		W 23–10	58,638	^[1]
September 26	7:00 p.m.	No. 14 Miami (FL)*	No. 4	Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX		W 14–7	74,653
October 10	11:30 a.m.	vs. No. 10 Oklahoma*	No. 3	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Red River Shootout)	ABC	W 34–14	75,587
October 17	2:30 p.m.	at Arkansas	No. 1	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR (rivalry)	ABC	L 11–42	44,031
October 24	1:30 p.m.	at No. 8 SMU	No. 10	Texas Stadium Irving, TX		W 9–7	60,777
October 31	1:00 p.m.	Texas Tech	No. 6	Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)		W 26–9	56,439
November 7	7:30 p.m.	at Houston	No. 5	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX		T 14–14	52,589
November 14	1:00 p.m.	TCU	No. 10	Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX (rivalry)		W 31–15	60,038
November 21	1:00 p.m.	Baylor	No. 8	Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX		W 34–12	72,806
November 26	2:00 p.m.	at Texas A&M	No. 7	Kyle Field College Station, TX (rivalry)	CBS	W 21–13	71,731
January 1, 1982	1:00 p.m.	vs. No. 3 Alabama*	No. 6	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	CBS	W 14–12	73,243	^[2]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[3]

Game summaries

Rice

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North Texas State

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Miami (FL)

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Vs. Oklahoma

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At Arkansas

#1 Texas Longhorns (4–0) at Arkansas Razorbacks (4–1)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Texas	0	3	0	8	11
Arkansas	15	10	14	3	42

at Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville, Arkansas

Date: October 17
Game time: 2:45 p.m.
Game weather: Overcast, 70 °F (21 °C)
Game attendance: 44,031
TV: ABC
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

ARK – Tom Jones 1-yard run (kick failed), 11:06. Arkansas 6–0. Drive: 4 plays, 19 yards, 1:36.
ARK – Safety (ball snapped over punter's head), 9:12. Arkansas 8–0.
ARK – Gary Anderson 5-yard run (Bruce Lahay kick), 2:54. Arkansas 15–0. Drive: 1 play, 5 yards, 0:04.

Second quarter

ARK – Bruce Lahay 47-yard field goal, 14:49. Arkansas 18–0. Drive: 6 plays, 15 yards, 2:32.
TEX – Raul Allegre 24-yard field goal, 9:25. Arkansas 18–3. Drive: 11 plays, 78 yards, 5:21.
ARK – Gary Anderson 19-yard pass from Tom Jones (Bruce Lahay kick), 0:20. Arkansas 25–3. Drive: 5 plays, 36 yards, 1:31.

Third quarter

ARK – Tom Jones 4-yard run (Bruce Lahay kick), 9:48. Arkansas 32–3. Drive: 8 plays, 44 yards, 3:16.
ARK – Darryl Bowles 19-yard run (Bruce Lahay kick), 7:02. Arkansas 39–3. Drive: 7 plays, 40 yards, 2:34.

Fourth quarter

ARK – Bruce Lahay 37-yard field goal, 9:46. Arkansas 42–3. Drive: 6 plays, 31 yards, 2:49.
TEX – Donnie Little 8-yard pass from Robert Brewer (pass good), 0:58. Arkansas 42–11. Drive: 9 plays, 89 yards, 1:39.

Top passers

TEX – Rick McIvor – 14/38, 215 yards, 4 INT
ARK – Tom Jones – 7/18, 83 yards, TD, INT

Top rushers

TEX – Johnny Walker – 7 rushes, 44 yards
ARK – Tom Jones – 13 rushes, 73 yards, 2 TD

Top receivers

TEX – Maurice McCloney – 4 receptions, 72 yards
ARK – Gary Anderson – 2 receptions, 33 yards, TD

At SMU

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Texas Tech

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At Houston

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TCU

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Baylor

Baylor at #8 Texas

	1	2	3	4	Total
Baylor	0	12	0	0	12
• Texas	20	0	0	14	34

Date: Saturday, November 21
Location: Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas
Game attendance: 72,806

Source: Eugene Register-Guard

Scoring summary

1	TEX	Clark 9-yard run (Allegre kick)	TEX 7-0

1	TEX	Jones 67-yard run (Allegre kick)	TEX 14-0

1	TEX	Walker 1-yard run (kick blocked)	TEX 20-0

2	BAY	Jimmerson 30-yard field goal	TEX 20-3

2	BAY	McNeil 30-yard pass from Jeffrey (kick failed)	TEX 20-9

2	BAY	Jimmerson 22-yard field goal	TEX 20-12

4	TEX	Brewer 1-yard run (Allegre kick)	TEX 27-12

4	TEX	Brewer 1-yard run (Allegre kick)	TEX 34-12

At Texas A&M

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Cotton Bowl (vs. Alabama)

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Personnel

1981 Texas Longhorns football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
OL		Mike Baab
QB		Robert Brewer
OL		Mike Chapman
RB		Darryl Clark
OL		Doug Dawson
QB		Todd Dodge
WR		Brent Duhon
RB		Don Holloway
TE		Alvin Jenkins
RB		Jerome Johnson
RB		A.J. (Jam) Jones
WR		Hamice King
WR		Donnie Little
RB		Mike Luck
WR		Maurice McCloney
QB		Rick McIvor
OL		Bryan Millard
RB		Robert Moerschell
WR		Ronnie Mullins
RB		Terry Orr
RB		Carl Robinson
RB		Ronnie Robinson
TE		Lawrence Sampleton
OL		Joe Shearin
RB		Rodney Tate
OL		Terry Tausch
RB		Johnny Walker
WR		Herkie Walls

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB		Vance Bedford
DL		Mike Buchanan
DB		Craig Curry
DL		Ralph Darnell
DL		Kiki DeAyala
DB		William Graham
DL		John Haines
DB		Mike Hatchett
DL		Eric Holle
DB		Bobby Johnson
LB		Jeff Leiding
LB		Bruce Scholtz
LB		Doug Shankle
DL		Kenneth Sims
DL		Mark Weber

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K		Raul Allegre
P		John Goodson

Head coach

Fred Akers

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

References

^ "Texas dumps stubborn North Texas". The Seguin Gazette-Enterprise. September 20, 1981. Retrieved October 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "UT turns tide on 'Bama, 14–12". Austin American-Statesman. January 2, 1982. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 1, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2012.((cite web)): CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

v t e Texas Longhorns football
Venues	Clark Field (1896–1924) Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium (1924–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Arkansas Oklahoma (Red River Showdown) Rice TCU Texas A&M (Lone Star Showdown) Texas Tech
Culture & lore	History Brown years Bevo Hook 'em "Texas Fight" Hex Rally 1969 "Game of the Century" Longhorn Band The University of Texas National Championship 2005 2005 Ohio State game 2007 player suspensions 2008 Texas Tech game 2008 Big 12 South 3-way tie controversy 1 Second Left My All American
People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks All-Americans Statistical leaders NFL draftees
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National championship seasons in bold