1981 Air Force Falcons football team

The 1981 Air Force Falcons football team represented the United States Air Force Academy in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by third-year head coach Ken Hatfield and played its home games at Falcon Stadium. It finished the regular season with a 4–7 overall record and a 2–3 record in Western Athletic Conference games.^[1][2]

1981 Air Force Falcons football
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Record	4–7 (2–3 WAC)
Head coach	Ken Hatfield (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Fisher DeBerry (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Wishbone triple option
Defensive coordinator	Chan Gailey (1st season)
Base defense	3–4
Captains	Ed Antoine Mike France
Home stadium	Falcon Stadium
Seasons ← 1980 1982 →

1981 Western Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 13 BYU $	7	–	1	–	0			11	–	2	–	0
Hawaii	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
Utah	4	–	1	–	1			8	–	2	–	1
Wyoming	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
New Mexico	3	–	4	–	1			4	–	7	–	1
Air Force	2	–	3	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
San Diego State	3	–	5	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
UTEP	1	–	6	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
Colorado State	0	–	8	–	0			0	–	12	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12		at No. 15 BYU	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	L 21–45	38,712	[3]
September 19		Wyoming	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	L 10–17	28,200	[4]
September 26		at New Mexico	University Stadium Albuquerque, NM	L 10–27	24,240	[5]
October 3		Colorado State	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (rivalry)	W 28–14	20,300	[6]
October 10		at Navy*	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	L 13–30	31,191	[7]
October 17		Tulane*	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	L 13–31	18,467	[8]
October 24	2:00 p.m.	at Oregon*	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR	W 20–10	23,290	[9]
October 31		Army*	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	W 7–3	31,535	[10]
November 14	1:00 p.m.	Notre Dame*	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (rivalry)	L 7–35	36,800	[11]
November 21		at UNLV*	Las Vegas Silver Bowl Las Vegas, NV	L 21–24	22,574	[12]
November 28		vs. San Diego State	Olympic Memorial Stadium Tokyo, Japan (Mirage Bowl)	W 21–16	60,000	[13]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Roster

1981 Air Force Falcons football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class FB John Kershner So OL Dave Schrek Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL Chris Funk Fr S Johnny Jackson Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Ken Hatfield Coordinators/assistant coaches Mike Heimerdinger (Wide receivers) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt