1981 Missouri Tigers football team

The 1981 Missouri Tigers football team represented the University of Missouri as a member of the Big Eight Conference (Big 8) during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Warren Powers, the Tigers compiled an overall record of 8–4 with a mark of 3–4 in conference play, placing fifth in the Big 8. Missouri was invited to the Tangerine Bowl, in which they defeated Southern Miss by a score of 19–17. The team played home game at Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri.

1981 Missouri Tigers football
Tangerine Bowl champion
Tangerine Bowl, W 19–17 vs. Southern Miss
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 20
AP	No. 19
Record	8–4 (3–4 Big 8)
Head coach	Warren Powers (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Carl Reese (5th season)
Home stadium	Faurot Field
Seasons ← 1980 1982 →

1981 Big Eight Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 11 Nebraska $	7	–	0	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 20 Oklahoma	4	–	2	–	1			7	–	4	–	1
Kansas	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Oklahoma State	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
No. 19 Missouri	3	–	4	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Iowa State	2	–	4	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
Colorado	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Kansas State	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	Army*		Faurot Field Columbia, MO	W 24–10	60,033	[1]
September 19	Rice*		Faurot Field Columbia, MO	W 42–10	57,112	[2]
September 26	Louisville*		Faurot Field Columbia, MO	W 34–3	57,448	[3]
October 3	at No. 9 Mississippi State*		Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS	W 14–3	40,776	[4]
October 10	Kansas State	No. 13	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	W 58–13	61,012	[5]
October 17	at Iowa State	No. 8	Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA (rivalry)	L 13–34	53,220	[6]
October 24	No. 15 Nebraska	No. 19	Faurot Field Columbia, MO (rivalry)	L 0–6	72,001	[7]
October 31	Oklahoma State		Faurot Field Columbia, MO	L 12–16	57,541	[8]
November 7	at Colorado		Folsom Field Boulder, CO	W 30–14	35,782	[9]
November 14	No. 15 Oklahoma		Faurot Field Columbia, MO (rivalry)	W 19–14	67,364	[10]
November 21	at Kansas		Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS (Border War)	L 11–19	47,500	[11]
December 19	vs. No. 18 Southern Miss*		Orlando Stadium Orlando, FL (Tangerine Bowl)	W 19–17	50,045	[12]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[13]

Game summaries

Oklahoma

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Oklahoma	7	0	0	7	14
• Missouri	3	10	6	0	19

• Date: November 14
• Location: Faurot Field • Columbia, Missouri

Scoring summary

1		MIZZ	Lucchesi 24 yard field goal	Missouri 3-0
1		OKLA	Shepard 14 yard run (Keeling kick)	Oklahoma 7-3
2		MIZZ	Perry 1 yard run (Lucchesi kick)	Missouri 10-7
2		MIZZ	Lucchesi 23 yard field goal	Missouri 13-7
3		MIZZ	Meyer 19 yard run (kick failed)	Missouri 19-7
4		OKLA	Sewell 46 yard pass from Shepard (Keeling kick)	Missouri 19-14

Missouri's first win versus Oklahoma since 1969.^[14]

Roster

1981 Missouri Tigers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class C 55 Brad Edelman Sr TE 83 Andy Gibler Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 29 Demetrious Johnson Jr LB Jeff Gaylord	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Warren Powers Coordinators/assistant coaches Jim Donnan – Quarterback/wide receiver Billy Thornton – Running backs Dick Beechner – Tight ends/special teams coordinator John Faiman – Offensive line Carl Reese – Defensive coordinator George Wheeler – Defensive tackles Zaven Yaralian – Defensive backs Mark Heydorff – Assistant Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt