1981 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

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.^[1] 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.^[2]

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

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	at Syracuse	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	W 29–27	38,715	[3]
September 12	Colgate	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	W 13–5	18,655	[4]
September 18	vs. Virginia	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ	W 3–0	22,816	[5]
September 26	at Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH	L 0–10	13,657	[6]
October 3	Cornell	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	W 31–17	10,125	[7]
October 10	at Army	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	W 17–0	40,567	[8]
October 17	Temple	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	L 12–24	22,189	[9]
October 24	at No. 11 Alabama	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	L 7–31	60,210	[10]
November 7	No. 1 Pittsburgh	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ	L 3–47	34,636	[11]
November 14	at West Virginia	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	L 3–20	44,395	[12]
November 21	at Boston College	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	L 21–27	16,500	[13]
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