1981 Northeastern Huskies football team

The 1981 Northeastern Huskies football team was an American football team that represented Northeastern University as an independent during the 1981 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by first-year head coach Paul Pawlak, the team compiled a 3–7 record.

1981 Northeastern Huskies football
Conference	Independent
Record	3–7
Head coach	Paul Pawlak (1st season)
Home stadium	Parsons Field

1981 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 8 Lafayette			–					9	–	2	–	0
No. 7 Delaware ^			–					9	–	3	–	0
No. 6 Tennessee State ^			–					9	–	3	–	0
Southeastern Louisiana			–					8	–	3	–	0
Lehigh			–					8	–	3	–	0
Nicholls State			–					5	–	5	–	1
Northwestern State			–					4	–	6	–	0
Bucknell			–					4	–	6	–	0
Northeastern			–					3	–	7	–	0
James Madison			–					3	–	8	–	0
^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 19	at Connecticut	Memorial Stadium Storrs, CT	L 3–31	4,950
September 26	at C. W. Post	Hickox Field Greenvale, NY	L 10–13
October 3	Springfield	Parsons Field Brookline, MA	W 24–7
October 10	at Rhode Island	Meade Stadium Kingston, RI	L 0–33	9,842
October 17	at American International	Miller Field Springfield, MA	W 17–14
October 24	No. 3 New Hampshire	Parsons Field Brookline, MA	L 17–24
October 31	Maine	Parsons Field Brookline, MA	L 3–9
November 7	at Central Connecticut	Arute Field New Britain, CT	W 21–14
November 14	No. 8 Lehigh	Parsons Field Brookline, MA	L 20–23	3,240
November 21	Boston University	Parsons Field Brookline, MA	L 0–38	3,030
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game