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. 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.

1981 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–6
Head coach	Frank R. Burns (9th season)
Home stadium	Rutgers Stadium Giants Stadium

1981 Major eastern college football independents records

	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

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