The 1981 Arkansas Razorbacks football team represented the University of Arkansas during the

1981 NCAA Division I-A football season The 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Clemson Tigers, unbeaten and untied, claiming the national championship after a victory over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. This was also the first year of the California Bowl, played in Fres ...

. The biggest win of the year was against a #1 Texas team, which the Razorbacks were rivals with already. Although unranked, the Razorbacks came out on top by 31 points, ending Texas' run at the top of the polls. Unranked at the end of the regular season, the Hogs still received a

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised natio ...

berth against a 10–2 North Carolina team ranked 11th. The SWC's champion, SMU, could not participate in a bowl game due to probation.

Defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

Billy Ray Smith was a consensus All-American for Arkansas. Bruce Lahay, a kicker, also received first-team honors. Lahay was in a three-way tie for field goals per game in 1981, hitting on 1.73 per game. This mark was also held by

Kevin Butler Kevin Butler may refer to: * Kevin Butler (American football) (born 1962), American football placekicker * Kevin Butler (character), fictional character in Sony's PlayStation 3 marketing campaigns * Kevin Butler (streetball player) Kevin "Bizness" ...

of Georgia and Larry Roach of Oklahoma State.

Schedule

Personnel

Season summary

Tulsa

Northwestern

at Ole Miss

at TCU

at Texas Tech

Texas

Houston

at Rice

Baylor

at Texas A&M

SMU

Gator Bowl (vs. North Carolina)

References

Arkansas Arkansas Razorbacks football seasons Arkansas Razorbacks football {{Arkansas-sport-team-stub