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1981 Pittsburgh Panthers football
PittPanthers
Sugar Bowl Champions
Sugar Bowl, Win, 24-20, Georgia Bulldogs
Conference Independent
Ranking
Coaches #2
AP #4
1981 record 11-1
Head coach Jackie Sherrill (5th year)
Offensive coordinator Joe Moore (1st year)
Offensive scheme Multiple Pro
Defensive coordinator Foge Fazio (3rd year)
Base defense Multiple Front
Home stadium Pitt Stadium
(Capacity: 56,500)
Seasons
« 1980 1982 »
1981 Division I-A independents football records
v · d · e Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
No. 3 Penn State           10 2 0
No. 4 Pittsburgh           11 1 0
No. 8 Miami           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           1 10 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1981 college football season. Despite having one loss, the Panthers were selected as National Champions by the National Championship Foundation and Montgomery Full Season Championship,[1] although a national championship is not claimed by the school for this year nor are they are not popularly recognized that season's national champions.

Schedule[]

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
Sat. Sep. 5 1:30 p.m. Illinois #8 Pitt StadiumPittsburgh, PA W 26–6   46,022
Sat. Sep. 19 1:30 p.m. Cincinnati #7 Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA W 38–7   40,172
Sat. Oct. 3 7:30 p.m. at South Carolina #4 Williams-Brice StadiumColumbia, SC ESPN W 42–28   56,495
Sat. Oct. 10 1:00 p.m. at West Virginia #4 Mountaineer FieldMorgantown, WV (Backyard Brawl) W 17–0   54,280
Sat. Oct. 17 1:30 p.m. #11 Florida State #3 Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA W 42–14   55,112
Sat. Oct. 24† 12:00 p.m. Syracuse #2 Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA USA W 23–10   50,330
Sat. Oct. 31 1:00 p.m. at Boston College #2 Alumni StadiumChestnut Hill, MA W 29–24   25,500
Sat. Nov. 7 1:00 p.m. at Rutgers #1 Giants StadiumEast Rutherford, NJ W 47–3   34,636
Sat. Nov. 14 1:30 p.m. Army #1 Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA W 48–0   53,225
Sat. Nov. 21 1:30 p.m. at Temple #1 Veterans StadiumPhiladelphia, PA W 35–0   32,570
Sat. Nov. 28 12:00 p.m. #11 Penn State #1 Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA ABC L 14–48   60,260
Fri. Jan. 1 8:00 p.m. vs. #2 Georgia #10 Louisiana SuperdomeNew Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl) ABC W 24–20   77,224
*Non-Conference Game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

[2]

Coaching staff[]

1981 Pittsburgh Panthers football staff
Coaching Staff
  • Jackie Sherrill – Head Coach
  • Foge Fazio – Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
  • Joe Moore - Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line
  • Joe Daniels – Quarterbacks
  • Bob Davie - Drop Backs
  • Joe Naunchik – Receivers
  • George Pugh - Tight Ends
  • Andy Urbanic – Running Backs
  • Ray Zingler – Rush Ends
  Support Staff
  • Alex Kramer – Administrative Assistant
  • Kevin Dickey – Recruiting Coordinator
  • Anthony Folino - Part-Time Assistant-Defensive Backs
  • Bob Matey - Part-Time Assistant-Defensive Line
  • Jim Miceli - Part-Time Assistant-Defensive Line
  • Michael Sherman - Part-Time Assistant-Offensive Line
  • Steve Heintzelman - Volunteer Coach
  Strength and Conditioning Staff
  • Buddy Morris - Weight Training Coordinator

Team players drafted into in the NFL[]

Player Position Round Pick NFL Club
Emil Boures Center 7 182 Pittsburgh Steelers
Sal Sunseri Linebacker 10 267 Pittsburgh Steelers
Sam Clancy Defensive End 11 284 Seattle Seahawks

[3]

Awards and honors[]

  • Dan Marino, Fourth in Heisman Trophy voting

References[]

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