1981 Colgate Red Raiders football team

1981 Colgate Red Raiders football
Conference	Independent
Record	7–3
Head coach	Frederick Dunlap (6th season)
Captains	Karl Grabowski Tom McChesney
Home stadium	Andy Kerr Stadium
Seasons ←  1980 1982  →

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

The 1981 Colgate Red Raiders football team was an American football team that represented Colgate University as an independent during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its sixth season under head coach Frederick Dunlap, the team compiled a 7–3 record. Karl Grabowski and Tom McChesney were the team captains. ^[1]

This would be Colgate's final season in the NCAA's top level of competition. Shortly after the season ended, the NCAA reassigned the Red Raiders, along with the Ivy League and several other football teams, to Division I-AA, ^[2] now known as the Football Championship Subdivision.

The team played its home games at Andy Kerr Stadium in Hamilton, New York.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	at Rutgers	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	L 5–13	18,655	[3]
September 19	Lehigh	Andy Kerr Stadium Hamilton, NY	W 27–14	5,800	[4]
September 26	at Cornell	Schoellkopf Field Ithaca, NY (rivalry)	W 34–10	12,100	[5]
October 3	Boston University	Andy Kerr Stadium Hamilton, NY	W 21–14	5,100	[6]
October 10	at Temple	Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA	L 0–31	12,203	[7]
October 17	Lafayette	Andy Kerr Stadium Hamilton, NY	W 30–0	5,500	[8]
October 24	at Columbia	Baker Field New York, NY	W 41–3	4,975	[9]
October 31	at Syracuse	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	L 24–47	40,309	[10]
November 7	Bucknell	Andy Kerr Stadium Hamilton, NY	W 24–6		[11]
November 14	at Holy Cross	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 32–13	17,241	[12]

Leading players

Two trophies were awarded to the Red Raiders' most valuable players in 1981: ^[13]

• Tom Rogers, wide receiver, received the Andy Kerr Trophy, awarded to the most valuable offensive player.
• Kelly Robinson, defensive end, received the Hal W. Lahar Trophy, awarded to the most valuable defensive player.

Statistical leaders for the 1981 Red Raiders included: ^[14]

• Rushing: Rich Erenberg, 575 yards and 4 touchdowns on 142 attempts
• Passing: Steve Calabria, 1,620 yards, 121 completions and 11 touchdowns on 230 attempts
• Receiving: Tom Rogers, 768 yards and 4 touchdowns on 52 receptions
• Total offense: Steve Calabria, 1,719 yards (1,620 passing, 99 rushing)
• Scoring: Brian Byrne, 50 points from 26 PATs and 8 field goals
• All-purpose yards: Rich Erenberg, 810 yards (575 rushing, 152 kickoff returning, 47 receiving, 36 punt returning)
• Tackles: Dave Wolf, 150 total tackles
• Sacks: John Joyce, 3.5 quarterback sacks

References

1. "Colgate Athletic History: Football" (PDF). Hamilton, N.Y.: Colgate University. p. 13. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
2. "Cornell 'Out', Paterno Happy". The Evening Press . Binghamton, N.Y. December 4, 1981. p. 1D – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Rutgers Needs 2 FGs, 1 Bomb to Edge Colgate". The Sunday Press . Binghamton, N.Y. September 13, 1981. p. 5B – via Newspapers.com.
4. Larimer, Terry (September 20, 1981). "Colgate Tops Lehigh Behind Frosh QB". Sunday Call-Chronicle . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Fox, John W. (September 27, 1981). "Colgate Pastes Cornell, 34-10". The Sunday Press . Binghamton, N.Y. pp. 1B, 2B – via Newspapers.com.
6. Hobson, Geoff (October 4, 1981). "Weird Bounces Pave Way for Colgate". The Sunday Press . Binghamton, N.Y. p. 1B – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Owls Ground Red Raiders". The Sunday Press . Binghamton, N.Y. Associated Press. October 11, 1981. pp. 6B, 2B – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Raiders Zap Lafayette". The Sunday Press . Binghamton, N.Y. October 18, 1981. pp. 6B, 2B – via Newspapers.com.
9. "5 TDs by Colgate Frosh". The Sunday Press . Binghamton, N.Y. October 24, 1981. pp. 6B, 2B – via Newspapers.com.
10. Davis, Ken (November 1, 1981). "Syracuse Outguns Colgate". The Sunday Press . Binghamton, N.Y. p. 1B – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Colgate Wins". The Sunday Press . Binghamton, N.Y. November 8, 1981. p. 5B – via Newspapers.com.
12. Singelais, Neil (November 15, 1981). "Colgate Crushes Holy Cross". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 81 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Colgate Athletic History: Football" (PDF). Hamilton, N.Y.: Colgate University. p. 19. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
14. "Colgate Athletic History: Football" (PDF). Hamilton, N.Y.: Colgate University. pp. 43–55. Retrieved June 15, 2020.