1981 Navy Midshipmen football team

1981 Navy Midshipmen football
Liberty Bowl, L 28–31 vs. Ohio State
Conference	Independent
Record	7–4–1
Head coach	George Welsh (9th season)
Captains	Tim Jordan Eddie Meyers
Home stadium	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial 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 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by ninth-year head coach George Welsh. ^[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12		The Citadel	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD		W 17–7	18,135	[2]
September 19		Eastern Kentucky	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD		W 24–0	16,379	[3]
September 26		at Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI		L 16–21	105,213	[4]
October 3		at Yale	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	ABC	L 19–23	38,000	[5]
October 10		Air Force	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)		W 30–13	31,181	[6]
October 17		at Boston College	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA		W 25–10	31,000	[7]
October 24		William & Mary	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD		W 27–0	25,014	[8]
October 31		at Notre Dame	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		L 0–38	59,075	[9]
November 7		Syracuse	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD		W 35–23	23,355	[10]
November 14		at Georgia Tech	Grant Field Atlanta, GA		W 20–14	20,129	[11]
December 5		vs. Army	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA (Army–Navy Game)	ABC	T 3–3	60,470	[12] [13] [14]
December 30	8:00 p.m.	vs. Ohio State	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (Liberty Bowl)	USA	L 28–31	43,216	[15]
Homecoming All times are in Eastern time

^[16]

Games summaries

Syracuse

• Eddie Meyers 298 rush yards, 3 TD

Army

	1	2	3	4	Total
Navy	0	3	0	0	3
Army	0	0	3	0	3

• NAVY: Steve Fehr 35 FG
• ARMY: Dave Aucoin FG, 4:37

Roster

1981 Navy Midshipmen football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OT 74 Keith Boring Sr OT 71 Doug Borrebach So TE 83 Mark Fitzgerald Sr G 63 Jeff Johnson Sr QB 16 Jeff Korn Jr C 51 Dennis McCall Jr RB 30 Napoleon McCallum Fr RB 40 Eddie Meyers (C) Sr WR 89 Troy Mitchell Sr QB 15 Marco Pagnanelli So TE 82 Greg Papajohn Sr RB 38 Andy Skehan Jr RB 49 Tim Jackson Sr G 59 Mark Woodhouse Jr WR 88 Chris Yelder Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 41 John Foley Sr LB 57 Todd Hastings So DT 56 Tim Jordan (C) Sr LB 50 Ken Olson Sr DT 73 Steve Peters So LB Andy Ponseigo DB 47 Eliott Reagans Sr DE 84 Mike Rouser Sr DB 14 Jeff Shoemake Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 24 Steve Fehr Sr	Head coach George Welsh Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "Football History" (PDF). United States Naval Academy. p. 194. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
2. "Middies sink Citadel". The Baltimore Sun. September 13, 1981. Retrieved August 17, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Freshman helps Middies tar E. Kentucky 24–0". The Baltimore Sun. September 20, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Wolverines sink hopeful Navy". Dayton Daily News. September 27, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. McIntyre, Mark D. (October 4, 1981). "Yale Rally Surprises Navy". Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 84 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Jackson, James H. (October 11, 1981). "Navy soars over Air Force, 30–13". The Baltimore Sun . p. C1. Retrieved October 20, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Meyers, Fehr lead Navy past B.C. by 25–10". The Baltimore Sun. October 18, 1981. p. C12 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Navy goes overland to sink punchless W&M". Richmond Times-Dispatch. October 25, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Notre Dame rips Midshipmen 38–0". The Times Recorder. November 1, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Navy's Meyers human destroyer vs. SU". Syracuse Herald-American. November 8, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Jackets blow No. 9, tumble to Navy 20–14". The Atlanta Constitution. November 15, 1981. Retrieved July 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
12. Verner, Bill (December 5, 1981). "Army: Our day will come again". The Journal News . White Plains, New York. p. C1. Retrieved July 3, 2021– via Newspapers.com .
13. Verner, Bill (December 5, 1981). "Army-Navy (continued)". The Journal News . White Plains, New York. p. C5. Retrieved July 3, 2021– via Newspapers.com .
14. "Army Rises To Occasion Against Navy". The Town Talk. Alexandria, Louisiana. Associated Press. December 6, 1981. p. 22. Retrieved July 3, 2021– via Newspapers.com .
15. "Navy's hit by a Gayle (Jimmy)". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. December 31, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
16. "1981 Navy Midshipmen Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 31, 2024.