1981 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

1981 North Carolina Tar Heels football
Gator Bowl champion
Gator Bowl, W 31–27 vs. Arkansas
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 8
AP	No. 9
Record	10–2 (5–1 ACC)
Head coach	Dick Crum (4th season)
Captains	Shelton Robinson Lee Shaffer
Home stadium	Kenan Memorial Stadium
Seasons ←  1980 1982  →

1981 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Clemson $	6	–	0	–	0			12	–	0	–	0
No. 9 North Carolina	5	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Maryland	4	–	2	–	0			4	–	6	–	1
Duke	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
NC State	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Wake Forest	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Virginia	0	–	6	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Tar Heels were led by fourth-year head coach Dick Crum and played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. They competed as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, finishing in second. ^[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	1:00 p.m.	East Carolina *	No. 13	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC		W 56–0	51,300	[2]
September 19	1:00 p.m.	Miami (OH) *	No. 10	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC		W 49–7	49,500	[3]
September 26	1:00 p.m.	Boston College *	No. 9	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC		W 56–14	48,000	[4]
October 3	1:30 p.m.	at Georgia Tech *	No. 6	Grant Field Atlanta, GA		W 28–7	39,263	[5]
October 10	1:00 p.m.	Wake Forest	No. 5	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)		W 48–10	51,692	[6]
October 17	1:00 p.m.	at NC State	No. 4	Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC (rivalry)		W 21–10	56,200	[7]
October 24	1:00 p.m.	South Carolina *	No. 3	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)		L 13–31	50,500	[8]
October 31	1:30 p.m.	at Maryland	No. 9	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD		W 17–10	32,100	[9]
November 7	12:30 p.m.	No. 2 Clemson	No. 8	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	ABC	L 8–10	53,611	[10]
November 14	1:30 p.m.	at Virginia	No. 13	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA (South's Oldest Rivalry)		W 17–14	30,047	[11]
November 21	1:30 p.m.	at Duke	No. 12	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC (Victory Bell)		W 31–10	38,525	[12]
December 28	9:00 p.m.	vs. Arkansas *	No. 11	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	ABC	W 31–27	71,009	[13]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Roster

1981 North Carolina Tar Heels football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OT 54 Dave Drechsler So OL Kevin Wilson So	Defense Pos. # Name Class OLB 84 Mike Wilcher Jr LB 93 Calvin Daniels Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Dick Crum Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "1981 North Carolina Tar Heels Schedule and Results | College Football at Sports-Reference.com". sports-reference.com. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
2. "Bryant's 6 TDs paste Pirates". The News and Observer. September 13, 1981. Retrieved March 4, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Miami is run over at/by Heels, 49–7". The Cincinnati Enquirer. September 20, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Bryant's 4 Touchdowns Lead North Carolina". The Palm Beach Post. September 27, 1981. p. E6 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Heels take tough one from Tech". Winston-Salem Journal. October 4, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Tar Heels crush Deacons, 48–10". Anderson Independent-Mail. October 11, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "UNC rallies for victory, 21–10". Johnson City Press-Chronicle. October 18, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Gamecocks upset 'Heels". The Tampa Tribune. October 25, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Tar Heel bench scuttles Maryland by 17–10". The Daily Times. November 1, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Tigers top Tar Heels". Florence Morning News. November 8, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Tar Heels sneak past Cavaliers". Greensboro News & Record. November 15, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Tar Heels gain Gator Bowl bid". Fort Lauderdale News. November 22, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
13. "North Carolina fogs Arkansas in Gator Bowl". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. December 29, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.