1981 Tennessee Volunteers football team

1981 Tennessee Volunteers football
Garden State Bowl champion
Garden State Bowl, W 28–21 vs. Wisconsin
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	8–4 (3–3 SEC)
Head coach	Johnny Majors (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Bill Pace (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Bobby Jackson (2nd season)
Captains	James Berry Lemont Holt Jeffers Lee North
Home stadium	Neyland Stadium
Seasons ←  1980 1982  →

1981 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 6 Georgia +	6	–	0	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 7 Alabama +	6	–	0	–	0			9	–	2	–	1
Mississippi State	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Tennessee	3	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Florida	3	–	3	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Auburn	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Kentucky	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Ole Miss	1	–	4	–	1			4	–	6	–	1
LSU	1	–	4	–	1			3	–	7	–	1
Vanderbilt	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 Tennessee Volunteers football team (variously "Tennessee", "UT" or the "Vols") represented the University of Tennessee in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Johnny Majors, in his fifth year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of eight wins and four losses (8–4 overall, 3–3 in the SEC). The Volunteers offense scored 244 points while the defense allowed 265 points.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	at No. 10 Georgia	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA		L 0–44	79,600	[1]
September 12	at No. 5 USC *	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		L 7–43	62,147	[2]
September 19	Colorado State *	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 42–0	93,972	[3]
September 26	Auburn	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 10–7	92,612	[4]
October 10	Georgia Tech *	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 10–7	94,478	[5]
October 17	at No. 15 Alabama	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Third Saturday in October)		L 19–38	78,550	[6]
October 24	at Memphis State *	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN		W 28–9	51,668	[7]
November 7	Wichita State *	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 24–21	94,155	[8]
November 14	Ole Miss	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)		W 28–20	90,955	[9]
November 21	at Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)		L 10–21	54,604	[10]
November 28	Vanderbilt	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 38–34	92,824	[11]
December 13	vs. Wisconsin *	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (Garden State Bowl)	Mizlou	W 28–21	53,220	[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1981 Tennessee Volunteers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 2 Lenny Taylor So QB 6 Alan Cockrell Fr WR 24 Clyde Duncan So WR 26 Willie Gault Jr WR 28 Anthony Hancock Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 40 Bill Bates Jr DE 92 Reggie White So DE 93 Mike Cofer Jr DE 97 Tony Simmons Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 4 Fuad Reveiz Fr	Head coach Johnny Majors Coordinators/assistant coaches Bill Pace –Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks/assistant head coach Doug Mathews –Running backs Bob Harrison –Wide receivers Phillip Fulmer –Offensive line Bobby Jackson –Defensive coordinator/linebackers Frank Emanuel –Defensive line John Julies –Defensive ends Dom Capers –Defensive backs Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Game summaries

At USC

Tennessee at USC

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Volunteers	0	0	7	0	7
•Trojans	6	20	10	7	43

• Date: September 12
• Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles
• Game attendance: 62,147

Scoring summary

Q1		USC	Allen 9-yard run (kick failed)	USC 6–0
Q2		USC	White 50-yard pass from Mazur (run failed)	USC 12–0
Q2		USC	Allen 12-yard run (Livingston kick)	USC 19–0
Q2		USC	Allen 4-yard run (Livingston kick)	USC 26–0
Q3		USC	Allen 55-yard run (Livingston kick)	USC 33–0
Q3		USC	Livingston 47-yard field goal	USC 36–0
Q3		TEN	Morris 1-yard pass from Cockrell (Reveiz kick)	USC 36–7
Q4		USC	Boyer 3-yard pass from Salisbury (Jordan kick)	USC 43–7

See also: 1980 USC Trojans football team

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Anthony Hancock	Wide Receiver	1	11	Kansas City Chiefs
Brian Ingram	Linebacker	4	111	New England Patriots
LeMont Holt Jeffers	Linebacker	6	153	Washington Redskins
Terry Daniels		10	265	Washington Redskins

• References: ^[13]

References

1. Smyth, Jimmy (September 6, 1981). "Georgia pounds Volunteers, 44–0". Johnson City Press-Chronicle. Retrieved August 18, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
2. "USC puts Tennessee to rout in 43–7 win". The Los Angeles Times. September 13, 1981. Retrieved August 18, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Vols romp by erring Rams, 42–0". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. September 20, 1981. Retrieved August 18, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Majors proud of Tennessee 10–7 victory". The Selma Times-Journal. September 27, 1981. Retrieved August 18, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Tennessee rebounds to beat Jackets 10–7". The Macon Telegraph & News. October 11, 1981. Retrieved August 18, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Tide's first half monsoon wrecks Vols". The Tennessean. October 18, 1981. Retrieved August 18, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
7. "'Big Orange Hex' more powerful than 'Memphis Jinx'". The Leaf-Chronicle. October 25, 1981. Retrieved August 18, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Tennessee dodges a Shock(er)". The Tennessean. November 8, 1981. Retrieved February 23, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Vols hold back Rebels". The Tampa Tribune-Times. November 15, 1981. Retrieved August 18, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Wildcats silence Vols' thunder". The Paducah Sun. November 22, 1981. Retrieved August 18, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Vandy refuses chance to tie". The Jackson Sun. November 29, 1981. Retrieved August 18, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Tennessee's speed burns Wisconsin". Clarion-Ledger. December 14, 1981. Retrieved August 18, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
13. "1982 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 12, 2012.