1981 Tennessee Volunteers football team

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.

1981 Tennessee Volunteers football
Garden State Bowl champion
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record8–4 (3–3 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBill Pace (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorBobby Jackson (2nd season)
Captains
  • James Berry
  • Lemont Holt Jeffers
  • Lee North
Home stadiumNeyland Stadium
1981 Southeastern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 6 Georgia + 6 –0 –010 –2 –0
No. 7 Alabama + 6 –0 –09 –2 –1
Mississippi State 4 –2 –08 –4 –0
Tennessee 3 –3 –08 –4 –0
Florida 3 –3 –07 –5 –0
Auburn 2 –4 –05 –6 –0
Kentucky 2 –4 –03 –8 –0
LSU 1 –4 –13 –7 –1
Ole Miss 1 –5 –14 –6 –1
Vanderbilt 1 –5 –04 –7 –0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule
DateOpponentSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 5at No. 10 Georgia
L 0–4479,600[1]
September 12at No. 5 USC*
L 7–4362,147[2]
September 19Colorado State*
W 42–093,972[3]
September 26Auburn
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN
W 10–792,612[4]
October 10Georgia Tech*
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN
W 10–794,478[5]
October 17at No. 15 Alabama
L 19–3878,550[6]
October 24at Memphis State*
W 28–951,668[7]
November 7Wichita State*dagger
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN
W 24–2194,155[8]
November 14Ole Miss
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN
W 28–2090,955[9]
November 21at Kentucky
L 10–2154,604[10]
November 28Vanderbilt
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN
W 38–3492,824[11]
December 13vs. Wisconsin*
MizlouW 28–2153,220[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster
1981 Tennessee Volunteers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
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.#NameClass
DB 40 Bill Bates Jr
DE 92 Reggie White So
DE 93 Mike Cofer Jr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K 4 Fuad Reveiz Fr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Game summaries

At USC
Tennessee at USC
1 234Total
Volunteers 0 070 7
• Trojans 6 20107 43
Scoring summary
Q1USCAllen 9-yard run (kick failed)USC 6–0
Q2USCWhite 50-yard pass from Mazur (run failed)USC 12–0
Q2USCAllen 12-yard run (Livingston kick)USC 19–0
Q2USCAllen 4-yard run (Livingston kick)USC 26–0
Q3USCAllen 55-yard run (Livingston kick)USC 33–0
Q3USCLivingston 47-yard field goalUSC 36–0
Q3TENMorris 1-yard pass from Cockrell (Reveiz kick)USC 36–7
Q4USCBoyer 3-yard pass from Salisbury (Jordan kick)USC 43–7
See also: 1980 USC Trojans football team


Team players drafted into the NFL
PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL club
Anthony HancockWide Receiver111Kansas City Chiefs
Brian IngramLinebacker4111New England Patriots
LeMont Holt JeffersLinebacker6153Washington Redskins
Terry Daniels10265Washington Redskins

References
  1. "Georgia pounds Volunteers, 44–0". Johnson City Press-Chronicle. September 6, 1981. 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.
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