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1981 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
ConferenceIndependent
Record1–10
Head coach
Offensive coordinator Rip Scherer (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorKen Blair (2nd season)
Captain Dave Lutz
Lance Skelton
Mark Bradley
Ken Carney
Home stadium Grant Field
Seasons
←  1980
1982 →
1981 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
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 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represented the Georgia Institute of Technology during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Yellow Jackets were led by second-year head coach Bill Curry, and played their home games at Grant Field in Atlanta. Georgia Tech produced abysmal results for the second consecutive year under Curry, finishing with a record of 1–10, their worst season in terms of winning percentage in school history (it would later be matched by another 1–10 season in 1994). Their sole win was a season-opening upset victory over the second-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in Birmingham.

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 12at No. 2 Alabama ESPNW 24–2178,865 [1]
September 19at FloridaL 6–2763,876 [2]
September 26 Memphis StateL 15–2832,463
October 3No. 6 North Carolina
  • Grant Field
  • Atlanta, GA
L 7–2839,263 [3]
October 10at TennesseeL 7–1094,478 [4]
October 17 Auburn
L 7–3150,263–50,326 [5]
October 24at TulaneL 10–2737,431 [6]
October 31 Dukedagger
  • Grant Field
  • Atlanta, GA
L 24–3830,232 [7]
November 7at Notre DameL 3–3559,075
November 14 Navy
  • Grant Field
  • Atlanta, GA
L 14–2020,129
December 5No. 2 Georgia
ABCL 7–4458,623 [8]
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[9] [10]

Roster

1981 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 2 Mike Kelley Sr
QB 12 Jim Bob Taylor Jr
RB Robert Lavette
RB Ronny Cone
WR Kenny Thompson
WR Jeff Keisler
TE 9 Ken Whisenhunt So
G 64 Ben Utt Sr
OT 78 Dave Lutz Jr
OL Ellis Gardner
OL Ken Howell
OL Mark Schultz
OL Dean Waters
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DL Mark Bradley
DL Donnie Chisholm
DL Marvin Dyett
LB 56 Robert Jaracz
LB Rob Horton
LB Lance Skelton
LB Duane Wood
CB 22 Jack Westbrook So
DB Sammy Brown
DB Paul Menegazzi
DB Mark Sheffield
DB Ted Thurson
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Rip SchererOffensive coordinator
  • Jeff McLean – Running backs
  • Terry Tuley – Wide receivers
  • Brad Roper – Tight ends
  • Mac McWhorterOffensive line
  • Mark Hunter – Offensive line
  • Ken Blair – Defensive coordinator
  • John Guy – Defensive line
  • Barry WilsonInside linebackers
  • Mike Dean – Defensive backs

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

References

  1. ^ "Tech 24, Alabama 21 - it really did happen". The Atlanta Constitution. September 13, 1981. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Gators pull Tech out of the clouds in 27–6 beating". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. September 20, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Heels take tough one from Tech". Winston-Salem Journal. October 4, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Tennessee rebounds to beat Jackets 10–7". The Macon Telegraph & News. October 11, 1981. Retrieved August 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Auburn rips Jackets 31–7". The Macon Telegraph & News. October 18, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Tulane trounces Tech 27–10". The Atlanta Constitution. October 25, 1981. Retrieved October 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Rallying Duke wrecks Tech". The News and Observer. November 1, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "After Tech rout, Walker praises Georgia's line". The Palm Beach Post. December 6, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "1981 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
  10. ^ 2011 Georgia Tech Media Guide Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. p. 173