1981 Duke Blue Devils football team

American college football season

1981 Duke Blue Devils football

Conference| Atlantic Coast Conference
Record| 6–5 (3–3 ACC)
Head coach|

* Shirley Wilson (3rd season)

Offensive coordinator| Steve Spurrier (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator| Dick Hopkins (1st season)
MVP| Cedric Jones
Captain| Greg Bamberger, Cedric Jones, Dennis Tabron, Dan Yellott
Home stadium| Wallace Wade Stadium

Seasons

<- 1980

1982 ->

1981 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

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| Conf |  |  | Overall

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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 Duke Blue Devils football team was an American football team that represented Duke University as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their third year under head coach Shirley Wilson, the Blue Devils complied an overall record of 6–5, with a conference record of 3–3, and finished fourth in the ACC. Duke's offense became the first in ACC history to average over 300 yards a game passing.[1]

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Time| Opponent| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

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September 12| | at No. 11 Ohio State*|

* Ohio Stadium
* Columbus, OH

| L 13–34| 86,266| [2]
September 19| | at South Carolina*|

* Williams–Brice Stadium
* Columbia, SC

| L 3–17| 56,321| [3]
September 26| | at Virginia|

* Scott Stadium
* Charlottesville, VA

| W 29–24| 27,523| [4]
October 3| | East Carolina*|

* Wallace Wade Stadium
* Durham, NC

| W 24–14| 18,250| [5]
October 10| 1:30 p.m.| Virginia Tech*|

* Wallace Wade Stadium
* Durham, NC

| W 14–7| 32,000| [6]
October 17| | No. 6 Clemson|

* Wallace Wade Stadium
* Durham, NC

| L 10–38| 26,000| [7]
October 24| | at Maryland|

* Byrd Stadium
* College Park, MD

| L 21–24| 31,800| [8]
October 31| | at Georgia Tech*|

* Grant Field
* Atlanta, GA

| W 38–24| 30,232| [9]
November 7| | at Wake Forest|

* Groves Stadium
* Winston-Salem, NC (rivalry)

| W 31–10| 22,000| [10]
November 14| | NC State|

* Wallace Wade Stadium
* Durham, NC (rivalry)

| W 17–7| 26,750| [11]
November 21| | No. 12 North Carolina|

* Wallace Wade Stadium
* Durham, NC (Victory Bell)

| L 10–31| 38,525| [12]

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
* All times are in Eastern time

[13]

## Personnel

[edit]

1981 Duke Blue Devils football team roster

Players  | Coaches
Offense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

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|
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QB | `14` | Ben Bennett | So
WR | `` | Chris Castor
TE | `` | Carl Franks
WR | `` | Mark Militello
Defense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

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|

Special teams | Pos. | # | Name | Class

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Head coach

* Shirley Wilson

Coordinators/assistant coaches

* Steve Spurrier (OC)
* Rod Broadway (DL)

* * *

Legend

* (C) Team captain
* (S) Suspended
* (I) Ineligible

* Injured
* Redshirt

## Awards and honors

[edit]

* Chris Castor, ACC Offensive Player of the Year

## References

[edit]

1. ^ WRAL.com. Retrieved 2020-Apr-22.
2. ^ "Buckeyes inconsistent in win". The Akron Beacon Journal. September 13, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ "South Carolina defeats Duke". Greensboro News & Record. September 20, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ "Duke squeaks by Virginia". The Daily News Leader. September 27, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Late Pack spurt zaps pesky Bucs". The News and Observer. September 20, 1981. Retrieved March 4, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Tabron steals one for Blue Devils". The News and Observer. October 11, 1981. Retrieved December 16, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Clemson bedevils Duke, 38–10". Anderson Independent-Mail. October 18, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "Maryland slips by Blue Devils for 24–21 win". The Charlotte Observer. October 25, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "Rallying Duke wrecks Tech". The News and Observer. November 1, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "Rush-minded Devils crush defenseless Wake". The Danville Register. November 8, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "Sub Ron Sally sparks Duke over Wolfpack". Daily Press. 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. ^ "1981 Duke Blue Devils Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 28, 2024.

* v
* t
* e

Duke Blue Devils football

Venues|

* Hanes Field (c. 1913–1928)
* Wallace Wade Stadium (1929–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* North Carolina: Victory Bell
* Tobacco Road

Culture & lore|

* History
* Blue Devil
* "Fight! Blue Devils, Fight!"
* Blue and White (Duke fight song)
* Marching band

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1888
* 1889
* 1890
* 1891
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895–1919
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
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* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
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* 1957
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* 1960
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* 1969
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* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
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* 1981
* 1982
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* 1985
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* 1987
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* 2013
* 2014
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* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

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*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number