1981 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

The 1981 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The one-loss Panthers were selected as national champion by NCAA-designated major selector National Championship Foundation[1] and also by Montgomery Full Season Championship.[2] The school does not claim a national championship for this season.

1981 Pittsburgh Panthers football
National champion (NCF)
Sugar Bowl champion
Sugar Bowl, W 24–20 vs. Georgia
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 4
1981 record11–1
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJoe Moore (1st season)
Offensive schemeMultiple pro-style
Defensive coordinatorFoge Fazio (3rd season)
Base defenseMultiple front
Home stadiumPitt Stadium
(capacity: 56,500)
1981 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW 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

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 51:30 p.m.IllinoisNo. 8
W 26–646,022
September 191:30 p.m.CincinnatiNo. 7
W 38–740,172
October 33:50 p.m.at South CarolinaNo. 4
ABCW 42–2856,495
October 101:30 p.m.at West VirginiaNo. 4
W 17–054,280
October 171:30 p.m.No. 11 Florida StateNo. 3
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 42–1455,112
October 241:30 p.m.SyracuseNo. 2
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)
USAW 23–1050,330
October 311:00 p.m.at Boston CollegeNo. 2
W 29–2425,500
November 71:00 p.m.at RutgersNo. 1
W 47–334,636
November 141:30 p.m.ArmyNo. 1
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 48–053,225
November 211:30 p.m.at TempleNo. 1
USAW 35–032,570
November 2812:25 p.m.No. 11 Penn StateNo. 1
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)
ABCL 14–4860,260
January 18:00 p.m.vs. No. 2 GeorgiaNo. 10
ABCW 24–2077,224

Roster
1981 Pittsburgh Panthers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
G 70 Emil Boures Sr
T 75 Jimbo Covert Jr
QB 13 Dan Marino Jr
G 77 Ron Sams Jr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DB 5 Tom Flynn So
DB 26 Tim Lewis Jr
DT 71 Bill Maas So
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Coaching staff
1981 Pittsburgh Panthers football staff
Coaching Staff
  • Jackie Sherrill – Head Coach
  • Foge Fazio – Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
  • Joe Moore – Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line
  • Joe Daniels – Quarterbacks
  • Bob Davie – Drop Backs
  • Joe Naunchik – Receivers
  • George Pugh – Tight Ends
  • Andy Urbanic – Running Backs
  • Ray Zingler – Rush Ends
   Support Staff
  • Alex Kramer – Administrative Assistant
  • Kevin Dickey – Recruiting Coordinator
  • Anthony Folino – Part-Time Assistant–Defensive Backs
  • Bob Matey – Part-Time Assistant–Defensive Line
  • Jim Miceli – Part-Time Assistant–Defensive Line
  • Michael Sherman – Part-Time Assistant–Offensive Line
  • Steve Heintzelman – Volunteer Coach
   Strength and Conditioning Staff
  • Buddy Morris – Weight Training Coordinator

Season summary

Illinois
See also: 1981 Illinois Fighting Illini football team
Illinois Fighting Illini at #8 Pittsburgh Panthers
1 2 34Total
Illinois 0 6 006
#7 Pittsburgh 14 0 10226

at Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA

  • Date: September 5
  • Game time: 1:30 PM EDT
  • Game attendance: 46,022
Game information

Cincinnati
See also: 1981 Cincinnati Bearcats football team and River City Rivalry
Cincinnati Bearcats at #7 Pittsburgh Panthers
1 2 34Total
Cincinnati 0 0 077
#7 Pittsburgh 21 0 10738

at Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA

  • Date: September 19
  • Game time: 1:30 PM EDT
  • Game attendance: 40,172
Game information

at South Carolina
See also: 1981 South Carolina Gamecocks football team
#4 Pittsburgh Panthers at South Carolina Gamecocks
1 2 34Total
#4 Pittsburgh 14 14 14042
South Carolina 0 0 21728

at Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC

Game information

at West Virginia
See also: 1981 West Virginia Mountaineers football team and Backyard Brawl
#4 Pittsburgh Panthers at West Virginia Mountaineers
1 2 34Total
#4 Pittsburgh 0 7 10017
West Virginia 0 0 000

at Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV

  • Date: October 10
  • Game time: 1:30 PM EDT
  • Game attendance: 54,280
Game information

#11 Florida State
See also: 1981 Florida State Seminoles football team
#11 Florida State Seminoles at #3 Pittsburgh Panthers
1 2 34Total
#11 Florida State 0 7 7014
#3 Pittsburgh 7 14 14742

at Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA

  • Date: October 17
  • Game time: 1:30 PM EDT
  • Game attendance: 55,112
Game information

Syracuse
See also: 1981 Syracuse Orangemen football team and Pittsburgh–Syracuse football rivalry
Syracuse Orangemen at #2 Pittsburgh Panthers
1 2 34Total
Syracuse 10 0 0010
#2 Pittsburgh 0 17 0623

at Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA

  • Date: October 24
  • Game time: 1:30 PM EDT
  • Game attendance: 50,330
  • TV: USA
Game information

at Boston College
See also: 1981 Boston College Eagles football team
#2 Pittsburgh Panthers at Boston College Eagles
1 2 34Total
#2 Pittsburgh 7 13 9029
Boston College 3 7 7724

at Alumni Stadium • Chestnut Hill, MA

  • Date: October 31
  • Game time: 1:00 PM EST
  • Game attendance: 25,500
Game information

at Rutgers
See also: 1981 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team
#1 Pittsburgh Panthers Rutgers Scarlet Knights
1 2 34Total
#1 Pittsburgh 0 14 141947
Rutgers 3 0 003

at Giants Stadium • East Rutherford, NJ

  • Date: November 7
  • Game time: 1:00 PM EST
  • Game attendance: 34,636
Game information

Army
See also: 1981 Army Cadets football team
Army Cadets at #1 Pittsburgh Panthers
1 2 34Total
Army 0 0 000
#1 Pittsburgh 14 7 20748

at Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA

  • Date: November 14
  • Game time: 1:30 PM EST
  • Game attendance: 53,225
Game information

at Temple
See also: 1981 Temple Owls football team
#1 Pittsburgh Panthers at Temple Owls
1 2 34Total
#1 Pittsburgh 21 0 7735
Temple 0 0 000

at Veterans Stadium • Philadelphia, PA

  • Date: November 21
  • Game time: 1:30 PM EST
  • Game attendance: 32,570
  • TV: USA
Game information

#11 Penn State
See also: 1981 Penn State Nittany Lions football team and Penn State–Pittsburgh football rivalry
#11 Penn State Nittany Lions at #1 Pittsburgh Panthers
1 2 34Total
#11 Penn State 0 14 171748
#1 Pittsburgh 14 0 0014

at Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA

Game information

vs. #2 Georgia (Sugar Bowl)
See also: 1981 Georgia Bulldogs football team and 1982 Sugar Bowl
1982 Sugar Bowl: #10 Pittsburgh Panthers vs. #2 Georgia Bulldogs
1 2 34Total
#10 Pittsburgh 0 3 71424
#2 Georgia 0 7 6720

at Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, LA

Game information

Team players drafted into the NFL
PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL Club
Emil BouresCenter7182Pittsburgh Steelers
Sal SunseriLinebacker10267Pittsburgh Steelers
Sam ClancyDefensive End11284Seattle Seahawks

[3]

Awards and honors

Media

Radio
Flagship station Play-by-play Color commentator Sideline reporter Studio host
WTAE–AM 1250Bill HillgroveJohn Sauer

References
  1. 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2018. p. 114. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
  2. College Football Data Warehouse; Pittsburgh All National Championships, accessdate=2009-01-29 Archived July 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  3. "1982 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
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