1981 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

The 1981 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team represented Mississippi State University as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by third-year head coach Emory Bellard, the Bulldogs compiled an overall record of 8–4, with a mark of 4–2 in conference play, and finished third in the SEC.

1981 Mississippi State Bulldogs football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 17
Record8–4 (4–2 SEC)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorMelvin Robertson (3rd season)
Home stadiumScott Field
Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1980
1982 →
1981 Southeastern Conference football standings
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

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 5Memphis State*No. 14W 20–342,507[1]
September 19VanderbiltNo. 14W 29–932,045[2]
September 26FloridaNo. 12
  • Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium
  • Jackson, MS
W 28–745,250[3]
October 3Missouri*No. 9
  • Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium
  • Jackson, MS
L 3–1440,776[4]
October 10at Colorado State*No. 19W 37–2724,761[5]
October 17No. 13 Miami (FL)*No. 16
  • Scott Field
  • Starkville, MS
W 14–1033,225[6]
October 24at AuburnNo. 9W 21–1758,000[7]
October 31at No. 8 AlabamaNo. 7L 10–1360,210[8]
November 7vs. No. 20 Southern Miss*No. 15
  • Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium
  • Jackson, MS
L 6–764,112[9]
November 14at LSUW 17–971,303[10]
November 21vs. Ole Miss
  • Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium
  • Jackson, MS (Egg Bowl)
L 17–2161,153[11]
December 31vs. Kansas*W 10–041,672[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[13]

Roster

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1981 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 13 John Bond So
C 58 Kent Hull
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DE 79 Glen Collins
LB 99 Johnie Cooks
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

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

References

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  1. ^ "State wins 20–3, but champagne didn't flow". The Clarion-Ledger. September 6, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Commodores buried by Bulldog runners". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. September 20, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Gators give Bulldogs 28–7 victory". Tallahassee Democrat. September 27, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Missouri steals defensive thunder from Mississippi State in 14–7 upset". The Kansas City Star. October 4, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Miss. State gets a scare but beats Colorado State 37–27". The Clarion-Ledger. October 11, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Second-quarter outburse sparks Mississippi State". Wisconsin State Journal. October 18, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Mississippi State overhauls Auburn". St. Petersburg Times. October 25, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "State fires and falls back 13–10". The Clarion-Ledger. November 1, 1981. Retrieved February 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "USM takes State's best shot and lives". The Clarion-Ledger. November 8, 1981. Retrieved March 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Mississippi St. tops Tigers behind Bond". The Daily Advertiser. November 15, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Fourcade keys Reb victory over Dawgs". Hattiesburg American. November 22, 1981. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Bulldogs take command early to shut out Jayhawks". Birmingham Post-Herald. January 1, 1982. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "1981 Mississippi State Bulldogs Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 31, 2023.