1981 Colgate Red Raiders football team

1981 Colgate Red Raiders football
1981 Colgate Red Raiders football
Conference	Independent
Record	7–3
Head coach	Frederick Dunlap (6th season);
Captains	Karl Grabowski; Tom McChesney;
Home stadium	Andy Kerr Stadium
	Seasons ← 1980 1982 →

1981 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
v t e	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 Colgate Red Raiders football team was an American football team that represented Colgate University as an independent during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its sixth season under head coach Frederick Dunlap, the team compiled a 7–3 record. Karl Grabowski and Tom McChesney were the team captains.^[1]

This would be Colgate's final season in the NCAA's top level of competition. Shortly after the season ended, the NCAA reassigned the Red Raiders, along with the Ivy League and several other football teams, to Division I-AA,^[2] now known as the Football Championship Subdivision.

The team played its home games at Andy Kerr Stadium in Hamilton, New York.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	at Rutgers	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	L 5–13	18,655	^[3]
September 19	Lehigh	Andy Kerr Stadium Hamilton, NY	W 27–14	5,800	^[4]
September 26	at Cornell	Schoellkopf Field Ithaca, NY (rivalry)	W 34–10	12,100	^[5]
October 3	Boston University	Andy Kerr Stadium Hamilton, NY	W 21–14	5,100	^[6]
October 10	at Temple	Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA	L 0–31	12,203	^[7]
October 17	Lafayette	Andy Kerr Stadium Hamilton, NY	W 30–0	5,500	^[8]
October 24	at Columbia	Baker Field New York, NY	W 41–3	4,975	^[9]
October 31	at Syracuse	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	L 24–47	40,309	^[10]
November 7	Bucknell	Andy Kerr Stadium Hamilton, NY	W 24–6		^[11]
November 14	at Holy Cross	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 32–13	17,241	^[12]

Leading players

Two trophies were awarded to the Red Raiders' most valuable players in 1981:^[13]

Tom Rogers, wide receiver, received the Andy Kerr Trophy, awarded to the most valuable offensive player.
Kelly Robinson, defensive end, received the Hal W. Lahar Trophy, awarded to the most valuable defensive player.

Statistical leaders for the 1981 Red Raiders included:^[14]

Rushing: Rich Erenberg, 575 yards and 4 touchdowns on 142 attempts
Passing: Steve Calabria, 1,620 yards, 121 completions and 11 touchdowns on 230 attempts
Receiving: Tom Rogers, 768 yards and 4 touchdowns on 52 receptions
Total offense: Steve Calabria, 1,719 yards (1,620 passing, 99 rushing)
Scoring: Brian Byrne, 50 points from 26 PATs and 8 field goals
All-purpose yards: Rich Erenberg, 810 yards (575 rushing, 152 kickoff returning, 47 receiving, 36 punt returning)
Tackles: Dave Wolf, 150 total tackles
Sacks: John Joyce, 3.5 quarterback sacks