1981 Duke Blue Devils football team

1981 Duke Blue Devils football
A page from The Chronicle, the student newspaper of Duke University
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
Captains	Greg Bamberger Cedric Jones Dennis Tabron Dan Yellott
Home stadium	Wallace Wade Stadium

1981 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
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

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
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

1981 Duke Blue Devils football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 14 Ben Bennett So WR Chris Castor TE Carl Franks WR Mark Militello	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	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

• Chris Castor, ACC Offensive Player of the Year

References

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.