NCAA football standings at the end of October 16, 1981
| Atlantic Coast Conference | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| #4 North Carolina | 5 | 0 | 0 | 237 | 38 | Won 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 10 | Dick Crum | 
| #6 Clemson | 5 | 0 | 0 | 119 | 21 | Won 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 | Danny Ford | 
| Duke | 3 | 2 | 0 | 83 | 96 | Won 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 24 | Red Wilson | 
| Maryland | 1 | 3 | 1 | 91 | 81 | Lost 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 9 | Jerry Claiborne | 
| North Carolina State | 4 | 1 | 0 | 125 | 112 | Won 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 67 | 81 | Monte Kiffin | 
| Wake Forest | 2 | 4 | 0 | 92 | 164 | Lost 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 76 | Al Groh | 
| Virginia | 0 | 5 | 0 | 66 | 121 | Lost 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 48 | 86 | Dick Bestwick | 
| Big Ten Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| #14 Wisconsin | 4 | 1 | 0 | 99 | 90 | Won 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 49 | Dave McClain | 
| #12 Iowa | 4 | 1 | 0 | 148 | 65 | Won 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 106 | 28 | Hayden Fry | 
| #5 Michigan | 4 | 1 | 0 | 136 | 81 | Won 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 90 | 58 | Bo Schembechler | 
| Minnesota | 4 | 1 | 0 | 141 | 103 | Won 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 80 | 74 | Joe Salem | 
| Illinois | 3 | 2 | 0 | 108 | 130 | Lost 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 85 | 90 | Mike White | 
| Ohio State | 3 | 2 | 0 | 133 | 105 | Lost 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 37 | Earle Bruce | 
| Purdue | 3 | 2 | 0 | 113 | 89 | Won 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 71 | 56 | Jim Young | 
| Indiana | 1 | 4 | 0 | 73 | 142 | Lost 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 66 | 100 | Lee Corso | 
| Michigan State | 1 | 4 | 0 | 67 | 119 | Lost 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 50 | 92 | Frank Waters | 
| Northwestern | 0 | 5 | 0 | 50 | 200 | Lost 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 43 | 120 | Dennis Green | 
| Big Eight Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| #8 Missouri | 5 | 0 | 0 | 172 | 39 | Won 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 13 | Warren Powers | 
| Oklahoma State | 3 | 1 | 0 | 68 | 51 | Won 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 7 | Jimmy Johnson | 
| #19 Nebraska | 3 | 2 | 0 | 141 | 57 | Won 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 0 | Tom Osborne | 
| Kansas | 4 | 1 | 0 | 79 | 73 | Lost 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 20 | Don Fambrough | 
| Kansas State | 1 | 4 | 0 | 85 | 141 | Lost 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 58 | Jim Dickey | 
| Colorado | 1 | 4 | 0 | 82 | 168 | Lost 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 59 | Chuck Fairbanks | 
| Iowa State | 3 | 1 | 1 | 106 | 103 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7 | Donnie Duncan | 
| Oklahoma | 1 | 2 | 1 | 82 | 89 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7 | Barry Switzer | 
| Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| San Jose State | 4 | 1 | 0 | 167 | 86 | Won 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jack Elway | 
| Utah State | 3 | 3 | 0 | 95 | 118 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bruce Snyder | 
| Fresno State | 1 | 4 | 0 | 120 | 155 | Lost 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jim Sweeney | 
| Ivy League | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| Harvard | 2 | 2 | 0 | 82 | 76 | Won 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 16 | Joseph Restic | 
| Yale | 4 | 0 | 0 | 107 | 72 | Won 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 7 | Carmen Cozza | 
| Dartmouth | 1 | 3 | 0 | 47 | 63 | Lost 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 13 | Joe Yukica | 
| Princeton | 2 | 2 | 0 | 62 | 124 | Won 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 54 | 63 | Frank Navarro | 
| Brown | 1 | 3 | 0 | 67 | 95 | Won 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 72 | John Anderson | 
| Columbia | 1 | 3 | 0 | 53 | 81 | Lost 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 53 | Robert Naso | 
| Pennsylvania | 1 | 3 | 0 | 62 | 126 | Lost 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 62 | 68 | Jerry Berndt | 
| Cornell | 0 | 4 | 0 | 59 | 121 | Lost 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 56 | Bob Blackman | 
| Missouri Valley Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| Drake | 6 | 0 | 0 | 137 | 97 | Won 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 37 | Chuck Shelton | 
| Southern Illinois | 3 | 3 | 0 | 112 | 116 | Won 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 86 | 72 | Rey Dempsey | 
| Wichita State | 3 | 2 | 1 | 133 | 104 | Lost 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 74 | 65 | Willie Jeffries | 
| Indiana State | 2 | 2 | 1 | 108 | 82 | Won 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 69 | 37 | Dennis Raetz | 
| West Texas A&M | 4 | 2 | 0 | 139 | 128 | Lost 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 29 | Bill Yung | 
| Illinois State | 3 | 2 | 0 | 94 | 71 | Won 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 14 | Bob Otolski | 
| Tulsa | 1 | 4 | 0 | 111 | 109 | Won 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 36 | John Cooper | 
| New Mexico State | 1 | 4 | 0 | 69 | 136 | Lost 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 65 | Gil Krueger | 
| Mid-America Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| Toledo | 3 | 2 | 0 | 133 | 80 | Won 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 103 | 21 | Chuck Stobart | 
| Central Michigan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 121 | 73 | Won 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 95 | 37 | Herb Deromedi | 
| Miami (Ohio) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 85 | 95 | Tied 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 45 | 32 | Tom Reed | 
| Western Michigan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 78 | 63 | Lost 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 54 | 39 | Elliot Uzelac | 
| Ohio University | 2 | 3 | 0 | 93 | 107 | Lost 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 67 | 69 | Brian Burke | 
| Kent State | 2 | 3 | 0 | 97 | 84 | Won 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 61 | 50 | Ed Chlebek | 
| Ball State | 2 | 3 | 0 | 81 | 122 | Lost 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 70 | Dwight Wallace | 
| Northern Illinois | 1 | 4 | 0 | 67 | 95 | Lost 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 71 | Bill Mallory | 
| Bowling Green State | 0 | 4 | 1 | 42 | 99 | Tied 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 35 | 51 | Denny Stolz | 
| Eastern Michigan | 0 | 5 | 0 | 47 | 165 | Lost 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 33 | 123 | Mike Stock | 
| Pac Ten Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| #18 Washington State | 5 | 0 | 0 | 125 | 52 | Won 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 21 | Jim Walden | 
| #20 Arizona State | 4 | 1 | 0 | 156 | 62 | Won 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 71 | 31 | Darryl Rogers | 
| Washington | 4 | 1 | 0 | 105 | 72 | Won 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 51 | 55 | Don James | 
| Arizona | 3 | 2 | 0 | 98 | 88 | Won 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 61 | 72 | Larry Smith | 
| #7 Southern California | 4 | 1 | 0 | 158 | 66 | Lost 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 66 | 35 | John Robinson | 
| UCLA | 3 | 2 | 0 | 123 | 84 | Lost 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 58 | 44 | Terry Donahue | 
| California | 1 | 4 | 0 | 105 | 123 | Lost 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 40 | Roger Theder | 
| Stanford | 1 | 4 | 0 | 83 | 119 | Won 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 40 | Paul Wiggin | 
| Oregon | 1 | 4 | 0 | 63 | 83 | Lost 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 41 | Rich Brooks | 
| Oregon State | 1 | 4 | 0 | 89 | 176 | Lost 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 79 | Joe Avezzano | 
| Southeastern Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| #15 Alabama | 4 | 1 | 1 | 143 | 68 | Tied 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 109 | 31 | Paul "Bear" Bryant | 
| #9 Georgia | 4 | 1 | 0 | 135 | 33 | Won 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 81 | 7 | Vince Dooley | 
| #16 Mississippi State | 4 | 1 | 0 | 117 | 60 | Won 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 16 | Emory Bellard | 
| Florida | 4 | 2 | 0 | 128 | 82 | Won 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 38 | Charley Pell | 
| Tennessee | 3 | 2 | 0 | 69 | 101 | Won 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 51 | Johnny Majors | 
| Auburn | 2 | 3 | 0 | 74 | 74 | Won 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 17 | Pat Dye | 
| Mississippi | 3 | 3 | 0 | 73 | 136 | Lost 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 75 | Steve Sloan | 
| Louisiana State | 2 | 4 | 0 | 88 | 132 | Lost 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 67 | Jerry Stovall | 
| Kentucky | 1 | 4 | 0 | 71 | 95 | Lost 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 19 | Fran Curci | 
| Vanderbilt | 1 | 4 | 0 | 65 | 136 | Lost 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 57 | George MacIntyre | 
| Southern Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| Virginia Military | 4 | 0 | 0 | 80 | 35 | Won 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bob Thalman | 
| Tennessee-Chattanooga | 4 | 1 | 0 | 117 | 81 | Won 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bill "Brother" Oliver | 
| Furman | 3 | 2 | 0 | 109 | 111 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dick Sheridan | 
| Appalachian State | 3 | 3 | 0 | 176 | 94 | Lost 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Mike Working | 
| Citadel | 2 | 3 | 0 | 66 | 71 | Lost 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Art Baker | 
| Marshall | 1 | 4 | 0 | 33 | 101 | Lost 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Sonny Randle | 
| Western Carolina | 1 | 5 | 0 | 97 | 159 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bob Waters | 
| Southwestern Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| #10 Southern Methodist | 5 | 0 | 0 | 198 | 63 | Won 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 29 | Ron Meyer | 
| Texas A&M | 4 | 1 | 0 | 115 | 77 | Won 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 29 | Tom Wilson | 
| #1 Texas | 4 | 0 | 0 | 102 | 34 | Won 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 3 | Fred Akers | 
| Arkansas | 4 | 1 | 0 | 129 | 72 | Won 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 42 | Lou Holtz | 
| Houston | 3 | 2 | 0 | 93 | 39 | Lost 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 30 | 10 | Bill Yeoman | 
| Rice | 2 | 3 | 0 | 88 | 145 | Won 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 59 | Ray Alborn | 
| Baylor | 3 | 3 | 0 | 134 | 115 | Lost 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 51 | 76 | Grant Teaff | 
| Texas Christian | 2 | 3 | 0 | 119 | 125 | Lost 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 65 | 85 | F.A. Dry | 
| Texas Tech | 1 | 4 | 0 | 107 | 144 | Lost 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 52 | 78 | Jerry Moore | 
| Western Athletic Conference | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| San Diego State | 4 | 0 | 0 | 122 | 76 | Won 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 29 | Doug Scovil | 
| #17 Brigham Young | 5 | 1 | 0 | 255 | 128 | Lost 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 110 | 29 | Lavell Edwards | 
| Hawaii | 3 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 27 | Won 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 9 | Dick Tomey | 
| Utah | 4 | 1 | 0 | 146 | 62 | Won 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 10 | Wayne Howard | 
| New Mexico | 2 | 4 | 0 | 141 | 128 | Won 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 68 | 30 | Joe Morrison | 
| Wyoming | 3 | 2 | 0 | 129 | 95 | Lost 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 24 | Al Kincaid | 
| Air Force | 1 | 4 | 0 | 82 | 133 | Lost 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 69 | 103 | Ken Hatfield | 
| Colorado State | 0 | 5 | 0 | 58 | 186 | Lost 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 28 | 58 | Sark Arslanian, Chester Caddas | 
| Texas-El Paso | 0 | 5 | 0 | 43 | 180 | Lost 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 129 | Bill Michael, Bill Alton | 
| Southland Conference | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| McNeese State | 3 | 2 | 0 | 173 | 97 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ernie Duplechin | 
| Louisiana-Monroe | 3 | 2 | 0 | 119 | 77 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Pat Collins | 
| Arkansas State | 3 | 2 | 0 | 111 | 80 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Larry Lacewell | 
| Louisiana-Lafayette | 1 | 4 | 0 | 61 | 85 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Sam Robertson | 
| Louisiana Tech | 1 | 5 | 0 | 83 | 157 | Lost 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Billy Brewer | 
| Major Independents | 
|  | CONFERENCE GAMES | 
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|  | CONFERENCE GAMES |  | 
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|  | W | L | T | PF | PA | STRK | W | L | T | PF | PA | COACH(ES) | 
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| #2 Penn State | 4 | 0 | 0 | 150 | 31 | Won 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Joe Paterno | 
| Southern Mississippi | 4 | 0 | 1 | 136 | 42 | Tied 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bobby Collins | 
| #3 Pittsburgh | 4 | 0 | 0 | 123 | 41 | Won 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jackie Sherrill | 
| Rutgers | 5 | 1 | 0 | 93 | 59 | Won 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Frank Burns | 
| West Virginia | 4 | 1 | 0 | 136 | 61 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Don Nehlen | 
| Virginia Tech | 4 | 1 | 0 | 129 | 56 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bill Dooley | 
| #11 Florida State | 4 | 1 | 0 | 96 | 79 | Won 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bobby Bowden | 
| #13 Miami (Florida) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 88 | 57 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Howard Schnellenberger | 
| Louisville | 4 | 2 | 0 | 119 | 77 | Won 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bob Weber | 
| UNLV | 4 | 2 | 0 | 180 | 186 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Tony Knap | 
| Temple | 3 | 2 | 0 | 111 | 62 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Wayne Hardin | 
| Holy Cross | 3 | 2 | 0 | 113 | 67 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Rick Carter | 
| Navy | 3 | 2 | 0 | 106 | 64 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | George Welsh | 
| Colgate | 3 | 2 | 0 | 87 | 82 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Frederick Dunlap | 
| South Carolina | 3 | 3 | 0 | 109 | 109 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jim Carlen | 
| East Carolina | 3 | 3 | 0 | 111 | 154 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ed Emory | 
| Notre Dame | 2 | 3 | 0 | 81 | 75 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Gerry Faust | 
| Army | 2 | 3 | 0 | 67 | 85 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ed Cavanaugh | 
| Cincinnati | 2 | 3 | 0 | 49 | 118 | Won 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Mike Gottfried | 
| Richmond | 2 | 4 | 0 | 104 | 116 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dal Shealy | 
| Syracuse | 1 | 3 | 1 | 98 | 101 | Tied 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dick MacPherson | 
| Boston College | 1 | 3 | 0 | 44 | 144 | Lost 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jack Bicknell | 
| Tulane | 1 | 4 | 0 | 56 | 83 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Vince Gibson | 
| Georgia Tech | 1 | 4 | 0 | 59 | 114 | Lost 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bill Curry | 
| William & Mary | 1 | 4 | 0 | 43 | 160 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jimmye Laycock | 
| Memphis | 1 | 5 | 0 | 59 | 83 | Lost 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Rex Dockery | 
| North Texas | 1 | 5 | 0 | 72 | 144 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bob Tyler |