Final NCAA football standings for 1981
| Atlantic Coast 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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| #1 Clemson | 12 | 0 | 0 | 338 | 105 | Won 12 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 195 | 56 | Danny Ford | 
| #9 North Carolina | 10 | 2 | 0 | 375 | 150 | Won 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 142 | 64 | Dick Crum | 
| Maryland | 4 | 6 | 1 | 232 | 194 | Won 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 168 | 108 | Jerry Claiborne | 
| Duke | 6 | 5 | 0 | 210 | 230 | Lost 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 118 | 134 | Red Wilson | 
| North Carolina State | 4 | 7 | 0 | 182 | 223 | Lost 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 91 | 136 | Monte Kiffin | 
| Wake Forest | 4 | 7 | 0 | 217 | 365 | Won 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 124 | 255 | Al Groh | 
| Virginia | 1 | 10 | 0 | 127 | 261 | Lost 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 90 | 175 | Dick Bestwick | 
| Big 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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| #15 Ohio State | 9 | 3 | 0 | 387 | 253 | Won 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 271 | 157 | Earle Bruce | 
| #18 Iowa | 8 | 4 | 0 | 260 | 157 | Lost 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 218 | 92 | Hayden Fry | 
| #12 Michigan | 9 | 3 | 0 | 355 | 162 | Won 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 276 | 125 | Bo Schembechler | 
| Illinois | 7 | 4 | 0 | 287 | 288 | Won 2 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 264 | 248 | Mike White | 
| Wisconsin | 7 | 5 | 0 | 268 | 219 | Lost 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 213 | 150 | Dave McClain | 
| Minnesota | 6 | 5 | 0 | 274 | 264 | Lost 2 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 213 | 235 | Joe Salem | 
| Michigan State | 5 | 6 | 0 | 263 | 249 | Lost 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 246 | 222 | Frank Waters | 
| Purdue | 5 | 6 | 0 | 242 | 241 | Lost 4 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 200 | 208 | Jim Young | 
| Indiana | 3 | 8 | 0 | 144 | 293 | Won 1 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 137 | 251 | Lee Corso | 
| Northwestern | 0 | 11 | 0 | 82 | 505 | Lost 11 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 75 | 425 | 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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| #11 Nebraska | 9 | 3 | 0 | 364 | 125 | Lost 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 267 | 46 | Tom Osborne | 
| #20 Oklahoma | 7 | 4 | 1 | 341 | 193 | Won 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 184 | 94 | Barry Switzer | 
| Kansas | 8 | 4 | 0 | 188 | 195 | Lost 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 116 | 132 | Don Fambrough | 
| Oklahoma State | 7 | 5 | 0 | 197 | 216 | Lost 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 114 | 128 | Jimmy Johnson | 
| #19 Missouri | 8 | 4 | 0 | 276 | 159 | Won 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 143 | 116 | Warren Powers | 
| Iowa State | 5 | 5 | 1 | 189 | 218 | Lost 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 90 | 122 | Donnie Duncan | 
| Colorado | 3 | 8 | 0 | 141 | 322 | Won 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 59 | 213 | Chuck Fairbanks | 
| Kansas State | 2 | 9 | 0 | 164 | 297 | Lost 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 92 | 214 | Jim Dickey | 
| Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. | 
|  | 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 Jose State | 9 | 3 | 0 | 380 | 254 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jack Elway | 
| Utah State | 5 | 5 | 1 | 204 | 210 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bruce Snyder | 
| Fresno State | 5 | 6 | 0 | 264 | 299 | Won 3 | 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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| Yale | 9 | 1 | 0 | 285 | 147 | Won 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 206 | 82 | Carmen Cozza | 
| Dartmouth | 6 | 4 | 0 | 208 | 137 | Won 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 193 | 87 | Joe Yukica | 
| Princeton | 5 | 4 | 1 | 233 | 305 | Won 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 181 | 155 | Frank Navarro | 
| Harvard | 5 | 4 | 1 | 218 | 173 | Lost 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 163 | 99 | Joseph Restic | 
| Brown | 3 | 7 | 0 | 153 | 250 | Won 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 102 | 185 | John Anderson | 
| Cornell | 3 | 7 | 0 | 148 | 256 | Lost 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 99 | 176 | Bob Blackman | 
| Columbia | 1 | 9 | 0 | 116 | 243 | Lost 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 93 | 160 | Robert Naso | 
| Pennsylvania | 1 | 9 | 0 | 133 | 324 | Lost 9 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 115 | 208 | Jerry Berndt | 
| 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 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 252 | 196 | Won 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 103 | 136 | Chuck Shelton | 
| Tulsa | 6 | 5 | 0 | 304 | 196 | Lost 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 220 | 92 | John Cooper | 
| Southern Illinois | 7 | 4 | 0 | 234 | 175 | Won 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 143 | 113 | Rey Dempsey | 
| West Texas A&M | 7 | 4 | 0 | 247 | 213 | Won 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 130 | 114 | Bill Yung | 
| Wichita State | 4 | 6 | 1 | 260 | 242 | Lost 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 150 | 147 | Willie Jeffries | 
| Indiana State | 5 | 5 | 1 | 247 | 164 | Won 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 139 | 105 | Dennis Raetz | 
| New Mexico State | 3 | 8 | 0 | 158 | 286 | Lost 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 71 | 174 | Gil Krueger | 
| Illinois State | 3 | 7 | 0 | 145 | 190 | Lost 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 44 | 119 | Bob Otolski | 
| 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 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 270 | 170 | Won 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 213 | 86 | Chuck Stobart | 
| Miami (Ohio) | 8 | 2 | 1 | 199 | 154 | Won 3 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 152 | 88 | Tom Reed | 
| Central Michigan | 7 | 4 | 0 | 223 | 131 | Won 2 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 197 | 95 | Herb Deromedi | 
| Bowling Green State | 5 | 5 | 1 | 155 | 132 | Lost 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 148 | 84 | Denny Stolz | 
| Western Michigan | 6 | 5 | 0 | 206 | 170 | Won 1 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 182 | 146 | Elliot Uzelac | 
| Ohio University | 5 | 6 | 0 | 228 | 257 | Won 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 202 | 219 | Brian Burke | 
| Kent State | 4 | 7 | 0 | 144 | 172 | Lost 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 108 | 138 | Ed Chlebek | 
| Ball State | 4 | 7 | 0 | 157 | 218 | Won 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 112 | 156 | Dwight Wallace | 
| Northern Illinois | 3 | 8 | 0 | 160 | 217 | Lost 2 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 113 | 193 | Bill Mallory | 
| Eastern Michigan | 0 | 11 | 0 | 88 | 338 | Lost 11 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 74 | 296 | 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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| #10 Washington | 10 | 2 | 0 | 281 | 171 | Won 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 185 | 147 | Don James | 
| #16 Arizona State | 9 | 2 | 0 | 394 | 193 | Won 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 226 | 131 | Darryl Rogers | 
| #14 Southern California | 9 | 3 | 0 | 294 | 170 | Lost 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 178 | 106 | John Robinson | 
| Washington State | 8 | 3 | 1 | 297 | 197 | Lost 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 183 | 128 | Jim Walden | 
| UCLA | 7 | 4 | 1 | 302 | 197 | Lost 2 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 223 | 124 | Terry Donahue | 
| Arizona | 6 | 5 | 0 | 253 | 205 | Lost 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 151 | 151 | Larry Smith | 
| Stanford | 4 | 7 | 0 | 314 | 281 | Won 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 270 | 202 | Paul Wiggin | 
| California | 2 | 9 | 0 | 197 | 287 | Lost 3 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 132 | 204 | Roger Theder | 
| Oregon | 2 | 9 | 0 | 155 | 247 | Won 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 85 | 185 | Rich Brooks | 
| Oregon State | 1 | 10 | 0 | 145 | 469 | Lost 10 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 75 | 330 | 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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| #7 Alabama | 9 | 2 | 1 | 296 | 151 | Lost 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 188 | 77 | Paul "Bear" Bryant | 
| #6 Georgia | 10 | 2 | 0 | 372 | 122 | Lost 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 205 | 62 | Vince Dooley | 
| Mississippi State | 8 | 4 | 0 | 212 | 137 | Won 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 122 | 76 | Emory Bellard | 
| Tennessee | 8 | 4 | 0 | 244 | 265 | Won 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 105 | 164 | Johnny Majors | 
| Florida | 7 | 5 | 0 | 284 | 166 | Lost 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 146 | 93 | Charley Pell | 
| Auburn | 5 | 6 | 0 | 186 | 166 | Lost 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 87 | 102 | Pat Dye | 
| Kentucky | 3 | 8 | 0 | 134 | 222 | Won 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 70 | 117 | Fran Curci | 
| Louisiana State | 3 | 7 | 1 | 169 | 272 | Lost 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 84 | 121 | Jerry Stovall | 
| Mississippi | 4 | 6 | 1 | 167 | 284 | Won 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 108 | 223 | Steve Sloan | 
| Vanderbilt | 4 | 7 | 0 | 211 | 281 | Lost 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 108 | 188 | 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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| Furman | 8 | 3 | 0 | 293 | 210 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dick Sheridan | 
| Citadel | 7 | 3 | 1 | 252 | 151 | Won 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Art Baker | 
| Tennessee-Chattanooga | 7 | 3 | 1 | 217 | 172 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bill "Brother" Oliver | 
| Virginia Military | 6 | 3 | 1 | 165 | 156 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bob Thalman | 
| Western Carolina | 4 | 7 | 0 | 234 | 297 | Won 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bob Waters | 
| Appalachian State | 3 | 7 | 1 | 236 | 201 | Lost 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Mike Working | 
| Marshall | 2 | 9 | 0 | 104 | 284 | Lost 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Sonny Randle | 
| 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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| #5 Southern Methodist | 10 | 1 | 0 | 365 | 137 | Won 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 224 | 103 | Ron Meyer | 
| #2 Texas | 10 | 1 | 1 | 262 | 158 | Won 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 177 | 115 | Fred Akers | 
| Houston | 7 | 4 | 1 | 238 | 174 | Lost 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 161 | 105 | Bill Yeoman | 
| Arkansas | 8 | 4 | 0 | 325 | 219 | Lost 2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 219 | 158 | Lou Holtz | 
| Texas A&M | 7 | 5 | 0 | 280 | 203 | Won 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 163 | 139 | Tom Wilson | 
| Baylor | 5 | 6 | 0 | 252 | 245 | Lost 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 169 | 206 | Grant Teaff | 
| Rice | 4 | 7 | 0 | 183 | 347 | Lost 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 139 | 261 | Ray Alborn | 
| Texas Christian | 2 | 7 | 2 | 230 | 299 | Lost 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 163 | 246 | F.A. Dry | 
| Texas Tech | 1 | 9 | 1 | 198 | 298 | Lost 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 136 | 218 | 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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| #13 Brigham Young | 11 | 2 | 0 | 503 | 256 | Won 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 320 | 121 | Lavell Edwards | 
| Hawaii | 9 | 2 | 0 | 328 | 130 | Won 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 162 | 58 | Dick Tomey | 
| Utah | 8 | 2 | 1 | 321 | 207 | Lost 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 144 | 127 | Wayne Howard | 
| Wyoming | 8 | 3 | 0 | 344 | 203 | Won 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 241 | 132 | Al Kincaid | 
| New Mexico | 4 | 7 | 1 | 225 | 231 | Lost 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 135 | 120 | Joe Morrison | 
| Air Force | 4 | 7 | 0 | 171 | 252 | Won 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 90 | 119 | Ken Hatfield | 
| San Diego State | 6 | 5 | 0 | 279 | 227 | Lost 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 166 | 160 | Doug Scovil | 
| Texas-El Paso | 1 | 10 | 0 | 146 | 441 | Lost 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 89 | 315 | Bill Michael, Bill Alton | 
| Colorado State | 0 | 12 | 0 | 164 | 502 | Lost 12 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 127 | 322 | Sark Arslanian, Chester Caddas | 
| Southland 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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| McNeese State | 7 | 3 | 1 | 316 | 197 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ernie Duplechin | 
| Arkansas State | 6 | 5 | 0 | 177 | 159 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Larry Lacewell | 
| Louisiana-Monroe | 5 | 6 | 0 | 309 | 251 | Lost 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Pat Collins | 
| Louisiana Tech | 4 | 6 | 1 | 205 | 241 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Billy Brewer | 
| Louisiana-Lafayette | 1 | 9 | 1 | 135 | 229 | Lost 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Sam Robertson | 
| 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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| #4 Pittsburgh | 11 | 1 | 0 | 385 | 160 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jackie Sherrill | 
| #3 Penn State | 10 | 2 | 0 | 371 | 162 | Won 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Joe Paterno | 
| Southern Mississippi | 9 | 2 | 1 | 305 | 108 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bobby Collins | 
| #8 Miami (Florida) | 9 | 2 | 0 | 245 | 145 | Won 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Howard Schnellenberger | 
| West Virginia | 9 | 3 | 0 | 284 | 155 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Don Nehlen | 
| Colgate | 7 | 3 | 0 | 238 | 151 | Won 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Frederick Dunlap | 
| Virginia Tech | 7 | 4 | 0 | 232 | 128 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bill Dooley | 
| Navy | 7 | 4 | 1 | 244 | 183 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | George Welsh | 
| Tulane | 6 | 5 | 0 | 213 | 144 | Won 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Vince Gibson | 
| Holy Cross | 6 | 5 | 0 | 250 | 215 | Lost 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Rick Carter | 
| Cincinnati | 6 | 5 | 0 | 171 | 187 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Mike Gottfried | 
| Florida State | 6 | 5 | 0 | 240 | 286 | Lost 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bobby Bowden | 
| South Carolina | 6 | 6 | 0 | 225 | 222 | Lost 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jim Carlen | 
| UNLV | 6 | 6 | 0 | 326 | 433 | Won 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Tony Knap | 
| Temple | 5 | 5 | 0 | 181 | 195 | Lost 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Wayne Hardin | 
| Notre Dame | 5 | 6 | 0 | 232 | 160 | Lost 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Gerry Faust | 
| Louisville | 5 | 6 | 0 | 180 | 212 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bob Weber | 
| East Carolina | 5 | 6 | 0 | 242 | 290 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ed Emory | 
| Boston College | 5 | 6 | 0 | 243 | 298 | Won 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jack Bicknell | 
| Rutgers | 5 | 6 | 0 | 139 | 208 | Lost 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Frank Burns | 
| William & Mary | 5 | 6 | 0 | 192 | 278 | Won 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jimmye Laycock | 
| Syracuse | 4 | 6 | 1 | 248 | 265 | Won 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dick MacPherson | 
| Richmond | 4 | 7 | 0 | 228 | 238 | Won 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Dal Shealy | 
| Army | 3 | 7 | 1 | 126 | 212 | Tied 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ed Cavanaugh | 
| North Texas | 2 | 9 | 0 | 111 | 235 | Lost 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bob Tyler | 
| Memphis | 1 | 10 | 0 | 82 | 209 | Lost 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Rex Dockery | 
| Georgia Tech | 1 | 10 | 0 | 124 | 309 | Lost 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Bill Curry |