1981 Duke Blue Devils football team

1981 Duke Blue Devils football
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
1981 record	6–5 (3–3 ACC)
Head coach	Shirley "Red" Wilson
Seasons

1981 ACC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#1 Clemson †	6	–	0	–	0			12	–	0	–	0
#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 represented the Duke Blue Devils of Duke University during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
September 12	at No. 11 Ohio State*	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 13–34
September 19	at South Carolina*	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	L 3–17
September 26	at Virginia	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	W 29–24
October 3	East Carolina*	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	W 24–14
October 10	Virginia Tech*	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	W 14–7
October 17	No. 6 Clemson	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	L 10–38
October 24	at Maryland	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD	L 21–24
October 31	at Georgia Tech*	Bobby Dodd Stadium Atlanta, GA	W 38–24
November 19	at Wake Forest	Groves Stadium Winston-Salem, NC	W 31–10
November 14	NC State	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	W 17–7
November 21	No. 12 North Carolina	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	L 10–31
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game