1981 Florida State Seminoles football team

1981 Florida State Seminoles football
Conference	Independent
1981 record	6–5
Head coach	Bobby Bowden (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	George Henshaw
Defensive coordinator	Jack Stanton
Home stadium	Doak Campbell Stadium (Capacity: 51,094)
Seasons

1981 Division I-A independents football records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Penn State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 4 Pittsburgh		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 8 Miami		–		–				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		–		–				1	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 Florida State Seminoles football team represented the Florida State University in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Bobby Bowden and played their home games at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	7:00 PM	Louisville	#19	Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL		W 17–0	50,735
September 12	7:00 PM	Memphis State	#18	Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL		W 10–5	51,454
September 19	2:30 PM	at #17 Nebraska	#19	Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE		L 14–34	76,289
October 3	1:30 PM	at #7 Ohio State		Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH		W 36–27	87,158
October 10	2:30 PM	at Notre Dame	#20	Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN		W 19–13	59,075
October 17	1:30 PM	at #3 Pittsburgh	#11	Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA		L 14–42	52,112
October 24	8:30 PM	at LSU	#20	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA		W 38–14	74,816
October 31†	7:00 PM	Western Carolina	#17	Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL		W 56–31	52,721
November 7	12:00 PM	#13 Miami	#14	Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL (Miami–Florida State rivalry)	ABC	L 19–27	52,685
November 14	3:30 PM	#14 Southern Miss	#20	Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL	ABC	L 14–58	51,819
November 28	1:30 PM	at Florida		Florida Field • Gainesville, FL (Battle for the Governor's Cup)		L 3–35	64,437
*Non-Conference Game. †Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.