1981 Wyoming Cowboys football team

1981 Wyoming Cowboys football
1981 Wyoming Cowboys football
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Record	8–3 (6–2 WAC)
Head coach	Al Kincaid (1st season);
Captain	Gary Crum, Phil Davis, Jim Eliopulos
Home stadium	War Memorial Stadium
	Seasons ← 1980 1982 →

1981 Western Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 13 BYU $	7	–	1	–	0	11	–	2	–	0
Hawaii	5	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Utah	4	–	1	–	1	8	–	2	–	1
Wyoming	6	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
New Mexico	3	–	4	–	1	4	–	7	–	1
Air Force	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
San Diego State	3	–	5	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
UTEP	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	10	–	0
Colorado State	0	–	8	–	0	0	–	12	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 Wyoming Cowboys football team represented the University of Wyoming in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Cowboys were led by first-year head coach Al Kincaid and played their home games at War Memorial Stadium in Laramie, Wyoming. They finished the season with a 8–3 record overall and a 6–2 record in the Western Athletic Conference to finish 4th in the conference.^[1]

Schedule[edit]

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	Cal State Fullerton*	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	W 38–13	17,972	^[2]
September 12	at No. 3 Oklahoma*	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	L 20–37	75,920
September 19	at Air Force	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	W 17–10	28,200	^[3]
October 3	UNLV*	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	W 45–21	23,793
October 10	Hawaii	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY (rivalry)	L 9–14	19,931
October 17	UTEP	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	W 63–12	7,982
October 24	No. 13 BYU	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	W 33–20	22,745
October 31	Colorado State	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY (rivalry)	W 55–21
November 7	at San Diego State	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA	W 24–13	30,361
November 14	at Utah	Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	L 27–30	28,206
November 21	at New Mexico	University Stadium Albuquerque, NM	W 13–12
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster[edit]

1981 Wyoming Cowboys football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB		Phil Davis
QB	`6`	Jay Novacek	Fr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`80`	Jim Eliopulos	Sr
S	`5`	Chuck Pagano	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
P	`18`	Rick Donnelly	So
K		Steve Tobin

Head coach

Al Kincaid

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Season summary[edit]

BYU[edit]

#13 BYU Cougars (6–1) at Wyoming Cowboys (4–2)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
BYU	14	0	0	6	20
Wyoming	0	14	7	12	33

at War Memorial Stadium, Laramie, Wyoming

Date: October 24, 1981
Game weather: Snow, 32 °F (0 °C)
Game attendance: 22,745
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

BYU – Waymon Hamilton 2-yard run (Kurt Gunther kick). BYU 7–0.
BYU – Scott Collie 63-yard pass from Jim McMahon (Lee Johnson kick). BYU 14–0.

Second quarter

WYO – Phil Davis 30-yard run (kick failed). BYU 14–6.
WYO – Charles Moore 25-yard run (run good). Tie 14–14.

Third quarter

WYO – Phil Davis 32-yard run (Steve Tobin kick). Wyoming 21–14.

Fourth quarter

WYO – James Williams 81-yard pass from Phil Davis (two-point conversion failed). Wyoming 27–14.
WYO – Phil Davis 28-yard run (two-point conversion failed). Wyoming 33–14.
BYU – David Mills 5-yard pass from Jim McMahon (kick failed). Wyoming 33–20.

Top passers

BYU – Jim McMahon – 29/47, 393 yards, 2 TD, INT
WYO – Phil Davis – 5/11, 124 yards, TD

Top rushers

BYU – Scott Pettis – 9 rushes, 58 yards
WYO – Phil Davis – 16 rushes, 140 yards, 3 TD

Top receivers

BYU – Scott Collie – 5 receptions, 123 yards, TD
WYO – James Williams – 4 receptions, 114 yards, TD

References[edit]

^ "2018 Wyoming Football Media Guide" (PDF). University of Wyoming. 2018. p. 214. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
^ Pete Donovan (September 6, 1981). "Fullerton Has Opening-Day Jitters Against Wyoming". The Los Angeles Times (Orange County ed.). Los Angeles, California. p. III-1. Retrieved February 10, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Wyoming 17, Air Force 10". The Palm Beach Post. September 20, 1981. p. E8. Retrieved October 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

This college football 1980s season article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[p214-1] "2018 Wyoming Football Media Guide" (PDF). University of Wyoming. 2018. p. 214. Retrieved March 14, 2019.

[2] Pete Donovan (September 6, 1981). "Fullerton Has Opening-Day Jitters Against Wyoming". The Los Angeles Times (Orange County ed.). Los Angeles, California. p. III-1. Retrieved February 10, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] "Wyoming 17, Air Force 10". The Palm Beach Post. September 20, 1981. p. E8. Retrieved October 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

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