1981 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team

1981 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football
1981 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football
NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal, L 28–35 at Eastern Kentucky
Conference	Independent
Record	9–3
Head coach	Tubby Raymond (16th season);
Captain	Ed Braceland
Home stadium	Delaware Stadium
	Seasons ← 1980 1982 →

1981 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 8 Lafayette		–		9	–	2	–	0
No. 7 Delaware ^		–		9	–	3	–	0
No. 6 Tennessee State ^		–		9	–	3	–	0
Southeastern Louisiana		–		8	–	3	–	0
Lehigh		–		8	–	3	–	0
Nicholls State		–		5	–	5	–	1
Northwestern State		–		4	–	6	–	0
Bucknell		–		4	–	6	–	0
Northeastern		–		3	–	7	–	0
James Madison		–		3	–	8	–	0

^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

The 1981 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team was an American football team that represented the University of Delaware as an independent during the 1981 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Delaware ended the regular season ranked No. 7 in the nation, but lost in the first round of the playoffs.

In their 16th year under head coach Tubby Raymond, the Hens compiled a 9–3 record (9–2 regular season). Ed Braceland was the team captain.

Starting the year on a three-game winning streak, the Hens were ranked No. 1 in the first two weeks of the weekly rankings. Though they dropped out of the top 10 in the middle of the year, a strong ending to the season saw them climb back to No. 7 in time to qualify for the eight-team playoff.

Delaware played its home games at Delaware Stadium on the university campus in Newark, Delaware.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	at Western Kentucky		L.T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	W 38–14	13,000	^[1]
September 19	Temple		Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	W 13–7	22,379	^[2]
September 24	at Princeton	No. 1	Palmer Stadium Princeton, NJ	W 61–8	10,110	^[3]
October 3	Lehigh	No. 1	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (rivalry)	L 21–24	22,784	^[4]
October 10	UMass	No. T–7	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	W 38–15	19,581	^[5]
October 17	Youngstown State	No. T–6	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	L 21–24	18,645	^[6]
October 24	Rhode Island		Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	W 35–15	20,135	^[7]
November 7	at Penn		Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA	W 40–6	10,117	^[8]
November 14	Maine	No. T–10	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	W 42–35	16,743	^[9]
November 21	West Chester	No. 8	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (rivalry)	W 31–14	17,767	^[10]
November 27	at Connecticut	No. 7	Memorial Stadium Storrs, CT	W 35–26	5,084	^[11]
December 5	at No. 1 Eastern Kentucky	No. 7	Hanger Field Richmond, KY (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	L 28–35	8,100	^[12]
Homecoming Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game