1981 Wyoming Cowboys football team

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

1981 Western Athletic Conference football standings

	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.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	Cal State Fullerton*	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	W 38–13	17,972
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
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

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

BYU

#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