1981 Colorado Buffaloes football team

1981 Colorado Buffaloes football
Conference	Big Eight Conference
1981 record	3–8 (2–5 Big 8)
Head coach	Chuck Fairbanks (3rd year)
Home stadium	Folsom Field (Capacity: 51,463)

1981 Big 8 football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#11 Nebraska $	7	–	0	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
#20 Oklahoma	4	–	2	–	1			7	–	4	–	1
Kansas	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Oklahoma State	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
#19 Missouri	3	–	4	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Iowa State	2	–	4	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
Colorado	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Kansas State	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was Chuck Fairbanks' final season as head coach.

Schedule

Date	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	Result	Attendance
September 12	Texas Tech*		Folsom Field • Boulder, CO	W 45–27	34,884
September 19	Washington State*		Folsom Field • Boulder, CO	L 10–14	35,277
September 26	#11 BYU*		Folsom Field • Boulder, CO	L 20–41	43,259
October 3	at #16 UCLA*		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA	L 7–27	40,347
October 10	at Nebraska		Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE (Rivalry)	L 0–59	76,168
October 17	Oklahoma State		Folsom Field • Boulder, CO	W 11–10	36,101
October 24	at #14 Iowa State		Cyclone Stadium • Ames, IA	L 10–17	50,103
October 31	at #19 Oklahoma		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK	L 0–49	75,638
November 7	Missouri		Folsom Field • Boulder, CO	L 14–30	35,782
November 14	at Kansas		Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, KS	L 0–27	31,500
November 21	Kansas State		Folsom Field • Boulder, CO	W 24–21	23,921
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll.