1981 Northeast Louisiana Indians football team

1981 Northeast Louisiana Indians football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–6
Head coach	Pat Collins (1st season)
Home stadium	Malone Stadium

1981 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Pittsburgh		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 3 Penn State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Miami (FL)		–		–				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 State		–		–				1	–	10	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 Northeast Louisiana Indians football team was an American football team that represented Northeast Louisiana University (now known as the University of Louisiana at Monroe) as an independent during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first year under head coach Pat Collins, the team compiled a 5–6 record.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	Indiana State	Malone Stadium Monroe, LA	W 38–8
September 12	Arkansas State	Malone Stadium Monroe, LA	L 13–35
September 19	Southwestern Louisiana	Malone Stadium Monroe, LA	W 20–17	12,555
October 3	at Louisiana Tech	Joe Aillet Stadium Ruston, LA (rivalry)	W 35–0	23,500
October 10	Lamar	Malone Stadium Monroe, LA	L 13–17
October 17	at McNeese State	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	L 25–41
October 24	at Southeastern Louisiana	Strawberry Stadium Hammond, LA	L 47–50
October 31	Nicholls State	Malone Stadium Monroe, LA	W 55–18	16,988
November 7	at Louisville	Fairgrounds Stadium Louisville, KY	W 40–7	15,994
November 14	North Texas State	Malone Stadium Monroe, LA	L 14–17	15,800
November 21	at Northwestern State	Harry Turpin Stadium Natchitoches, LA (rivalry)	L 9–41	6,250