The Iowa State Cyclones were 5-5-1 in 1981.
| TEAM | CONF | OVERALL | |
|---|---|---|---|
4-2-1 | 7-4-1 | ||
4-3 | 7-5 | ||
2-4-1 | 5-5-1 | ||
2-5 | 3-8 | ||
1-6 | 2-9 |
| GP | PTS | YDS | PLY | AVG | RUSH YDS | RUSH ATT | RUSH AVG | PASS YDS | PASS ATT | PASS AVG | SCK | SCKY | 1DWN | RUSH 1DWN | PASS 1DWN | PEN 1DWN | PEN | PEN YDS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | 11 | 189 | 3,493 | 778 | 4.5 | 1,896 | 517 | 3.7 | 1,597 | 261 | 6.1 | ||||||||
Team Rank | 93rd | 81st | 72nd | 81st | 56th | 64th | 67th | 73rd | 65th | 89th | |||||||||
Opponent | 11 | 218 | 3,611 | 4.6 | 2,050 | 522 | 3.9 | 1,561 | 259 | 6.0 | |||||||||
Opponent Rank | 74th | 72nd | 72nd | 92nd | 82nd | 95th | 39th | 56th | 51st | ||||||||||
Net | -29 | -118 | +778 | -0.1 | -154 | -5 | -0.3 | +36 | +2 | +0.1 | |||||||||
Net Rank | 84th | 77th | 72nd | 79th | 78th | 76th | 79th | 58th | 65th | 73rd |
| Atlantic Coast | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 1 | .900 | |
| 2 | 9 | 2 | .818 |
| Big 10 | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| 2 | 11 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Independent | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 2 | .800 | |
| 2 | 8 | 3 | .727 |
| Pac-12 | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 9 | .182 | |
| 2 | 5 | 5 | .500 |
| Mountain West | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 2 | .800 | |
| 2 | 7 | 3 | .700 |
| Big 12 | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 1 | .909 | |
| 2 | 9 | 1 | .900 |
| American Athletic | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 2 | .800 | |
| 2 | 9 | 1 | .900 |
| Mid-American | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 4 | .636 | |
| 2 | 7 | 4 | .636 |
| Conference USA | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 3 | .700 | |
| 2 | 8 | 2 | .800 |
| Sun Belt | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 1 | .900 | |
| 2 | 7 | 3 | .700 |