The Washington State Cougars were 8-2-1 in 1981. They fell to the BYU Cougars, 38 to 36, in the Holiday Bowl.
| TEAM | CONF | OVERALL | |
|---|---|---|---|
5-2 | 9-2 | ||
5-2 | 9-3 | ||
5-2-1 | 8-3-1 | ||
5-2-1 | 7-4-1 | ||
4-4 | 6-5 |
| 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 | 261 | 4,471 | 814 | 5.5 | 2,664 | 561 | 4.7 | 1,807 | 253 | 7.1 | ||||||||
Team Rank | 35th | 17th | 39th | 15th | 22nd | 37th | 14th | 57th | 72nd | 33rd | |||||||||
Opponent | 11 | 159 | 3,377 | 4.4 | 2,015 | 502 | 4.0 | 1,362 | 264 | 5.2 | |||||||||
Opponent Rank | 33rd | 52nd | 53rd | 90th | 67th | 102nd | 15th | 61st | 7th | ||||||||||
Net | +102 | +1,094 | +814 | +1.1 | +649 | +59 | +0.7 | +445 | -11 | +2.0 | |||||||||
Net Rank | 30th | 18th | 39th | 19th | 43rd | 48th | 43rd | 29th | 69th | 6th |
| Big 10 | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| 2 | 11 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Independent | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 2 | .818 | |
| 2 | 9 | 3 | .750 |
| Pac-12 | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 9 | .182 | |
| 2 | 5 | 6 | .455 |
| Mountain West | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 2 | .818 | |
| 2 | 7 | 4 | .636 |
| Big 12 | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 1 | .909 | |
| 2 | 10 | 1 | .909 |
| American Athletic | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 2 | .818 | |
| 2 | 10 | 1 | .909 |
| Mid-American | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 4 | .667 | |
| 2 | 7 | 4 | .636 |
| Conference USA | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 4 | .636 | |
| 2 | 8 | 3 | .727 |
| Sun Belt | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 1 | .909 | |
| 2 | 8 | 3 | .727 |