The Houston Cougars were 7-3-1 in 1981. They fell to the Oklahoma Sooners, 40 to 14, in the Sun Bowl.
| 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 | 224 | 3,853 | 873 | 4.4 | 2,458 | 673 | 3.7 | 1,395 | 200 | 7.0 | ||||||||
Team Rank | 71st | 51st | 6th | 89th | 28th | 3rd | 68th | 99th | 109th | 37th | |||||||||
Opponent | 11 | 134 | 2,592 | 3.7 | 1,115 | 416 | 2.7 | 1,477 | 287 | 5.1 | |||||||||
Opponent Rank | 11th | 3rd | 8th | 12th | 9th | 14th | 32nd | 87th | 6th | ||||||||||
Net | +90 | +1,261 | +873 | +0.7 | +1,343 | +257 | +1.0 | -82 | -87 | +1.8 | |||||||||
Net Rank | 36th | 13th | 6th | 35th | 22nd | 3rd | 39th | 72nd | 110th | 10th |
| 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 |