1981 Gator Bowl
The 1981 Gator Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on December 28, 1981, at Gator Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. The game pitted the 1981 [Arkansas Razorbacks football team|Arkansas Razorbacks] and the 1981 [North Carolina Tar Heels football team|North Carolina Tar Heels]. The game was played under foggy conditions, it was 57 degrees at kickoff, but as the game progressed fog came in and made it worse as the game rolled on to the end.
Background
The Razorbacks started the season with three straight wins before a loss to TCU, though they rebounded to beat Texas Tech before facing off against #1 Texas at home. In that game, they won 42-11, which made them rise to #12 in the polls. A loss to Houston made them fall to #20, but they rebounded to #16 with three straight victories before losing to SMU at home to finish their season fourth in the Southwest Conference and out of the polls. This was their fifth straight bowl appearance and eighth in 11 years. This was their first Gator Bowl since 1960.The Tar Heels began the season ranked #13, and they responded by winning their first six games of the season, rising to #3 in the polls. But the Tar Heels would finish the season 3-2, with losses to South Carolina, and #2 Clemson and victories over Maryland, Virginia, and Duke while finishing 2nd in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tar Heels were invited to their third straight bowl game and first Gator Bowl since 1979.
Game summary
- North Carolina - Brooks Barwick, 31 yard field goal
- Arkansas - Derek Holloway, 66 yard touchdown pass from Brad Taylor
- North Carolina - Kelvin Bryant, 1 yard touchdown run
- Arkansas - Lahay, 28 yard field goal
- North Carolina - Ethan Horton, 1 yard touchdown run
- North Carolina - Rod Elkins, 1 yard touchdown run
- North Carolina - Horton, 4 yard touchdown run
- Arkansas - Jessie Clark, 3 yard touchdown run
- Arkansas - Darryl Mason, 7 yard touchdown pass from Taylor
- Arkansas - Safety