By Year By Team By Selector Explore 1981 National Champion: And Who Else Claims It MULTIPLE DISPUTED Clemson went 12-0, beat Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, and was the unanimous consensus national champion across every major selector.
Wire Service Era · 1950–1997 AP writers and UPI coaches voted, sometimes for different teams. Split titles were routine and nobody played a game to break the tie.
The case for each side Recognized by AP Consensus FWAA Recognized NFF Recognized UPI Consensus · claimed by the program 12-0, beat Nebraska in the Orange Bowl; consensus national champion by AP, UPI, FWAA, and NFF.
Clemson’s 1981 schedule Claimed by the program: no recognized selector picked them
The school claims the title, but no major selector named them champion this season.
SMU’s 1981 schedule No national title game was played after the 1981 season: before 1998 there was no mechanism to play one, which is why so many of these seasons were settled by vote instead.
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