1981 Iowa State Cyclones football team

The 1981 Iowa State Cyclones football team represented Iowa State University as a member of the Big Eight Conference during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by third-year head coach Donnie Duncan, the Cyclones compiled an overall record of 5–5–1 with a mark of 2–4–1 in conference play, placing sixth in the Big 8. Iowa State played home games at Cylcone Stadium in Ames, Iowa.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	1:30 pm	West Texas State*		Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA		W 17–13	49,854	[1]
September 19	1:30 pm	Iowa*		Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA (rivalry)	WOI/WQAD (delay)	W 23–12	53,922	[2]
September 26	1:30 pm	Kent State*		Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA		W 28–19	50,594	[3]
October 3	1:30 pm	at No. 5 Oklahoma	No. 20	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		T 7–7	76,385	[4]
October 10	9:30 pm	at San Diego State*	No. 12	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA	WOI	L 31–52	27,561	[5]
October 17	1:30 pm	No. 8 Missouri		Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA (rivalry)		W 34–13	53,220	[6]
October 24	1:30 pm	Colorado	No. 14	Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA		W 17–10	50,103	[7]
October 31	1:30 pm	at Kansas State	No. 11	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS (rivalry)		L 7–10	26,650	[8]
November 7	1:30 pm	Kansas		Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA		L 11–24	49,720	[9]
November 14	1:30 pm	at No. 7 Nebraska		Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE		L 7–31	76,258	[10]
November 21	1:35 pm	Oklahoma State		Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA		L 7–27	46,387	[11]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

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