1981 Purdue Boilermakers football team

1981 Purdue Boilermakers football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record5–6 (3–6 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorDoug Redmann (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorLeon Burtnett (5th season)
MVPSteve Bryant
CaptainSteve Bryant, Ray Gunner, Bobby Williams
Home stadiumRoss–Ade Stadium
Seasons
← 1980
1982 →
1981 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 15 Ohio State + 6 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 18 Iowa + 6 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
No. 12 Michigan 6 – 3 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Illinois 6 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Wisconsin 6 – 3 – 0 7 – 5 – 0
Minnesota 4 – 5 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Michigan State 4 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Purdue 3 – 6 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Indiana 3 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Northwestern 0 – 9 – 0 0 – 11 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University during the 1981 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by Jim Young in his fifth and final season as head coach, the Boilermakers compiled an overall record of 5–6 with a mark of 3–6 in conference play, tying for eighth place in the Big Ten. Purdue played home games at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Several Purdue players ranked among the Big Ten leaders, including the following:

  • Wide receiver Steve Bryant led the Big Ten with 60 receptions and 11 receiving touchdowns and ranked second with 971 receiving yards and fifth with 66 points scored.[1]
  • Quarterback Scott Campbell ranked second in the conference with 185 pass completions, a 57.6% pass completion percentage, 2,686 passing yards, a 138.3 passing efficiency rating, and 2,809 total yards.[1]
  • Running back Jimmy Smith ranked fourth in the conference with 152 rushing attempts and ninth with 540 rushing yards.[1]

Schedule

[edit]
DateOpponentSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 12No. 19 Stanford*
ABCW 27–1969,958[2]
September 19at Minnesota
L 13–1641,530[3]
September 26No. 13 Notre Dame*
  • Ross–Ade Stadium
  • West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)
W 15–1470,007[4]
October 3at Wisconsin
L 14–2068,603[5]
October 10Illinoisdagger
  • Ross–Ade Stadium
  • West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)
W 44–2069,846[6]
October 17at Northwestern
W 35–020,777[7]
October 24Michigan State
  • Ross–Ade Stadium
  • West Lafayette, IN
W 27–2669,877[8]
October 31Ohio State
  • Ross–Ade Stadium
  • West Lafayette, IN
L 33–4569,927[9]
November 7at Iowa
L 7–3360,114[10]
November 14No. 11 Michigan
  • Ross–Ade Stadium
  • West Lafayette, IN
L 10–2869,736[11][12]
November 21at Indiana
L 17–2048,466[13]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[14]

Personnel

[edit]
1981 Purdue Boilermakers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB Scott Campbell
QB Jim Everett
FB Bruce King
RB Jimmy Smith
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K Rick Anderson
K Tim Clark
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Game summaries

[edit]

Notre Dame

[edit]
1 234Total
Notre Dame 0 707 14
• Purdue 0 078 15
  • Date: September 26
  • Location: Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, Indiana
  • Game attendance: 70,007
Scoring summary
2NDSmith 1 yard run (Oliver kick)Notre Dame 7-0
3PURJones 1 yard run (Anderson kick)Tie 7-7
42:57NDCarter 30 yard run (Oliver kick)Notre Dame 14-7
4:19PURBryant 7 yard pass from Campbell (Bryant pass from Campbell)Purdue 15-14

[15]

Ohio State

[edit]
Ohio State Buckeyes (5–2) at Purdue Boilermakers (5–2)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Ohio St 0 17 72145
Purdue 7 7 61333

at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana

  • Date: October 31, 1981
  • Game time: 12:30 p.m.
  • Game weather: Partly sunny, 66 °F (19 °C)
  • Game attendance: 69,927
  • Referee: Jerry Hendrickson
  • TV: ABC
  • Box Score
Team Category Player Statistics
Ohio St Passing Art Schlichter 19/33, 336 Yds, 3 TD, INT
Rushing Tim Spencer 22 Rush, 95 Yds, TD
Receiving Gary Williams 7 Rec, 126 Yds
Purdue Passing Scott Campbell 31/52, 516 Yds, 3 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Jimmy Smith 11 Rush, 33 Yds
Receiving Steve Bryant 10 Rec, 195 Yds, 2 TD

Indiana

[edit]

Statistics

  • Jeff Feulner 18 rushes, 108 yards

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "1981 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  2. ^ "Smith's 3 TDs lead Purdue win". The Kokomo Tribune. September 13, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Gophers defense tightens to stop Boilers". Chronicle Tribune. September 20, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Purdue upsets Irish". The Kokomo Tribune. September 27, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Wisconsin storms past Purdue". The Macon Telegraph & News. October 4, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Defensive element of disguise fools Illinois". Herald and Review. October 11, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Turnovers keep Wildcats headed down losing road". The Rock Island Argus. October 18, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Wind saves Purdue from Michigan State". Chicago Tribune. October 25, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Buckeyes take Big Ten lead". The Akron Beacon Journal. November 1, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Purdue foiled, 33–7, by stingy Hawkeye D". Dayton Daily News. November 8, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Joe Lapointe (November 15, 1981). "U-M foils Boilermakers: Win sets up Rose War with OSU". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1E, 7E – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Greg DeGulis (November 15, 1981). "Michigan stalls Boilermakers, 28–10". The Michigan Daily. pp. 1, 10 – via Bentley Historical Library.
  13. ^ "Classic finish returns Bucket to Indiana". Anderson Herald. November 22, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "1981 Purdue Boilermakers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  15. ^ Palm Beach Post. 1981 Sept 27.
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