1981 Purdue Boilermakers football team

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.

1981 Purdue Boilermakers football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	5–6 (3–6 Big Ten)
Head coach	Jim Young (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Doug Redmann (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Leon Burtnett (5th season)
MVP	Steve Bryant
Captain	Steve Bryant, Ray Gunner, Bobby Williams
Home stadium	Ross–Ade Stadium
Seasons ← 1980 1982 →

1981 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	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

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

Date	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	No. 19 Stanford*	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ABC	W 27–19	69,958	[2]
September 19	at Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN		L 13–16	41,530	[3]
September 26	No. 13 Notre Dame*	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)		W 15–14	70,007	[4]
October 3	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		L 14–20	68,603	[5]
October 10	Illinois	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)		W 44–20	69,846	[6]
October 17	at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL		W 35–0	20,777	[7]
October 24	Michigan State	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		W 27–26	69,877	[8]
October 31	Ohio State	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		L 33–45	69,927	[9]
November 7	at Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		L 7–33	60,114	[10]
November 14	No. 11 Michigan	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		L 10–28	69,736	[11][12]
November 21	at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)		L 17–20	48,466	[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[14]

Personnel

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 Jim Young Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

Notre Dame

1 2 3 4 Total Notre Dame 0 7 0 7 14 • Purdue 0 0 7 8 15 Date: September 26 Location: Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, Indiana Game attendance: 70,007

Scoring summary 2 ND Smith 1 yard run (Oliver kick) Notre Dame 7-0 3 PUR Jones 1 yard run (Anderson kick) Tie 7-7 4 2:57 ND Carter 30 yard run (Oliver kick) Notre Dame 14-7 4 :19 PUR Bryant 7 yard pass from Campbell (Bryant pass from Campbell) Purdue 15-14

^[15]

Ohio State

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	0	17	7	21	45
Purdue	7	7	6	13	33

Ohio State Buckeyes (5–2) at Purdue Boilermakers (5–2)

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

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP OSU PU 1 3:11 10 71 3:40 Purdue Cliff Benson 11-yard touchdown reception from Scott Campbell, Tim Clark kick good 0 7 2 11:24 6 32 2:46 Ohio St 53-yard field goal by Bob Atha 3 7 2 8:45 2 16 0:42 Ohio St Art Schlichter 14-yard touchdown run, Bob Atha kick good 10 7 2 6:58 1 47 0:07 Ohio St Cedric Anderson 47-yard touchdown reception from Art Schlichter, Bob Atha kick good 17 7 2 4:38 5 70 2:20 Purdue Steve Bryant 32-yard touchdown reception from Scott Campbell, Tim Clark kick good 17 14 3 12:24 7 80 2:36 Purdue 26-yard field goal by Tim Clark 17 17 3 10:45 9 83 1:39 Ohio St Jim Gayle 2-yard touchdown run, Bob Atha kick good 24 17 3 2:04 6 59 1:26 Purdue 38-yard field goal by Tim Clark 24 20 4 14:45 9 75 2:19 Ohio St Tim Spencer 2-yard touchdown run, Bob Atha kick good 31 20 4 14:32 1 23 0:05 Ohio St Cedric Anderson 23-yard touchdown reception from Art Schlichter, Bob Atha kick good 38 20 4 9:10 15 71 5:22 Purdue Wally Jones 1-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass failed 38 26 4 7:12 2 8 0:09 Purdue Steve Bryant 4-yard touchdown reception from Scott Campbell, Tim Clark kick good 38 33 4 2:19 5 62 1:44 Ohio St John Frank 29-yard touchdown reception from Art Schlichter, Bob Atha kick good 45 33 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 45 33

Indiana

Statistics

• Jeff Feulner 18 rushes, 108 yards

References

1. "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.