1981 Indiana Hoosiers football team

The 1981 Indiana Hoosiers football team represented the Indiana Hoosiers in the 1981 Big Ten Conference football season. They participated as members of the Big Ten Conference. The Hoosiers played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. The team was coached by Lee Corso, in his ninth year as head coach of the Hoosiers.

1981 Indiana Hoosiers football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	3–8 (3–6 Big Ten)
Head coach	Lee Corso (9th season)
Defensive coordinator	Ron Corradini (1st season)
MVP	Bob Stephenson
Captain	Bob Stephenson, Craig Walls
Home stadium	Memorial 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 Indiana players ranked among the Big Ten leaders, including the following:

• Quarterback Babe Laufenberg ranked third in the conference with a 57.1% pass completion percentage, fifth with 1,788 passing yards, and sixth with a 118.5 passing efficiency rating.^[1]
• Wide receiver Duane Gunn led the conference with an average of 21.2 yards per reception and 27.3 yards per kickoff return and sixth with 656 receiving yards.^[1]
• Marc Longshore ranked fifth in the conference with four interceptions.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL		W 21–20	22,856	[2]
September 19	No. 2 USC*	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	ONTV	L 21–0	51,167	[3]
September 26	at Syracuse*	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY		L 7–21	32,060	[4]
October 3	No. 8 Michigan	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN		L 17–38	50,612	[5]
October 10	at No. 15 Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		L 28–42	60,000	[6]
October 17	Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN		W 17–16	46,460	[7]
October 24	at Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		L 10–29	87,182	[8]
October 31	at Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)		L 3–26	60,131	[9]
November 7	Wisconsin	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN		L 7–28	44,218	[10]
November 14	at Illinois	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)		L 14–35	56,143	[11]
November 21	Purdue	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)		W 20–17	48,466	[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^{[13][14][15][16]}

Game summaries

Purdue

Doug Smith kicked the go-ahead 39-yard field goal with 8:30 left in the game and Indiana's defense stopped two ensuing Purdue drives with interceptions to preserve the victory.

^[17]

Roster

• WR Duane Gunn
• QB Babe Laufenberg, Jr.

References

1. "1981 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
2. "I.U. lets 'Cat out of the bag". The South Bend Tribune. September 13, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Allen runs through IU". Chronicle Tribune. September 20, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Syracuse runs past Indiana". The News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. Associated Press. September 27, 1981. p. 7C. Retrieved December 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
5. "Michigan hammers Hoosiers". Lansing State Journal. October 4, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Iowa zaps Indiana". Dayton Daily News. October 11, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "IU squeezes by Gophers, 17–16". The Kokomo Tribune. October 18, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Atha boots Bucks past Indiana, 29–10". The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 25, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Humming Spartans rout Indiana, 26–3". Detroit Free Press. November 1, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Badgers beat Hoosiers, gain tie for Big Ten lead". Journal and Courier. November 8, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Illini rout Indiana, 35–14". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. November 15, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Classic finish returns Bucket to Indiana". Anderson Herald. November 22, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "1981 Indiana Hoosiers Schedule and Results". College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
14. "1981 Football Schedule". Indiana University. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
15. "Indiana Football 2023 Record Book" (PDF). Indiana University. p. 15. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
16. "1981 Homecoming". Indiana Arbutus (yearboook). Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
17. Eugene Register-Guard. 1981 Nov 22. Retrieved 2018-Dec-12.