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1981 Wisconsin Badgers football team

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1981 Wisconsin Badgers football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record7–5 (6–3 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBill Dudley (4th season)
Offensive schemeTriple option
Defensive coordinatorJim Hilles (4th season)
MVPDave Levenick
Captains
  • Dave Levenick
  • Dave Mohapp
  • Larry Spurlin
Home stadiumCamp Randall 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 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 1981 Big Ten Conference football season.

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

  • Quarterback Jess Cole ranked seventh in the conference with 12 passing touchdowns and ninth with 1,180 passing yards.[1]
  • Running back John Williams ranked second in the conference with 5.5 rushing yards per carry and seventh with 634 rushing yards.
  • David Greenwood led the conference with 156 interception return yards, and he and Matt Vanden Boom tied for second in the conference with six interceptions each.[1]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 12No. 1 Michigan
W 21–1468,733
September 19No. 9 UCLA*No. 20
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI
L 13–3171,496
September 26Western Michigan*dagger
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI
W 21–1067,196
October 3Purdue
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI
W 20–1468,603
October 10No. 18 Ohio State
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI
W 24–2178,973
October 17at Michigan StateNo. 14
L 14–3367,352
October 24at Illinois
L 21–2367,413
October 31Northwestern
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI
W 52–070,035
November 7at Indiana
W 28–744,218
November 14Iowa
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI (rivalry)
L 7–1778,731
November 21at Minnesota
W 26–2147,125
December 13vs. Tennessee*
L 21–2853,220[2]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[3]

Personnel

1981 Wisconsin Badgers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
TE 90 Dave Arneson So
QB 10 Jess Cole So
OT 70 Jerry Doerger Sr
WR 41 Gary Ellerson Fr
WR 20 Thad McFadden So
WR 42 Tim Stracka Sr
WR 87 Al Toon Fr
RB 1 John Williams Jr
QB 12 Randy Wright So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 95 Guy Boliaux Sr
S 39 Matt Vanden Boom Jr
LB 32 Kyle Borland Jr
S/P 31 David Greenwood Jr
DT 50 Tim Krumrie Jr
LB 47 Dave Levenick Sr
CB 45 Von Mansfield Sr
DT 76 Mark Shumate Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Game summaries

Michigan

#1 Michigan at Wisconsin
1 234Total
Michigan 0 770 14
• Wisconsin 0 1470 21
Scoring summary
2MichiganS. Smith 4 yard run (Haji-Sheikh kick)Michigan 7-0
2WisconsinNeal 17 yard pass from Cole (Doran kick)Tie 7-7
2WisconsinDavis 1 yard run (Doran kick)Wisconsin 14-7
3MichiganWoolfolk 89 yard run (Haji-Sheikh kick)Tie 14-14
35:13WisconsinWilliams 71 yard pass from Cole (Doran kick)Wisconsin 21-14

Wisconsin safety Matt Vanden Boom had three interceptions, including the game-clincher with two seconds left at his own 17. It was the Badgers first win against Michigan since 1962 and the first time they scored points against the Wolverines since 1976.

1982 NFL Draft

Player Position Round Pick NFL Club
Von Mansfield Cornerback 5 122 Atlanta Falcons
Jerry Doerger Tackle 8 200 Chicago Bears
Guy Boliaux Linebacker 11 283 Chicago Bears
Dave Levenick Linebacker 12 315 Atlanta Falcons

[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "1981 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  2. ^ "Tennessee's speed burns Wisconsin". Clarion-Ledger. December 14, 1981. Retrieved August 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Wisconsin Badgers Index". sports-reference.com. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  4. ^ "1982 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on 2007-12-21.
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