1981 Big Ten Conference football season

August 2023 1981 Big Ten Conference football season NCAA Division I-A Football Former Big Ten Conference Logo 1972-1986.png 125px 10 Art Schlichter Iowa, Ohio State Co-champions Michigan, Illinois Art Schlichter Bob Atha Football 1980 1982 The 1981 Big Ten Conference football season was the 86th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The 1981 Big Ten co-champions were Iowa and Ohio State. In an odd twist of fate, the Hawkeyes and Buckeyes did not play each other, while all other conference teams played a full round-robin. Due to this, Iowa was awarded the Rose Bowl berth since its last appearance was in 1959; by comparison, Ohio State went to Pasadena seven times between 1969 and 1980. Season overview Results and team statistics Conf. RankTeamHead coachAP finalAP highOverall recordConf. recordPPGPAG1 (tie)Ohio StateEarle Bruce1579–36–232.221.11 (tie)IowaHayden Fry1868–46–221.713.33 (tie)MichiganBo Schembechler1219–36–329.613.53 (tie)IllinoisMike WhiteNRNR7–46–326.126.23 (tie)WisconsinDave McClainNR147–56–322.318.26 (tie)MinnesotaJoe SalemNRNR6–54–524.924.06 (tie)Michigan StateMuddy WatersNRNR5–64–523.922.68 (tie)PurdueJim YoungNRNR5–63–622.021.98 (tie)IndianaLee CorsoNRNR3–83–613.126.610NorthwesternDennis GreenNRNR0–110–97.545.9 Key AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1981 season AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1981 season PPG = Average of points scored per game PAG = Average of points allowed per game Bowl games Four Big Ten teams played in bowl games at the end of the 1981 season. l January 1, 1982 Washington Iowa Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA Rose Bowl NBC 0–28 105,611 w December 31, 1981 8 p.m. Navy Ohio State Liberty Bowl Memphis, TN Liberty Bowl USA Network 31–28 43,216 w December 31, 1981 UCLA Michigan Houston Astrodome Houston, TX Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl Mizlou 33–14 50,107 l December 13, 1981 Tennessee Wisconsin Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ Garden State Bowl Mizlou 21–28 38,782 Eastern Standard Time AP Poll Statistical leaders The Big Ten's individual statistical leaders include the following:1981 Big Ten Conference Year Summary Sports Reference LLC SR/College Football November 2, 2016 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/conferences/big-ten/1981.html Passing yards 1. Tony Eason, Illinois (3,360) 2. Scott Campbell, Purdue (2,686) 3. Art Schlichter, Ohio State (2,551) 4. Mike Hohensee, Minnesota (2,412) 5. Babe Laufenberg, Indiana (1,788) Rushing yards 1. Butch Woolfolk, Michigan (1,459) 2. Tim Spencer, Ohio State (1,217) 3. Jim Gayle, Ohio State (732) 4. Phil Blatcher, Iowa (708) 5. Steve Smith, Michigan (674) Receiving yards 1. Chester Cooper, Minnesota (1,012) 2. Steve Bryant, Purdue (971) 3. Anthony Carter, Michigan (952) 4. Gary Williams, Ohio State (941) 5. Oliver Williams, Illinois (760) Total offense 1. Tony Eason, Illinois (3,331) 2. Scott Campbell, Purdue (2,809) 3. Art Schlichter, Ohio State (2,509) 4. Mike Hohensee, Minnesota (2,437) 5. Steve Smith, Michigan (2,335) Passing efficiency rating 1. Tony Eason, Illinois (140.0) 2. Scott Campbell, Purdue (138.3) 3. Bryan Clark, Michigan State (128.9) 4. Steve Smith, Michigan (125.7) 5. Art Schlichter, Ohio State (123.8) Rushing yards per attempt 1. Butch Woolfolk, Michigan (5.8) 2. John Williams, Wisconsin (5.5) 3. Tim Spencer, Ohio State (5.4) 4. Manny Henry, Minnesota (5.2) 5. Chucky Davis, Wisconsin (5.2) Yards per reception 1. Duane Gunn, Indiana (21.2) 2. Daryl Turner, Michigan State (21.1) 3. Oliver Williams, Illinois (20.0) 4. Mike Martin, Illinois (19.7) 5. Anthony Carter, Michigan (19.0) Points scored 1. Bob Atha, Ohio State (88) 2. Morten Andersen, Michigan State (73) 3. Steve Smith, Michigan (72) 3. Tim Spencer, Ohio State (72) 5. Steve Bryant, Purdue (66) All-conference players the complete All-Big Ten selections 1981 All-Big Ten Conference football team All-Americans the complete All-America selections 1981 College Football All-America Team The NCAA recognizes four selectors as "official" for the 1980 season.2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 2014 February 10, 2015 3, 7 http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2014/Awards.pdf November 26, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20181126094941/http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2014/awards.pdf dead They are (1) the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), (2) the Associated Press (AP), (3) the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), and (4) the United Press International (UPI). Consensus All-Americans Anthony Carter, wide receiver, Michigan (AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI) Ed Muransky, offensive tackle, Michigan (AP, UPI) Kurt Becker, offensive guard, Michigan (AFCA, AP) Tim Krumrie, middle guard, Wisconsin (AP, UPI) Reggie Roby, punter, Iowa (AP, UPI) 1982 NFL draft The following Big Ten players were selected in the first six rounds of the draft:1982 NFL Draft: Full Draft National Football League NFL.com November 2, 2016 http://www.nfl.com/draft/history/fulldraft?season=1982 NamePositionTeamRoundOverall pickArt SchlichterQuarterbackOhio State14Butch WoolfolkRunning backMichigan118Ron HallstromGuardIowa122Bubba ParisOffensive tackleMichigan229 References