1981 Purdue Boilermakers football team

1981 Purdue Boilermakers football
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
Captains	Steve Bryant; Ray Gunner; Bobby Williams;
Home stadium	Ross–Ade Stadium
	Seasons ← 1980 1982 →

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.

Record5–6 (3–6 Big Ten)

Headcoach

OffensivecoordinatorDoug Redmann (2nd season)

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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

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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]

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

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Notre Dame	0	7	0	7	14
• Purdue	0	0	7	8	15


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

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

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

Schedule