American college football season
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 .
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 * ABC W 27–1969,958 [ 2] September 19 at Minnesota L 13–1641,530 [ 3] September 26 No. 13 Notre Dame * Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry ) W 15–1470,007 [ 4] October 3 at Wisconsin L 14–2068,603 [ 5] October 10 Illinois Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry ) W 44–2069,846 [ 6] October 17 at Northwestern W 35–020,777 [ 7] October 24 Michigan State Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN W 27–2669,877 [ 8] October 31 Ohio State Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN L 33–4569,927 [ 9] November 7 at Iowa L 7–3360,114 [ 10] November 14 No. 11 Michigan Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN L 10–2869,736 [ 11] [ 12] November 21 at Indiana L 17–2048,466 [ 13] *Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
[ 14]
Personnel
1981 Purdue Boilermakers football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Pos.
#
Name
Class
K
Rick Anderson
K
Tim Clark
Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) Ineligible
Game summaries
Notre Dame
1
2 3 4 Total
Notre Dame
0
7 0 7
14
• Purdue
0
0 7 8
15
Date: September 26Location: Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IndianaGame 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
Ohio State Buckeyes (5–2) at Purdue Boilermakers (5–2)
at Ross–Ade Stadium , West Lafayette, Indiana
Date : October 31, 1981Game time : 12:30 p.m.Game weather : Partly sunny, 66 °F (19 °C)Game attendance : 69,927Referee : Jerry HendricksonTV : ABCBox 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
^ a b c "1981 Big Ten Conference Year Summary" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 19, 2016 .^ "Smith's 3 TDs lead Purdue win" . The Kokomo Tribune . September 13, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Gophers defense tightens to stop Boilers" . Chronicle Tribune . September 20, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Purdue upsets Irish" . The Kokomo Tribune . September 27, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Wisconsin storms past Purdue" . The Macon Telegraph & News . October 4, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Defensive element of disguise fools Illinois" . Herald and Review . October 11, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Turnovers keep Wildcats headed down losing road" . The Rock Island Argus . October 18, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Wind saves Purdue from Michigan State" . Chicago Tribune . October 25, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Buckeyes take Big Ten lead" . The Akron Beacon Journal . November 1, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Purdue foiled, 33–7, by stingy Hawkeye D" . Dayton Daily News . November 8, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ 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 . ^ Greg DeGulis (November 15, 1981). "Michigan stalls Boilermakers, 28–10" . The Michigan Daily . pp. 1, 10 – via Bentley Historical Library . ^ "Classic finish returns Bucket to Indiana" . Anderson Herald . November 22, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "1981 Purdue Boilermakers Schedule and Results" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 3, 2024 .^ Palm Beach Post . 1981 Sept 27.
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