1981 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

Big Ten Co-Champions

Conference

Ranking

Coaches

#12

#15

1981 record

9-3 (6-2 Big Ten)

Head coach

Home stadium

Seasons

	Conf					Overall
1981 Big Ten football standings
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#15/12 Ohio State §	6	–	2	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
#18/15 Iowa §	6	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
#12/10 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 / Coaches' Poll

The 1981 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the college football season of 1981-1982. The Buckeyes compiled a 9–3 record, including the 1981 Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee, where they won 31–28 against the Navy Midshipmen.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 12	Duke*	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio	W 34-13	86,266
September 19	Michigan State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio	W 27-13	87,084
September 26	at Stanford*	Stanford Stadium • Stanford, California	W 24-19	76,102
October 3	Florida State*	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio	L 27-36	87,158
October 10	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, Wisconsin	L 21-24	78,973
October 17	Illinois	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio	W 34-27	87,158
October 24	Indiana	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio	W 29-10	87,182
October 31	at Purdue	Ross-Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, Indiana	W 45-33	69,927
November 7	at Minnesota	Memorial Stadium • Minneapolis, Minnesota	L 31-35	42,793
November 14	Northwestern	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio	W 70-6	86,912
November 21	at Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan	W 14-9	106,043
December 30	vs. Navy*	Liberty Bowl • Memphis, Tennessee (Liberty Bowl)	W 31-28	43,216
*Non-conference game.

Ohio State Buckeyes football

Venues	Recreation Park (1890–1897) Ohio Field (1898–1921) Ohio Stadium (1922–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Illibuck (Illinois) Michigan Penn State

Culture & lore	History Brutus Buckeye "Across the Field" "Buckeye Battle Cry" "Carmen Ohio" The Ohio State University Marching Band Block O "Hang On Sloopy"

People	Head coaches All-Century Team Yearly statistical leaders

Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

National championship seasons in bold