1981 Michigan State Spartans football team
| 1981 Michigan State Spartans football | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| 1981 record | 5–6 (4–5 Big Ten) |
| Head coach | Muddy Waters (2nd season) |
| Captain | George Cooper, John Leister |
| Home stadium |
Spartan Stadium (Capacity: 76,000) |
| 1981 Big Ten football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1981 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 1981 Big Ten Conference football season. In their second season under head coach Muddy Waters, the Spartans compiled a 5–6 overall record (4–5 against Big Ten opponents) and finished in a tie for sixth place in the Big Ten Conference.[1][2]
Four Spartans were recognized by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1981 All-Big Ten Conference football team: center Tom Piette (AP-2; UPI-1); linebacker Carl Banks (AP-2; UPI-1); defensive back James Burroughs (AP-2; UPI-1); and placekicker Morten Andersen (AP-1; UPI-1).[3][4] Several Michigan State players ranked among the Big Ten leaders, including the following:
- Placekicker Morten Andersen led the conference with 15 field goals made and a 75.0 field goal percentage.[5]
- Quarterback Bryan Clark ranked third in the conference with a 128.9 passing efficiency rating, fourth with a 53.4% pass completion percentage and seventh with 1,521 passing yards.[5]
- Running back Aaron Roberts ranked seventh in the conference with 4.9 yards per carry and 10th with 461 rushing yards.[5]
- Ted Jones ranked sixth in the conference with 44 receptions and ninth with 624 receiving yards.[5]
- Daryl Turner ranked eighth in the conference with 653 receiving yards.[5]
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 12 | Illinois | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI | L 17–27 | ||||||
| September 19 | at No. 8 Ohio State | Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH | L 13–27 | ||||||
| September 26 | Bowling Green* | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI | W 10–7 | ||||||
| October 3 | at Notre Dame* | Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, IN (Megaphone Trophy) | L 7–20 | ||||||
| October 10 | No. 6 Michigan | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI (Paul Bunyan Trophy) | L 20–38 | ||||||
| October 17 | No. 14 Wisconsin | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI | W 33–14 | ||||||
| October 24 | at Purdue | Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN | L 26–27 | ||||||
| October 31 | Indiana | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI (Old Brass Spittoon) | W 26–3 | ||||||
| November 7 | at Northwestern | Dyche Stadium • Evanston, IL | W 61–14 | ||||||
| November 14 | Minnesota | Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI | W 43–36 | ||||||
| November 21 | at No. 19 Iowa | Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA | L 7–36 | ||||||
| *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. | |||||||||
References
- ↑ "Michigan State Yearly Results (1980-1984)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
- ↑ "2015 Michigan State Football Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State University. p. 147. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
- ↑ Joe Mooshil (December 1, 1981). "Eason Edges Schlichter on All-Big Ten". The Argus-Press, Owosso, Michigan (AP story). p. 14.
- ↑ Randy Minkoff (November 25, 1981). "Name All Big Ten". The Bryan Times (UPI story). p. 19.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "1981 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 19, 2016.