1981 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

1981 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
1981 record	6–5 (4–5 Big Ten)
Head coach	Joe Salem (3rd season)
MVP	Mike Hohensee
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium

1981 Big Ten football standings
	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

The 1981 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 1981 Big Ten Conference football season. In their third year under head coach Joe Salem, the Golden Gophers compiled a 6–5 record and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 274 to 264.^[1] It was the final season in Memorial Stadium.^[2]

Quarterback Mike Hohensee received the team's Most Valuable Player award, while flanker Chester Cooper was named offensive MVP, and linebacker Jim Fahnhorst was named the defensive MVP. Fahnhorst and offensive tackle Ken Dallafoir were named All-Big Ten first team. Cooper, offensive lineman Bill Humphries, defensive end Karl Mecklenburg, and defensive lineman Fred Orgas were named All-Big Ten second team. Defensive lineman Brent Harms and Fred Orgas, free safety Mike Robb, and safety Rick Witthus were named Academic All-Big Ten.^[3]

Several Minnesota players ranked among the Big Ten leaders, including the following:

Mike Hohensee led the conference with 20 passing touchdowns and ranked fourth with 2,412 passing yards.^[4]
Wide receiver Chester Cooper led the conference with 1,012 receiving yards and ranked second with 58 receptions.^[4]
Running back Frank Jacobs ranked sixth in the conference with 638 rushing yards and fifth with eight rushing touchdowns.^[4]
Placekicker Jim Gallery ranked second in the conference with 13 field goals made, fourth with a 59.8 field goal percentage, and seventh with 62 points scored.^[4]

Total attendance for the season was 301,248, which averaged to 43,035. The season high for attendance was against Michigan.^[5]

Schedule

Date	Opponent^#	Site	Result	Attendance
September 12	Ohio*	Memorial Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	W 19–17	40,086
September 19	Purdue	Memorial Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	W 16–13	41,530
September 26	Oregon State*	Memorial Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	W 42–12	30,890
October 3	at Illinois	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	L 29–38	63,814
October 10	Northwestern	Memorial Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	W 35–23	45,949
October 17	at Indiana	Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN	L 16–17	46,460
October 24	at No. 6 Iowa	Kinnick Stadium • Iowa City, IA (Rivalry)	W 12–10	60,000
October 31	No. 15 Michigan	Memorial Stadium • Minneapolis, MN (Little Brown Jug)	L 13–34	52,875
November 7	No. 18 Ohio State	Memorial Stadium • Minneapolis, MN	W 35–31	42,793
November 14	at Michigan State	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	L 36–43	56,571
November 21	Wisconsin	Memorial Stadium • Minneapolis, MN (Rivalry)	L 21–26	47,125
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll.

Game summaries

Oregon State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Oregon St	3	0	2	7	12
• Minnesota	6	20	9	7	42

Date: September 26
Location: Memorial Stadium • Minneapolis, Minnesota

Scoring summary

1	MINN	Carroll 1 yard pass from Hohensee (kick failed)	Minnesota 6-0

1	ORST	Mangold 52 yard field goal	Minnesota 6-3

2	MINN	Curtis 8 yard pass from Hohensee (Gallery kick)	Minnesota 13-3

2	MINN	Curtis 14 yard pass from Hohensee (Gallery kick)	Minnesota 20-3

2	MINN	Cooper 38 yard pass from Hohensee (kick failed)	Minnesota 26-3

3	MINN	Gallery 28 yard field goal	Minnesota 29-3

3	ORST	Safety, ball snapped out of end zone	Minnesota 29-5

3	MINN	Weckbecker 27 yard pass from Hohensee (kick failed)	Minnesota 35-5

4	MINN	Henry 1 yard run (Gallery kick)	Minnesota 42-5

4	ORST	Terrell 6 yard run (Mangold kick)	Minnesota 42-12

^[6]

References

↑ "Minnesota Yearly Results (1980-1984)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
↑ Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), p. 161
↑ Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), pp. 179–182
1 2 3 4 "1981 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
↑ Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), p. 160
↑ Palm Beach Post. 1981 Sept 27.

Minnesota Golden Gophers football
Venues	Athletic Park (1892–1898) University of Minnesota Armory (1892–1898) Northrop Field (1899–1923) Memorial Stadium (1924–1981) Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (1982–2008) TCF Bank Stadium (2009–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Iowa Michigan Nebraska Penn State Wisconsin
Culture & lore	Goldy Gopher Marching band Spirit squad "Minnesota Rouser" "Minnesota March" "Go Gopher Victory" "Minnesota Fight" "Our Minnesota" "Hail! Minnesota" "Battle Hymn of the Republic" Minnesota shift T formation
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 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 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
National championship seasons in bold

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