CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1981 Michigan

9–⁠3 (6–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Bo Schembechler, finished No. 12 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan in 1981, game by game: lost at Wisconsin 14–21; won vs. No. 1 Notre Dame 25–7; won vs. Navy 21–16; won at Indiana 38–17; won at Michigan State 38–20; lost vs. No. 12 Iowa 7–9; won vs. Northwestern 38–0; won at Minnesota 34–13; won vs. Illinois 70–21; won at Purdue 28–10; lost vs. Ohio State 9–14; won vs. No. 19 UCLA 33–14+49−7Lost 14–21 at Wisconsin-7WisconsinWon 25–7 vs. No. 1 Notre Dame+18No. 1 Notre DameWon 21–16 vs. Navy+5NavyWon 38–17 at Indiana+21IndianaWon 38–20 at Michigan State+18Michigan StateLost 7–9 vs. No. 12 Iowa-2No. 12 IowaWon 38–0 vs. Northwestern+38NorthwesternWon 34–13 at Minnesota+21MinnesotaWon 70–21 vs. Illinois+49IllinoisWon 28–10 at Purdue+18PurdueLost 9–14 vs. Ohio State-5Ohio StateWon 33–14 vs. No. 19 UCLA+19No. 19 UCLA
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12atWisconsinL 14–⁠2171%
Sep 19vs1Notre DameW 25–⁠758%
Sep 26vsNavyW 21–⁠1671%
Oct 3atIndianaW 38–⁠1772%
Oct 10atMichigan StateW 38–⁠2079%
Oct 17vs12IowaL 7–⁠977%
Oct 24vsNorthwesternW 38–⁠095%
Oct 31atMinnesotaW 34–⁠1369%
Nov 7vsIllinoisW 70–⁠2183%
Nov 14atPurdueW 28–⁠1067%
Nov 21vsOhio StateL 9–⁠1471%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs19UCLAAstro-Bluebonnet BowlW 33–⁠1454%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat UCLA 33–⁠14 in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl; No. 12 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 22nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 1
  2. Wk 2: 1
  3. Wk 3: 11
  4. Wk 4: 7
  5. Wk 5: 8
  6. Wk 6: 6
  7. Wk 7: 5
  8. Wk 8: 18
  9. Wk 9: 15
  10. Wk 10: 12
  11. Wk 11: 11
  12. Wk 12: 7
  13. Wk 13: 16
  14. Wk 14: 16
  15. Final: 12

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1981.

3 consensus All-AmericansAnthony Carter, WR; Ed Muransky, OT; Kurt Becker, OG

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 12 peak No. 1
Points
355–⁠162
Coach
Bo Schembechler
Elo
1741 +62 this season
SP+ rating
20.7 No. 11 of 132; offense No. 13, defense No. 25
SRS
18.1 No. 11 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Bill McCartney
Captains
Kurt Becker and Robert Thompson
Most valuable player
Butch Woolfolk

Drafted in 1982

The 1982 draft
Rd 1Butch Woolfolk RBNew York Giants
Rd 2Bubba Paris OTSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 3Stanley Edwards RBHouston Oilers
Rd 4Ed Muransky OTLos Angeles Raiders
Rd 4Brian Carpenter DBDallas Cowboys
Rd 6Kurt Becker OGChicago Bears
Rd 7Ben Needham LBCincinnati Bengals

All-Big Ten

5 first team, 8 second team

First team

Second team

  • Stan EdwardsRBAP-2; UPI-2
  • Norm BettsTEUPI-2
  • Robert ThompsonDLUPI-2
  • Paul GirgashLBAP-2
  • Keith BosticDBAP-2; UPI-2
  • Tony JacksonDBAP-2; UPI-2
  • Brian CarpenterDBUPI-2
  • Don BrackenPAP-2; UPI-2

From Wikipedia’s 1981 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1981 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State6–⁠29–⁠315
Iowa6–⁠28–⁠418
Michigan6–⁠39–⁠312
Illinois6–⁠37–⁠4
Wisconsin6–⁠37–⁠5
Minnesota4–⁠56–⁠5
Michigan State4–⁠55–⁠6
Purdue3–⁠65–⁠6
Indiana3–⁠63–⁠8
Northwestern0–⁠90–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.