1981 Northwestern
0–11 (0–9 Big Ten), coached by Dennis Green. Share
Schedule and results
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12 | vs Indiana | L 20–21 | 28% |
| Sep 19 | at Arkansas | L 7–38 | 11% |
| Sep 26 | vs Utah | L 0–42 | 28% |
| Oct 3 | vs 18Iowa | L 0–64 | 24% |
| Oct 10 | at Minnesota | L 23–35 | 15% |
| Oct 17 | vs Purdue | L 0–35 | 14% |
| Oct 24 | at 18Michigan | L 0–38 | 5% |
| Oct 31 | at Wisconsin | L 0–52 | 13% |
| Nov 7 | vs Michigan State | L 14–61 | 25% |
| Nov 14 | at Ohio State | L 6–70 | 6% |
| Nov 21 | vs Illinois | L 12–49 | 19% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Illinois 49–12; unranked in the final AP poll; 10th in the Big Ten.
In program history: The worst season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).
- Record
- 0–11
- Conference
- 0–9 10th in Big Ten
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 82–505
- Coach
- Dennis Green
- Elo
- 1181 −110 this season
- SP+ rating
- -28.8 No. 131 of 132; offense No. 102, defense No. 131
- SRS
- −23.4 No. 131 of 137 in Division I-A
- Recruiting class
- —
- Captains
- Bobby Anderson and Mike Kerrigan
1981 Big Ten standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 6–2 | 9–3 | 15 |
| Iowa | 6–2 | 8–4 | 18 |
| Michigan | 6–3 | 9–3 | 12 |
| Illinois | 6–3 | 7–4 | |
| Wisconsin | 6–3 | 7–5 | |
| Minnesota | 4–5 | 6–5 | |
| Michigan State | 4–5 | 5–6 | |
| Purdue | 3–6 | 5–6 | |
| Indiana | 3–6 | 3–8 | |
 Northwestern | 0–9 | 0–11 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.