CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1981 Wisconsin

7–⁠5 (6–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Dave McClain.

Schedule and results

Wisconsin in 1981, game by game: won vs. No. 1 Michigan 21–14; lost vs. No. 9 UCLA 13–31; won vs. Western Michigan 21–10; won vs. Purdue 20–14; won vs. No. 18 Ohio State 24–21; lost at Michigan State 14–33; lost at Illinois 21–23; won vs. Northwestern 52–0; won at Indiana 28–7; lost vs. Iowa 7–17; won at Minnesota 26–21; lost vs. Tennessee 21–28+52−19Won 21–14 vs. No. 1 Michigan+7No. 1 MichiganLost 13–31 vs. No. 9 UCLA-18No. 9 UCLAWon 21–10 vs. Western Michigan+11Western MichiganWon 20–14 vs. Purdue+6PurdueWon 24–21 vs. No. 18 Ohio State+3No. 18 Ohio StateLost 14–33 at Michigan State-19Michigan StateLost 21–23 at Illinois-2IllinoisWon 52–0 vs. Northwestern+52NorthwesternWon 28–7 at Indiana+21IndianaLost 7–17 vs. Iowa-10IowaWon 26–21 at Minnesota+5MinnesotaLost 21–28 vs. Tennessee-7Tennessee
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12vs1MichiganW 21–⁠1429%
Sep 19vs9UCLAL 13–⁠3139%
Sep 26vsWestern MichiganW 21–⁠1052%
Oct 3vsPurdueW 20–⁠1444%
Oct 10vs18Ohio StateW 24–⁠2144%
Oct 17atMichigan StateL 14–⁠3362%
Oct 24atIllinoisL 21–⁠2350%
Oct 31vsNorthwesternW 52–⁠087%
Nov 7atIndianaW 28–⁠756%
Nov 14vsIowaL 7–⁠1754%
Nov 21atMinnesotaW 26–⁠2145%
Dec 13Bowls & playoffvsTennesseeGarden State BowlL 21–⁠2848%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Tennessee 28–⁠21 in the Garden State Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 89th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 20
  2. Wk 7: 14

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.

Consensus All-AmericanTim Krumrie, DL

Record
7–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 14
Points
268–⁠219
Coach
Dave McClain
Elo
1504 +31 this season
SP+ rating
4.8 No. 59 of 132; offense No. 57, defense No. 64
SRS
4.6 No. 49 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Bill Dudley
Defensive coordinator
Jim Hilles
Captains
Dave Levenick, Dave Mohapp and Larry Spurlin
Most valuable player
Dave Levenick
Offense
Triple option
Defense
3–⁠4

Drafted in 1982

The 1982 draft
Rd 5Von Mansfield DBAtlanta Falcons

All-Big Ten

4 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

  • Ron VersnikCUPI-2
  • Bob WincklerOTAP-2
  • Mark ShumateDLAP-2
  • Dave LevenickLBAP-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.