1981 Michigan State Spartans football team

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]

1981 Michigan State Spartans football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	5–6 (4–5 Big Ten)
Head coach	Muddy Waters (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Joe Pendry (2nd season)
MVP	Bryan Clark
Captain	George Cooper, John Leister
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium (capacity: 76,000)
Seasons ← 1980 1982 →

1981 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e	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

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 Jim 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	Source
September 12	Illinois	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 17–27	54,945
September 19	at No. 8 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 13–27	87,084
September 26	Bowling Green*	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 10–7	64,323
October 3	at Notre Dame*	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	L 7–20	59,074
October 10	No. 6 Michigan	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	L 20–38	77,923	^[6]^[7]
October 17	No. 14 Wisconsin	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 33–14	67,652
October 24	at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 26–27	69,877
October 31	Indiana	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	W 26–3	60,131
November 7	at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 61–14	24,104
November 14	Minnesota	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 43–36	56,571
November 21	at No. 19 Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	L 7–36	60,103
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. . College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
2. (PDF). Michigan State University. p. 147. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 17, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
3. Joe Mooshil (December 1, 1981). "Eason Edges Schlichter on All-Big Ten". The Argus-Press, Owosso, Michigan (AP story). p. 14.
4. Randy Minkoff (November 25, 1981). "Name All Big Ten". The Bryan Times (UPI story). p. 19.
5. "1981 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
6. Jack Saylor (October 11, 1981). "U-M ground game grinds down MSU". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1H, 7H – via Newspapers.com.
7. Mark Mihanovic (October 11, 1981). "Blue surge bombs MSU, 38-20". The Michigan Daily. pp. 1, 10 – via Bentley Historical Library.