1981 Wisconsin Badgers football team

The 1981 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 1981 Big Ten Conference football season.

1981 Wisconsin Badgers football
Garden State Bowl, L 21–28 vs. Tennessee
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	7–5 (6–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Dave McClain (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Bill Dudley (2nd as OC; 4th overall season)
Offensive scheme	Triple option
Defensive coordinator	Jim Hilles (4th season)
Base defense	3–4
MVP	Dave Levenick
Captains	Dave Levenick Dave Mohapp Larry Spurlin
Home stadium	Camp Randall Stadium
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

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

• Quarterback Jess Cole ranked seventh in the conference with 12 passing touchdowns and ninth with 1,180 passing yards.^[1]
• Running back John Williams ranked second in the conference with 5.5 rushing yards per carry and seventh with 634 rushing yards.
• David Greenwood led the conference with 156 interception return yards, and he and Matt Vanden Boom tied for second in the conference with six interceptions each.^[1]

Wisconsin made its first bowl appearance since the 1963 Rose Bowl.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	No. 1 Michigan		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 21–14	68,733
September 19	No. 9 UCLA*	No. 20	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 13–31	71,496
September 26	Western Michigan*		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 21–10	67,196
October 3	Purdue		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 20–14	68,603
October 10	No. 18 Ohio State		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 24–21	78,973
October 17	at Michigan State	No. 14	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 14–33	67,352
October 24	at Illinois		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 21–23	67,413
October 31	Northwestern		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 52–0	70,035
November 7	at Indiana		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	W 28–7	44,218
November 14	Iowa		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (rivalry)	L 7–17	78,731
November 21	at Minnesota		Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	W 26–21	47,125
December 13	vs. Tennessee*		Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (Garden State Bowl)	L 21–28	53,220	^[2]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[3]

Personnel

1981 Wisconsin Badgers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 10 Jess Cole So RB 23 Chucky Davis So OT 70 Jerry Doerger Sr FB 41 Gary Ellerson Fr TE 37 Craig Fredrick Sr FB 36 Gerald Green Jr FB 8 Paul Hughes Sr WR 82 Michael Jones Fr G 71 Leo Joyce Sr RB 35 Troy King Jr WR 20 Thad McFadden So WR 38 Kyle McKinnon Sr FB 28 Dave Mohapp (C) Sr TE 88 Jeff Nault Jr WR 22 Marvin Neal Jr TE 86 Bret Pearson So TE 84 Greg Rabas Sr RB 33 Curtis Richardson Sr WR 34 Al Seamonson Sr G 52 Pete Severson Jr WR 42 Tim Stracka   Sr G 53 Mark Subach Jr OT 66 Scott Swan Sr G 73 Melvin Terrell   So WR 87 Al Toon Fr C 58 Ron Versnik   Jr OT 74 Carlton Walker So RB 1 John Williams Jr OT 79 Bob Winckler Jr QB 12 Randy Wright So	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 26 Brett Armstrong Jr LB 95 Guy Boliaux Sr LB 32 Kyle Borland Jr DT 72 Jeff Dellenbach Fr S/P 31 David Greenwood Jr NT 93 Jack Grundy Jr NT 50 Tim Krumrie Jr LB 47 Dave Levenick (C) Sr LB 94 Jeff Luko   Jr CB 45 Von Mansfield Sr CB 15 Brian Marrow So LB 33 James Melka   Fr S 11 Dan Messenger   Jr LB 44 Jody O'Donnell Jr DT 71 Chris Osswald So DT 76 Mark Shumate   Jr CB 9 Clint Sims Jr DT 60 Darryl Simms So LB 49 Larry Spurlin (C) Sr S 2 Ron Steverson Sr S 27 Vaughn Thomas   Jr CB 5 Jerry Vance So S 39 Matt Vanden Boom Jr S 7 John Westphal Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class S, P 31 David Greenwood Jr K 24 Mark Doran So K 6 Wendell Gladem So	Head coach Dave McClain Coordinators/assistant coaches Bill Dudley – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks and Receivers Jim Hilles – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Doug Graber – Defensive Backs Arnold Jeter – Defensive Line Cliff Knox – Running Backs Mike Nelson – Defensive Ends Bob Palcic – Tackles and Tight Ends Mario Russo – Centers and Guards Jerry Fishbain – Recruiting Coordinator Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

Game summaries

Michigan

#1 Michigan at Wisconsin

1 2 3 4 Total Michigan 0 7 7 0 14 • Wisconsin 0 14 7 0 21 Date: Saturday, September 12 Location: Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wisconsin Game attendance: 68,733 Source: Gainesville Sun

Scoring summary 2 Michigan S. Smith 4 yard run (Haji-Sheikh kick) Michigan 7-0 2 Wisconsin Neal 17 yard pass from Cole (Doran kick) Tie 7-7 2 Wisconsin Davis 1 yard run (Doran kick) Wisconsin 14-7 3 Michigan Woolfolk 89 yard run (Haji-Sheikh kick) Tie 14-14 3 5:13 Wisconsin Williams 71 yard pass from Cole (Doran kick) Wisconsin 21-14

Wisconsin safety Matt Vanden Boom had three interceptions, including the game-clincher with two seconds left at his own 17. It was the Badgers first win against Michigan since 1962 and the first time they scored points against the Wolverines since 1976.

At Minnesota

Wisconsin Badgers (6–4) at Minnesota Golden Gophers (6–4)

Period	1	2	Total
Wisconsin			0
Minnesota			0

at Memorial Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota

• Date: November 21, 1981
• Game attendance: 47,125
• ^[4]

Head coach Dave McClain inserted backup Randy Wright in the fourth quarter after Minnesota took the lead for the first time, on the reason "because Cole was not having a good day throwing." Following the victory, Wisconsin accepted the bid from the Garden State Bowl to play Tennessee.^[5]

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Wisconsin	Passing	Jess Cole	6/17, 84 Yds
	Rushing
	Receiving
Minnesota	Passing	Mike Hohensee	17/34, 254 Yds, TD
	Rushing
	Receiving	Chester Cooper	6 Rec, 123 Yds, TD

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP WISC MINN 4 Minnesota Chester Cooper 4-yard touchdown reception from Mike Hohensee, Jim Gallery kick good 20 21 4 1:05 Wisconsin Michael Jones 7-yard touchdown reception from Randy Wright, 2-point 26 21 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 26 21

1982 NFL Draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
Von Mansfield	Cornerback	5	122	Atlanta Falcons
Jerry Doerger	Tackle	8	200	Chicago Bears
Guy Boliaux	Linebacker	11	283	Chicago Bears
Dave Levenick	Linebacker	12	315	Atlanta Falcons

^[6]

References

1. "1981 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
2. "Tennessee's speed burns Wisconsin". Clarion-Ledger. December 14, 1981. Retrieved August 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Wisconsin Badgers Index". sports-reference.com. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
4. "Wisconsin 26, Minnesota 21". UPI Archives. November 22, 1981. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
5. "Wisconsin 26, Minnesota 21". UPI Archives. November 22, 1981. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
6. . Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2007-12-21.