1981 Northwestern Wildcats football team

1981 Northwestern Wildcats football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record0–11 (0–9 Big Ten)
Head coach
Captains
Home stadiumDyche Stadium
1981 Big Ten Conference football standings
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
0 – 9 – 0 0 – 11 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 Northwestern Wildcats team represented Northwestern University during the 1981 Big Ten Conference football season. In their first year under head coach Dennis Green, the Wildcats compiled a 0–11 record (0–9 against Big Ten Conference opponents) and finished in last place in the Big Ten Conference.[2] The team played its home games at Dyche Stadium in Evanston, Illinois.

Northwestern finished the season in the midst of a 34-game losing streak, the longest in NCAA Division I-A history. The streak began on September 22, 1979, and ended on September 25, 1982.[3]

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Mike Kerrigan with 1,317 passing yards, Jim Browne with 162 rushing yards, and Chris Hinton with 265 receiving yards.[4] Ricky Edwards led the Big Ten with 30 kickoff returns and 611 kickoff return yards.[5]

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 12Indiana
L 20–2122,856[6]
September 19at Arkansas*
L 7–3854,532[7]
September 26Utah*
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL
L 0–4225,256[8]
October 3No. 18 Iowa
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL
L 0–6430,113[9]
October 10at Minnesota
L 23–3545,949[10]
October 17Purdue
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL
L 0–3520,777[11]
October 24at No. 18 Michigan
L 0–38104,361[12]
October 31at Wisconsin
L 0–5270,035[13]
November 7Michigan State
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL
L 14–6124,104[14]
November 14at Ohio State
L 6–7086,912[15]
November 21Illinois
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL (rivalry)
L 12–4923,116[16]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1981 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 84 Dave Bahoric Sr
FB 44 David Callway Jr
G 67 Jim Crowder Sr
RB 30 Jeff Cohn Jr
TE 93 John Finn Sr
TE 80 Chris Hinton Jr
QB 12 Mike Kerrigan (C) Sr
OT 75 Rob Taylor Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
FS 15 Bobby Anderson Jr
LB 11 Chris Capstran Sr
LB 35 Mike Guendling So
LB 65 Alex Moyer Fr
LB 68 Chris Natzke Fr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 90 Jay Anderson Jr
P 4 John Kidd So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

References

  1. ^ "Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). 2007. p. 149. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  2. ^ "1981 Northwestern Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  3. ^ "Worst college football teams of all time". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  4. ^ "1981 Northwestern Wildcats Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  5. ^ "1981 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  6. ^ "I.U. lets 'Cat out of the bag". The South Bend Tribune. September 13, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Hog runners dash to win over Wildcats". The Commercial Appeal. September 20, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Utah rips Wildcats 42–0; loss string hits 23". The Rock Island Argus. September 27, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Hawkeyes devastate Northwestern, 64–0". The Post-Crescent. October 4, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Minnesota trips Northwestern". The Courier-Journal. October 11, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Turnovers keep Wildcats headed down losing road". The Rock Island Argus. October 18, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Michigan stops Northwestern". The Pantagraph. October 25, 1981. p. C3.
  13. ^ "Badgers roll, 52–0". The Post-Crescent. November 1, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Northwestern easily notches record of futility". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. November 8, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Bucks bomb Wildcats in 'Big Game' tuneup". The Marion Star. November 15, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Illinois proves superior in chilly 110-pass circus". Wisconsin State Journal. November 22, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
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