1981 Purdue Boilermakers football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	5–6 (3–6 Big Ten)
Head coach	Jim Young (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Doug Redmann (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Leon Burtnett (5th season)
MVP	Steve Bryant
Captain	Steve Bryant, Ray Gunner, Bobby Williams
Home stadium	Ross–Ade 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

The 1981 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University during the 1981 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by Jim Young in his fifth and final season as head coach, the Boilermakers compiled an overall record of 5–6 with a mark of 3–6 in conference play, tying for eighth place in the Big Ten. Purdue played home games at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

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

Wide receiver Steve Bryant led the Big Ten with 60 receptions and 11 receiving touchdowns and ranked second with 971 receiving yards and fifth with 66 points scored.^[1]
Quarterback Scott Campbell ranked second in the conference with 185 pass completions, a 57.6% pass completion percentage, 2,686 passing yards, a 138.3 passing efficiency rating, and 2,809 total yards.^[1]
Running back Jimmy Smith ranked fourth in the conference with 152 rushing attempts and ninth with 540 rushing yards.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12		No. 19 Stanford*	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	W 27–19	69,958
September 19		at Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	L 13–16	41,530
September 26		No. 13 Notre Dame*	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	W 15–14	70,007
October 3		at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 14–20	68,603
October 10		Illinois	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	W 44–20	69,846
October 17		at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 35–0	20,777
October 24		Michigan State	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	W 27–26	69,877
October 31	12:30 p.m.	Ohio State	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 33–45	69,927
November 7		at Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	L 7–33	60,114
November 14		No. 11 Michigan	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 10–28	69,736	^[2]^[3]
November 21		at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)	L 17–20	48,466
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1981 Purdue Boilermakers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB		Scott Campbell
QB		Jim Everett
FB		Bruce King
RB		Jimmy Smith

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K		Rick Anderson
K		Tim Clark

	1	2	3	4	Total
Notre Dame	0	7	0	7	14
• Purdue	0	0	7	8	15

Scoring summary

2		ND	Smith 1 yard run (Oliver kick)	Notre Dame 7-0

3		PUR	Jones 1 yard run (Anderson kick)	Tie 7-7

4	2:57	ND	Carter 30 yard run (Oliver kick)	Notre Dame 14-7

4	:19	PUR	Bryant 7 yard pass from Campbell (Bryant pass from Campbell)	Purdue 15-14

Ohio State Buckeyes (5–2) at Purdue Boilermakers (5–2)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	0	17	7	21	45
Purdue	7	7	6	13	33

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Ohio St	Passing	Art Schlichter	19/33, 336 Yds, 3 TD, INT
	Rushing	Tim Spencer	22 Rush, 95 Yds, TD
	Receiving	Gary Williams	7 Rec, 126 Yds
Purdue	Passing	Scott Campbell	31/52, 516 Yds, 3 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Jimmy Smith	11 Rush, 33 Yds
	Receiving	Steve Bryant	10 Rec, 195 Yds, 2 TD

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	OSU	PU
1	3:11	10	71	3:40	Purdue	Cliff Benson 11-yard touchdown reception from Scott Campbell, Tim Clark kick good	0	7
2	11:24	6	32	2:46	Ohio St	53-yard field goal by Bob Atha	3	7
2	8:45	2	16	0:42	Ohio St	Art Schlichter 14-yard touchdown run, Bob Atha kick good	10	7
2	6:58	1	47	0:07	Ohio St	Cedric Anderson 47-yard touchdown reception from Art Schlichter, Bob Atha kick good	17	7
2	4:38	5	70	2:20	Purdue	Steve Bryant 32-yard touchdown reception from Scott Campbell, Tim Clark kick good	17	14
3	12:24	7	80	2:36	Purdue	26-yard field goal by Tim Clark	17	17
3	10:45	9	83	1:39	Ohio St	Jim Gayle 2-yard touchdown run, Bob Atha kick good	24	17
3	2:04	6	59	1:26	Purdue	38-yard field goal by Tim Clark	24	20
4	14:45	9	75	2:19	Ohio St	Tim Spencer 2-yard touchdown run, Bob Atha kick good	31	20
4	14:32	1	23	0:05	Ohio St	Cedric Anderson 23-yard touchdown reception from Art Schlichter, Bob Atha kick good	38	20
4	9:10	15	71	5:22	Purdue	Wally Jones 1-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass failed	38	26
4	7:12	2	8	0:09	Purdue	Steve Bryant 4-yard touchdown reception from Scott Campbell, Tim Clark kick good	38	33
4	2:19	5	62	1:44	Ohio St	John Frank 29-yard touchdown reception from Art Schlichter, Bob Atha kick good	45	33
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							45	33

Statistics

^ ^a ^b ^c "1981 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
^ Joe Lapointe (November 15, 1981). "U-M foils Boilermakers: Win sets up Rose War with OSU". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1E, 7E – via Newspapers.com.
^ Greg DeGulis (November 15, 1981). "Michigan stalls Boilermakers, 28-10". The Michigan Daily. pp. 1, 10 – via Bentley Historical Library.
^ "2022 Purdue Football Record Book" (PDF). Purdue University Athletics. p. 90. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
^ Palm Beach Post. 1981 Sept 27.

v t e Purdue Boilermakers football
Venues	Stuart Field (1892–1924) Ross–Ade Stadium (1924–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Chicago (defunct) Illinois Indiana: Old Oaken Bucket Notre Dame
Culture & lore	Boilermaker Special Cradle of Quarterbacks Purdue Pete Purdue Wreck "Hail Purdue!" All-American Marching Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
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