1981 Wisconsin Badgers football team

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

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.15Ohio State +	6	–	2	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
No.18Iowa +	6	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
No.12Michigan	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

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	atMichigan State	No. 14	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 14–33	67,352
October 24	atIllinois		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 21–23	67,413
October 31	Northwestern		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 52–0	70,035
November 7	atIndiana		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	atMinnesota		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]

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

Michigan

edit

#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

edit

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

Period	1	2	Total
Wisconsin			0
Minnesota			0

atMemorial 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
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	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

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]

^ ^a ^b "1981 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 19, 2016.

^ "Tennessee's speed burns Wisconsin". Clarion-Ledger. December 14, 1981. Retrieved August 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.

^ "Wisconsin Badgers Index". sports-reference.com. Retrieved July 28, 2011.

^ "Wisconsin 26, Minnesota 21". UPI Archives. November 22, 1981. Retrieved December 18, 2022.

^ "1982 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.

1981 Wisconsin Badgers football team

Contents

Schedule

Personnel

Game summaries

Michigan

At Minnesota

1982 NFL Draft

References

Languages