1981 Northwestern Wildcats football team

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.

1981 Northwestern Wildcats football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
1981 record0–11 (0–9 Big Ten)
Head coach
Captains
Home stadiumDyche Stadium
1981 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW 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

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
DateOpponentSiteResult
September 12Indiana
L 20–21
September 19at Arkansas*
L 7–38
September 26Utah*
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL
L 0–42
October 3No. 18 Iowa
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL
L 0–64
October 10at Minnesota
L 23–35
October 17Purdue
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL
L 0–35
October 24at No. 18 Michigan
L 0–38
October 31at Wisconsin
L 0–52
November 7Michigan State
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL
L 14–61
November 14at Ohio State
L 6–70
November 21Illinois
L 12–49
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster
1981 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
TE 80 Chris Hinton Jr
QB 12 Mike Kerrigan (C) Sr
T 75 Rob Taylor Sr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
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 2019-03-16. Retrieved 2019-03-14.
  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.


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