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1981 Northwestern Wildcats football
1981 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	0–11 (0–9 Big Ten)
Head coach	Dennis Green (1st season);
Captains	Bobby Anderson; Mike Kerrigan;
Home stadium	Dyche 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 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

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	Indiana	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 20–21	22,856	^[6]
September 19	at Arkansas*	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR	L 7–38	54,532	^[7]
September 26	Utah*	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 0–42	25,256	^[8]
October 3	No. 18 Iowa	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 0–64	30,113	^[9]
October 10	at Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	L 23–35	45,949	^[10]
October 17	Purdue	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 0–35	20,777	^[11]
October 24	at No. 18 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	L 0–38	104,361	^[12]
October 31	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 0–52	70,035	^[13]
November 7	Michigan State	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 14–61	24,104	^[14]
November 14	at Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 6–70	86,912	^[15]
November 21	Illinois	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)	L 12–49	23,116	^[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

Dennis Green

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

References

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