# 1981 Purdue Boilermakers football team

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.
* 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.
* Running back Jimmy Smith ranked fourth in the conference with 152 rushing attempts and ninth with 540 rushing yards.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 12 | No. 19 Stanford* | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | ABC | W 27–19 | 69,958 |
| September 19 | at Minnesota | Memorial StadiumMinneapolis, MN | | L 13–16 | 41,530 |
| September 26 | No. 13 Notre Dame* | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN (rivalry) | | W 15–14 | 70,007 |
| October 3 | at Wisconsin | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | | L 14–20 | 68,603 |
| October 10 | Illinois | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN (rivalry) | | W 44–20 | 69,846 |
| October 17 | at Northwestern | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL | | W 35–0 | 20,777 |
| October 24 | Michigan State | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | | W 27–26 | 69,877 |
| October 31 | Ohio State | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | | L 33–45 | 69,927 |
| November 7 | at Iowa | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA | | L 7–33 | 60,114 |
| November 14 | No. 11 Michigan | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | | L 10–28 | 69,736 |
| November 21 | at Indiana | Memorial StadiumBloomington, IN (Old Oaken Bucket) | | L 17–20 | 48,466 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game |||||||

## Game summaries
### Notre Dame

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

### Ohio State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio St | 0 | 17 | 7 | 21 | 45 |
| Purdue | 7 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 33 |
at Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana
* Date: October 31, 1981
* Game time: 12:30 p.m.
* Game weather: Partly sunny, 66 °F (19 °C)
* Game attendance: 69,927
* Referee: Jerry Hendrickson
* TV: ABC
* Box Score
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Ohio St | Passing | Art Schlichter | 19/33, 336 Yds, 3 TD, INT |
| Ohio St | Rushing | Tim Spencer | 22 Rush, 95 Yds, TD |
| Ohio St | Receiving | Gary Williams | 7 Rec, 126 Yds |
| Purdue | Passing | Scott Campbell | 31/52, 516 Yds, 3 TD, 2 INT |
| Purdue | Rushing | Jimmy Smith | 11 Rush, 33 Yds |
| Purdue | Receiving | Steve Bryant | 10 Rec, 195 Yds, 2 TD |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | 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. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 45 | 33 |

### Indiana

Statistics
* Jeff Feulner 18 rushes, 108 yards