1981 Northwestern Wildcats football team

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

1981 Big Ten Conference football standings

	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. 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.

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. Ricky Edwards led the Big Ten with 30 kickoff returns and 611 kickoff return yards.

Schedule

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