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1981 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Liberty Bowl Champions
Big Ten Co-Champions
Liberty Bowl, W 31–28 vs. Navy
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 12
APNo. 15
1981 record9–3 (6–2 Big Ten)
Head coachEarle Bruce
MVPArt Schlichter
CaptainGlen Cobb
CaptainArt Schlichter
Home stadiumOhio Stadium
(Capacity: 83,112)
Seasons
← 1980
1982 →
1981 Big Ten football standings
v · d · e Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#15/12 Ohio State § 6 2 0     9 3 0
#18/15 Iowa § 6 2 0     8 4 0
#12/10 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 / Coaches' Poll

The 1981 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the college football season of 1981-1982. The Buckeyes compiled a 9–3 record, including the 1981 Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee, where they won 31–28 against the Navy Midshipmen.

Schedule[]

Date Opponent# Rank# Site Result Attendance
September 12* Duke #11 Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH W 34–13   86,266
September 19 Michigan State #8 Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH W 27–13   87,084
September 26* at Stanford #8 Stanford StadiumStanford, CA W 24–19   76,102
October 3* Florida State #7 Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH L 27–36   87,158
October 10 at Wisconsin #18 Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI L 21–24   78,973
October 17 Illinois Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH W 34–27   87,158
October 24 Indiana Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH W 29-10   87,182
October 31 at Purdue Ross-Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN W 45–33   69,927
November 7 at Minnesota #18 Memorial StadiumMinneapolis, MN L 31–35   42,793
November 14 Northwestern Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH W 70–6   86,912
November 21 at #7 Michigan Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI W 14–9   106,043
December 30* vs. Navy #15 Liberty Bowl Memorial StadiumMemphis, TN (Liberty Bowl) W 31–28   43,216
*Non-Conference Game. #Rankings from AP Poll.

Depth Chart[]

Defensive Starters


FS
Doug Hill


WLB ILB ILB SLB
Anthony Griggs Glen Cobb Marcus Marek Mike D’Andrea
SS
Garcia Lane
CB
Shaun Gayle


DE NT DE
Chris Riehm Nick Miller Jerome Foster
CB
Kelvin Bell
Offensive Starters
SE
Gary Williams
Thad Jemison
LT LG C RG RT
Bill Roberts Scott Zalenski Jim DeLeone Joe Lukens Joe Smith
TE
John Frank
Brad Dwelle
FL
Cedric Anderson
QB
Art Schlichter
Mike Tomczak
FB
Vaughn Broadnax
Special Teams
PK Bob Atha




RB
Tim Spencer
Jimmy Gale


[1]

Coaching staff[]

  • Earle Bruce - Head Coach (3rd year)
  • Dennis Fryzel - Defensive Coordinator (3rd year)
  • Glen Mason - Offensive Coordinator (4th year)
  • Bill Myles - Offensive Line (5th year)
  • Nick Saban - Defensive Backs (2nd year)
  • Wayne Stanley - Running Backs (3rd year)
  • Steve Szabo - Defensive Line (3rd year)
  • Bob Tucker - Defensive Outside Linebackers (3rd year)
  • Fred Zechman - Quarterbacks/Receivers (3rd year)

Game notes[]

Purdue[]

by Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total
Ohio St 0 17 7 21 45
Purdue 7 7 6 13 33

[2]

  • Gary Williams 126 receiving yards [3]


Michigan[]

by Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total
Ohio State 0 7 0 7 14
Michigan 3 0 6 0 9

[4]


1982 NFL draftees[]

Player Round Pick Position NFL Club
Art Schlichter 1 4 Quarterback Baltimore Colts
Anthony Griggs 4 105 Linebacker Philadelphia Eagles
Bob Atha 12 317 Kicker St. Louis Cardinals

References[]

  1. Ohio State Football Media Guide
  2. Milwaukee Journal. 1981 Nov 1.
  3. 2012 Ohio State football record book.
  4. [1]
Win/Loss statistics
Draft data
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