1981 Stanford Cardinals football team

1981 Stanford Cardinals football
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
Record4–7 (4–4 Pac-10)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJim Fassel (1st season)
Offensive schemeWest Coast
Defensive coordinatorJack Harbaugh (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumStanford Stadium
1981 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 10 Washington $ 6 – 2 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 16 Arizona State 5 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
No. 14 USC 5 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Washington State 5 – 2 – 1 8 – 3 – 1
UCLA 5 – 2 – 1 7 – 4 – 1
Arizona 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
4 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
California 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
Oregon 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
Oregon State 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 Stanford Cardinals football team represented Stanford University in the Pacific-10 Conference during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by second-year head coach Paul Wiggin, the Cardinal had an overall record of 4–7 (4–4 in Pac-10, tied for sixth), and played home games on campus at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California. Ranked in the preseason top twenty, Stanford opened with four losses and dropped six of its first seven games to incur their first losing season since 1963.

From 1972 until November 17, 1981, Stanford's official nickname was Cardinals, in reference to one of the school colors, not the bird.[1] After 1981, it became the singular Cardinal.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 1212:20 p.m.at Purdue*No. 19
ABCL 19–2762,778[2]
September 191:30 p.m.San Jose State*
USAL 6–2867,888[3]
September 261:30 p.m.No. 8 Ohio State*
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
ESPNL 19–2476,102[4]
October 37:00 p.m.at Arizona
USAL 13–1741,110[5]
October 101:30 p.m.No. 17 UCLA
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
USAW 26–2370,103[6]
October 171:30 p.m.at No. 7 USC
USAL 17–2576,291[7]
October 241:30 p.m.No. 17 Arizona State
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
USAL 36–6252,855[8]
October 311:30 p.m.at No. 18 Washington
USAL 31–4255,856[9]
November 71:30 p.m.at Oregon State
USAW 63–922,000[10]
November 141:30 p.m.Oregon
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
USAW 42–336,106[11]
November 211:30 p.m.California
USAW 42–2184,536[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Pacific time

[13]

Game summaries

at Purdue

See also: 1981 Purdue Boilermakers football team
Game One – No. 19 Stanford Cardinals (0–0) vs Purdue Boilermakers (0–0) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 19 Cardinals 7 6 6019
Boilermakers 13 7 0727

at Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, Indiana

Game information
First quarter
  • STAN – , (Drive: ; Stanford 7–0)
  • PUR – , (Drive: ; Stanford 7–6)
  • PUR – , (Drive: ; Purdue 13–7)
Second quarter
  • STAN – , (Drive: ; Purdue 13–10)
  • PUR – , (Drive: ; Purdue 20–10)
  • STAN – , (Drive: ; Purdue 20–13)
Third quarter
  • STAN – , (Drive: ; Purdue 20–19)
Fourth quarter
  • PUR – , (Drive: ; Purdue 27–19)
Statistics STAN PUR
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Stanford Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Purdue Passing
Rushing
Receiving

vs. San Jose State

See also: 1981 San Jose State Spartans football team and Bill Walsh Legacy Game

vs. No. 8 Ohio State

See also: 1981 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
Game Three – Ohio State Buckeyes (2–0) vs. Stanford Cardinals (0–2) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 8 Buckeyes 0 17 7024
Cardinals 3 3 01319

at Stanford Stadium • Stanford, California

  • Date: September 26, 1981
  • Game time: 1:30 p.m. PDT
  • Game attendance: 76,102
  • Referee: Charles Moffett
  • TV: ESPN
Game information
First quarter
  • STAN – , 1:54 (STAN 3-0)
Second quarter
  • OHIO ST – , 11:26 (OHIO ST 7-3)
  • STAN – , 7:19 (OHIO ST 7-6)
  • OHIO ST – , 4:14 (OHIO ST 10-6)
  • OHIO ST – , 0:27 (OHIO ST 17-6)
Third quarter
  • OHIO ST – , 2:13 (OHIO ST 24-6)
Fourth quarter
  • STAN – , 13:15 (OHIO ST 24-12)
  • STAN – , 9:00 (OHIO ST 24-19)
Statistics OHIO ST STAN
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession
Team Category Player Statistics
Ohio State Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Stanford Passing
Rushing
Receiving

at Arizona

See also: 1981 Arizona Wildcats football team

No. 17 UCLA

See also: 1981 UCLA Bruins football team

at No. 7 Southern California

See also: 1981 USC Trojans football team and Stanford–USC football rivalry

No. 17 Arizona State

See also: 1981 Arizona State Sun Devils football team

at No. 18 Washington

See also: 1981 Washington Huskies football team

at Oregon State

See also: 1981 Oregon State Beavers football team

Oregon

See also: 1981 Oregon Ducks football team

California

See also: 1981 California Golden Bears football team and Big Game (American football)
California at Stanford
Team 1 234Total
California 7 077 21
• Stanford 7 14147 42
Scoring summary
1STANElway 1-yard run (Harmon kick)STAN 7-0
1CALEddings 48-yard pass from Torchio (Cooper kick)Tied 7-7
2STANNelson 2-yard run (Harmon kick)STAN 14-7
2STANNelson 7-yard pass from Elway (Harmon kick)STAN 21-7
3STANHutchings 14-yard interception return (Harmon kick)STAN 28-7
3CALTuggle 2-yard run (Cooper kick)STAN 28-14
3STANWhite 8-yard pass from Elway (Harmon kick)STAN 35-14
4CALWright 18-yard pass from Torchio (Cooper kick)STAN 35-21
4STANWhite 22-yard pass from Elway (Harmon kick)STAN 42-21

Roster

1981 Stanford Cardinal football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
TE 83 Chris Dressel Jr
QB 7 John Elway Jr
HB 31 Darrin Nelson Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

[14][15]

References

  1. ^ "What is the history of Stanford's mascot and nickname?". Stanford Athletics website. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  2. ^ "Smith's 3 TDs lead Purdue win". The Kokomo Tribune. September 13, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Willhite leads San Jose State upset of Stanford, 28–6". The Tampa Tribune-Times. September 20, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Ohio State, Schlichter beat Stanford, Elway". Chicago Tribune. September 27, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Holland runs, passes Wildcats over Cardinals 17–13". The Sacramento Bee. October 4, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Stanford outlasts UCLA 26–23 in Pac-10 action". The Idaho Statesman. October 11, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "USC guns down Stanford, 25–17". Mount Vernon Argus. October 18, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Arizona State shells Stanford, 62–36". Santa Cruz Sentinel. October 25, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Huskies stamp Stanford 42–31". The Sunday Oregonian. November 1, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Remarkable Nelson rips OSU". The Sunday Oregonian. November 8, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Stanford dumps hapless Oregon". The Modesto Bee. November 15, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Nelson, Stanford have a really big game". The Los Angeles Times. November 22, 1981. Retrieved November 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "1981 Stanford Cardinal Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  14. ^ "Starting lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). November 7, 1981. p. 2B.
  15. ^ "Starting lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). November 14, 1981. p. 2B.
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