Michigan State
B10 · 1981 Season · Final
All-Time Resume
- 12-Team Playoff & Revenue Era · 2 seasons
- Limited Playoff Era · 26 seasons · 4 Top 10
- Independents & Bowl Tie-In Era · 16 seasons · 1 Top 10
- Divisional Era · 26 seasons · 4 Top 10
- AP Poll & Postwar Era · 19 seasons · 5 Top 10 · 1× #1
- Forward Pass & Stadium Boom Era · 12 seasons
Final finishes, as published; the season in progress counts toward record only. Compare Michigan State head-to-head · History & Eras
1981 Schedule & Results
| Wk | Date | Opponent | Conf | Opp. Record | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Week 3 · Sep 15 |  Illinois (ILLINOIS)H2H |  B10 | 7–4 | L 17–27 |
| 4 | Week 4 · Sep 22 |  Ohio State (OHIO STATE)H2H | B10 | 9–3 | L 13–27 |
| 5 | Week 5 · Sep 29 |  Bowling Green (BOWLING GREEN)H2H |  MAC | 5–5–1 | W 10–7 |
| 6 | Week 6 · Oct 6 |  Notre Dame (NOTRE DAME)H2H | IND FBSI | 5–6 | L 7–20 |
| 7 | Week 7 · Oct 13 |  Michigan (MICHIGAN)H2H | B10 | 9–3 | L 20–38 |
| 8 | Week 8 · Oct 20 |  Wisconsin (WISCONSIN)H2H | B10 | 7–5 | W 33–14 |
| 9 | Week 9 · Oct 27 |  Purdue (PURDUE)H2H | B10 | 5–6 | L 26–27 |
| 10 | Week 10 · Nov 3 |  Indiana (INDIANA)H2H | B10 | 3–8 | W 26–3 |
| 11 | Week 11 · Nov 10 |  Northwestern (NORTHWESTERN)H2H | B10 | 0–11 | W 61–14 |
| 12 | Week 12 · Nov 17 |  Minnesota (MINNESOTA)H2H | B10 | 6–5 | W 43–36 |
| 13 | Week 13 · Nov 24 |  Iowa (IOWA)H2H | B10 | 8–4 | L 7–36 |
Past season results come from the published weekly rankings; home/away is not recorded. Unranked = opponent outside the ranked field. Kickoff times in Eastern Time. TBD = not yet announced. vs* = neutral site. Opp. Record is the current season record; — = unavailable.
Where the rating sits on the 12-tier scale (lower is better).
- Wisconsin +7
- Minnesota +6
- Bowling Green +5
- Indiana +3
- Northwestern 0
- Ohio State -3
- Michigan -3
- Illinois -4
- Iowa -4
- Notre Dame -6
- Purdue -6
Each win stacks that opponent's win total to the right; each loss stacks that opponent's loss total to the left.
0.455 Win % · No change
Percent of all FBS teams this team is ahead of.
Higher on the chart = better rank.
Bars above the line are wins, below are losses; height = point margin.
Higher = better finish. Ranks as published.