American college football season
The 1981 Washington Huskies football team was an American football team that represented the University of Washington during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season . In its seventh season under head coach Don James , the team compiled a 10–2 record, finished first in the Pacific-10 Conference , shut out Iowa in the Rose Bowl ,[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] and outscored its opponents 281 to 171.[ 4]
Linebacker Mark Jerue was selected as the team's most valuable player; Jerue, James Carter, Vince Coby, and Fletcher Jenkins were the team captains.
Date Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance September 12 Pacific (CA) * No. 17 W 34–1445,134 September 19 Kansas State * No. 15 W 20–352,343 September 26 at Oregon No. 16 W 17–340,685 October 3 Arizona State No. 12 L 7–2650,410 October 10 at California W 27–2633,600 October 17 Oregon State W 56–1752,324 October 24 at Texas Tech * W 14–736,335 October 31 Stanford No. 18 W 42–3153,504 November 7 at UCLA No. 16 L 0–3141,818 November 14 No. 3 USC W 13–359,870 November 21 No. 14 Washington State No. 17 W 23–1060,052 , 1982 vs. No. 13 Iowa * No. 12 NBC W 28–0105,611 *Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
1981 Washington Huskies football team roster Players Coaches Offense Defense Special teams Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt
Source: [ 5] [ 6] [ 7] #14 Washington State at #17 Washington 1 2 3 4 Total Cougars 0 7 3 0 10 • Huskies 0 10 10 3 23
Date: Saturday, November 21Location: Husky Stadium , Seattle, Washington Game start: 1:30 pm PST Game attendance: 60,052Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C), OvercastTelevision network: ABC (regional) Scoring summary 2 WASH Nelson 39-yard field goal WASH 3-0 2 WSU Martin 6-yard run (Leland kick) WSU 7-3 2 WASH Skansi 15-yard pass from Pelluer (Nelson kick) WASH 10-7 3 WSU Leland 27-yard field goal Tied 10-10 3 WASH Jackson 23-yard run (Nelson kick) WASH 17-10 3 WASH Nelson 28-yard field goal WASH 20-10 4 WASH Nelson 34-yard field goal WASH 23-10
The Cougars entered the Apple Cup with an 8–1–1 record and a road win over Washington at Husky Stadium would clinch the Pac-10 title and a Rose Bowl berth, WSU's first bowl game in 51 years .[ 8] [ 9] The Huskies prevailed at home, 23–10, for their eighth straight win over the Cougs,[ 10] [ 11] who were invited to the Holiday Bowl .[ 12]
Conference leader UCLA lost by a point to rival USC , which gave Washington the Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl berth;[ 13] the top five teams in the Pac-10 had two losses each in league play.
Vs. Iowa (Rose Bowl)[ edit ] #12 Washington vs. #13 Iowa 1 2 3 4 Total • Huskies 0 13 0 15 28 Hawkeyes 0 0 0 0 0
Scoring summary 2 UW Robinson 1-yard run (Nelson kick) UW 7-0 2 UW Coby 1-yard run (pass failed) UW 13-0 4 UW Robinson 34-yard run (Pelluer pass to Skansi) UW 21-0 4 UW Cowan 3-yard run (Nelson kick) UW 28-0
[ 14] [ 15]
NFL draft selections [ edit ] Two University of Washington Huskies were selected in the 1982 NFL draft which lasted twelve rounds with 334 selections.
^ Stevenson, Jack (January 2, 1982). "Huskies fry Hawkeyes" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. 13. ^ Oates, Bob (January 2, 1982). "Everything comes up roses for UW, 28-0" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). (Los Angeles Times). p. 1B. ^ "Rose: UW's shootout was a shutout" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). (Los Angeles Times). January 2, 1982. p. 1C. ^ "Washington Yearly Results (1980-1984)" . College Football Data Warehouse . David DeLassus. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015 . ^ "Starting lineups" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). September 26, 1981. p. 2B. ^ "Starting lineups" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). October 17, 1981. p. 2B. ^ "Probable starters" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). November 21, 1981. p. 17. ^ Gerheim, Earl (November 21, 1981). "Cougs: Today's the day" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). p. 17. ^ Barrows, Bob (November 21, 1981). "WSU and Washington ready to pull the trigger" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). p. 1C. ^ Withers, Bud (November 22, 1981). "Huskies shatter a Cougar dream" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). p. 1D. ^ Barrows, Bob (November 22, 1981). "WSU's cheers turn to tears in Seattle" . Lewiston Morning Tribune . (Idaho). p. 3D. ^ Van Sickel, Charlie (November 23, 1981). " 'Holiday' next for frustrated Cougars" . Spokane Daily Chronicle . (Washington). p. 33. ^ "USC blocks UCLA's bid for Roses" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). Associated Press. November 22, 1981. p. 3D. ^ "Iowa flat embarrassed by Washington romp" . Chicago Tribune . January 2, 1981. Retrieved November 23, 2019 . ^ "Washington Wilts Iowa's Rose, 28-0" . The Washington Post . January 2, 1981. Retrieved November 23, 2019 . ^ "The Husky Hall of Fame" . gohuskies.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019 .
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
Pacific Coast AAWU Pacific-8 Pacific-10 Pac-12 National championships in bold