American college football season
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 .
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance September 12 12:20 p.m. at Purdue * No. 19 ABC L 19–2762,778 September 19 1:00 p.m. San Jose State * USA L 6–2867,888 September 26 1:00 p.m. No. 8 Ohio State * Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA ESPN L 19–2476,102 October 3 7:00 p.m. at Arizona USA L 13–1741,110 October 10 1:00 p.m. No. 17 UCLA Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA USA W 26–2370,103 October 17 1:00 p.m. at No. 7 USC L 17–2576,291 October 24 1:00 p.m. No. 17 Arizona State Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA L 36–6252,855 October 31 1:30 p.m. at No. 18 Washington L 31–4255,856 November 7 1:00 p.m. at Oregon State W 63–922,000 November 14 1:00 p.m. Oregon Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA USA W 42–336,106 November 21 1:00 p.m. California USA W 42–2184,536 *Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time
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Stanford Cardinals vs. Ohio State Buckeyes – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total No. 8 Buckeyes 0 17 7 0 24 Cardinals 3 3 0 13 19
at Stanford Stadium • Stanford, California
Date : September 26, 1981Game time : 1:00 p.m.Game attendance : 76,102TV : ESPN
Game information First quarter 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) Top passers Top rushers Top receivers
At Southern California [ edit ]
California at Stanford 1 2 3 4 Total California 7 0 7 7 21 • Stanford 7 14 14 7 42
Scoring summary 1 STAN Elway 1-yard run (Harmon kick) STAN 7-0 1 CAL Eddings 48-yard pass from Torchio (Cooper kick) Tied 7-7 2 STAN Nelson 2-yard run (Harmon kick) STAN 14-7 2 STAN Nelson 7-yard pass from Elway (Harmon kick) STAN 21-7 3 STAN Hutchings 14-yard interception return (Harmon kick) STAN 28-7 3 CAL Tuggle 2-yard run (Cooper kick) STAN 28-14 3 STAN White 8-yard pass from Elway (Harmon kick) STAN 35-14 4 CAL Wright 18-yard pass from Torchio (Cooper kick) STAN 35-21 4 STAN White 22-yard pass from Elway (Harmon kick) STAN 42-21
1981 Stanford Cardinal football team roster Players Coaches Offense Defense Special teams Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt
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Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture and lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold