1981 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1981 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	7–4 (6–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Mike White (2nd season)
MVP	Tony Eason, Kelvin Atkins, Ron Ferrari, Dan Gregus, Mike Bass
Captain	Greg Boeke, Ron Ferrari, Jack Squirek
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium

1981 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 15 Ohio State +	6	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 18 Iowa +	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
No. 12 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

The 1981 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1981 Big Ten Conference football season. In their second year under head coach Mike White, the Illini compiled a 7–4 record and finished in three-way tie for third place in the Big Ten Conference.[1]

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Tony Eason with 3,360 passing yards, running back Calvin Thomas with 390 rushing yards, and wide receiver Oliver Williams with 760 receiving yards.[2] Several Illinois players ranked among the Big Ten leaders, including the following:

• Tony Eason led the conference with 248 pass completions, a 61.1 pass completion percentage, 3,360 passing yards, a 140.0 passing efficiency rating, 20 passing touchdowns, 14 interceptions, and 3,331 total yards.[3]
• Oliver Williams ranked third in the conference with six receiving touchdowns and 20.0 yards per reception and ranked fifth in the conference with 760 receiving yards.[3]
• Kirby Wilson ranked second in the conference with 546 kickoff return yards.[3]
• Mike Bass ranked third in the conference with 33 extra points made, fifth with 10 field goals and a 58.8% field goal percentage, and sixth with 63 points scored.[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 5	at No. 8 Pittsburgh*	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	L 6–26	46,022	[4]
September 12	at Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 27–17	54,945	[5]
September 19	Syracuse*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 17–14	57,579	[6]
October 3	Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 38–29	63,814	[7]
October 10	at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	L 20–44	69,846	[8]
October 17	at Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck Trophy)	L 27–34	87,158	[9]
October 24	Wisconsin	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 23–21	67,413	[10]
October 31	No. 16 Iowa	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 24–7	66,877	[11]
November 7	at No. 12 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	L 21–70	105,570	[12]
November 14	Indiana	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	W 35–14	56,143	[13]
November 21	at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)	W 49–12	23,116	[14]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1981 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 33 Mitchell Brookins Jr QB 3 Tony Eason Jr G 65 Marty Finis Jr OT 72 Dennis Flynn Sr C 55 Adam Lingner Jr WR 13 John Lopez Sr WR 4 Mike Martin Jr TE 86 Tim McAvoy Sr FB 42 Calvin Thomas Sr QB 11 Jack Trudeau Fr QB John Wells Jr FB 44 Kevin West Jr WR 17 Oliver Williams Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 37 Charles Armstead Jr OLB 84 Kelvin Atkins Sr LB 61 Ed Brady So OLB 31 Pete Burgard Sr DT 51 Tom Buron So DT 53 Mark Butkus So OLB 57 Darryl Byrd Jr LB 29 Ron Ferrari Sr LB 34 Jack Squirek Sr DT 96 Don Thorp So DB 24 Mike Toney Jr DL 94 Mark Tuck Jr DB Tom Varrige Jr OLB 7 John Vengoni Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Mike White Coordinators/assistant coaches Brad Childress (Wide receivers) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Season summary

Northwestern

Tony Eason threw three touchdown passes to set the Big Ten single season record. The two teams overall combined to throw 109 passes, breaking the conference mark set earlier in the year by Minnesota and Ohio State.[15]

References

1. "1981 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
2. "1981 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
3. "1981 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
4. "Pitt overcomes jitters, Illinois". Wisconsin State Journal. September 6, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Wilson who? Eason passes carry Illinois". The Rock Island Argus. September 13, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Winless Syracuse beaten by Illinois". Democrat and Chronicle. September 20, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Illinois dumps Gophers". The Vincennes Sun-Commercial. October 4, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Defensive element of disguise fools Illinois". Herald and Review. October 11, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Ohio State survives air assault by Illini". The Plain Dealer. October 18, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Illini vault into title race". Quad-City Times. October 25, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Defense leads Illini over Iowa". Chicago Tribune. November 1, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Unbelievable; UM burns Illini for 63 unanswered points". The Flint Journal. November 8, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Illini rout Indiana, 35–14". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. November 15, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Illinois proves superior in chilly 110-pass circus". Wisconsin State Journal. November 22, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
15. Eugene Register-Guard. 1981 Nov 22. Retrieved 2018-Dec-12.