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1981 Stanford Cardinals football
1981 Stanford Cardinals football
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Record	4–7 (4–4 Pac-10)
Head coach	Paul Wiggin (2nd season);
Offensive coordinator	Jim Fassel (1st season)
Offensive scheme	West Coast
Defensive coordinator	Jack Harbaugh (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Stanford Stadium
	Seasons ← 1980 1982 →

1981 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
v t e	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
Stanford	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

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	12:20 p.m.	at Purdue*	No. 19	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ABC	L 19–27	62,778	^[2]
September 19	1:00 p.m.	San Jose State*		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)	USA	L 6–28	67,888	^[3]
September 26	1:00 p.m.	No. 8 Ohio State*		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	ESPN	L 19–24	76,102	^[4]
October 3	7:00 p.m.	at Arizona		Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	USA	L 13–17	41,110	^[5]
October 10	1:00 p.m.	No. 17 UCLA		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	USA	W 26–23	70,103	^[6]
October 17	1:00 p.m.	at No. 7 USC		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)		L 17–25	76,291	^[7]
October 24	1:00 p.m.	No. 17 Arizona State		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA		L 36–62	52,855	^[8]
October 31	1:30 p.m.	at No. 18 Washington		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA		L 31–42	55,856	^[9]
November 7	1:00 p.m.	at Oregon State		Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR		W 63–9	22,000	^[10]
November 14	1:00 p.m.	Oregon		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	USA	W 42–3	36,106	^[11]
November 21	1:00 p.m.	California		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (Big Game)	USA	W 42–21	84,536	^[12]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

^[13]

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

Paul Wiggin

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Jim Fassel – Offensive Coordinator
Jim Anderson – Running back
Dick James – Offensive line
Dave Ottmar – Tight end
Jack Harbaugh – Defensive Coordinator
Larry Mac Duff – Defensive line
Ray Handley – Outside linebacker
Chuck Detwiler – Defensive back

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

^[14]^[15]

References

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