The 1981 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University during the 1981 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by Jim Young in his fifth and final season as head coach, the Boilermakers compiled an overall record of 5–6 with a mark of 3–6 in conference play, tying for eighth place in the Big Ten. Purdue played home games at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Several Purdue players ranked among the Big Ten leaders, including the following:

• Wide receiver Steve Bryant led the Big Ten with 60 receptions and 11 receiving touchdowns and ranked second with 971 receiving yards and fifth with 66 points scored.^[1]
• Quarterback Scott Campbell ranked second in the conference with 185 pass completions, a 57.6% pass completion percentage, 2,686 passing yards, a 138.3 passing efficiency rating, and 2,809 total yards.^[1]
• Running back Jimmy Smith ranked fourth in the conference with 152 rushing attempts and ninth with 540 rushing yards.^[1]

More information Date, Time ...

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12		No. 19 Stanford*	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	W 27–19	69,958
September 19		at Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	L 13–16	41,530
September 26		No. 13 Notre Dame*	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	W 15–14	70,007
October 3		at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 14–20	68,603
October 10		Illinois	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	W 44–20	69,846
October 17		at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 35–0	20,777
October 24		Michigan State	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	W 27–26	69,877
October 31	12:30 p.m.	Ohio State	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 33–45	69,927
November 7		at Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	L 7–33	60,114
November 14		No. 11 Michigan	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 10–28	69,736	[2][3]
November 21		at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)	L 17–20	48,466
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

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