1981 Washington State Cougars football team
1981 Washington State Cougars football | |
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Holiday Bowl, L 36–38 vs. BYU | |
Conference | Pacific-10 Conference |
Record | 8–3–1 (5–2–1 Pac-10) |
Head coach |
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Offensive coordinator | Pat Ruel (2nd season) |
Defensive coordinator | Bob Padilla (2nd season) |
Home stadium | Martin Stadium, Joe Albi Stadium (Spokane) |
Seasons |
| Conf | Overall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1981 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth season under head coach Jim Walden, the Cougars compiled an 8–3–1 record (5–2–1 in Pac-10, tied for fourth), and outscored their opponents 297 to 197.[1][2]
The team's statistical leaders included Clete Casper with 939 passing yards, Tim Harris with 915 rushing yards, and Jeff Keller with 495 receiving yards.[3]
The Cougars entered the Apple Cup with an 8–1–1 record and a win over Washington at Husky Stadium would clinch the Pac-10 title and a Rose Bowl berth, their first in 51 years.[4][5][6] The Huskies prevailed again at home,[7][8][9] and then shut out Iowa in the Rose Bowl.[10]
The Cougars went to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego,[9][11] and lost a close, entertaining game to Brigham Young of the WAC, led by consensus All-American quarterback Jim McMahon,[12][13][14][15] the fifth overall selection of the 1982 NFL draft.
Schedule
Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
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September 12 | Montana State* | W 33–21 | 23,721 | [16] | ||
September 19 | at Colorado* | W 14–10 | 35,277 | |||
September 26 | No. 18 Arizona State | W 24–21 | 24,481 | |||
October 3 | Pacific (CA)* |
| W 31–0 | 17,923 | ||
October 10 | at Oregon State | W 23–0 | 32,500 | |||
October 17 | UCLA | No. 18 |
| T 17–17 | 40,000 | |
October 24 | at Arizona | No. 16 | W 34–19 | 50,265 | ||
October 31 | at No. 4 USC | No. 14 | L 17–41 | 60,972 | ||
November 7 | Oregon |
| W 39–7 | 33,500 | ||
November 14 | California | No. 17 |
| W 19–0 | 31,000 | |
November 21 | at No. 17 Washington | No. 14 | L 10–23 | 60,234 | ||
December 18 | vs. No. 14 BYU* | No. 20 | L 36–38 | 52,419 | ||
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Roster
1981 Washington State Cougars football team roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
| Defense
| Special teams
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[17][18][19][20][21][22]
NFL Draft
Four Cougars were selected in the 1982 NFL draft.
Player | Position | Round | Overall | Franchise |
---|---|---|---|---|
Paul Sorensen | DB | 5 | 138 | Cincinnati Bengals |
Pat Beach | TE | 6 | 140 | Baltimore Colts |
Ken Collins | LB | 8 | 197 | New England Patriots |
Jeff Keller | WR | 11 | 246 | Atlanta Falcons |
[23][24][25][26]
References
- ^ "1981 Washington State Cougars Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
- ^ "2016 Media Guide" (PDF). WSUCougars.com. Washington State Cougars Athletics. p. 77. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
- ^ "1981 Washington State Cougars Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
- ^ 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 21, 1981). "Cougars-Huskies game: The toughest ticket in town". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Van Sickel, Charlie (November 23, 1981). "'Holiday' next for frustrated Cougars". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 33.
- ^ Oates, Bob (January 2, 1982). "Everything comes up roses for UW, 28-0". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). (Los Angeles Times). p. 1B.
- ^ Blanchette, John (November 23, 1981). "It's WSU vs. BYU's aerial circus". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C4.
- ^ "McMahon makes Holiday happy one for BYU, 38-36". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 19, 1981. p. 2B.
- ^ Barrows, Bob (December 19, 1981). "Washington State almost has a curtain call". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
- ^ Van Sickel, Charlie (December 19, 1981). "BYU survives on strong finish". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 13.
- ^ Robinson, Doug (December 19, 1981). "Y. wins another Holiday heart stopper". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. A3.
- ^ "Washington State teams Bobcats". The Montana Standard. September 13, 1981 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Starting lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). November 7, 1981. p. 5B.
- ^ "Probable lineups: WSU". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 21, 1981. p. 17.
- ^ "Probable lineups". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). November 21, 1981. p. 2C.
- ^ "WSU roster". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). December 18, 1981. p. 22.
- ^ "Starting lineups". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). December 18, 1981. p. 12B.
- ^ "2008 Football media guide" (PDF). Washington State University Athletics. 2008. pp. 172–191. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
- ^ Barrows, Bob (April 28, 1982). "Sorenson, Beach drafted". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
- ^ "NFL teams take best local talent". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. April 29, 1982. p. 27.
- ^ "Two more Cougars drafted in NFL". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). April 29, 1982. p. 1C.
- ^ "Four Cougars, two Vandals picked". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). April 29, 1982. p. 35.