1981 Northern Michigan Wildcats football team

The 1981 Northern Michigan Wildcats football team represented Northern Michigan University as an independent during the 1981 NCAA Division II football season. In their fourth year under head coach Bill Rademacher, the Wildcats compiled a record of 11–1. The team was undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the final NCAA Division II Football Committee poll at the end of the regular season. Northern Michigan advanced to the NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs, where the Wildcats defeated Elizabeth City State in the quarterfinals before and losing to Southwest Texas State in the semifinals. The Wildcats outscored opponents by a total of 403 to 196 on the season.[1]

1981 Northern Michigan Wildcats football
ConferenceIndependent
Record11–1
Head coach
Home stadiumMemorial Field
1981 NCAA Division II independents football records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 1 Northern Michigan ^   –  11 –1 –0
West Chester   –  8 –3 –0
Eastern Washington   –  7 –3 –0
Saint Mary's   –  7 –3 –0
Southern Connecticut State   –  6 –3 –1
Arkansas–Pine Bluff   –  5 –4 –2
Central Connecticut   –  5 –5 –0
Mankato State   –  5 –5 –0
New Haven   –  4 –4 –2
Towson State   –  5 –5 –0
Morgan State   –  4 –5 –0
St. Cloud State   –  4 –6 –1
Central State (OH)   –  4 –7 –0
Sonoma State   –  3 –7 –0
Santa Clara   –  2 –8 –0
Portland State   –  2 –9 –0
American International   –  1 –8 –0
Liberty   –  1 –9 –0
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division II Football Committee poll

Junior fullback George Works became the first player in Northern Michigan history to rush for 200 yards in a game (against Wisconsin–Superior) and the first to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.[2][3] He was also the national Division II scoring champion with 21 touchdowns for 126 points in regular-season games.[4]

The team's other statistical leaders included Tom Bertoldi with 2,454 passing yards and Scott Sible with 46 receptions for 844 yards.[5] Middle guard Curt Wojan led the team in tackles.[3]

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 5North Dakota State
W 38–05,806[6]
September 12Wisconsin–SuperiorMarquette, MIW 64–105,049[3]
September 19vs. Wayne State (MI)
W 52–74,912[7][8]
September 26at Grand Valley StateNo. 2Allendale, MIW 29–281,500[9]
October 3at Northern IowaNo. 2Cedar Falls, IAW 17–1312,317[10][11]
October 17NorthwoodNo. 2Marquette, MIW 14–04,901[12]
October 24at Western IllinoisNo. 2
W 28–1411,794[13][14]
October 31Michigan TechNo. 2Marquette, MIW 44–154,738[15]
November 7at North DakotaNo. 2Grand Forks, NDW 30–117,400[16]
November 14at Wichita StateNo. 2
W 32–307,103[2][17][18]
November 28 No. 7 Elizabeth City StateNo. 1Marquette, MI (NCAA Division II Quarterfinal)W 55–6[19]
December 5at No. 4 Southwest Texas StateNo. 1
L 0–62[20][21]

[5]

References
  1. "1981 Northern Michigan". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  2. Bill McKay (November 13, 1981). "WSU Not Taking Foe Lightly". The Wichita Eagle. p. 4C – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "UW-Superior routed". Wisconsin State Journal. September 13, 1981. p. 6-5.
  4. "NMU Back Captures Point Title". The Herald-Palladium. January 4, 1982. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Final 1981 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
  6. "Wildcats claw ND State, 38–0". Detroit Free Press. September 6, 1981. Retrieved October 2, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Danton Wilson (September 19, 1981). "WSU ready for awesome NMU". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1D, 3D – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Danton Wilson (September 20, 1981). "Northern gives WSU the air: Wildcats win Silverdome game, 52-7". Detroit Free Press. p. 6D – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "NMU rally beats Grand Valley". Green Bay Press-Gazette. September 27, 1981. p. C7 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Panthers face N. Michigan in homecoming". The Des Moines Register. October 3, 1981. pp. 1B, 2B – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "N. Michigan rushes by UNI, 17-13". The Des Moines Register. October 4, 1981. p. 5D – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "NMU end tosses TD pass, 14-0". Detroit Free Press. October 18, 1981. p. 11H – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "NMU Whips Western Illinois". Detroit Free Press. October 25, 1981. p. 7H – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Western falters late". The Dispatch. UPI. October 25, 1981. p. 30. Retrieved November 13, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "NMU protects ranking, 44-15". Morris Moorawdnick. November 1, 1981. p. 8H – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Northern Michigan 30, North Dakota 11". Argus-Leader. November 8, 1981. p. 3B – via Newspapers.com.
  17. Randy Brown (November 15, 1981). "Shockers End Season With a Whimper (part 1)". The Wichita Eagle. pp. 1E, 8E.
  18. Randy Brown (November 15, 1981). "Shockers End Season With a Whimper (part 2)". The Wichita Eagle. pp. 1E, 8E – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "Northern Michigan romps in Division II". The Pantagraph. November 29, 1981. p. C2 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. "SWT in 'Cat' fight Saturday: Face Northern Michigan". The Seguin Gazette-Enterprise. December 3, 1981. p. 4A – via Newspapers.com.
  21. "Southwest Texas crushes NMU, 62–0". Detroit Free Press. December 6, 1981. Retrieved March 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
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