The 1981 Michigan State Spartans football team represented

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in the 1981 Big Ten Conference football season. In their second season under head coach

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

, the Spartans compiled a 5–6 overall record (4–5 against Big Ten opponents) and finished in a tie for sixth place in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. Four Spartans were recognized by the

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(AP) and/or the

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

(UPI) as first-team players on the 1981 All-Big Ten Conference football team: center Tom Piette (AP-2; UPI-1); linebacker

Carl Banks Carl E. Banks (born August 29, 1962) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played from 1984 to 1995 for the New York Giants, the Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Br ...

(AP-2; UPI-1); defensive back Jim Burroughs (AP-2; UPI-1); and placekicker

Morten Andersen Morten Andersen (born 19 August 1960), nicknamed the "Great Dane", is a Danish former American football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 25 seasons, most notably with the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons. F ...

(AP-1; UPI-1). Several Michigan State players ranked among the Big Ten leaders, including the following: * Placekicker

led the conference with 15 field goals made and a 75.0 field goal percentage. * Quarterback

Bryan Clark Bryan Emmett Clark (born March 14, 1964) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and All Japan Pro Wrestling under the ring names The N ...

ranked third in the conference with a 128.9 passing efficiency rating, fourth with a 53.4% pass completion percentage and seventh with 1,521 passing yards. * Running back Aaron Roberts ranked seventh in the conference with 4.9 yards per carry and 10th with 461 rushing yards. * Ted Jones ranked sixth in the conference with 44 receptions and ninth with 624 receiving yards. * Daryl Turner ranked eighth in the conference with 653 receiving yards.

Schedule

Roster

References

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

Michigan State Spartans football seasons

Michigan State Spartans football The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University (MSU) in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. The Spartans are members of the Big Ten Conference. Michigan State claims a ...

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