The 1981 Northern Michigan Wildcats football team represented
Northern Michigan University as an
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
during the
1981 NCAA Division II football season
The 1981 NCAA Division II football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division II level, began in August 1981, and concluded with the NCAA Division II Football C ...
. In their fourth year under head coach
Bill Rademacher
William Stiles Rademacher (May 13, 1942 – April 2, 2018) was an American professional football player who played as a wide receiver for seven seasons for the New York Jets and Boston Patriots. He earned MVP honors in 1963 In January 1969 ...
, 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 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.
Junior fullback George Works became the first player in Northern Michigan history to rush for 200 yards in a game (against ) and the first to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
[ Middle guard Curt Wojan led the team in tackles.][
]
Schedule
References
{{Northern Michigan Wildcats football navbox
Northern Michigan
Northern Michigan Wildcats football seasons
Northern Michigan football