1981 Kansas State Wildcats football team

The 1981 Kansas State Wildcats football team represented Kansas State University in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head football coach was Jim Dickey. The Wildcats played their home games in KSU Stadium. 1981 saw the wildcats finish with a record of 2–9, and a 1–6 record in Big Eight Conference play.^[1]

1981 Kansas State Wildcats football
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Record	2–9 (1–6 Big 8)
Head coach	Jim Dickey (4th season)
Home stadium	KSU Stadium
Seasons ← 1980 1982 →

1981 Big Eight Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 11 Nebraska $	7	–	0	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 20 Oklahoma	4	–	2	–	1			7	–	4	–	1
Kansas	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Oklahoma State	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
No. 19 Missouri	3	–	4	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Iowa State	2	–	4	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
Colorado	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Kansas State	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	South Dakota*	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS	W 31–10	20,210	[2]
September 19	at No. 15 Washington*	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	L 3–20	52,343	[3]
September 26	Drake*	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS	L 17–18	31,220	[4]
October 3	at Tulsa*	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	L 21–35	18,196	[5]
October 10	at No. 13 Missouri	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	L 13–58	61,012	[6]
October 17	No. 19 Nebraska	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS (rivalry)	L 3–49	45,915	[7]
October 24	at Kansas	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS (rivalry)	L 14–17	51,600	[8]
October 31	No. 11 Iowa State	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS (rivalry)	W 10–7	26,650	[9]
November 7	No. 17 Oklahoma	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS	L 21–28	33,200	[10]
November 14	at Oklahoma State	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	L 10–31	49,300	[11]
November 21	at Colorado	Folsom Field Boulder, CO (rivalry)	L 21–24	23,921	[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1981 Kansas State Wildcats football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 11 Donnie Campbell So TE 80 Mike Cox Jr QB 4 Darrell Ray Dickey Jr OT 77 Doug Hoppock Sr C 56 Jim Kennedy Jr WR 89 Rick Manning So RB 20 Kenny Smith Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 15 Greg Best Sr LB 24 Vic Kenning Sr FS 8 Mike Kopsky Jr DB 47 Jim Bob Morris Sr LB 99 Mike Orr So LB 57 Jack Williamson Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 5 Scott Fulhage Fr	Head coach Jim Dickey Coordinators/assistant coaches Gary Darnell – Defensive Coordinator & assistant head coach Jerry Boyce – Offensive Coordinator Joe Hatcher – Quarterbacks Don Bocchi – Running backs Dick Bumpas – Defensive line Mo Lattimore – Outside linebacker Chuck Driesbach – Defensive backs Jim Davie – Assistant Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt