Standings
| Overall | Conference | Points Per Game | SRS | Polls | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School | W | L | T | Pct | W | L | T | Pct | Off | Def | SRS | SOS | AP Pre | AP High | AP Rank | Notes |
| Ohio State | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | 32.3 | 21.1 | 11.51 | 3.59 | 11 | 7 | 15 | |
| Iowa | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | 21.7 | 13.1 | 11.41 | 6.08 | 6 | 18 | ||
| Michigan | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 29.6 | 13.5 | 17.29 | 4.87 | 1 | 1 | 12 | |
| Illinois | 7 | 4 | 0 | .636 | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 26.1 | 26.2 | 7.75 | 5.93 | ||||
| Wisconsin | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 22.3 | 18.3 | 6.18 | 4.26 | 14 | |||
| Minnesota | 6 | 5 | 0 | .545 | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 24.9 | 24.0 | 2.85 | 1.67 | ||||
| Michigan State | 5 | 6 | 0 | .455 | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 23.9 | 22.6 | 3.68 | 4.23 | ||||
| Purdue | 5 | 6 | 0 | .455 | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 22.0 | 21.9 | 4.63 | 5.08 | ||||
| Indiana | 3 | 8 | 0 | .273 | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 13.1 | 26.6 | -5.57 | 6.52 | ||||
| Northwestern | 0 | 11 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 9 | 0 | .000 | 7.5 | 45.9 | -14.39 | 6.98 | ||||
4 Bowl Games
- Number in parentheses indicates AP rank at time of bowl game
| Date | Bowl | Pts | Pts | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982-01-01 | Rose Bowl | Washington (12) | 28 | Iowa (13) | 0 | Pasadena, CA |
| 1981-12-31 | Bluebonnet Bowl | Michigan (16) | 33 | UCLA (19) | 14 | Houston, TX |
| 1981-12-30 | Liberty Bowl | Ohio State (15) | 31 | Navy | 28 | Memphis, TN |
| 1981-12-13 | Garden State Bowl | Tennessee | 28 | Wisconsin | 21 | East Rutherford, NJ |
Award Winners
| Award | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| Big Ten Coach of the Year | Hayden Fry | Iowa |
1981 Conference Leaders