The 1981 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 1981 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Dave McClain, the Badgers compiled an overall record of 7–5 with a mark of 6–3 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for third in the Big Ten. Wisconsin was invited to the Garden State Bowl, where the Badgers lost to Tennessee. The team played home games at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

Several Wisconsin players ranked among the Big Ten leaders, including the following:

• Quarterback Jess Cole ranked seventh in the conference with 12 passing touchdowns and ninth with 1,180 passing yards.^[1]
• Running back John Williams ranked second in the conference with 5.5 rushing yards per carry and seventh with 634 rushing yards.
• David Greenwood led the conference with 156 interception return yards, and he and Matt Vanden Boom tied for second in the conference with six interceptions each.^[1]

Wisconsin made its first bowl game appearance since the 1963 Rose Bowl.

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	No. 1 Michigan		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 21–14	68,733	[2]
September 19	No. 9 UCLA*	No. 20	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 13–31	71,496	[3]
September 26	Western Michigan*		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 21–10	67,196	[4]
October 3	Purdue		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 20–14	68,603	[5]
October 10	No. 18 Ohio State		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 24–21	78,973	[6]
October 17	at Michigan State	No. 14	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 14–33	67,352	[7]
October 24	at Illinois		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 21–23	67,413	[8]
October 31	Northwestern		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 52–0	70,035	[9]
November 7	at Indiana		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	W 28–7	44,218	[10]
November 14	Iowa		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (rivalry)	L 7–17	78,731	[11]
November 21	at Minnesota		Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	W 26–21	47,125	[12]
December 13	vs. Tennessee*		Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (Garden State Bowl)	L 21–28	53,220	[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[14]

Wisconsin safety Matt Vanden Boom had three interceptions, including the game-clincher with two seconds left at his own 17. It was the Badgers first win against Michigan since 1962 and the first time they scored points against the Wolverines since 1976.

Head coach Dave McClain inserted backup Randy Wright in the fourth quarter after Minnesota took the lead for the first time, on the reason "because Cole was not having a good day throwing." Following the victory, Wisconsin accepted the bid from the Garden State Bowl to play Tennessee.^[16]

1981 Wisconsin Badgers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 10 Jess Cole So RB 23 Chucky Davis So OT 70 Jerry Doerger Sr FB 41 Gary Ellerson Fr TE 37 Craig Fredrick Sr FB 36 Gerald Green Jr FB 8 Paul Hughes Sr WR 82 Michael Jones Fr G 71 Leo Joyce Sr RB 35 Troy King Jr WR 20 Thad McFadden So WR 38 Kyle McKinnon Sr FB 28 Dave Mohapp (C) Sr TE 88 Jeff Nault Jr WR 22 Marvin Neal Jr TE 86 Bret Pearson So TE 84 Greg Rabas Sr RB 33 Curtis Richardson Sr WR 34 Al Seamonson Sr G 52 Pete Severson Jr WR 42 Tim Stracka  Sr G 53 Mark Subach Jr OT 66 Scott Swan Sr G 73 Melvin Terrell  So WR 87 Al Toon Fr C 58 Ron Versnik  Jr OT 74 Carlton Walker So RB 1 John Williams Jr OT 79 Bob Winckler Jr QB 12 Randy Wright So	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 26 Brett Armstrong Jr LB 95 Guy Boliaux Sr LB 32 Kyle Borland Jr DT 72 Jeff Dellenbach Fr S/P 31 David Greenwood Jr NT 93 Jack Grundy Jr NT 50 Tim Krumrie Jr LB 47 Dave Levenick (C) Sr LB 94 Jeff Luko  Jr CB 45 Von Mansfield Sr CB 15 Brian Marrow So LB 33 James Melka  Fr S 11 Dan Messenger  Jr LB 44 Jody O'Donnell Jr DT 71 Chris Osswald So DT 76 Mark Shumate  Jr CB 9 Clint Sims Jr DT 60 Darryl Simms So LB 49 Larry Spurlin (C) Sr S 2 Ron Steverson Sr S 27 Vaughn Thomas  Jr CB 5 Jerry Vance So S 39 Matt Vanden Boom Jr S 7 John Westphal Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class S, P 31 David Greenwood Jr K 24 Mark Doran So K 6 Wendell Gladem So	Head coach Dave McClain Coordinators/assistant coaches Bill Dudley – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks and Receivers Jim Hilles – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Doug Graber – Defensive Backs Arnold Jeter – Defensive Line Cliff Knox – Running Backs Mike Nelson – Defensive Ends Bob Palcic – Tackles and Tight Ends Mario Russo – Centers and Guards Jerry Fishbain – Recruiting Coordinator Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

^[17]