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Michigan Wolverines |
Minnesota Golden Gophers © |
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Played October 31, 1981 at Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, Minnesota |
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Teams' Belt Records
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Team |
Belt Reigns |
Overall Record |
Home Record |
Away Record |
Neutral Record |
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W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
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| Michigan | 2 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 5 | 2 | 0 | .714 | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .333 |
| Minnesota © | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | .200 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | ||||
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
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Michigan |
10 |
7 |
3 |
14 |
34 |
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Minnesota |
0 |
7 |
0 |
6 |
13 |
The Michigan Wolverines of Bo Schembechler came back for their third Belt game of the season. Having lost the title on the opening weekend to Wisconsin & failing to reclaim it from Iowa just two weeks earlier, the 15th ranked, 5-2 Wolverines were ready to claim both the Little Brown Jug & The Belt. The 5-2 Minnesota Golden Gophers of coach Joe Salem were in their first title reign but Michigan was determined to make it a short one. Wolverines' QB Steve Smith threw 3 touchdown passes & All-American WR Anthony Carter had 154 yards receiving with a touchdown as Michigan reclaimed The Belt with a 34-13 victory over the Golden Gophers. The Wolverines took a 10-0 lead in the 1st quarter on a 31-yard field goal by PK Ali Haji-Sheikh & a 10-yard touchdown pass from Smith to RB Stanley Edwards. Minnesota got back within 3 points in the 2nd quarter when QB Mike Hohensee carried in from 4 yards but another touchdown pass from Smith to Edwards, this one from 1 yard, had Michigan ahead 17-7 at the half. Haji-Sheikh’s 33-yard field goal accounted for the only points of the 3rd quarter & the Wolverines put the game out of reach when Smith found Carter on a 25-yard touchdown pass with 10:36 left in the game for a 27-7 advantage. Hohensee threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to WR Nick Davidson for the Golden Gophers final points & Michigan got a late touchdown on a 1-yard run by RB Lawrence Ricks for the final tally. Smith finished with 237 yards passing with his 3 touchdowns as well as rushing for 59 yards while Hohensee threw for 213 yards with a touchdown but 2 interceptions while rushing for 66 yards. Minnesota finished the season 6-5 while the Wolverines finished 9-3, ranked 12th nationally. Minnesota would play for The Belt again in 2006.
