The 1981 Rose Bowl was the 67th Rose Bowl game and was played on January 1, 1981, at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California. The game featured the Michigan Wolverines beating the Washington Huskies by a score of 23–6. The game marked the first time Michigan Coach Bo Schembechler won a bowl game after seven prior bowl game losses.

The 1981 Rose Bowl matched the Big Ten Conference and Pacific-10 Conference champions. Both teams, Michigan from the Big Ten, and Washington from the Pac-10, came into the game with identical 9–2 regular season records. Michigan had lost games against Notre Dame and South Carolina, and Washington had lost to Oregon and Navy. Washington came into the game having won the Pac-10 title with a 20–10 upset victory over USC.

Despite the identical records, Michigan was favored, due largely to the impressive play of its defense. The Michigan defense did not allow a touchdown in the last 18 quarters of the regular season and gave up only 10 first-quarter points and three touchdown passes all year. The streak included a shutout of a Purdue team led by quarterback Mark Herrmann and a victory over Ohio State in which the Buckeye offense led by Art Schlichter was held to three points. Washington Coach Don James noted, "Michigan is playing defense so much better than anybody else in the country right now." Michigan's defense was led by co-captain and linebacker, Andy Cannavino, who led the team with 160 tackles (54 more than any other player on the team) to become the second leading all-time tackler in the school's history. The defense also featured linebacker, Mel Owens, tackle, Mike Trgovac, and safety Keith Bostic.

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