| Year Game Played: | 1981 |
| Game Name: | Garden State Bowl |
| Football Season: | 1981 |
| Visitor Name Short: | Tennessee |
| Visitor Nickname: | Volunteers |
| Visitor School: | University of Tennessee |
| Home Name Short: | Wisconsin |
| Home Nickname: | Badgers |
| Home School: | University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| Visitor Record: | 7–4 |
| Home Record: | 7–4 |
| Visitor Coach: | Johnny Majors |
| Home Coach: | Dave McClain |
| Visitor 1Q: | 13 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 8 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 7 |
| Home 1Q: | 7 |
| Home 2Q: | 0 |
| Home 3Q: | 0 |
| Home 4Q: | 14 |
| Date Game Played: | December 13 |
| Stadium: | Giants Stadium |
| City: | East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| Mvp: | QB Steve Alatorre (Tennessee)[1] WR Anthony Hancock (Tennessee) QB Randy Wright (Wisconsin) |
| Referee: | Ted Humphrey |
| Attendance: | 38,782[2] |
| Us Network: | Mizlou Television Network |
| Us Announcers Link: | List of announcers of major college bowl games |
| Us Announcers: | Ray Scott and Al DeRogatis |
| Last Game Ever Played: | Yes |
The 1981 Garden State Bowl, part of the 1981–82 bowl game season, took place on December 13, 1981, at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The competing teams were the Tennessee Volunteers, representing the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and the Wisconsin Badgers, representing the Big Ten Conference (Big 10). In what was the final edition of the game, Tennessee won 28–21.
See also: 1981 Tennessee Volunteers football team. The 1981 Tennessee squad was undefeated at Neyland Stadium but finished 2–4 on the road. The Volunteers lost to Georgia, USC, Alabama and Kentucky. They accepted an invitation to play in the Garden State Bowl against Wisconsin following their loss to Kentucky on November 21.[3] The appearance was the first for Tennessee in the Garden State Bowl and their 23rd overall bowl appearance.
See also: 1981 Wisconsin Badgers football team. The 1981 Wisconsin squad was 5–2 at Camp Randall Stadium, and 2–2 on the road to finish the regular season 7–4.[4] The Badgers lost to UCLA, Michigan State, Illinois and Iowa.[4] The appearance marked the fourth overall bowl appearance for Wisconsin and their first non-Rose Bowl Game.[5]
Tennessee drove 74-yards on their opening drive and Fuad Reveiz connected on a 22-yard field goal to give the Volunteers a 3–0 lead.[6] On the following possession Wisconsin took a 7–3 lead after Jess Cole scored on a three-yard touchdown run.[7] The lead was short-lived as Willie Gault returned the ensuing kickoff 87-yards to give Tennessee a 10–7 lead.[6] [8] The Volunteers extended their lead to 13–7 at the end of the first quarter after Reveiz connected on a 44-yard field goal.[6] [8] Tennessee extended their lead further to 21–7 at halftime after a 43-yard Steve Alatorre touchdown pass to Anthony Hancock and a successful two-point conversion in the second quarter.[6] [8] After a scoreless third quarter, the teams traded fourth-quarter touchdowns. The Badgers scored on Randy Wright touchdown passes to Jeff Nault and Thaddus McFadden and the Volunteers on a six-yard Alatorre run.[7] [8]