1981 Oklahoma Sooners football team

Last updated

1981 Oklahoma Sooners football
Oklahoma Sooners Logo 1979-2000.png
Sun Bowl champion
Sun Bowl, W 40–14 vs. Houston
Conference Big Eight Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 14
APNo. 20
Record7–4–1 (4–2–1 Big 8)
Head coach
Offensive coordinator Galen Hall (9th season)
Offensive scheme Wishbone
Defensive coordinator Gary Gibbs (1st season)
Captains
Home stadium Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (capacity: 75,008)
Seasons
  1980
1982  
1981 Big Eight Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 11 Nebraska $ 7 0 09 3 0
No. 20 Oklahoma 4 2 17 4 1
Kansas 4 3 07 5 0
Oklahoma State 4 3 07 5 0
No. 19 Missouri 3 4 08 4 0
Iowa State 2 4 15 5 1
Colorado 2 5 03 8 0
Kansas State 1 6 02 9 0
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. They played their home games at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and competed as members of the Big Eight Conference. They were coached by head coach Barry Switzer. The Sooners defeated the Houston Cougars 4014 to win the 1981 Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.

Contents

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 12 Wyoming *No. 3W 37–2075,920
September 264:00 p.m.at No. 1 USC *No. 2 ABC L 24–2885,651
October 3No. 20 Iowa State No. 5
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
T 7–776,385
October 1011:30 a.m.vs. No. 3 Texas *No. 10ABCL 14–3475,587
October 17 Kansas
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 45–775,644
October 24 Oregon State *
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 42–375,658
October 31 Colorado No. 19
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 49–075,638
November 7at Kansas State No. 17W 28–2133,200
November 14at Missouri No. 15L 14–1967,364
November 21No. 5 Nebraska
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK (rivalry)
ESPNL 14–3775,833
November 28at Oklahoma State KTUL W 27–351,100
December 2612:00 p.m.vs. Houston * CBS W 40–1433,816
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

[1]

Roster

1981 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster
PlayersCoaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
C 51Bill Bechtold Redshirt.svg  Sr
QB 1 Danny Bradley Fr
RB 30 Donald Brown Fr
G 75 Terry Crouch  (C) Redshirt.svg  Sr
OT 61Ed Culver (C) Redshirt.svg  Sr
OT 70 Scott Leggett Fr
QB 7 Kelly Phelps Redshirt.svg  Jr
RB 4 Buster Rhymes Fr
SE 2 Jim Rockford So
RB 13 Steve Sewell Fr
FB 23Fred SimsFr
QB 8 Darrell Shepard Sr
C 73 Chuck Thomas So
G 76 Steve Williams Redshirt.svg  Jr
RB 32 Stanley Wilson Jr
RB 40 Chet Winters Jr
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DB 31Allen AndersonFr
LB 38 Thomas Benson So
DL 90 John Blake Jr
DT 80 Rick Bryan So
DL 92 Tony Casillas Fr
DT 78Scott DawsonSr
DB 33 Dwight Drane So
DB 6 Steve Haworth Jr
NG 95Johnnie Lewis (C)Sr
LB 39 Kevin Murphy Fr
DE 41 Mike Rilley Redshirt.svg  Sr
LB 49 Jackie Shipp So
DB 15 Elbert Watts Fr
DE 88 Mike Weddington Jr
Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured
  • Redshirt.svg Redshirt

Roster

Game summaries

Oklahoma State

Oklahoma Sooners at Oklahoma State Cowboys
Period1234Total
Oklahoma7137027
Oklahoma State03003

at Lewis FieldStillwater, Oklahoma

Fred Sims scored three short-yardage touchdowns to lead Oklahoma to a 27–3 win over their instate rivals in a steady drizzle. Sims, who carried 23 times for 66 yards, scored on runs of two and five yards in the second quarter and a one-yard run in the third. [2]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
— = Not ranked. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
PollPre12345678910111213Final
AP 2 (7)33 (12)2 (15)51019171520
Coaches Poll 2 (3)2 (3)3 (14)2 (10)612201713131114

Postseason

NFL draft

The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season. [3]

RoundPickPlayerPositionNFL Team
367Bill BechtoldCenter Los Angeles Rams
5113 Terry Crouch Guard Baltimore Colts
8207 Mike Reilly LinebackerLos Angeles Rams
9241Lyndle ByfordTackle Kansas City Chiefs

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References

  1. "Seasons: 1980s". Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  2. Eugene Register-Guard. November 29, 1981
  3. "1982 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.