1981 Oklahoma Sooners football team

1981 Oklahoma Sooners football
Sun Bowl champion
Sun Bowl, W 40–14 vs. Houston
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 14
AP	No. 20
Record	7–4–1 (4–2–1 Big 8)
Head coach	Barry Switzer (9th season)
Offensive coordinator	Galen Hall (9th season)
Offensive scheme	Wishbone
Defensive coordinator	Gary Gibbs (1st season)
Base defense	5–2
Captains	Terry Crouch Ed Culver Johnnie Lewis
Home stadium	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Seasons ←  1980 1982  →

1981 Big Eight Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 11 Nebraska $	7	–	0	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 20 Oklahoma	4	–	2	–	1			7	–	4	–	1
Kansas	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Oklahoma State	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
No. 19 Missouri	3	–	4	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Iowa State	2	–	4	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
Colorado	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Kansas State	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	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 40–14 to win the 1981 Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12		Wyoming *	No. 3	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 37–20	75,920	[1]
September 26	4:00 p.m.	at No. 1 USC *	No. 2	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	ABC	L 24–28	85,651	[2]
October 3		No. 20 Iowa State	No. 5	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		T 7–7	76,385	[3]
October 10	11:30 a.m.	vs. No. 3 Texas *	No. 10	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (rivalry)	ABC	L 14–34	75,587	[4]
October 17		Kansas		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 45–7	75,644	[5]
October 24		Oregon State *		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 42–3	75,658	[6]
October 31		Colorado	No. 19	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 49–0	75,638	[7]
November 7		at Kansas State	No. 17	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS		W 28–21	33,200	[8]
November 14		at Missouri	No. 15	Faurot Field Columbia, MO (rivalry)		L 14–19	67,364	[9]
November 21		No. 5 Nebraska		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry)	ESPN	L 14–37	75,833	[10]
November 28		at Oklahoma State		Lewis Field Stillwater, OK (Bedlam Series)	KTUL	W 27–3	51,100	[11]
December 26	12:00 p.m.	vs. Houston *		Sun Bowl El Paso, TX (Sun Bowl)	CBS	W 40–14	33,816	[12]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[13]

Roster

1981 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class C 51 Bill Bechtold  Sr QB 1 Danny Bradley Fr RB 30 Donald Brown Fr G 75 Terry Crouch  (C)  Sr OT 61 Ed Culver (C)  Sr OT 70 Scott Leggett Fr QB 7 Kelly Phelps  Jr RB 4 Buster Rhymes Fr SE 2 Jim Rockford So RB 13 Steve Sewell Fr FB 23 Fred Sims Fr QB 8 Darrell Shepard Sr C 73 Chuck Thomas So G 76 Steve Williams  Jr RB 32 Stanley Wilson Jr RB 40 Chet Winters Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 31 Allen Anderson Fr LB 38 Thomas Benson So DL 90 John Blake Jr DT 80 Rick Bryan So DL 92 Tony Casillas Fr DT 78 Scott Dawson Sr DB 33 Dwight Drane So DB 6 Steve Haworth Jr NG 95 Johnnie Lewis (C) Sr LB 39 Kevin Murphy Fr DE 41 Mike Rilley  Sr LB 49 Jackie Shipp So DB 15 Elbert Watts Fr DE 88 Mike Weddington Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Barry Switzer Coordinators/assistant coaches Gary Gibbs (DC) Galen Hall (OC) Warren Harper (LB) Merv Johnson (OL) Wendell Mosley (RB) Rex Norris (AHC) Lucious Selmon (DL) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Game summaries

Oklahoma State

See also: 1981 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team and Bedlam Series

Oklahoma Sooners at Oklahoma State Cowboys

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Oklahoma	7	13	7	0	27
Oklahoma State	0	3	0	0	3

at Lewis Field • Stillwater, Oklahoma

• Date: November 28
• Game attendance: 51,100
• TV: KTUL
• SoonerStats.com

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. ^[14]

Rankings

See also: 1981 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked ( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
AP	2 (7)	3	3 (12)	2 (15)	5	10	—	—	19	17	15	—	—	—	20
Coaches Poll	2 (3)	2 (3)	3 (14)	2 (10)	6	12	20	17	13	13	11	—	—	—	14

Postseason

NFL draft

The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season. ^[15]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Team
3	67	Bill Bechtold	Center	Los Angeles Rams
5	113	Terry Crouch	Guard	Baltimore Colts
8	207	Mike Reilly	Linebacker	Los Angeles Rams
9	241	Lyndle Byford	Tackle	Kansas City Chiefs

References

1. "Sooners survive early scare from Wyoming". The Grand Island Independent. September 13, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
2. "USC beats Oklahoma in last 2 seconds". Chicago Tribune. September 27, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Cyclones shut down Oklahoma, earn 7–7 tie". San Angelo Standard-Times. October 4, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Sooners blow halftime lead in loss to Texas". The Grand Island Independent. October 11, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Sooners recover with easy win over Kansas". The Grand Island Independent. October 18, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Wilson guides Oklahoma to 42–3 win over Beavers". Wichita Falls Times. October 25, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Shepard's in the driver's seat". The Daily Oklahoman. November 1, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Sooners escape Kansas State bid". The Dispatch. November 8, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Missouri upsets fumble-prone Oklahoma, 19–14". The Belleville News-Democrat. November 15, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Huskers ax OU". Tulsa World. November 22, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Sooners blitz Indy Bowl-bound Oklahoma State". The Shreveport Times. November 29, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Watts this? A fumble helps Sooners win". The El Paso Times. December 27, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
13. "1981 Oklahoma Sooners Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
14. Eugene Register-Guard. November 29, 1981
15. "1982 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.