1981 Oklahoma Sooners football team

1981 Oklahoma Sooners football
Sun Bowl champion
Sun Bowl, W 40–14 vs. Houston
ConferenceBig Eight Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 14
APNo. 20
Record7–4–1 (4–2–1 Big 8)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGalen Hall (9th season)
Offensive schemeWishbone
Defensive coordinatorGary Gibbs (1st season)
Base defense5–2
Captains
Home stadiumOklahoma Memorial Stadium
1981 Big Eight Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 11 Nebraska $ 7 – 0 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 20 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

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 12Wyoming*No. 3
W 37–2075,920[1]
September 264:00 p.m.at No. 1 USC*No. 2
ABCL 24–2885,651[2]
October 3No. 20 Iowa StateNo. 5
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
T 7–776,385[3]
October 1011:30 a.m.vs. No. 3 Texas*No. 10
ABCL 14–3475,587[4]
October 17Kansas
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 45–775,644[5]
October 24Oregon State*
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 42–375,658[6]
October 31ColoradoNo. 19
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 49–075,638[7]
November 7at Kansas StateNo. 17
W 28–2133,200[8]
November 14at MissouriNo. 15
L 14–1967,364[9]
November 21No. 5 Nebraska
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK (rivalry)
ESPNL 14–3775,833[10]
November 28at Oklahoma State
KTULW 27–351,100[11]
December 2612:00 p.m.vs. Houston*
CBSW 40–1433,816[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
Coordinators/assistant coaches
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 34Total
Oklahoma 7 13 7027
Oklahoma State 0 3 003

at Lewis Field • Stillwater, 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.[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
PollPre12345678910111213Final
AP2 (7)33 (12)2 (15)510——191715———20
Coaches Poll2 (3)2 (3)3 (14)2 (10)6122017131311———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.
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