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)
Captains
Home stadiumOklahoma Memorial Stadium
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.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 12Wyoming*No. 3W 37–2075,920
September 264:00 p.m.at No. 1 USC*No. 2ABCL 24–2885,651
October 3No. 20 Iowa StateNo. 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 17Kansas
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 45–775,644
October 24Oregon State*
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 42–375,658
October 31ColoradoNo. 19
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 49–075,638
November 7at Kansas StateNo. 17W 28–2133,200
November 14at MissouriNo. 15L 14–1967,364
November 21No. 5 Nebraska
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK (rivalry)
ESPNL 14–3775,833
November 28at Oklahoma StateKTULW 27–351,100
December 2612:00 p.m.vs. Houston*CBSW 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
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
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.#NameClass
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.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

Game summaries

Oklahoma State

Oklahoma Sooners at Oklahoma State Cowboys
Period 1 2 34Total
Oklahoma 7 13 7027
Oklahoma State 0 3 003

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
AP2 (7)33 (12)2 (15)51019171520
Coaches Poll2 (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]

Round Pick Player Position NFL Team
367Bill BechtoldCenterLos Angeles Rams
5113Terry CrouchGuardBaltimore Colts
8207Mike ReillyLinebackerLos Angeles Rams
9241Lyndle ByfordTackleKansas City Chiefs

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.


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