1981 Oklahoma Sooners football team
American college football season
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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.
| 1981 Oklahoma Sooners football | |
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Sun Bowl champion | |
| Conference | Big Eight Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 14 |
| AP | No. 20 |
| Record | 7–4–1 (4–2–1 Big 8) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Galen Hall (9th season) |
| Offensive scheme | Wishbone |
| Defensive coordinator | Gary Gibbs (1st season) |
| Base defense | 5–2 |
| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Oklahoma Memorial Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 12 | Wyoming* | No. 3 | W 37–20 | 75,920 | [1] | |||
| September 26 | 4:00 p.m. | at No. 1 USC* | No. 2 | ABC | L 24–28 | 85,651 | [2] | |
| October 3 | No. 20 Iowa State | No. 5 |
| T 7–7 | 76,385 | [3] | ||
| October 10 | 11:30 a.m. | vs. No. 3 Texas* | No. 10 | ABC | L 14–34 | 75,587 | [4] | |
| October 17 | Kansas |
| W 45–7 | 75,644 | [5] | |||
| October 24 | Oregon State* |
| W 42–3 | 75,658 | [6] | |||
| October 31 | Colorado | No. 19 |
| W 49–0 | 75,638 | [7] | ||
| November 7 | at Kansas State | No. 17 | W 28–21 | 33,200 | [8] | |||
| November 14 | at Missouri | No. 15 | L 14–19 | 67,364 | [9] | |||
| November 21 | No. 5 Nebraska |
| ESPN | L 14–37 | 75,833 | [10] | ||
| November 28 | at Oklahoma State | KTUL | W 27–3 | 51,100 | [11] | |||
| December 26 | 12:00 p.m. | vs. Houston* | CBS | W 40–14 | 33,816 | [12] | ||
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Roster
| 1981 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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Game summaries
Oklahoma State
| 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
| 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 |
