1980 Oklahoma Sooners football team

The 1980 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. Oklahoma was a member of the Big Eight Conference and played its home games in Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.[1] The team posted a 10–2 overall record and a 7–0 conference record to earn the conference title outright under head coach Barry Switzer who took the helm in 1973.[2][3] This was Switzer's eighth conference title and fifth undefeated conference record in eight seasons.[2]

1980 Oklahoma Sooners football
Big 8 champion
Orange Bowl champion
Orange Bowl, W 18–17 vs. Florida State
ConferenceBig Eight Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
APNo. 3
Record10–2 (7–0 Big 8)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGalen Hall (8th season)
Offensive schemeWishbone
Defensive coordinatorRex Norris (3rd season)
Captains
Home stadiumOklahoma Memorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1979
1981 →
1980 Big Eight Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Oklahoma $ 7 0 0 10 2 0
No. 7 Nebraska 6 1 0 10 2 0
Missouri 5 2 0 8 4 0
Iowa State 3 4 0 7 4 0
Oklahoma State 3 4 0 4 7 0
Kansas State 2 5 0 4 7 0
Kansas 1 6 0 2 8 1
Colorado 1 6 0 1 10 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The team was led by All-Americans Terry Crouch,[4] and Louis Oubre,[5] After winning the conference title outright, it earned a trip to the Orange Bowl for a rematch with Florida State.[3] During the season, it faced four ranked opponents: No. 3 Texas, No. 6 North Carolina, No. 4 Nebraska and No. 2 Florida State. The last three of these opponents finished the season ranked. It endured two early season losses against Stanford and Texas in the Red River Shootout.[3] The Sooners finished the season with eight consecutive wins.[3]

David Overstreet led the team in rushing with 720 yards, J. C. Watts led the team in passing with 1037 yards, Bobby Grayson led the team in receiving with 389 yards, Watts led the team in scoring with 108 points, Mike Coats led the team with 126 tackles and Gary Lowell posted 4 interceptions.[6] The team set the current school records of 82 points and 875 total yards against Colorado.[7]

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 1312:30 p.m.Kentucky*No. 4W 29–775,668[8]
September 271:30 p.m.Stanford*No. 4
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
L 14–3175,811[9]
October 43:00 p.m.at ColoradoNo. 12ESPNW 82–4246,980[10]
October 1111:30 a.m.vs. No. 3 Texas*No. 12ABCL 13–2072,032[11]
October 181:30 p.m.Kansas StateNo. 17
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 35–2174,638[12]
October 251:30 p.m.at Iowa StateNo. 17W 42–750,978[13]
November 11:30 p.m.No. 6 North Carolina*No. 16
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
ESPNW 41–775,738[14]
November 81:30 p.m.at KansasNo. 11W 21–1940,150[15]
November 151:30 p.m.MissouriNo. 10
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK (rivalry)
SNIW 17–775,325[16]
November 2211:30 a.m.at No. 4 NebraskaNo. 9ABCW 21–1774,684[17]
November 291:30 p.m.Oklahoma StateNo. 6
W 63–1475,681[18]
January 1, 19817:00 p.m.vs. No. 2 Florida State*No. 4NBCW 18–1771,043[19]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

[20]

Roster

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1980 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
OT 79 Lyndie Byford   Jr
G 69 Jim Carner Sr
G 75 Terry Crouch   Jr
OT 66 Louis Oubre   Sr
HB 22 David Overstreet Sr
QB 7 Kelly Phelps Jr
SE 24 Steve Rhodes   Sr
RB 4 Buster Rhymes Fr
SE 2 Jim Rockford Fr
QB 8 Darrell Shepard Jr
C 73 Chuck Thomas Fr
TE 82 Forrest Valora Sr
QB 1 J. C. Watts   Sr
G 76 Steve Williams   So
RB 32 Stanley Wilson So
RB 40 Chet Winters So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB 31 Allen Anderson Fr
DT 67 Keith Angel   Sr
DB 17 Basil Banks Sr
LB 38 Thomas Benson Fr
DL 90 John Blake So
LB 47 Sherdeill Breathett Sr
DE 80 Rick Bryan Fr
DT 78 Scott Dawson   Jr
DB 33 Dwight Drane Fr
DT 92 Keith Gary Jr
DB 6 Steve Haworth So
DE 41 Mike Rilley   Jr
LB 49 Jackie Shipp Fr
DT 96 Richard Turner Sr
DE 88 Mike Weddington So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 9 John Hoge   So
K 99 Mike Keeling So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

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

Roster

[21]

Game summaries

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Kentucky

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1 234Total
Kentucky 7 000 7
• Oklahoma 0 0722 29

[22]

At Nebraska

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#9 Oklahoma at #4 Nebraska
1 234Total
#9 Oklahoma 0 1407 21
#4 Nebraska 10 007 17

Oklahoma State

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Oklahoma State Cowboys at #6 Oklahoma Sooners
1 234Total
Oklahoma State 0 770 14
#6 Oklahoma 14 142114 63

[23]

Awards and honors

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Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP5 (1)4341212171716111096543
Coaches Poll3 (1)3 (1)341212181716111196543

Postseason

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NFL draft

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The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.[24]

Round Pick Player Position NFL Team
1 13 David Overstreet Running back Miami Dolphins
1 17 Keith Gary Defensive end Pittsburgh Steelers
4 88 Steve Rhodes Wide receiver St. Louis Cardinals
4 105 Richard Turner Defensive tackle Green Bay Packers
5 112 Louis Oubre Tackle New Orleans Saints
8 204 Ken Sitton Defensive back Baltimore Colts
8 213 J. C. Watts Quarterback New York Jets
11 282 Forrest Valora Quarterback Green Bay Packers

References

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  1. ^ "Memorial Stadium". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 28, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  2. ^ a b "OU Football Tradition – 42 Conference Titles". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 22, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d "1980 Football Season". SoonerStats.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  4. ^ a b "All-American: Terry Crouch". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
  5. ^ a b "All-American: Louis Oubre". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
  6. ^ "2009 Football Record Book" (PDF). Big12sports.com. p. 175. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  7. ^ "2009 Football Record Book" (PDF). Big12sports.com. p. 164. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  8. ^ Al Carter (September 14, 1980). "OU wakes up in second half, 29–7". The Daily Oklahoman. pp. 1C, 3C. Retrieved November 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Stanford stuns Oklahoma". The Sioux City Journal. September 28, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Oklahoma triumphs in record-smasher". Wisconsin State Journal. October 5, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Texas wakes up to drop Sooners". The El Paso Times. October 12, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Sooners beat Wildcats despite turnovers". The Springfield News-Leader. October 19, 1980. Retrieved November 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Oklahoma routs Iowa State, 42–7". Abilene Reporter-News. October 26, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Sooners demolish sixth-rated Tarheels". Wisconsin State Journal. November 2, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "OU squeezes out win". The Manhattan Mercury. November 9, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Oklahoma stops Missouri 17–7". The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. November 16, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Watts electrifies Huskers, 21–17". The Montana Standard. November 23, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Sooners win 63–14 to gain Big 8 title". Star Tribune. November 30, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Oklahoma overhauls Florida State". Argus-Leader. January 2, 1981. Retrieved November 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "1980 Oklahoma Sooners Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
  21. ^ "Saturday's game rosters". Lawrence Journal-World. (Kansas). November 7, 1980. p. 14.
  22. ^ "Oklahoma Sluggish, But Beats Kentucky." Palm Beach Post. 1980 Sept 14.
  23. ^ "Watts Runs Oklahoma Into the Orange Bowl". The Register-Guard. Eugene. November 30, 1980. p. 3B.
  24. ^ "1981 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.