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]
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]
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance Source September 13 12:30 p.m. Kentucky * No. 4 W 29–775,668 [ 8]
September 27 1:30 p.m. Stanford * No. 4 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK L 14–3175,811 [ 9]
October 4 3:00 p.m. at Colorado No. 12 ESPN W 82–4246,980 [ 10]
October 11 11:30 a.m. vs. No. 3 Texas * No. 12 ABC L 13–2072,032 [ 11]
October 18 1:30 p.m. Kansas State No. 17 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK W 35–2174,638 [ 12]
October 25 1:30 p.m. at Iowa State No. 17 W 42–750,978 [ 13]
November 1 1:30 p.m. No. 6 North Carolina * No. 16 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK ESPN W 41–775,738 [ 14]
November 8 1:30 p.m. at Kansas No. 11 W 21–1940,150 [ 15]
November 15 1:30 p.m. Missouri No. 10 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry ) SNI W 17–775,325 [ 16]
November 22 11:30 a.m. at No. 4 Nebraska No. 9 ABC W 21–1774,684 [ 17]
November 29 1:30 p.m. Oklahoma State No. 6 W 63–1475,681 [ 18]
January 1, 1981 7:00 p.m. vs. No. 2 Florida State * No. 4 NBC W 18–1771,043 [ 19]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time
[ 20]
1
2 3 4 Total
Kentucky
7
0 0 0
7
• Oklahoma
0
0 7 22
29
Scoring summary 1 KEN Campbell 8 yard pass from Henry (Griggs kick) Kentucky 7–0
3 OKLA Winters 13 yard run (Keeling kick) Tie 7–7
4 OKLA Overstreet 3 yard run (Keeling kick) Oklahoma 14–7
4 OKLA Safety, intentional grounding in end zone Oklahoma 16–7
4 OKLA Watts 12 yard run (kick failed) Oklahoma 22–7
4 OKLA Grayson 74 yard pass from Watts (Keeling kick) Oklahoma 29–7
[ 22]
#9 Oklahoma at #4 Nebraska
1
2 3 4 Total
• #9 Oklahoma
0
14 0 7
21
#4 Nebraska
10
0 0 7
17
Oklahoma State Cowboys at #6 Oklahoma Sooners
1
2 3 4 Total
Oklahoma State
0
7 7 0
14
• #6 Oklahoma
14
14 21 14
63
Scoring summary 1 OU Rhymes 66-yard run (Keeling kick) OU 7-0
1 OU Watts 22-yard run (Keeling kick) OU 14-0
2 OU Watts 5-yard run (Keeling kick) OU 21-0
2 OU Watts 5-yard run (Keeling kick) OU 28-0
2 OSU Spencer recovered blocked punt in end zone (Ankerson kick) OU 28-7
3 OU Watts 15-yard run (Keeling kick) OU 35-7
3 OU Shepard 1-yard run (Keeling kick) OU 42-7
3 OSU Campbell 11-yard pass from Treber (Ankerson kick) OU 42-14
3 OU J. Ledbetter 95-yard kickoff return (Keeling kick) OU 49-14
4 OU J. Ledbetter 1-yard run (Keeling kick) OU 56-14
4 OU J. Ledbetter 24-yard run (Keeling kick) OU 63-14
[ 23]
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final AP 5 (1) 4 3 4 12 12 17 17 16 11 10 9 6 5 4 3 Coaches Poll 3 (1) 3 (1) 3 4 12 12 18 17 16 11 11 9 6 5 4 3
The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.[ 24]
^ "Memorial Stadium" . CBS Interactive . Archived from the original on June 28, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010 .
^ a b "OU Football Tradition – 42 Conference Titles" . CBS Interactive . Archived from the original on June 22, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010 .
^ a b c d "1980 Football Season" . SoonerStats.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010 .
^ a b "All-American: Terry Crouch" . CBS Interactive . Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010 .
^ a b "All-American: Louis Oubre" . CBS Interactive . Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010 .
^ "2009 Football Record Book" (PDF) . Big12sports.com. p. 175. Retrieved June 30, 2010 .
^ "2009 Football Record Book" (PDF) . Big12sports.com. p. 164. Retrieved June 30, 2010 .
^ 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 .
^ "Stanford stuns Oklahoma" . The Sioux City Journal . September 28, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Oklahoma triumphs in record-smasher" . Wisconsin State Journal . October 5, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Texas wakes up to drop Sooners" . The El Paso Times . October 12, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Sooners beat Wildcats despite turnovers" . The Springfield News-Leader . October 19, 1980. Retrieved November 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Oklahoma routs Iowa State, 42–7" . Abilene Reporter-News . October 26, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Sooners demolish sixth-rated Tarheels" . Wisconsin State Journal . November 2, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "OU squeezes out win" . The Manhattan Mercury . November 9, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Oklahoma stops Missouri 17–7" . The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer . November 16, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Watts electrifies Huskers, 21–17" . The Montana Standard . November 23, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Sooners win 63–14 to gain Big 8 title" . Star Tribune . November 30, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Oklahoma overhauls Florida State" . Argus-Leader . January 2, 1981. Retrieved November 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "1980 Oklahoma Sooners Schedule and Results" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 7, 2024 .
^ "Saturday's game rosters" . Lawrence Journal-World . (Kansas). November 7, 1980. p. 14.
^ "Oklahoma Sluggish, But Beats Kentucky." Palm Beach Post. 1980 Sept 14.
^ "Watts Runs Oklahoma Into the Orange Bowl" . The Register-Guard . Eugene. November 30, 1980. p. 3B.
^ "1981 NFL Draft Listing" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved November 29, 2020 .