CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1981 Oklahoma State

7–⁠5 (4–⁠3 Big Eight), coached by Jimmy Johnson.

Schedule and results

Oklahoma State in 1981, game by game: won vs. Tulsa 23–21; lost vs. San Diego State 16–23; won vs. North Texas 9–0; won at Kansas 20–7; lost at Colorado 10–11; won vs. Louisville 19–11; won at Missouri 16–12; lost vs. No. 11 Nebraska 7–54; won vs. Kansas State 31–10; won at Iowa State 27–7; lost vs. Oklahoma 3–27; lost vs. Texas A&M 16–33+21−47Won 23–21 vs. Tulsa+2TulsaLost 16–23 vs. San Diego State-7San Diego StateWon 9–0 vs. North Texas+9North TexasWon 20–7 at Kansas+13KansasLost 10–11 at Colorado-1ColoradoWon 19–11 vs. Louisville+8LouisvilleWon 16–12 at Missouri+4MissouriLost 7–54 vs. No. 11 Nebraska-47No. 11 NebraskaWon 31–10 vs. Kansas State+21Kansas StateWon 27–7 at Iowa State+20Iowa StateLost 3–27 vs. Oklahoma-24OklahomaLost 16–33 vs. Texas A&M-17Texas A&M
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 19vsTulsaW 23–⁠2154%
Sep 26vsSan Diego StateL 16–⁠2361%
Oct 3vsNorth TexasW 9–⁠056%
Oct 10atKansasW 20–⁠736%
Oct 17atColoradoL 10–⁠1165%
Oct 24vsLouisvilleW 19–⁠1160%
Oct 31atMissouriW 16–⁠1232%
Nov 7vs11NebraskaL 7–⁠5435%
Nov 14vsKansas StateW 31–⁠1077%
Nov 21atIowa StateW 27–⁠750%
Nov 28vsOklahomaL 3–⁠2750%
Dec 12Bowls & playoffvsTexas A&MIndependence BowlL 16–⁠3350%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Texas A&M 33–⁠16 in the Independence Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Eight.

In program history: The 52nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 115 on file).

Record
7–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Big Eight
AP final
Unranked
Points
197–⁠216
Coach
Jimmy Johnson
Elo
1509 +26 this season
SP+ rating
5.7 No. 52 of 132; offense No. 80, defense No. 36
SRS
5.4 No. 44 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—

All-Big Eight

4 first team, 2 second team

First team

  • Gary LewisNGAP-1; UPI-1
  • Ricky YoungLBAP-1; UPI-1
  • Pete DiClementiDBAP-1; UPI-1
  • Larry RoachPlace-kickerUPI-1

Second team

  • Shawn JonesRBAP-2
  • Mike GreenLBAP-2; UPI-2

From Wikipedia’s 1981 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1981 Big Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Nebraska7–⁠09–⁠311
Oklahoma4–⁠2–⁠17–⁠4–⁠120
Kansas4–⁠38–⁠4
Oklahoma State4–⁠37–⁠5
Missouri3–⁠48–⁠419
Iowa State2–⁠4–⁠15–⁠5–⁠1
Colorado2–⁠53–⁠8
Kansas State1–⁠62–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.