CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1985 Oklahoma State

8–⁠4 (4–⁠3 Big Eight), coached by Pat Jones.

Schedule and results

Oklahoma State in 1985, game by game: won at No. 12 Washington 31–17; won vs. North Texas 10–9; won vs. Miami (OH) 45–10; won vs. Tulsa 25–13; lost vs. No. 9 Nebraska 24–34; won at Kansas 17–10; won at Colorado 14–11; won vs. Kansas State 35–3; won at Missouri 21–19; lost at Iowa State 10–15; lost vs. No. 3 Oklahoma 0–13; lost vs. No. 18 Florida State 23–34+35−13Won 31–17 at No. 12 Washington+14No. 12 WashingtonWon 10–9 vs. North Texas+1North TexasWon 45–10 vs. Miami (OH)+35Miami (OH)Won 25–13 vs. Tulsa+12TulsaLost 24–34 vs. No. 9 Nebraska-10No. 9 NebraskaWon 17–10 at Kansas+7KansasWon 14–11 at Colorado+3ColoradoWon 35–3 vs. Kansas State+32Kansas StateWon 21–19 at Missouri+2MissouriLost 10–15 at Iowa State-5Iowa StateLost 0–13 vs. No. 3 Oklahoma-13No. 3 OklahomaLost 23–34 vs. No. 18 Florida State-11No. 18 Florida State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 7at12WashingtonW 31–⁠1740%
Sep 14vsNorth TexasW 10–⁠990%
Sep 28vsMiami (OH)W 45–⁠1080%
Oct 5vsTulsaW 25–⁠1380%
Oct 12vs9NebraskaL 24–⁠3457%
Oct 26atKansasW 17–⁠1058%
Nov 2atColoradoW 14–⁠1171%
Nov 9vsKansas StateW 35–⁠392%
Nov 16atMissouriW 21–⁠1985%
Nov 23atIowa StateL 10–⁠1583%
Nov 30vs3OklahomaL 0–⁠1349%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvs18Florida StateGator BowlL 23–⁠3446%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Florida State 34–⁠23 in the Gator Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Eight.

In program history: The 19th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 115 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 16
  2. Wk 2: 16
  3. Wk 3: 8
  4. Wk 4: 8
  5. Wk 5: 7
  6. Wk 6: 6
  7. Wk 7: 5
  8. Wk 8: 12
  9. Wk 9: 12
  10. Wk 10: 12
  11. Wk 11: 10
  12. Wk 12: 10
  13. Wk 13: 7
  14. Wk 14: 17
  15. Wk 15: 19
  16. Wk 16: 19

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1985.

2 consensus All-AmericansThurman Thomas, RB; Leslie O’Neal, DT

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
4–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Big Eight
AP final
Unranked peak No. 5
Points
255–⁠188
Coach
Pat Jones
Elo
1612 −21 this season
SP+ rating
11.9 No. 28 of 106; offense No. 44, defense No. 21
SRS
7.8 No. 29 of 110 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Larry Coker
Defensive coordinator
Louis Campbell

Drafted in 1986

The 1986 draft
Rd 1Leslie O’Neal DESan Diego Chargers
Rd 3John Washington DENew York Giants
Rd 4Paul Blair OTChicago Bears

All-Big Eight

5 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1985 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1985 Big Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma7–⁠011–⁠11
Nebraska6–⁠19–⁠311
Oklahoma State4–⁠38–⁠4
Colorado4–⁠37–⁠5
Iowa State3–⁠45–⁠6
Kansas2–⁠56–⁠6
Kansas State1–⁠61–⁠10
Missouri1–⁠61–⁠10

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