CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1981 Oklahoma

7–⁠4–⁠1 (4–⁠2–⁠1 Big Eight), coached by Barry Switzer, finished No. 20 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Oklahoma in 1981, game by game: won vs. Wyoming 37–20; lost at No. 1 USC 24–28; tied vs. No. 20 Iowa State 7–7; lost vs. No. 3 Texas 14–34; won vs. Kansas 45–7; won vs. Oregon State 42–3; won vs. Colorado 49–0; won at Kansas State 28–21; lost at Missouri 14–19; lost vs. No. 5 Nebraska 14–37; won at Oklahoma State 27–3; won vs. Houston 40–14+49−23Won 37–20 vs. Wyoming+17WyomingLost 24–28 at No. 1 USC-4No. 1 USCTied 7–7 vs. No. 20 Iowa State0No. 20 Iowa StateLost 14–34 vs. No. 3 Texas-20No. 3 TexasWon 45–7 vs. Kansas+38KansasWon 42–3 vs. Oregon State+39Oregon StateWon 49–0 vs. Colorado+49ColoradoWon 28–21 at Kansas State+7Kansas StateLost 14–19 at Missouri-5MissouriLost 14–37 vs. No. 5 Nebraska-23No. 5 NebraskaWon 27–3 at Oklahoma State+24Oklahoma StateWon 40–14 vs. Houston+26Houston
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12vsWyomingW 37–⁠2081%
Sep 26at1USCL 24–⁠2840%
Oct 3vs20Iowa StateT 7–⁠778%
Oct 10vs3TexasL 14–⁠3460%
Oct 17vsKansasW 45–⁠775%
Oct 24vsOregon StateW 42–⁠392%
Oct 31vsColoradoW 49–⁠088%
Nov 7atKansas StateW 28–⁠2179%
Nov 14atMissouriL 14–⁠1953%
Nov 21vs5NebraskaL 14–⁠3744%
Nov 28atOklahoma StateW 27–⁠350%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsHoustonSun BowlW 40–⁠1452%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Houston 40–⁠14 in the Sun Bowl; No. 20 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Big Eight.

In program history: The 52nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 2
  2. Wk 2: 3
  3. Wk 3: 3
  4. Wk 4: 2
  5. Wk 5: 5
  6. Wk 6: 10
  7. Wk 9: 19
  8. Wk 10: 17
  9. Wk 11: 15
  10. Final: 20

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 1981.

Consensus All-AmericanTerry Crouch, OT

Record
7–⁠4–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠2–⁠1 2nd in Big Eight
AP final
No. 20 peak No. 2
Points
341–⁠193
Coach
Barry Switzer
Elo
1692 +8 this season
SP+ rating
18.6 No. 17 of 132; offense No. 15, defense No. 38
SRS
18.2 No. 10 of 137 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Galen Hall
Defensive coordinator
Gary Gibbs
Captains
Terry Crouch, Ed Culver and Johnnie Lewis
Offense
Wishbone
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1982

The 1982 draft
Rd 3Bill Bechtold CLos Angeles Rams
Rd 5Terry Crouch OGBaltimore Colts

All-Big Eight

5 first team

First team

  • Stanley WilsonRBAP-1; UPI-1
  • Terry CrouchOGAP-1; UPI-1
  • Don KeyOGAP-1; UPI-1
  • Lyndle ByfordOTAP-1; UPI-2
  • Rick BryanDTAP-1; 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.