CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1985 Oklahoma

11–⁠1 (7–⁠0 Big Eight), coached by Barry Switzer, finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Oklahoma in 1985, game by game: won at Minnesota 13–7; won at Kansas State 41–6; won vs. No. 17 Texas 14–7; lost vs. Miami 14–27; won vs. Iowa State 59–14; won vs. Kansas 48–6; won at Missouri 51–6; won vs. Colorado 31–0; won vs. No. 2 Nebraska 27–7; won at No. 17 Oklahoma State 13–0; won vs. SMU 35–13; won vs. No. 1 Penn State 25–10+45−13Won 13–7 at Minnesota+6MinnesotaWon 41–6 at Kansas State+35Kansas StateWon 14–7 vs. No. 17 Texas+7No. 17 TexasLost 14–27 vs. Miami-13MiamiWon 59–14 vs. Iowa State+45Iowa StateWon 48–6 vs. Kansas+42KansasWon 51–6 at Missouri+45MissouriWon 31–0 vs. Colorado+31ColoradoWon 27–7 vs. No. 2 Nebraska+20No. 2 NebraskaWon 13–0 at No. 17 Oklahoma State+13No. 17 Oklahoma StateWon 35–13 vs. SMU+22SMUWon 25–10 vs. No. 1 Penn State+15No. 1 Penn State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 28atMinnesotaW 13–⁠768%
Oct 5atKansas StateW 41–⁠682%
Oct 12vs17TexasW 14–⁠759%
Oct 19vsMiamiL 14–⁠2757%
Oct 26vsIowa StateW 59–⁠1487%
Nov 2vsKansasW 48–⁠672%
Nov 9atMissouriW 51–⁠682%
Nov 16vsColoradoW 31–⁠079%
Nov 23vs2NebraskaW 27–⁠748%
Nov 30at17Oklahoma StateW 13–⁠051%
Dec 7vsSMUW 35–⁠1371%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs1Penn StateOrange BowlW 25–⁠1057%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Penn State 25–⁠10 in the Orange Bowl; No. 1 in the final AP poll; Big Eight champions.

In program history: The 22nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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.

National championsNo. 1 in the final AP poll, and a title the school claims

Big Eight champions7–⁠0 in the conference

Lombardi AwardTony Casillas, DT

Butkus AwardBrian Bosworth, LB

2 consensus All-AmericansTony Casillas, DT; Brian Bosworth, LB

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠0 first in Big Eight
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
371–⁠103
Coach
Barry Switzer
Elo
1788 +161 this season
SP+ rating
28.4 No. 2 of 106; offense No. 12, defense No. 2
SRS
23.8 No. 2 of 110 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Jim Donnan
Defensive coordinator
Gary Gibbs
Captains
Tony Casillas, Kevin Murphy and Eric Pope
Offense
Wishbone
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1986

The 1986 draft
Rd 1Tony Casillas DTAtlanta Falcons
Rd 2Kevin Murphy LBTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 5Jeff Tupper DESt. Louis Cardinals

All-Big Eight

8 first team, 5 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.