1980 Oklahoma Sooners football team

American college football season

1980 Oklahoma Sooners football

Big 8 champion
Orange Bowl champion

Orange Bowl, W 18–17 vs. Florida State

Conference| Big Eight Conference
Ranking
Coaches| No. 3
AP| No. 3
Record| 10–2 (7–0 Big 8)
Head coach|

* Barry Switzer (8th season)

Offensive coordinator| Galen Hall (8th season)
Offensive scheme| Wishbone
Defensive coordinator| Rex Norris (3rd season)
Captains|

* Louis Oubre
* David Overstreet
* Steve Rhodes
* Richard Turner
* J. C. Watts

Home stadium| Oklahoma Memorial Stadium

Seasons

<- 1979

1981 ->

1980 Big Eight Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
No. 3 Oklahoma $  | 7  | - | 0  | - | 0 |  |  | 10  | - | 2  | - | 0
No. 7 Nebraska | 6  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 10  | - | 2  | - | 0
Missouri | 5  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 8  | - | 4  | - | 0
Iowa State | 3  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 7  | - | 4  | - | 0
Oklahoma State | 3  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
Kansas State | 2  | - | 5  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
Kansas | 1  | - | 6  | - | 0 |  |  | 2  | - | 8  | - | 1
Colorado | 1  | - | 6  | - | 0 |  |  | 1  | - | 10  | - | 0

* $ - Conference champion

Rankings from AP Poll

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]

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Time| Opponent| Rank| Site| TV| Result| Attendance| Source

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

September 13| 12:30 p.m.| Kentucky*| No. 4|

* Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
* Norman, OK

| | W 29–7| 75,668| [8]
September 27| 1:30 p.m.| Stanford*| No. 4|

* Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
* Norman, OK

| | L 14–31| 75,811| [9]
October 4| 3:00 p.m.| at Colorado| No. 12|

* Folsom Field
* Boulder, CO

| ESPN| W 82–42| 46,980| [10]
October 11| 11:30 a.m.| vs. No. 3 Texas*| No. 12|

* Cotton Bowl
* Dallas, TX (Red River Shootout)

| ABC| L 13–20| 72,032| [11]
October 18| 1:30 p.m.| Kansas State| No. 17|

* Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
* Norman, OK

| | W 35–21| 74,638| [12]
October 25| 1:30 p.m.| at Iowa State| No. 17|

* Cyclone Stadium
* Ames, IA

| | W 42–7| 50,978| [13]
November 1| 1:30 p.m.| No. 6 North Carolina*| No. 16|

* Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
* Norman, OK

| ESPN| W 41–7| 75,738| [14]
November 8| 1:30 p.m.| at Kansas| No. 11|

* Memorial Stadium
* Lawrence, KS

| | W 21–19| 40,150| [15]
November 15| 1:30 p.m.| Missouri| No. 10|

* Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
* Norman, OK (rivalry)

| SNI| W 17–7| 75,325| [16]
November 22| 11:30 a.m.| at No. 4 Nebraska| No. 9|

* Memorial Stadium
* Lincoln, NE (rivalry)

| ABC| W 21–17| 74,684| [17]
November 29| 1:30 p.m.| Oklahoma State| No. 6|

* Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
* Norman, OK (Bedlam Series)

| | W 63–14| 75,681| [18]
January 1, 1981| 7:00 p.m.| vs. No. 2 Florida State*| No. 4|

* Miami Orange Bowl
* Miami, FL (Orange Bowl)

| NBC| W 18–17| 71,043| [19]

* *Non-conference game
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
* All times are in Central time

[20]

## Roster

[edit]

1980 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster

Players  | Coaches
Offense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

OT | `79` | Lyndie Byford |  Jr
G | `69` | Jim Carner | Sr
G | `75` | Terry Crouch |  Jr
OT | `66` | Louis Oubre |  Sr
HB | `22` | David Overstreet | Sr
QB | `7` | Kelly Phelps | Jr
SE | `24` | Steve Rhodes |  Sr
RB | `4` | Buster Rhymes | Fr
SE | `2` | Jim Rockford | Fr
QB | `8` | Darrell Shepard | Jr
C | `73` | Chuck Thomas | Fr
TE | `82` | Forrest Valora | Sr
QB | `1` | J. C. Watts |  Sr
G | `76` | Steve Williams |  So
RB | `32` | Stanley Wilson | So
RB | `40` | Chet Winters | So
Defense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

DB | `31` | Allen Anderson | Fr
DT | `67` | Keith Angel |  Sr
DB | `17` | Basil Banks | Sr
LB | `38` | Thomas Benson | Fr
DL | `90` | John Blake | So
LB | `47` | Sherdeill Breathett | Sr
DE | `80` | Rick Bryan | Fr
DT | `78` | Scott Dawson |  Jr
DB | `33` | Dwight Drane | Fr
DT | `92` | Keith Gary | Jr
DB | `6` | Steve Haworth | So
DE | `41` | Mike Rilley |  Jr
LB | `49` | Jackie Shipp | Fr
DT | `96` | Richard Turner | Sr
DE | `88` | Mike Weddington | So
Special teams | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

K | `9` | John Hoge |  So
K | `99` | Mike Keeling | So

Head coach

* Barry Switzer

Coordinators/assistant coaches

* Gary Gibbs (LB)
* Galen Hall (OC)
* Warren Harper (LB)
* Merv Johnson (OL)
* Wendell Mosley (RB)
* Rex Norris (DC)
* Lucious Selmon (DL)

* * *

Legend

* (C) Team captain
* (S) Suspended
* (I) Ineligible

* Injured
* Redshirt

* * *

Roster

[21]

## Game summaries

[edit]

### Kentucky

[edit]

|  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

|
|
|
|
|

Kentucky | 7 | 0| 0| 0 | 7
• Oklahoma | 0 | 0| 7| 22 | 29

* Date: September 13
* Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma
* Game attendance: 74,852

| 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]

### At Nebraska

[edit]

#9 Oklahoma at #4 Nebraska  |  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

|
|
|
|
|

• #9 Oklahoma | 0 | 14| 0| 7 | 21
#4 Nebraska | 10 | 0| 0| 7 | 17

* Date: November 22
* Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
* Game attendance: 76,322

### Oklahoma State

[edit]

See also: Bedlam Series

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

* Date: Saturday, November 29
* Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma

| 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]

## Awards and honors

[edit]

* All-American: Terry Crouch,[4] and Louis Oubre,[5]

## Rankings

[edit]

See also: 1980 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ 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

## Postseason

[edit]

### NFL draft

[edit]

The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.[24]

Round  | Pick  | Player  | Position  | NFL Team

|
|
|
|

1 | 13 | David Overstreet | Running back | Miami Dolphins
1 | 17 | Keith Gary | Defensive end | Pittsburgh Steelers
4 | 88 | Steve Rhodes | Wide receiver | St. Louis Cardinals
4 | 105 | Richard Turner | Defensive tackle | Green Bay Packers
5 | 112 | Louis Oubre | Tackle | New Orleans Saints
8 | 204 | Ken Sitton | Defensive back | Baltimore Colts
8 | 213 | J. C. Watts | Quarterback | New York Jets
11 | 282 | Forrest Valora | Quarterback | Green Bay Packers

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Memorial Stadium". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 28, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
2. ^ a b "OU Football Tradition – 42 Conference Titles". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 22, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
3. ^ a b c d "1980 Football Season". SoonerStats.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
4. ^ a b "All-American: Terry Crouch". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
5. ^ a b "All-American: Louis Oubre". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
6. ^ "2009 Football Record Book" (PDF). Big12sports.com. p. 175. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
7. ^ "2009 Football Record Book" (PDF). Big12sports.com. p. 164. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
8. ^ 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.
9. ^ "Stanford stuns Oklahoma". The Sioux City Journal. September 28, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "Oklahoma triumphs in record-smasher". Wisconsin State Journal. October 5, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "Texas wakes up to drop Sooners". The El Paso Times. October 12, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ "Sooners beat Wildcats despite turnovers". The Springfield News-Leader. October 19, 1980. Retrieved November 8, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
13. ^ "Oklahoma routs Iowa State, 42–7". Abilene Reporter-News. October 26, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
14. ^ "Sooners demolish sixth-rated Tarheels". Wisconsin State Journal. November 2, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
15. ^ "OU squeezes out win". The Manhattan Mercury. November 9, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
16. ^ "Oklahoma stops Missouri 17–7". The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. November 16, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
17. ^ "Watts electrifies Huskers, 21–17". The Montana Standard. November 23, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
18. ^ "Sooners win 63–14 to gain Big 8 title". Star Tribune. November 30, 1980. Retrieved November 7, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
19. ^ "Oklahoma overhauls Florida State". Argus-Leader. January 2, 1981. Retrieved November 7, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
20. ^ "1980 Oklahoma Sooners Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 7, 2024.
21. ^ "Saturday's game rosters". Lawrence Journal-World. (Kansas). November 7, 1980. p. 14.
22. ^ "Oklahoma Sluggish, But Beats Kentucky." Palm Beach Post. 1980 Sept 14.
23. ^ "Watts Runs Oklahoma Into the Orange Bowl". The Register-Guard. Eugene. November 30, 1980. p. 3B.
24. ^ "1981 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.

* v
* t
* e

Oklahoma Sooners football

Venues|

* Boyd Field (1905–1923)
* Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (1923–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Missouri
* Nebraska
* Oklahoma State: Bedlam Series
* Texas: Red River Rivalry

Culture & lore|

* T formation
* Wishbone formation
* 1971 Nebraska game
* 2008 Big 12 South 3-way tie controversy
* 2016 Texas Tech game
* Oklahoma drill
* Sooner Schooner
* RUF/NEKS
* Black 41 Flash Reverse Pass
* Boomer and Sooner
* "Boomer Sooner"
* Marching band
* The Kick
* Play Like a Champion Today

People|

* Head coaches
* Starting quarterbacks
* All-Americans
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

National championship seasons in bold

* v
* t
* e

Big Eight Conference football champions

MVIAA|

* Iowa & Nebraska (1907)
* Kansas (1908)
* Missouri (1909)
* Nebraska (1910)
* Iowa State & Nebraska (1911)
* Iowa State & Nebraska (1912)
* Missouri & Nebraska (1913)
* Nebraska (1914)
* Nebraska (1915)
* Nebraska (1916)
* Nebraska (1917)
* Missouri (1919)
* Oklahoma (1920)
* Nebraska (1921)
* Drake & Nebraska (1922)
* Kansas & Nebraska (1923)
* Missouri (1924)
* Missouri (1925)
* Oklahoma A&M (1926)
* Missouri (1927)

Big Six|

* Nebraska (1928)
* Nebraska (1929)
* Kansas (1930)
* Nebraska (1931)
* Nebraska (1932)
* Nebraska (1933)
* Kansas State (1934)
* Nebraska (1935)
* Nebraska (1936)
* Nebraska (1937)
* Oklahoma (1938)
* Missouri (1939)
* Nebraska (1940)
* Missouri (1941)
* Missouri (1942)
* Oklahoma (1943)
* Oklahoma (1944)
* Missouri (1945)
* Kansas & Oklahoma (1946)
* Kansas & Oklahoma (1947)

Big Seven|

* Oklahoma (1948)
* Oklahoma (1949)
* Oklahoma (1950)
* Oklahoma (1951)
* Oklahoma (1952)
* Oklahoma (1953)
* Oklahoma (1954)
* Oklahoma (1955)
* Oklahoma (1956)
* Oklahoma (1957)
* Oklahoma (1958)
* Oklahoma (1959)

Big Eight|

* Missouri (1960)
* Colorado (1961)
* Oklahoma (1962)
* Nebraska (1963)
* Nebraska (1964)
* Nebraska (1965)
* Nebraska (1966)
* Oklahoma (1967)
* Kansas & Oklahoma (1968)
* Missouri & Nebraska (1969)
* Nebraska (1970)
* Nebraska (1971)
* Nebraska (1972)
* Oklahoma (1973)
* Oklahoma (1974)
* Nebraska & Oklahoma (1975)
* Colorado, Oklahoma, & Oklahoma State (1976)
* Oklahoma (1977)
* Nebraska & Oklahoma (1978)
* Oklahoma (1979)
* Oklahoma (1980)
* Nebraska (1981)
* Nebraska (1982)
* Nebraska (1983)
* Nebraska & Oklahoma (1984)
* Oklahoma (1985)
* Oklahoma (1986)
* Oklahoma (1987)
* Nebraska (1988)
* Colorado (1989)
* Colorado (1990)
* Colorado & Nebraska (1991)
* Nebraska (1992)
* Nebraska (1993)
* Nebraska (1994)
* Nebraska (1995)

National championships in bold
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number