# 1980 Oklahoma Sooners football team

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. 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. This was Switzer's eighth conference title and fifth undefeated conference record in eight seasons.
The team was led by All-Americans Terry Crouch, and Louis Oubre, After winning the conference title outright, it earned a trip to the Orange Bowl for a rematch with Florida State. 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. The Sooners finished the season with eight consecutive wins.
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. The team set the current school records of 82 points and 875 total yards against Colorado.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 13 | 12:30 p.m. | Kentucky* | No. 4 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | | W 29–7 | 75,668 |
| September 27 | 1:30 p.m. | Stanford* | No. 4 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | | L 14–31 | 75,811 |
| October 4 | 3:00 p.m. | at Colorado | No. 12 | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | ESPN | W 82–42 | 46,980 |
| October 11 | 11:30 a.m. | vs. No. 3 Texas* | No. 12 | Cotton BowlDallas, TX (Red River Shootout) | ABC | L 13–20 | 72,032 |
| October 18 | 1:30 p.m. | Kansas State | No. 17 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | | W 35–21 | 74,638 |
| October 25 | 1:30 p.m. | at Iowa State | No. 17 | Cyclone StadiumAmes, IA | | W 42–7 | 50,978 |
| November 1 | 1:30 p.m. | No. 6 North Carolina* | No. 16 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | ESPN | W 41–7 | 75,738 |
| November 8 | 1:30 p.m. | at Kansas | No. 11 | Memorial StadiumLawrence, KS | | W 21–19 | 40,150 |
| November 15 | 1:30 p.m. | Missouri | No. 10 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK (rivalry) | SNI | W 17–7 | 75,325 |
| November 22 | 11:30 a.m. | at No. 4 Nebraska | No. 9 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE (rivalry) | ABC | W 21–17 | 74,684 |
| November 29 | 1:30 p.m. | Oklahoma State | No. 6 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK (Bedlam Series) | | W 63–14 | 75,681 |
| January 1, 1981 | 7:00 p.m. | vs. No. 2 Florida State* | No. 4 | Miami Orange BowlMiami, FL (Orange Bowl) | NBC | W 18–17 | 71,043 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||||

## Game summaries
### Kentucky

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Kentucky | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Oklahoma | 0 | 0 | 7 | 22 | 29 |

### At Nebraska

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #9 Oklahoma | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| #4 Nebraska | 10 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 17 |

### Oklahoma State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Oklahoma State | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| • #6 Oklahoma | 14 | 14 | 21 | 14 | 63 |

## Awards and honors

* All-American: Terry Crouch, and Louis Oubre,

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | 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
### NFL draft

The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.
| 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 |