# 1981 Oklahoma Sooners football team

The 1981 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. They played their home games at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and competed as members of the Big Eight Conference. They were coached by head coach Barry Switzer. The Sooners defeated the Houston Cougars 40–14 to win the 1981 Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 12 | | Wyoming* | No. 3 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | | W 37–20 | 75,920 |
| September 26 | 4:00 p.m. | at No. 1 USC* | No. 2 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | ABC | L 24–28 | 85,651 |
| October 3 | | No. 20 Iowa State | No. 5 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | | T 7–7 | 76,385 |
| October 10 | 11:30 a.m. | vs. No. 3 Texas* | No. 10 | Cotton BowlDallas, TX (rivalry) | ABC | L 14–34 | 75,587 |
| October 17 | | Kansas | | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | | W 45–7 | 75,644 |
| October 24 | | Oregon State* | | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | | W 42–3 | 75,658 |
| October 31 | | Colorado | No. 19 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | | W 49–0 | 75,638 |
| November 7 | | at Kansas State | No. 17 | KSU StadiumManhattan, KS | | W 28–21 | 33,200 |
| November 14 | | at Missouri | No. 15 | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO (rivalry) | | L 14–19 | 67,364 |
| November 21 | | No. 5 Nebraska | | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK (rivalry) | ESPN | L 14–37 | 75,833 |
| November 28 | | at Oklahoma State | | Lewis FieldStillwater, OK (Bedlam Series) | KTUL | W 27–3 | 51,100 |
| December 26 | 12:00 p.m. | vs. Houston* | | Sun BowlEl Paso, TX (Sun Bowl) | CBS | W 40–14 | 33,816 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||||

## Game summaries
### Oklahoma State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Oklahoma | 7 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 27 |
| Oklahoma State | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
at Lewis Field • Stillwater, Oklahoma
* Date: November 28
* Game attendance: 51,100
* TV: KTUL
* SoonerStats.com
Fred Sims scored three short-yardage touchdowns to lead Oklahoma to a 27–3 win over their instate rivals in a steady drizzle. Sims, who carried 23 times for 66 yards, scored on runs of two and five yards in the second quarter and a one-yard run in the third.

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked ( ) = First-place votes :
| | 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 | Final |
| AP | 2 (7) | 3 | 3 (12) | 2 (15) | 5 | 10 | — | — | 19 | 17 | 15 | — | — | — | 20 |
| Coaches Poll | 2 (3) | 2 (3) | 3 (14) | 2 (10) | 6 | 12 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 11 | — | — | — | 14 |

## Postseason
### NFL draft

The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Team |
| 3 | 67 | Bill Bechtold | Center | Los Angeles Rams |
| 5 | 113 | Terry Crouch | Guard | Baltimore Colts |
| 8 | 207 | Mike Reilly | Linebacker | Los Angeles Rams |
| 9 | 241 | Lyndle Byford | Tackle | Kansas City Chiefs |