1984 Oklahoma Sooners football team

1984 Oklahoma Sooners football
1984 Oklahoma Sooners football
Big 8 co-champion
Orange Bowl, L 17–28 vs. Washington
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 6
AP	No. 6
Record	9–2–1 (6–1 Big 8)
Head coach	Barry Switzer (12th season);
Offensive coordinator	Mack Brown (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Wishbone
Defensive coordinator	Gary Gibbs (4th season)
Captains	Danny Bradley; Tony Casillas; Chuck Thomas;
Home stadium	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
	Seasons ← 1983 1985 →

1984 Big Eight Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 4 Nebraska +	6	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 6 Oklahoma +	6	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	1
No. 7 Oklahoma State	5	–	2	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
Kansas	4	–	3	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Missouri	2	–	4	–	1	3	–	7	–	1
Kansas State	2	–	4	–	1	3	–	7	–	1
Colorado	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	10	–	0
Iowa State	0	–	5	–	2	2	–	7	–	2

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1984 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the college football 1984 NCAA Division I-A season. Oklahoma Sooners football participated in the former Big Eight Conference at that time and played its home games in Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium where it has played its home games since 1923.^[1] The team posted a 9–2–1 overall record and a 6–1 conference record to earn a share of the Conference title under head coach Barry Switzer who took the helm in 1973.^[2]^[3] This was Switzer's ninth conference title in twelve seasons.^[2]

The team was led by All-American Tony Casillas,^[4] After winning a share of conference title, it earned a trip to the Orange Bowl for an appearance against the Washington Huskies.^[3] During the season, it faced five ranked opponents (In order, #17 Pitt, #1 Texas, #1 Nebraska, #3 Oklahoma State and #4 Washington). The last three of these opponents finished the season ranked in the top 10. It endured a tie against Texas in the Red River Shootout, a loss against a 2–5 Kansas Jayhawks team and a bowl game loss to Washington.^[3]

Lydell Carr led the team in rushing with 688 yards, Danny Bradley led the team in passing with 1095 yards, Derrick Shepard led the team in receiving with 392 yards, Placekicker Tim Lashar led the team in scoring with 68 points, Casillas had 10 quarterback sacks, freshman Brian Bosworth led the team with 133 tackles and Gary Lowell posted 4 interceptions.^[5] The defense set a school record that would only be eclipsed by the 1986 team when it allowed only 2.2 yards per rush over the course of the season.^[6]

Schedule[edit]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 8	1:30 p.m.	Stanford*	No. 16	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	USA	W 19–7	73,417
September 15	2:30 p.m.	at No. 17 Pittsburgh*	No. 15	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	ABC	W 42–10	40,075
September 22	1:30 p.m.	Baylor*	No. 11	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 34–15	75,018
September 29	1:30 p.m.	Kansas State	No. 7	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 24–6	72,017
October 13	2:30 p.m.	vs. No. 1 Texas*	No. 3	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Red River Shootout)	ABC	T 15–15	75,587
October 20	6:30 p.m.	at Iowa State	No. 2	Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA	ESPN	W 12–10	48,509
October 27	1:30 p.m.	at Kansas	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS		L 11–28	27,460
November 3	11:30 a.m.	Missouri	No. 10	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry)	USA	W 49–7	75,357
November 10	2:30 p.m.	at Colorado	No. 9	Folsom Field Boulder, CO		W 42–17	34,673
November 17	2:30 p.m.	at No. 1 Nebraska	No. 6	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	ABC	W 17–7	76,323
November 24	2:30 p.m.	No. 3 Oklahoma State	No. 2	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (Bedlam Series)	ABC	W 24–14	76,198
January 1, 1985	7:00 p.m.	vs. No. 4 Washington*	No. 2	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (Orange Bowl)	NBC	L 17–28	56,294
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[7]

Personnel[edit]

1984 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`18`	Troy Aikman	Fr
QB		Danny Bradley
OL		Brent Burks
RB		Lydell Carr
QB		Mike Clopton
RB		Patrick Collins
OL		Dave Dillingham
TE		Keith Jackson
RB		Earl Johnson
RB		Jerome Ledbetter
OL		Jeff Pickett
OL		Eric Pope
WR		Buster Rhymes
RB		Steve Sewell
WR		Derrick Shepard
RB		Damon Stell
OL		Chuck Thomas
RB		Spencer Tillman
RB		Darrell Weddington

Defense

Pos.	Name	Class
LB	Brian Bosworth	Fr
DB	Sonny Brown
DL	Steve Bryan
DT	Tony Casillas
DB	Rickey Dixon
DL	Tommy Flemmons
DB	Brian Hall
DB	Andre Johnson
DL	Troy Johnson
LB	Dante Jones
LB	Paul Migliazzo
DB	Tony Rayburn
DL	Darrell Reed
DL	Richard Reed
DB	Jim Rockford
DB	Keith Stanberry
DL	Jeff Tupper

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K		Tim Lashar

Head coach

Barry Switzer

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

Game summaries[edit]

Stanford[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Stanford	7	0	0	0	7
• Oklahoma	7	6	6	0	19

Date: September 8
Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Game attendance: 73,417

^[8]

Pittsburgh[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Oklahoma	0	21	0	21	42
Pittsburgh	3	0	7	0	10

Date: September 15
Location: Pitt Stadium
Game attendance: 40,075

^[9]

Baylor[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Baylor	0	7	0	8	15
• Oklahoma	7	10	17	0	34

Date: September 22
Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Game attendance: 75,018

^[10]

Kansas State[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kansas St	3	0	3	0	6
• Oklahoma	0	7	7	10	24

Date: September 29
Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Game attendance: 72,017

^[11]

Texas[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Texas	7	3	0	5	15
Oklahoma	0	0	15	0	15

Date: October 13
Location: Cotton Bowl
Game start: 2:50 p.m. CDT
Game attendance: 75,587
Game weather: Rain
TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson and Frank Broyles

^[12]

Iowa State[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Oklahoma	3	0	0	9	12
Iowa St	0	7	0	3	10

Date: October 20
Location: Cyclone Stadium

^[13]

Kansas[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Oklahoma	3	0	0	8	11
• Kansas	0	10	3	15	28

Date: October 27
Location: Memorial Stadium
Game attendance: 27,460

^[14]

Missouri[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Missouri	0	0	0	7	7
• Oklahoma	7	21	14	7	49

Date: November 3
Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Game attendance: 75,357

^[15]

Colorado[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Oklahoma	7	21	7	7	42
Colorado	0	10	0	7	17

Date: November 10
Location: Folsom Field
Game attendance: 34,673

^[16]

Nebraska[edit]

#6 Oklahoma at #1 Nebraska

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Oklahoma	7	0	0	10	17
Nebraska	0	7	0	0	7

Date: November 17
Location: Memorial Stadium
Game attendance: 76,323
Referee: Vance Carlson
Television network: ABC

^[17]

Oklahoma State[edit]

#3 Oklahoma State Cowboys (9–1) vs. #2 Oklahoma Sooners (8–1–1)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Oklahoma St	0	7	7	0	14
Oklahoma	0	7	10	7	24

at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma

Date: November 24
Game attendance: 76,198
TV: ABC
Box

Game information

First quarter

No scoring

Second quarter

OU – Keith Jackson 6-yard pass from Danny Bradley (Tim Lashar kick). Oklahoma 7–0.
OSU – Jamie Harris 1-yard pass from Rusty Hilger (Larry Roach kick). Tie 7–7.

Third quarter

OSU – Malcolm Lewis 77-yard pass from Hilger (Larry Roach kick). Oklahoma St 14–7.
OU – Spencer Tillman 3-yard run (Tim Lashar kick). Tie 14–14.
OU – Tim Lashar 22-yard field goal. Oklahoma 17–14.

Fourth quarter

OU – Spencer Tillman 20-yard run (Tim Lashar kick). Oklahoma 24–14.

Top passers

OSU – Rusty Hilger – 14/26, 202 yards, 2 TD, INT
OU – Danny Bradley – 8/16, 102 yards, TD, INT

Top rushers

OSU – Thurman Thomas – 11 rushes, 29 yards
OU – Spencer Tillman – 30 rushes, 102 yards, 2 TD

Top receivers

OSU – Malcolm Lewis – 3 receptions, 94 yards, TD
OU – Derrick Shepard – 5 receptions, 51 yards

^[18]

Orange Bowl[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Washington	14	0	0	14	28
Oklahoma	0	14	0	3	17

Date: January 1
Location: Orange Bowl
Game start: 8:20 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 56,294
Referee: Jimmy Harper (SEC)
TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy

^[19]

Rankings[edit]

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	16	16	15	11	7	5 (1)	3 (1)	2 (10)	2 (7)	10	9	6	2 (7)	2 (18)	2 (16)	6
Coaches Poll	11	10	12	3	4	3	2 (1)	2 (3)	3 (2)	12	9	6	3 (2)	2 (10)	2 (8)	6

Awards and honors[edit]

All-American: Tony Casillas,^[4]
Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year: Casillas^[4]
UPI National Lineman of the Year: Casillas^[4]
Big Eight Offensive Player of the Year: Danny Bradley
Big Eight Conference MVP: Danny Bradley

Postseason[edit]

NFL draft[edit]

The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.^[20]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Team
1	26	Steve Sewell	Running back	Denver Broncos
4	85	Buster Rhymes	Wide receiver	Minnesota Vikings
7	189	Danny Bradley	Running back	Los Angeles Rams
8	199	Chuck Thomas	Center	Houston Oilers
12	316	Jim Rockford	Defensive back	Tampa Bay Buccaneers

References[edit]

^ "Memorial Stadium". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 28, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
^ ^a ^b "OU Football Tradition – 42 Conference Titles". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 22, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c "1984 Football Season". SoonerStats.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "All-American: Tony Casillas". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
^ "2009 Football Record Book" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. p. 175. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
^ "2009 Football Record Book" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. p. 166. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
^ "1984 OU Football Season Schedule - SoonerStats - Historical scores, records, and stats for Oklahoma Sooners football, basketball, baseball, and softball".
^ SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Sep-14.
^ SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Sep-14.
^ SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Sep-16.
^ SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Sep-16.
^ SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Oct-06.
^ SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Oct-06.
^ SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Oct-06.
^ SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Oct-06.
^ SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Oct-06.
^ Gainesville Sun. 1984 Nov 18.
^ Gainesville Sun. 1984 Nov 25. Retrieved 2021-Nov-28.
^ SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Oct-06.
^ "1985 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.

External links[edit]

1984 season at SoonerStats.com

[1] "Memorial Stadium". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 28, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.

[OFT42CT-2] "OU Football Tradition – 42 Conference Titles". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 22, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.

[84FS-3] "1984 Football Season". SoonerStats.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010.

[AATC-4] "All-American: Tony Casillas". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.

[5] "2009 Football Record Book" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. p. 175. Retrieved June 30, 2010.

[6] "2009 Football Record Book" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. p. 166. Retrieved June 30, 2010.

[stats-7] "1984 OU Football Season Schedule - SoonerStats - Historical scores, records, and stats for Oklahoma Sooners football, basketball, baseball, and softball".

[8] SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Sep-14.

[9] SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Sep-14.

[10] SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Sep-16.

[11] SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Sep-16.

[12] SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Oct-06.

[13] SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Oct-06.

[14] SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Oct-06.

[15] SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Oct-06.

[16] SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Oct-06.

[17] Gainesville Sun. 1984 Nov 18.

[18] Gainesville Sun. 1984 Nov 25. Retrieved 2021-Nov-28.

[19] SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Oct-06.

[20] "1985 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.

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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 Showdown
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 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
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