American college football season
The 1987 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season . Oklahoma
was a member of the Big Eight Conference played its home games in Oklahoma Memorial Stadium , where it has played its home games since 1923.[1] The team posted an 11–1 overall record and a 7–0 conference record to the Conference title outright under head coach Barry Switzer who took the helm in 1973.[2] [3] This was Switzer's twelfth conference title, fourth consecutive conference title and eighth undefeated conference record in fifteen seasons.[2]
The team was led by All-Americans Rickey Dixon (who won the Jim Thorpe Award ),[4] Mark Hutson ,[5] Keith Jackson ,[6] Danté Jones ,[7] and Darrell Reed [8] After going undefeated in its eleven regular season games, it earned a trip to the Orange Bowl for an appearance against the Miami Hurricanes .[3] During the season, it faced three ranked opponents (In order, #12 Oklahoma State , #1 Nebraska , and #2 Miami). Both of its last two games were #1 vs. #2 matches with the last being a national title game in which it endured its only loss to the resulting national champion Hurricanes.[3] The game marked the third Miami victory over Oklahoma in three seasons to former Switzer assistant coach Jimmy Johnson .[9]
Jamelle Holieway led the team in rushing for the second season with 807 yards and in passing for the third of four times with 548 yards, Jackson led the team in receiving for the third straight season with 403 yards, Placekicker R. D. Lashar led the team in scoring with 91 points, Reed posted 8 quarterback sacks , Jones led the team with 125 tackles and Dixon posted 9 interceptions .[10] Dixon established the current school record total of 9 single-season interceptions . He set the school record for single-season interception return yards with 232 that season and the career record with 303, which was broken by Derrick Strait in 2003.[11]
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance Source September 5 1:30 p.m. North Texas State * No. 1 W 69–1475,004
September 12 1:30 p.m. North Carolina * No. 1 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK W 28–075,004 [12]
September 26 1:30 p.m. at Tulsa * No. 1 W 65–047,350
October 3 1:30 p.m. at Iowa State No. 1 PPV W 56–336,050
October 10 1:45 p.m. vs. Texas * No. 1 CBS W 44–975,587
October 17 1:10 p.m. at Kansas State No. 1 W 59–1027,200
October 24 6:30 p.m. Colorado No. 1 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK ESPN W 24–675,004
October 31 1:00 p.m. at Kansas No. 1 W 71–1023,500
November 7 1:00 p.m. No. 12 Oklahoma State No. 1 W 29–1075,004
November 14 1:30 p.m. Missouri No. 1 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry ) PPV W 17–1375,004
November 21 2:30 p.m. at No. 1 Nebraska No. 2 CBS W 17–776,663
January 1, 1988 7:00 p.m. vs. No. 2 Miami (FL) * No. 1 NBC L 14–2074,760
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time
[13]
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ 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 1 (55) 1 (54) 1 (54) 1 (53) 1 (44) 1 (46) 1 (47) 1 (42) 1 (40) 1 (38) 1 (36) 2 (20) 1 (54) 1 (48) 1 (47) 3 Coaches Poll 1 1 (44) 1 (45) 1 (45) 1 (46) 1 (45) 1 (43) 1 (45) 1 (43) 1 (43) 1 (38) 2 (27) 1 (48) 1 (41) 1 (41) 3
1
2 3 4 Total
Tar Heels
0
0 0 0
0
• Sooners
0
21 7 0
28
Scoring summary Q2 OKLA Holieway 3 yard run (Lashar kick)OKLA 7–0
Q2 OKLA Holieway 4 yard run (Lashar kick) OKLA 14–0
Q2 OKLA Holieway 1 yard run (Lashar kick) OKLA 21–0
Q3 OKLA Holieway 1 yard run (Lashar kick) OKLA 28–0
Jamelle Holieway 25 Rush, 170 Yds
[14]
#1 Oklahoma Sooners vs. Texas Longhorns
1
2 3 4 Total
• #1 Oklahoma
0
13 21 10
44
Texas
3
3 0 3
9
Scoring summary 1 TEX Clements 52-yard field goal TEX 3-0
2 OU Carr 7-yard run (Lashar kick) OU 7-3
2 OU Lashar 46-yard field goal OU 10-3
2 OU Lashar 22-yard field goal OU 13-3
2 TEX Clements 46-yard field goal OU 13-6
3 OU Cabbiness 44-yard pass from Holieway (Lashar kick) OU 20-6
3 OU Carr 32-yard run (Lashar kick) OU 27-6
3 OU Collins 4-yard run (Lashar kick) OU 34-6
4 TEX Clements 36-yard field goal OU 34-9
4 OU Lashar 29-yard field goal OU 37-9
4 OU Thompson 55-yard run (Lashar kick) OU 44-9
[15]
#1 Oklahoma Sooners at Kansas State Wildcats
1
2 3 4 Total
• #1 Oklahoma
14
17 14 14
59
Kansas State
3
7 0 0
10
Scoring summary 1 OKLA Stafford 20-yard run (Lashar kick) Oklahoma 7-0
1 OKLA Cabbiness 28-yard pass from Holieway (Lashar kick) Oklahoma 14-0
1 KSU Porter 22-yard field goal Oklahoma 14-3
2 OKLA Holieway 1-yard run (Lashar kick) Oklahoma 21-3
2 OKLA Carr 2-yard run (Lashar kick) Oklahoma 28-3
2 KSU Williams 81-yard pass from Swim (Porter kick) Oklahoma 28-10
2 OKLA Lashar 31-yard field goal Oklahoma 31-10
3 OKLA Collins 20-yard run (Lashar kick) Oklahoma 38-10
3 OKLA Thompson 32-yard run (Lashar kick) Oklahoma 45-10
4 OKLA Mitchell 82-yard run (Lashar kick) Oklahoma 52-10
4 OKLA Anderson 1-yard run (Lashar kick) Oklahoma 59-10
[16]
Colorado Buffaloes at #1 Oklahoma Sooners
1
2 3 4 Total
Colorado
0
6 0 0
6
• #1 Oklahoma
10
0 7 7
24
Scoring summary 1 OU Stafford 23-yard run (Lashar kick) OU 7-0
2 OU Lashar 48-yard field goal OU 10-0
2 COL Hannah 20-yard field goal OU 10-3
2 COL Hannah 32-yard field goal OU 10-6
3 OU Carr 21-yard run (Lashar kick) OU 17-6
4 OU Collins 1-yard run (Lashar kick) OU 24-6
[17]
Game information
OKLA - Holieway 5 yard run (Lashar kick)
OSU - Blanchard 38 yard field goal
OKLA - Lashar 35 yard field goal
OKLA - Hall 3 yard run (kick failed)
OSU - Sanders 1 yard run (Blanchard kick)
OKLA - Johnson 10 yard interception return (run failed)
OKLA - Dixon 95 yard interception return (Lashar kick)
Oklahoma St
Gundy 11/27, 115 Yds, 4 INT
Thomas 15 Rush, 173 Yds
Green 3 Rec, 47 Yds
Oklahoma
Holieway 0/6, 0 Yds, INT
Anderson 30 Rush, 191 Yds
Holieway 18 Rush, 123 Yds, TD
1
2
3
4
Total
Missouri
0
3
7
3
13
Oklahoma
3
7
7
0
17
[19]
Game information
Oklahoma
Nebraska
Steve Taylorr 6/18, 58 Yds, 3 INT
Keith Jones 15 Rush, 94 Yds, TD
Richard Bell 2 Rec, 18 Yds
"Game of the Century II" The Bow - Patrick Collins
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
OU
NEB
1
1:28
84
Nebraska
Jones 25-yard touchdown run, Drennan kick good
7
0
3
12:48
2
13
Oklahoma
Stafford 11-yard touchdown run, Lashar kick good
7
7
3
1:39
Oklahoma
Collins 65-yard touchdown run, Lashar kick good
14
7
4
7:40
Oklahoma
27-yard field goal by Lashar
17
7
"TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .
17
7
1987 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Roster
The following players were selected in the 1988 NFL Draft following the season.[20] [21]
^ "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 "1987 Football Season" . SoonerStats.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010 .
^ a b c "All-American: Rickey Dixon" . CBS Interactive . Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010 .
^ a b "All-American: Mark Hutson" . CBS Interactive . Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010 .
^ a b "All-American: Keith Jackson" . CBS Interactive . Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010 .
^ a b "All-American: Danté Jones" . CBS Interactive . Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010 .
^ a b "All-American: Darrell Reed" . CBS Interactive . Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010 .
^ Moran, Malcolm (January 2, 1988). "Orange Bowl; Hurricanes Overwhelm the Sooners to Claim No. 1" . The New York Times . Retrieved June 30, 2010 .
^ "2009 Football Record Book" (PDF) . Big12sports.com. p. 175. Retrieved June 30, 2010 .
^ "2009 Football Record Book" (PDF) . Big12sports.com. p. 177. Retrieved June 30, 2010 .
^ "Sooners race by UNC" . Bryan-College Station Eagle . September 13, 1987. Retrieved February 2, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "1987 OU Football Season Schedule - SoonerStats - Historical scores, records, and stats for Oklahoma Sooners football, basketball, baseball, and softball" .
^ Gainesville Sun. 1987 Oct 13.
^ Gainesville Sun. 1987 Oct 11.
^ Gainesville Sun. 1987 Oct 18.
^ Gainesville Sun. October 25, 1987
^ Gainesville Sun. 1987 Nov 08. Retrieved 2019-Apr-13.
^ Gainesville Sun. 1987 Nov 15. Retrieved 2019-Jan-06.
^ "1988 NFL Draft Listing" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved November 29, 2020 .
^ "Oklahoma Drafted Players/Alumni" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved April 23, 2023 .
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
MVIAA Big Six Big Seven Big Eight National championships in bold