1983 Oklahoma Sooners football team

1983 Oklahoma Sooners football
1983 Oklahoma Sooners football
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Record	8–4 (5–2 Big 8)
Head coach	Barry Switzer (11th season);
Offensive coordinator	Galen Hall (11th season)
Offensive scheme	Wishbone
Defensive coordinator	Gary Gibbs (3rd season)
Captains	Danny Bradley; Rick Bryan; Scott Case; Paul Parker;
Home stadium	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
	Seasons ← 1982 1984 →

1983 Big Eight Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 2 Nebraska $	7	–	0	–	0	12	–	1	–	0
Missouri	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	5	–	0
Oklahoma	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Oklahoma State	3	–	4	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Iowa State	3	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Kansas	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	6	–	1
Colorado	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Kansas State	1	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1983 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma during the 1983 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 led by head coach Barry Switzer.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 10	at Stanford*	No. 2	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA		W 27–14	62,778
September 17	No. 6 Ohio State*	No. 2	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	ABC	L 14–24	76,520
September 24	Tulsa*	No. 8	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 28–18	75,500
October 1	at Kansas State	No. 9	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS	Raycom	W 29–10	35,800
October 8	vs. No. 2 Texas*	No. 8	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Red River Shootout)		L 16–28	75,587
October 15	at Oklahoma State	No. 15	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK (Bedlam Series)		W 21–20	50,440
October 22	Iowa State	No. 16	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 49–11	75,008
October 29	Kansas	No. 14	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 45–14	75,008
November 5	at Missouri	No. 11	Faurot Field Columbia, MO (rivalry)	ABC	L 0–10	57,133
November 12	Colorado		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	KWGN	W 41–28	75,008
November 26	No. 1 Nebraska		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry)	CBS	L 21–28	75,008
December 3	at Hawaii*		Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI		W 21–17	45,143
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[1]

Personnel

1983 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
TE	`85`	Darrin Berryhill	Sr
QB	`1`	Danny Bradley (C)	Jr
OL	`69`	Brent Burks	Jr
WR	`82`	Paul Clewis	Jr
QB	`15`	Mike Clopton	Jr
OL	`59`	David Dillingham	Jr
OL	`65`	Sidney Dodd	Jr
RB	`22`	Marcus Dupree	So
TE	`94`	Bill Earthman	Jr
TE	`83`	Johnny Fontenette	Sr
RB	`32`	Percy Hines	Fr
RB	`5`	Earl Johnson	Fr
RB	`20`	Jerome Ledbetter	Jr
G	`62`	Paul Parker (C)	Sr
OL	`71`	Jeff Pickett	Fr
OL	`63`	Eric Pope	So
WR	`4`	Buster Rhymes	Jr
RB	`25`	Alvin Ross	So
WR	`13`	Steve Sewell	Jr
WR	`3`	Derrick Shepard	Fr
OL	`73`	Chuck Thomas	Jr
FB	`34`	Spencer Tillman	Fr
RB	`30`	Darrell Weddington	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`38`	Thomas Benson	Sr
DT	`80`	Rick Bryan (C)	Sr
DB	`10`	Scott Case (C)	Sr
DL	`92`	Tony Casillas	So
DB	`33`	Dwight Drane	Sr
DL	`46`	Darryl Goodlow	Sr
DE	`39`	Kevin Murphy	Jr
DB	`2`	Jim Rockford	Jr
LB	`49`	Jackie Shipp	Sr
DT	`68`	Bob Slater	Sr
DB	`19`	Keith Stanberry	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`28`	David Culver	So
K	`31`	Tim Lashar	Fr

Head coach

Barry Switzer

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Gary Gibbs (DC)
Galen Hall (OC)
Merv Johnson (OL)
Chuck Lester (LB)
Rex Norris (AHC)
Lucious Selmon (DL)

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

Game summaries

At Stanford

#2 Oklahoma Sooners at Stanford Cardinal

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Oklahoma	3	13	9	2	27
Stanford	0	7	0	7	14

Date: Saturday, September 10
Location: Stanford Stadium • Palo Alto, California
Game attendance: 62,778
Game weather: 80 degrees

^[2]

#6 Ohio State

#6 Ohio State Buckeyes at #2 Oklahoma Sooners

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #6 Ohio State	7	7	7	3	24
#2 Oklahoma	0	7	7	0	14

Date: Saturday, September 17
Location: Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma
Game attendance: 76,520
Television network: ABC

^[3]

Tulsa

Tulsa Golden Hurricane at #8 Oklahoma Sooners

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tulsa	0	0	0	18	18
• Oklahoma	14	14	0	0	28

Date: Saturday, September 24
Location: Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma
Game attendance: 75,500

^[4]

At Kansas State

#9 Oklahoma Sooners at Kansas State Wildcats

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Oklahoma	0	13	16	3	32
Kansas State	10	0	0	0	10

Date: Saturday, October 1
Location: KSU Stadium, Manhattan, Kansas
Game attendance: 35,800

^[5]

Vs. Texas

#2 Texas Longhorns vs #8 Oklahoma Sooners

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #2 Texas	0	7	21	0	28
#8 Oklahoma	7	0	3	6	16

Date: Saturday, October 8
Location: Cotton Bowl, Dallas
Game attendance: 75,587
Game weather: 68 degrees
Television network: ABC

^[6]

At Oklahoma State

#15 Oklahoma Sooners (2–2) at Oklahoma State Cowboys

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Oklahoma	0	3	0	18	21
Oklahoma St	7	7	3	3	20

at Lewis Field, Stillwater, Oklahoma

Date: October 15
Game attendance: 50,440
^[7]

Game information

First quarter

OSU – Montgomery 14-yard blocked punt return (Larry Roach kick). Oklahoma St 7–0.

Second quarter

OU – Tim Lashar 42-yard field goal. Oklahoma St 7–3. Drive:
OSU – Shawn Jones 5-yard run (Larry Roach kick). Oklahoma St 14–3. Drive:

Third quarter

OSU – Larry Roach 43-yard field goal. Oklahoma St 17–3. Drive:

Fourth quarter

OSU – Larry Roach 31-yard field goal, 13:49. Oklahoma St 20–3. Drive:
OU – Derrick Shepard 73-yard pass from Danny Bradley (Tim Lashar kick). Oklahoma St 20–10. Drive:
OU – Spencer Tillman 5-yard run (pass good), 2:50. Oklahoma St 20–18. Drive:
OU – Tim Lashar 46-yard field goal, 1:14. Oklahoma 21–20. Drive:

Top passers

OU – Danny Bradley – 8/16, 147 yards, TD, INT
OSU – Ike Jackson – 6/10, 39 yards, INT

Top rushers

OU – Earl Johnson – 25 rushes, 105 yards
OSU – Shawn Jones – 19 rushes, 76 yards, TD

Top receivers

OU – Derrick Shepard – 3 receptions, 94 yards, TD
OSU – John Chesley/Shawn Jones – 2 receptions, 13 yards

Marcus Dupree left team during the week ^[8]

Iowa State

Iowa State Cyclones at #16 Oklahoma Sooners

	1	2	3	4	Total
Iowa State	3	0	0	8	11
• #16 Oklahoma	14	21	7	7	49

Date: Saturday, October 22
Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma
Game attendance: 75,008

^[9]

Kansas

Kansas Jayhawks at #2 Oklahoma Sooners

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kansas	7	7	0	0	14
• #16 Oklahoma	21	7	14	3	45

Date: Saturday, October 22
Location: Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma
Game attendance: 75,008
Game weather: 65 degrees

^[10]

At Missouri

#11 Oklahoma Sooners at Missouri Tigers

	1	2	3	4	Total
#11 Oklahoma	0	0	0	0	0
• Missouri	3	7	0	0	10

Date: Saturday, November 5
Location: Faurot Field, Columbia, Missouri
Game attendance: 57,133

^[11]

Colorado

Colorado Buffaloes at Oklahoma Sooners

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colorado	0	7	7	14	28
• Oklahoma	13	21	7	0	41

Date: Saturday, November 17
Location: Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma
Game attendance: 75,008

^[12]

Nebraska

#1 Nebraska at Oklahoma

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #1 Nebraska	7	7	14	0	28
Oklahoma	0	14	7	0	21

Date: November 26
Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma
Game start: 2:30 p.m. CST
Game attendance: 75,008
Referee: John McClintock
TV announcers (CBS): Gary Bender and Pat Haden

At Hawaii

Oklahoma Sooners at Hawaii Rainbow Warriors

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Oklahoma	0	0	14	7	21
Hawaii	0	10	0	7	17

Date: Saturday, December 3
Location: Aloha Stadium, Honolulu
Game attendance: 45,143

^[13]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	2 (11)	2 (3)	2 (2)	8	9	8	15	16	14	11	—	—	—	—	20т	—
Coaches Poll	5 (6)	4 (2)	2 (2)	10	7	7	17	17	14	11	—	20	16	20	20	—

Postseason

NFL draft

The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.^[14]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Team
1	9	Rick Bryan	Defensive tackle	Atlanta Falcons
1	14	Jackie Shipp	Linebacker	Miami Dolphins
2	31	Bob Slater	Defensive tackle	Washington Redskins
2	32	Scott Case	Defensive back	Atlanta Falcons
2	36	Thomas Benson	Linebacker	Atlanta Falcons
12	325	Paul Parker	Guard	St. Louis Cardinals