1987 Oklahoma Sooners football team

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 Gaylord Family 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]

1987 Oklahoma Sooners football
Big Eight champion
Orange Bowl, L 14–20 vs. Miami (FL)
Conference	Big 8 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 3
AP	No. 3
1987 record	11–1 (7–0 Big 8)
Head coach	Barry Switzer (15th season)
Offensive coordinator	Jim Donnan (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Gary Gibbs (7th season)
Captain	5 Patrick Collins Mark Hutson Dante Jones Darrell Reed David Vickers
Home stadium	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 75,004)

1987 Big Eight Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Oklahoma $	7	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 6 Nebraska	6	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 11 Oklahoma State	5	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Colorado	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Missouri	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Iowa State	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Kansas	0	–	6	–	1			1	–	9	–	1
Kansas State	0	–	6	–	1			0	–	10	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

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]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	1:30 p.m.	North Texas*	No. 1	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 69–14	75,004[12]
September 12	1:30 p.m.	North Carolina*	No. 1	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 28–0	75,004[12]
September 26	1:30 p.m.	at Tulsa*	No. 1	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK		W 65–0	47,350[12]
October 3	1:30 p.m.	at Iowa State	No. 1	Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA	PPV	W 56–3	36,050[12]
October 10	1:45 p.m.	vs. Texas*	No. 1	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Red River Shootout)	CBS	W 44–9	75,587[12]
October 17	1:10 p.m.	at Kansas State	No. 1	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS		W 59–10	27,200[12]
October 24	6:30 p.m.	Colorado	No. 1	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	ESPN	W 24–6	75,004[12]
October 31	1:00 p.m.	at Kansas	No. 1	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS		W 71–10	23,500[12]
November 7	1:00 p.m.	No. 12 Oklahoma State	No. 1	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (Bedlam Series)		W 29–10	75,004[12]
November 14	1:30 p.m.	Missouri	No. 1	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry)	PPV	W 17–13	75,004[12]
November 21	2:30 p.m.	at No. 1 Nebraska	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	CBS	W 17–7	76,663[12]
January 1, 1988	7:00 p.m.	vs. No. 2 Miami (FL)	No. 1	Orange Bowl Miami, FL (Orange Bowl)	NBC	L 14–20	74,760[12]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Roster

1987 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class G 66 Brian Brauninger Fr WR 83 Carl Cabbiness Jr WR 16 Chris Cabbiness Fr QB 4 Jamelle Holieway Jr RB 45 Lydell Carr Sr TE 88 Keith Jackson Sr QB 6 Charles Thompson  Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DE 80 Troy Johnson Sr LB 50 Dante Jones (C) Sr DT 90 Darren Kilpatrick Sr DE 40 Darrell Reed (C) Sr DB 22 Thompson So DB 10 David Vickers (C) Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 13 R.D. Lashar Fr	Head coach Barry Switzer Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Game summaries

North Carolina

1 2 3 4 Total North Carolina 0 0 0 0 0 • Oklahoma 0 21 7 0 28 Date: September 12 Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma Game attendance: 75,004

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

[13]

Texas

#1 Oklahoma Sooners vs. Texas Longhorns

1 2 3 4 Total • #1 Oklahoma 0 13 21 10 44 Texas 3 3 0 3 9 Date: October 10 Location: Cotton Bowl, Dallas Game attendance: 75,587 TV announcers (CBS): Brent Musburger

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

[14]

Kansas State

#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 Date: October 17 Location: KSU Stadium, Manhattan, Kansas Game attendance: 27,200

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

[15]

Colorado

Colorado Buffaloes at #1 Oklahoma Sooners

1 2 3 4 Total Colorado 0 6 0 0 6 • #1 Oklahoma 10 0 7 7 24 Date: October 24 Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma Game attendance: 75,004

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

[16]

Oklahoma State

#12 Oklahoma State Cowboys at #1 Oklahoma Sooners

	1	2	3	4	Total
Oklahoma St	3	0	0	7	10
Oklahoma	10	0	6	13	29

at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma

• Date: November 7
• Game attendance: 75,004
• [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

Missouri

	1	2	3	4	Total
Missouri	0	3	7	3	13
Oklahoma	3	7	7	0	17

[18]

Nebraska

#2 Oklahoma Sooners (10–0) at #1 Nebraska Cornhuskers (9–0)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Oklahoma	0	0	14	3	17
Nebraska	7	0	0	0	7

at Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska

• Date: November 21
• Game weather: Sunny
• Game attendance: 76,663
• TV announcers (CBS): Brent Musburger and Pat Haden
• HuskerMax

Game information
Oklahoma Charles Thompson 2/9, 25 Yds Patrick Collins 13 Rush, 131 Yds, TD Keith Jackson 1 Rec, 21 Yds 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

Orange Bowl

Awards and honors

• All-American: Rickey Dixon,[4] Mark Hutson,[5] Keith Jackson,[6] Danté Jones,[7] and Darrell Reed[8]
• Jim Thorpe Award: Dixon[4]

Postseason

NFL draft

The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.[19]

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Rickey Dixon	Defensive back	1	5	Cincinnati Bengals
Keith Jackson	Tight end	1	13	Philadelphia Eagles
Dante Jones	Linebacker	2	51	Chicago Bears
Mark Hutson	Guard	3	67	Dallas Cowboys
Greg Johnson	Tackle	4	99	Miami Dolphins
Lydell Carr	Running back	4	106	New Orleans Saints
Darrell Reed	Linebacker	5	116	Green Bay Packers
Troy Johnson	Linebacker	5	133	Chicago Bears
Jon Phillips	Guard	6	148	Phoenix Cardinals
Derrick White	Defensive back	6	164	Minnesota Vikings
Derrick Crudup	Defensive back	7	171	Los Angeles Raiders
Caesar Rentie	Tackle	7	189	Chicago Bears
Patrick Collins	Running back	8	200	Green Bay Packers

References

1. "Memorial Stadium". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 28, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
2. "OU Football Tradition: 42 Conference Titles". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 22, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
3. "1987 Football Season". SoonerStats.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
4. "All-American: Rickey Dixon". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
5. "All-American: Mark Hutson". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
6. "All-American: Keith Jackson". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
7. "All-American: Danté Jones". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
8. "All-American: Darrell Reed". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
9. Moran, Malcolm (January 2, 1988). "Orange Bowl; Hurricanes Overwhelm the Sooners to Claim No. 1". The New York Times. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
10. "2009 Football Record Book" (PDF). Big12sports.com. p. 175. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
11. "2009 Football Record Book" (PDF). Big12sports.com. p. 177. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
12. http://www.soonerstats.com/football/seasons/schedule.cfm?seasonid=1987
13. Gainesville Sun. 1987 Oct 13.
14. Gainesville Sun. 1987 Oct 11.
15. Gainesville Sun. 1987 Oct 18.
16. Gainesville Sun. October 25, 1987
17. Gainesville Sun. 1987 Nov 08. Retrieved 2019-Apr-13.
18. Gainesville Sun. 1987 Nov 15. Retrieved 2019-Jan-06.
19. "1988 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.

External links

• 1987 season at SoonerStats.com