1981 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team

American college football season

1981 Oklahoma State Cowboys football

Independence Bowl, L 16–33 vs. Texas A&M
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Record	7–5 (4–3 Big 8)
Head coach	Jimmy Johnson (3rd season)
Home stadium	Lewis Field
Seasons← 1980 1982 →

1981 Big Eight Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 11 Nebraska $	7	–	0	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
No. 20 Oklahoma	4	–	2	–	1	7	–	4	–	1
Kansas	4	–	3	–	0	7	–	5	–	0
Oklahoma State	4	–	3	–	0	7	–	5	–	0
No. 19 Missouri	3	–	4	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Iowa State	2	–	4	–	1	5	–	5	–	1
Colorado	2	–	5	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Kansas State	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1981 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team represented Oklahoma State University in the Big Eight Conference during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their third season under head coach Jimmy Johnson, the Cowboys compiled a 7–5 record (4–3 against conference opponents), tied for third place in the conference, and were outscored by opponents by a combined total of 216 to 197.

The team's statistical leaders included Shawn Jones with 788 rushing yards, John Doerner with 877 passing yards, John Chesley with 350 receiving yards, and placekicker Larry Roach with 71 points scored.

The team played its home games at Lewis Field in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 19	Tulsa*	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK (rivalry)	W 23–21	47,000
September 26	San Diego State*	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	L 16–23	45,000
October 3	at North Texas State*	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	W 9–0	17,500
October 10	at Kansas	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	W 20–7	39,810
October 17	at Colorado	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	L 10–11	36,101
October 24	Louisville*	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	W 19–11	44,000
October 31	at Missouri	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	W 16–12	57,541
November 7	No. 11 Nebraska	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	L 7–54	48,500
November 14	Kansas State	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	W 31–10	49,300
November 21	at Iowa State	Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA	W 27–7	46,387
November 28	Oklahoma	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK (Bedlam Series)	L 3–27	51,100
December 12	vs. Texas A&M*	Independence Stadium Shreveport, LA (Independence Bowl)	L 16–33	48,600
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

After the season

The 1982 NFL draft was held on April 27–28, 1982. The following Cowboys were selected.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL team
11	301	Ron Ingram	Wide receiver	Philadelphia Eagles
12	313	Ricky Young	Linebacker	Chicago Bears

References

"1981 Oklahoma State Cowboys Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
"Oklahoma State Cowboy Football 2016 Guide" (PDF). Oklahoma State University. p. 173. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
2016 Football Guide, pp. 168, 170.
"1981 Oklahoma State Cowboys Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
2016 Football Guide, pp. 217, 219.
"Cowboys edge Tulsa on late kick". The Manhattan Mercury. September 20, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
Steve Dolan (September 27, 1981). "San Diego State is 23–16 Winner". The Los Angeles Times (San Diego County ed.). Los Angeles, California. p. III-1. Retrieved January 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
"Roach boots Cowboys over Mean Green". The Daily Oklahoman. October 4, 1981. Retrieved October 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
"OSU tops Kansas". The Dispatch. October 11, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Buffs sting Pokes". Tulsa World. October 18, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Doerner, Oklahoma State stymie Louisville, 19–11". The Des Moines Register. October 25, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Missouri drops third straight". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. November 1, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Gill leads Husker win". The Daily Nonpareil. November 8, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Cowboys capitalize on miscues". Olathe News. November 15, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Hilger keys Cowboys over Cyclones, 27–7". The Daily Advertiser. November 22, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Sooners blitz Indy Bowl-bound Oklahoma State". The Shreveport Times. November 29, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Kubiak-led Aggies stride past Cowboys". The Shreveport Times. December 13, 1981. Retrieved November 3, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"1982 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 13, 2021.

v t e Oklahoma State Cowboys football
Venues	Boone Pickens Stadium (1920–present) Sherman E. Smith Training Center
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Oklahoma: Bedlam Series Tulsa
Culture & lore	Bullet Pistol Pete "The Waving Song" "Ride 'Em Cowboys" Marching band 1951 Drake game 2011 Iowa State game 2015 homecoming parade attack
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	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

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