The Oklahoma Sooners will honor the 1985 OU team that won the consensus national championship on Saturday. The Sooners will host Kent State in Norman this week, and the game will include a celebration the ’85 squad that won the title 40 years ago.
According to the university, “Former head coach Barry Switzer and many of his players, coaches and support staff members from the 1985 squad will be recognized on Owen Field at halftime of the contest against the Golden Flashes. They will also be celebrated during a private Friday night event.”
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“Switzer directed the 1985 team to an 11-1 record and watched his Sooners outscore opponents by a 371-103 margin (average score of 31-9),” the university said in a press release. “They were ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP poll and fell to as low as No. 10 following their 27-14 home loss to Miami (Fla.) in the season’s fourth game. OU dominated its final seven regular season outings, holding five opponents to seven or fewer points, including No. 2 Nebraska in a 27-7 home victory on Nov. 23 that clinched the Big Eight title.”
Switzer’s team wasn’t done following the loss to Miami or the loss of quarterback Troy Aikman to a season-ending injury. True freshman quarterback Jamelle Holieway stepped in under center and ran the wishbone option offense to perfection.
“Making their second of four straight Orange Bowl appearances, the third-ranked Sooners downed top-ranked Penn State 25-10 on New Year’s night in Miami behind a 71-yard pass from freshman quarterback Jamelle Holieway to sophomore tight end Keith Jackson, a 61-yard touchdown run by sophomore fullback Lydell Carr, four field goals by junior kicker Tim Lashar, two interceptions by redshirt junior defensive back Sonny Brown and 13 solo tackles by redshirt sophomore linebacker Brian Bosworth. Lashar and Brown were named game MVPs,” the university said. “Bosworth (unanimous), redshirt senior noseguard Tony Casillas (consensus) and redshirt senior defensive end Kevin Murphy were 1985 first-team All-Americans. Bosworth won the first of two straight Butkus Awards as the nation’s outstanding linebacker and Casillas earned the Lombardi Award as the country’s outstanding lineman. Switzer, Bosworth, Casillas, Jackson and defensive back Rickey Dixon are all members of the College Football Hall of Fame, while Switzer, Jackson and running back Spencer Tillman are in the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame.
The 1985 title was the third and final title of the Switzer era, as he directed 12 of his 16 OU squads to top-10 national finishes, with 10 teams finishing in the AP top 5 and nine in the AP top 3. All told, his Sooner teams were ranked in the AP top 5 for 148 weeks and were ranked No. 1 for 43 weeks. It wasn’t until former head coach Bob Stoops’ second season at the helm, in 2000, that OU won its seventh and most recent national championship.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: The 1985 Sooners will be honored this week
