1985 Oklahoma Sooners football team

1985 Oklahoma Sooners football
National champion Big Eight champion Orange Bowl champion
Orange Bowl, W 25–10 vs. Penn State
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
1985 record	11–1 (7–0 Big 8)
Head coach	Barry Switzer (13th year)
Offensive coordinator	Jim Donnan (1st year)
Offensive scheme	Wishbone
Defensive coordinator	Gary Gibbs (5th year)
Base defense	5–2
Captain	Tony Casillas
Captain	Kevin Murphy
Captain	Eric Pope
Home stadium	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 75,004)

1985 Big 8 football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#1 Oklahoma $	7	–	0	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
#11 Nebraska	6	–	1	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
Oklahoma State	4	–	3	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Colorado	4	–	3	–	0	7	–	5	–	0
Iowa State	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Kansas	2	–	5	–	0	6	–	6	–	0
Kansas State	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	10	–	0
Missouri	1	–	6	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1985 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the college football season of 1985–1986. This year was Barry Switzer's 13th season as head coach. The Sooners ended this season with 11 wins and a sole loss coming to the Miami Hurricanes in Norman, in a game in which the Sooners lost starting quarterback Troy Aikman for the season. The Sooners were forced to place their trust in lightning-quick true freshman quarterback Jamelle Holieway and a physical defense featuring three All-Americans, who led them to a Big 8 Conference title and a national championship. This was Oklahoma's sixth national championship and 34th conference championship in school history.^[1]

Roster

Quarterbacks

18 Troy Aikman^† – Sophomore
4 Jamelle Holieway^† – Freshman
16 Kyle Irvin – Sophomore
1 Eric Mitchel – Freshman
9 Glen Sullivan – Sophomore

Running backs

28 Rotnei Anderson FB – Freshman
45 Lydell Carr^† FB – Sophomore
43 Chris Howard FB – Freshman
5 Earl Johnson FB – Junior
84 Chris Youman FB – Freshman
35 Eric Bross – Freshman
33 Patrick Collins^† – Sophomore
28 Ron Counter – Sophomore
23 Don Maloney – Freshman
22 Gregg Nesbitt – Sophomore
2 Leon Perry^† – Freshman
38 Chris Richards – Freshman
27 Damon Stell – Sophomore
20 Spencer Tillman^† – Junior
26 Mark White – Freshman
82 Greg Dixon – Freshman
13 Dion Wharry – Freshman

Receivers

15 Derrick Crudup – Sophomore
87 Paul Rodgers – Freshman
3 Derrick Shepard^† – Junior
24 Don Smitherman – Freshman
25 Anthony Stafford^† – Freshman
Lee Morris – Sophomore
Carl Cabbiness – Freshman
83 Jeff Jones – Freshman

Tight ends

85 Darin Berryhill – Senior
88 Keith Jackson^† – Sophomore
97 Aubrey King – Freshman
89 Terry Pritchard – Freshman
67 David Frolich – Freshman
81 David Shoemaker – Freshman
Lance Price – Sophomore

Offensive line

74 W. Bennett G – Freshman
62 Al Laurita G – Sophomore
71 Jeff Pickett G – Junior
63 Eric Pope^†^‡ G – Senior
73 Scott Harrison L – Freshman
72 Dugan Forrest T – Freshman
58 Mickey Greene T – Freshman
79 Mark Hutson^† T – Sophomore
73 Chuck Johnson C – Freshman
75 Greg Johnson T – Sophomore
70 Richard Marks T – Sophomore
68 Anthony Phillips^† T – Freshman
77 Caesar Rentie T – Sophomore
76 Mark Van Keirsbilck T – Freshman
65 Mike Wise L – Freshman
57 Kevin Adkins C – Junior
78 Daniel Blackwood C – Sophomore
53 Travis Simpson C – Junior
52 Ric Uhles C – Senior
59 Greg Williams C – Freshman
55 Paul Ferrer^† C/G – Senior

Defensive line

92 Tony Casillas^†^‡ NG – Senior
51 Richard Davis NG – Freshman
93 Curtice Williams NG – Freshman
69 Andre Williams L – Freshman
98 Dante Williams L – Freshman
61 Mike Aljoe E – Junior
47 Jeff Hake E – Junior
80 Troy Johnson E – Sophomore
46 Kert Kaspar E – Sophomore
60 Mike Mantle E – Junior
39 Kevin Murphy^†^‡ E – Senior
40 Darrell Reed E – Sophomore
95 Jodie Britt T – Sophomore
86 Steve Bryan T – Junior
90 Darren Kilpatrick T – Sophomore
56 Bob Latham^† T – Freshman
66 Jon Phillips T – Sophomore
96 Richard Reed T – Junior
78 Jeff Tupper T – Senior
99 Tony Woods T – Freshman

Linebackers

44 Brian Bosworth^† – Sophomore
41 Tony Sebo – Freshman
54 Evan Gatewood – Junior
50 Dante Jones^† – Sophomore
43 Frederick McDonald injured resv."Sophomore"
48 Brad McBride – Sophomore
42 Paul Migliazzo^† – Junior

Defensive backs

8 Sonny Brown^† – Junior
29 Rickey Dixon^† – Sophomore
9 Lonnie Finch – Freshman
49 Scott Garl – Freshman
7 Ledell Glenn – Junior
32 Percy Hines – Junior
6 Andre Johnson – Sophomore
36 Steve Jones – Freshman
17 Ken McMichel – Freshman
35 Tony Rayburn^† – Junior
21 Carlos Scott – Freshman
37 Todd Smith – Junior
11 Leonard Thomas – Freshman
22 Kevin Thompson – Freshman
19 Scott Thompson – Freshman
10 David Vickers^† – Sophomore
14 Derrick White – Freshman

Kickers

31 Tim Lashar^† – Junior
91 Todd Thomsen – Freshman
26 Darren Atyia P – Sophomore
12 Mike Winchester P^† – Junior

† Starter at position ‡ Team Captain * Injured; did not play in 1985.

Courtesy of Soonerstats.com

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 28	7:00 PM	at Minnesota*	No. 2	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome • Minneapolis	TBS	W 13–7	62,446^[2]
October 5	11:30 AM	at Kansas State	No. 2	KSU Stadium • Manhattan, Kansas	Raycom	W 41–6	23,500^[2]
October 12	12:00 PM	vs. No. 17 Texas*	No. 2	Cotton Bowl • Dallas (Red River Shootout)	ABC	W 14–7	75,587^[2]
October 19	2:30 PM	Miami (FL)*	No. 3	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma	ABC	L 14–27	73,102^[2]
October 26	1:30 PM	Iowa State	No. 10	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma		W 59–14	70,124^[2]
November 2	1:30 PM	Kansas	No. 9	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma		W 48–6	74,726^[2]
November 9	11:30 AM	at Missouri	No. 7	Faurot Field • Columbia, Missouri (Tiger-Sooner Peace Pipe)	HSE	W 51–6	50,321^[2]
November 16	1:30 PM	Colorado	No. 7	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma		W 31–0	73,611^[2]
November 23	2:30 PM	No. 2 Nebraska	No. 5	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma (Rivalry)	ABC	W 27–7	75,554^[2]
November 30	6:30 PM	at No. 17 Oklahoma State	No. 3	Lewis Field • Stillwater, Oklahoma (Bedlam)	ESPN	W 13–0	44,000^[2]
December 7	2:30 PM	SMU*	No. 4	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma	ABC	W 35–13	72,046^[2]
January 1	7:00 PM	vs. No. 1 Penn State*	No. 3	Miami Orange Bowl • Miami (Orange Bowl)	NBC	W 25–10	74,178^[2]
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Central Time.

^[3]

Game notes

After struggling in the 1985 Orange Bowl to a scrappy Washington Huskies football team and letting any National Championship aspirations for that year disappear in a puff of smoke (and be awarded to the BYU Cougars, the nation's only undefeated college football team that year), the defending Big 8 Champion Sooners came into the 1985 season on a mission. Led by an aggressive and punishing defense (which later drew comparisons to their NFL counterpart Chicago Bears) and budding superstar quarterback sophomore Troy Aikman, the Sooners seemed poised for a run at the Orange Bowl and the National Championship.

Nothing seemed to indicate otherwise, as the Sooners rolled past Minnesota and Kansas State before beating the Longhorns in the annual Red River Shootout.

Minnesota

#2 Oklahoma Sooners at Minnesota Golden Gophers

	1	2	3	4	Total
• #2 Oklahoma	3	7	0	3	13
Minnesota	0	0	0	7	7

Date: September 28
Location: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis

Scoring summary

1	OU	Lashar 21-yard field goal	OU 3-0

2	OU	E. Johnson 1-yard run (Lashar kick)	OU 10-0

4	OU	Lashar 21-yard field goal	OU 13-0

4	MIN	Starks 12-yard pass from Foggie (Lohmiller kick)	OU 13-7

^[4]

Texas (Red River Shootout)

#17 Texas Longhorns vs. #2 Oklahoma Sooners

	1	2	3	4	Total
#17 Texas	7	0	0	0	7
• #2 Oklahoma	0	7	0	7	14

Date: October 12
Location: Cotton Bowl, Dallas
Game attendance: 75,587

Source: ^[5]

Scoring summary

1		TEX	Kip Cooper 7-yard fumble return (Jeffrey Ward kick)	TEX 7-0

2	10:18	OU	Lydell Carr 1-yard run (Tim Lashar kick)	Tied 7-7

4	12:25	OU	Patrick Collins 45-yard run (Tim Lashar kick)	OU 14-7

The Sooners' offense didn't have a banner day in the 80th edition of the Red River Rivalry although they still rolled up 220 yards rushing and Troy Aikman completed four of nine passes for 67 yards. Lydell Carr led all rushers with 80 yards on 23 carries, and Patrick Collins added 61 yards on four carries. Keith Jackson had 49 yards on his two receptions.^[6]

On the game's third play, Oklahoma's All-American nose guard Tony Casillas went down with a sprained right knee.The Oklahoma defense, even without Casillas, manhandled Texas. The Sooners held the Longhorns to just 70 yards in total offense, 17 on the ground for an average of less than half a yard per their 35 carries, and just four first downs. They got into Oklahoma territory only three times, twice to the 49-yard line and once to the 46, and one of those trips was thanks to another fumble. In addition, the Sooners picked off three passes, and Texas was held to no first downs in the second half. Brian Bosworth finished the game with 14 tackles, 11 of them unassisted, and a leaping interception of quarterback Todd Dodge.^[6]

Miami

The third-ranked Sooners (3-0) returned home to play their first game in Norman, hosting unranked Miami (4-1). The game made local headlines as a homecoming for Hurricanes coach Jimmy Johnson who was an Oklahoma defensive line coach with Switzer from '70-'72 and went 0-5 against the Sooners as the Oklahoma State head coach.^[7]

Oklahoma came into the contest with the nation's most aggressive defense (leading to their comparisons to the Monsters of the Midway), which seemingly got better each week, and was led up front by All-American nose tackle Tony Casillas, whose injury against Texas forced him to miss the game. The line featured sophomore tackle Troy Johnson, sophomore end Darrell Reed, and senior end Kevin Murphy, himself an All-American candidate. Lining up behind the group was the menacing Brian Bosworth, with fellow linebackers Paul Migliazzo and Dante Jones (another talented sophomore). This group had permitted an average of only 32 yards rushing per game. Juniors Tony Rayburn and Sonny Brown, and sophomores Rickey Dixon and Derrick White, patrolled the secondary, allowing only 91 yards passing per game. In three games, the defense had allowed only 16 first downs and had permitted an average of 6.6 points per game.^[7]

Miami had lost their '85 opener to Florida, 35-23, before reeling off four straight wins against unranked opponents. The Hurricanes were the nation's top offensive team, and they were sporting a pro-style passing attack, orchestrated by junior quarterback Vinny Testaverde, who had backed up Bernie Kosar the last time the Hurricanes had won the National Championship. Alonzo Highsmith and Melvin Bratton lined up in the backfield, and the acrobatics of top-flight wide receivers Michael Irvin and Brian Blades helped the team average 36.2 points per game. The Hurricane defense came in after a shutout of Cincinnati, permitting an average of only 16 points per game, featuring junior tackle Jerome Brown and cornerback Bennie Blades.^[7]

In front of a sellout crowd of 75,008 at Memorial Stadium, Miami's Jerome Brown broke through and sacked Aikman on the 29-yard line with 9:18 left in the first half and broke his ankle. Aikman, who had been six of eight passing for 131 yards, would be lost for the season.^[7]

Testaverde and company took over, scorching the Oklahoma secondary with 270 yards passing and the 'Canes rambled for 105 on the ground. They played mistake-free football and didn't give up any turnovers. Brown led the Miami defensive effort with 16 tackles, a blocked field goal, and the sack on Aikman. And on the other side, pressed into duty as a true freshman, Holieway had rushed for only 57 yards on 17 carries and attempted just six passes.^[7]

Furious about the loss, both of the game and their starting quarterback, Oklahoma proceeded to go on a rampage, pasting Iowa State, Kansas, Missouri and Colorado by a combined score of 189-26, before playing host to Nebraska in a game that would ultimately decide the Big 8 Championship.^[3]

Colorado

Colorado Buffaloes at #7 Oklahoma Sooners

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colorado	0	0	0	0	0
• #7 Oklahoma	7	7	10	7	31

Date: November 16
Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma
Game attendance: 74,145

Scoring summary

1	OU	Collins 1-yard run (Lashar kick)	OU 7-0

2	OU	Holieway 2-yard run (Lashar kick)	OU 14-0

3	OU	Holieway 20-yard run (Lashar kick)	OU 21-0

3	OU	Lashar 30-yard field goal	OU 24-0

4	OU	Tillman 5-yard run (Lashar kick)	OU 31-0

^[8]

Nebraska

Nebraska came into Norman ranked second in the nation, with the nation's highest scoring offense and the best rushing attack in the country with 395 yards per game. This high-powered offense was led by fullback Tom Rathman, one of the best in Nebraska history who had rushed for over 800 yards that season. Together with quarterback McCathorn Clayton and junior I-back Doug DuBose, whose 1,115 rushing yards made 1985 his second straight season over 1,000, the Cornhuskers were poised for a national title run. Junior linebacker Marc Munford was the leading tackler for the Huskers for the second straight year and led the defense, together with tackle Jim Skow and defensive back Brian Washington.^[9]

The home team struck quickly. On their second possession of the game, Oklahoma was faced with a second down-and-six at its 12, and they ran a Tight End reverse. Freshman quarterback Jamelle Holieway, starting just his fifth game and in charge of a wishbone that was the third best rushing offense in the land, optioned to the left and gave a reverse handoff to big sophomore tight end Keith Jackson, who raced untouched down the right sideline 88 yards for a touchdown, the sixth longest run in school history.^[9]

Tom Osborne was forced to reach into his bag of tricks in the second quarter, as Nebraska executed a perfect double reverse. Clayton flipped the ball to DuBose who headed right, and DuBose handed the ball to wingback Van Sheppard who carried it 52 yards before being brought down inside the Sooner ten. The Oklahoma defense, led by senior nose tackle Tony Casillas and sophomore linebacker Brian Bosworth, did not budge. The Cornhuskers, stifled at the point of attack, were forced to kick a field goal. Sophomore kicker Dale Klein missed a 23-yard field goal attempt and the Huskers were kept off the board after their best offensive series of the game.^[9]

In fact, the only time the Huskers would score that day was on defense, and then only as a side note. Freshman backup quarterback Eric Mitchel bobbled a handoff, and Nebraska defensive tackle Chris Spachman caught the Sooner fumble in midair and rambled 63 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown with only 26 seconds left. The Sooners had won 27-7.^[9]

The Oklahoma defense was devastating, holding the nation's highest scoring offense without a point. Bosworth had nine tackles, Murphy sacked the quarterback twice, including the stopper on one of the goal line stands, and Casillas was all over the Nebraska backfield. They held the Huskers to just 161 yards on 42 carries, led by Sheppard's 65 yards and with DuBose gaining only 46 on 16 carries. It was the second straight year that the Sooners had held the Huskers to just a touchdown and the first time they had accomplished that feat in back-to-back games in 27 years.^[9]

Holieway was spectacular, directing the wishbone as if he were far more experienced than his true freshman status. He was virtually flawless as he rushed for 110 yards on 25 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns. Keith Jackson ran for 136 yards on just three carries and scored once. Together they accounted for 246 yards on the ground, representing more than half the team's 461 total yards. This marked the first time in 11 years that two Sooners had crossed the century mark rushing against the Huskers.^[9]

Winning against Oklahoma State and SMU was icing on the cake for the Big 8 Champions. The Sooners were headed to the Orange Bowl in Miami to take on Joe Paterno's #1 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions.

Penn State (Orange Bowl)

Earlier in the day, UCLA had crushed #4 Iowa 45-28 in the Rose Bowl. SEC champion Tennessee and Miami were playing in the Sugar Bowl, with the Hurricanes allowed an outside shot at the title with a Penn State loss. The Sooners needed either a win combined with a Miami loss or a blowout victory to claim the title during the 1986 Orange Bowl.^[10]

On their opening possession, Oklahoma reached into their bag of tricks and a handoff to Keith Jackson was flipped to Anthony Stafford, but linebacker Shane Conlan was ready for it, stuffing the play for a two-yard loss. This set the initial tempo of the game, as the Penn State defense showed itself to be ready for the speedy Sooner wishbone option.^[10]

The game was very close, and remained a defensive struggle into the 4th quarter, but Oklahoma proved to be too much for the Lions, particularly after it was announced at the half that Tennessee was pounding Miami to the tune of 28-7 in the Sugar Bowl. The Sooner defense played inspired football, Tim Lashar nailed four critical field goals, Keith Jackson caught a 71-yard bomb from Jamelle Holieway in stride, and Lydell Carr put the nail in the coffin with a brilliant 61-yard touchdown scamper with 1:42 remaining on the clock.^[10]^[11]

The Sooners had avenged their loss in the 1985 Orange Bowl game to Washington with a 25-10 victory over the top team in the land in the 1986 Orange Bowl and the team's sixth National Championship.

Awards and honors

All-Americans

Brian Bosworth, Linebacker – Irving, Texas
Tony Casillas, Noseguard – Tulsa, Okla.
Kevin Murphy, Defensive End – Richardson, Texas

Individual award winners

Brian Bosworth – Dick Butkus Award
Tony Casillas – Lombardi Award

References

↑ "University of Oklahoma Official 1985 Championship Page". SoonerSports.com. University of Oklahoma Athletic Department. Archived from the original on July 18, 2007. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 http://www.soonerstats.com/football/seasons/schedule.cfm?seasonid=1985
1 2 "1985 University of Oklahoma Football Schedule". Soonerstats.com. 2007. Retrieved April 18, 2007.
↑ Gainesville Sun. September 29, 1985
↑ "45-yard run gives No. 2 OU 14-7 win over Texas." Gainesville Sun. October 13, 1985
1 2 "1985 OU-Texas Game". Soonerstats.com. 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2007.
1 2 3 4 5 "1985 OU-Miami Game". Soonerstats.com. 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2007.
↑ Gainesville Sun. November 17, 1985
1 2 3 4 5 6 "1985 OU-Nebraska Game". Soonerstats.com. 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2007.
1 2 3 "1986 Orange Bowl". Soonerstats.com. 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2007.
↑ "1986 Orange Bowl Official Recap". Orangebowl.org. 2007. Retrieved February 14, 2007.

External links

1985 Oklahoma Sooners football—consensus national champions

Troy Aikman Brian Bosworth Sonny Brown Tony Casillas Jamelle Holieway Mark Hutson Keith Jackson Dante Jones Paul Migliazzo Kevin Murphy Anthony Phillips Darrell Reed Derrick Shepard Spencer Tillman Head coach: Barry Switzer Assistant coaches: Joe Dickinson Jim Donnan Gary Gibbs Merv Johnson

Oklahoma Sooners football

Venues	Boyd Field (1905–23) Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (1923–present) Barry Switzer Center

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Missouri (Tiger–Sooner Peace Pipe) Nebraska Oklahoma State: Bedlam Series Texas: Red River Showdown (Golden Hat)

Culture & lore	Championships T formation Wishbone formation Oklahoma drill Sooner Schooner Boomer and Sooner "Boomer Sooner" Marching band The Kick The Oklahoma Heismen Play Like a Champion Today

People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks All-Americans NFL draftees Statistical leaders

Seasons	1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 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

National championship seasons in bold

College football national champions (poll era)

1936–1949	1936: Minnesota (AP, DS) / Pittsburgh (BS, HS) 1937: Pittsburgh (AP, BS, DS, HS) / California 1938: TCU (AP) / Tennessee (BS, HS) / Notre Dame (DS) 1939: Texas A&M (AP, BS, HS) / USC (DS) 1940: Minnesota (AP, BS, DS, HS) / Stanford 1941: Minnesota (AP, BS) / Alabama (HS) 1942: Ohio State (AP, BS) / Georgia (HS) 1943: Notre Dame 1944: Army (AP, BS, HS) / Ohio State 1945: Army 1946: Notre Dame (AP) / Army (BS, HS) 1947: Notre Dame (AP) / Michigan (AP [post-bowl], BS, HS) 1948: Michigan 1949: Notre Dame

1950s	1950: Oklahoma 1951: Tennessee (AP, Coaches) / Michigan State / Maryland / Georgia Tech (BS) / Illinois (BS) 1952: Michigan State (AP, Coaches, BS) / Georgia Tech (INS) 1953: Maryland (AP, Coaches, INS) / Notre Dame (BS) 1954: Ohio State (AP, BS, INS) / UCLA (FWAA, Coaches) 1955: Oklahoma 1956: Oklahoma 1957: Auburn (AP) / Ohio State (Coaches, BS, FWAA, INS) 1958: LSU (AP, Coaches, BS, FN) / Iowa (FWAA) 1959: Syracuse

1960s	1960: Minnesota (AP, Coaches, FN, NFF) / Ole Miss (FWAA) / Iowa BS) 1961: Alabama (AP, Coaches, FN, NFF) / Ohio State (FWAA) 1962: USC 1963: Texas 1964: Alabama (AP, Coaches) / Arkansas (FWAA) / Notre Dame (FN, NFF) 1965: Alabama (AP, FWAA) / Michigan State (Coaches, FN, FWAA, NFF) 1966: Notre Dame (AP, Coaches, FN, FWAA, NFF) / Michigan State (NFF) 1967: USC 1968: Ohio State 1969: Texas

1970s	1970: Nebraska (AP, FN, FWAA) / Texas (NFF, Coaches) / Ohio State (NFF) 1971: Nebraska 1972: USC 1973: Notre Dame (AP, FN, FWAA, NFF) / Alabama (Coaches) 1974: Oklahoma (AP, FN) / USC (FWAA, NFF, Coaches) 1975: Oklahoma 1976: Pittsburgh 1977: Notre Dame 1978: Alabama (AP, FWAA, NFF) / USC (Coaches, FN) 1979: Alabama

1980–1991	1980: Georgia 1981: Clemson 1982: Penn State 1983: Miami (FL) 1984: BYU 1985: Oklahoma 1986: Penn State 1987: Miami (FL) 1988: Notre Dame 1989: Miami (FL) 1990: Colorado (AP, FN, FWAA, NFF, USAT/CNN) / Georgia Tech (Coaches) 1991: Miami (FL) (AP) / Washington (Coaches, FN, FWAA, UPI/NFF)

Big Eight Conference football champions

MVIAA	Nebraska & Iowa (1907) Kansas (1908) Missouri (1909) Nebraska (1910) Iowa State & Nebraska (1911) Iowa State & Nebraska (1912) Missouri & Nebraska (1913) Nebraska (1914) Nebraska (1915) Nebraska (1916) Nebraska (1917) Missouri (1919) Oklahoma (1920) Nebraska (1921) Nebraska & Drake (1922) Nebraska (1923) Missouri (1924) Missouri (1925) Oklahoma A&M (1926) Missouri (1927)

Big Six	Nebraska (1928) Nebraska (1929) Kansas (1930) Nebraska (1931) Nebraska (1932) Nebraska (1933) Kansas State (1934) Nebraska (1935) Nebraska (1936) Nebraska (1937) Oklahoma (1938) Missouri (1939) Nebraska (1940) Missouri (1941) Missouri (1942) Oklahoma (1943) Oklahoma (1944) Missouri (1945) Kansas & Oklahoma (1946) Kansas & Oklahoma (1947)

Big Seven	Oklahoma (1948) Oklahoma (1949) Oklahoma (1950) Oklahoma (1951) Oklahoma (1952) Oklahoma (1953) Oklahoma (1954) Oklahoma (1955) Oklahoma (1956) Oklahoma (1957) Oklahoma (1958) Oklahoma (1959)

Big Eight	Missouri (1960) Colorado (1961) Oklahoma (1962) Nebraska (1963) Nebraska (1964) Nebraska (1965) Nebraska (1966) Oklahoma (1967) Kansas & Oklahoma (1968) Missouri & Nebraska (1969) Nebraska (1970) Nebraska (1971) Nebraska (1972) Oklahoma (1973) Oklahoma (1974) Nebraska & Oklahoma (1975) Colorado, Oklahoma, & Oklahoma State (1976) Oklahoma (1977) Nebraska & Oklahoma (1978) Oklahoma (1979) Oklahoma (1980) Nebraska (1981) Nebraska (1982) Nebraska (1983) Nebraska & Oklahoma (1984) Oklahoma (1985) Oklahoma (1986) Oklahoma (1987) Nebraska (1988) Colorado (1989) Colorado (1990) Colorado & Nebraska (1991) Nebraska (1992) Nebraska (1993) Nebraska (1994) Nebraska (1995)

National championships in bold

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