1981 Orange Bowl

The 1981 Orange Bowl was the 47th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Thursday, January 1. Part of the 1980–81 bowl game season, it matched the fourth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners of the Big Eight Conference and the independent #2 Florida State Seminoles.^[2][3]

1981 Orange Bowl
47th Orange Bowl
Oklahoma Sooners Florida State Seminoles (9–2) (10–1) Big 8 Independent 18 17 Head coach:  Barry Switzer Head coach:  Bobby Bowden AP Coaches 4 4 AP Coaches 2 2
1 2 3 4 Total Oklahoma 0 3 7 8 18 Florida State 0 7 3 7 17
Date	January 1, 1981
Season	1980
Stadium	Orange Bowl
Location	Miami, Florida
MVP	J. C. Watts (Oklahoma QB) Jarvis Coursey (FSU DE)
Favorite	Oklahoma by 5½ points [1]
Referee	Gene Calhoun (Big Ten)
Attendance	71,043
United States TV coverage
Network	NBC
Announcers	Don Criqui and John Brodie
Orange Bowl  < 1980  1982 >

Favored Oklahoma rallied to win by a point, 18–17.^{[4][5][6][7][8]}

Teams

Main article: 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season

The game was a rematch of the previous year, and both teams were on seven-game winning streaks.^[2]

Oklahoma

Main article: 1980 Oklahoma Sooners football team

The Sooners lost two non-conference games, to Stanford at home,^[9] and rival Texas in Dallas.^[10] They were champions of the Big Eight Conference for the eighth consecutive year. This was Oklahoma's twelfth Orange Bowl appearance, fourth consecutive, and fifth in six seasons.

Florida State

Main article: 1980 Florida State Seminoles football team

The Seminoles' only blemish was a one-point loss at rival Miami in late September.^[11] This was Florida State's second major bowl appearance, after playing in last year's edition.

Game summary

After a scoreless first quarter, Ricky Williams put Florida State ahead with his touchdown run, and Oklahoma countered with a long field goal by Mike Keeling; the Seminoles led 7–3 at halftime.

To start the second half, Oklahoma drove 78 yards on twelve plays, and halfback David Overstreet scored from four yards out to take a 10–7 lead. A short field goal by Bill Capece tied the game at ten for the last tally of the third quarter.

Four minutes into the final quarter, cornerback Bobby Butler recovered a botched punt snap in the end zone to give the Seminoles a 17–10 lead. With 3:19 remaining, Oklahoma's fate laid in the hands of senior quarterback J. C. Watts, who had turned the ball over three times on fumbles. He led the Sooners on a 78-yard drive, culminating with an eleven-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Steve Rhodes with 1:33 remaining. Down by a point, Oklahoma opted for the two-point conversion attempt, and Watts completed a pass to tight end Forrest Valora in the end zone for a one-point lead. Florida State tried to counter back, but Capece's 62-yard field goal attempt fell short, and the Sooners were victorious.^[6][8]

Scoring

First quarter

No scoring

Second quarter

• Florida State – Ricky Williams 10-yard run (Bill Capece kick)
• Oklahoma – Mike Keeling 53-yard field goal

Third quarter

• Oklahoma – David Overstreet 4-yard run (Keeling kick)
• Florida State – Capece 19-yard field goal

Fourth quarter

• Florida State – Bobby Butler fumble recovery of punt snap (Capece kick)
• Oklahoma – Steve Rhodes 11-yard pass from J. C. Watts (Forrest Valora pass from Watts)

Source:^[6][7][12]

Statistics

Statistics	Oklahoma	Florida State
First Downs	18	23
Rushes–yards	55–156	60–212
Passing yards	128	51
Passes (C–A–I)	7–12–0	11–15–0
Total Offense	67–284	75–263
Return yards	18	−6
Punts–average	2–37.0	4–42.5
Fumbles–lost	7–5	1–0
Turnovers	5	0
Penalties–yards	4–32	5–58

Source:^[6][7][12]

Aftermath

Oklahoma climbed to third in the final AP poll and Florida State fell to fifth.

The Sooners' next Orange Bowl was four years later, the first of four consecutive; the Seminoles did not return for twelve years.

References

1. "Latest line". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 1, 1981. p. 25.
2. "Seminoles, Oklahoma looking for opening". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. January 1, 1981. p. 46.
3. Axelrod, Phil (January 1, 1981). "Layoff worries Oklahoma". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 24.
4. Axelrod, Phil (January 2, 1981). "Sooners nip Florida St". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 13.
5. "Watts rates Sooners 3rd". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. January 2, 1981. p. 20.
6. "Sooners shock Florida State, 18-17". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 2, 1981. p. 3D.
7. "Two-point conversion caps comeback for Oklahoma". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. January 2, 1981. p. 20.
8. Eidge, Frank (January 2, 1981). "Sooners rally to 18-17 win". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. p. 14.
9. "Sooners find Card up their sleeve". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 28, 1980. p. 3B.
10. "Sooner or later, it's Texas". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). October 12, 1980. p. 8C.
11. "Florida State's streak blown by the Hurricanes". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. September 28, 1980. p. 10B.
12. "Game-by-game recaps: 1981" (PDF). 2019 Capital One Orange Bowl media guide. January 2019. p. 38.