The Monster Is Fed: Oklahoma’s Journey to the 1985 National Title

The No. 5-ranked Oklahoma Sooners host the Kent State Golden Flashes on Saturday. During halftime, OU will commemorate the Sooners' 1985 national championship team, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the program’s sixth national championship. Former coaches and players will be present and honored during the ceremony.

This is a story about the Sooners' climb to that championship. Low points of the early 1980s, a freshman phenom not suited for the program’s trajectory, key figures who solidified the school’s championship pedigree and the initial stumbles as they clawed themselves back to the top. Oklahoma’s 1985 championship was forged in the down years prior.

Prelude to Glory

By the early 1980s, the dominance of the program Barry Switzer inherited in 1973 had begun to fade.

Throughout the 1970s, the University of Oklahoma was a machine that had cut through college football with relentless ease. The wishbone had spread to Norman, and the sport couldn’t touch the Sooners.

Even some of college football’s greatest coaches have down periods.

Oklahoma Sooners, Barry Switzer — Oklahoma head coach Barry Switzer | Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

That’s what happened to Oklahoma after stars like J.C. Watts and Billy Sims left following the 1980 season. From 1981 to 1983, the Sooners endured three straight four-loss campaigns, finishing with a combined 23-12-1 record during that span.

If you had been driving around Norman at the time, you may have seen the now-infamous “Bury Barry” bumper stickers.

To make matters worse, Oklahoma had already lost back-to-back games to a rising Texas program under Fred Akers in 1979 and 1980, then dropped two of the next three in the ’81 to ’83 stretch.

OU’s stranglehold against Big Eight Conference rival Nebraska also dwindled with the Sooners losing all three games from 1981 to 1983. Oklahoma had won nine of the previous 10 matchups against the Cornhuskers.

Tony Casillas is a fitting symbol for this era of the Sooners. As Oklahoma lost its rightful place atop the Big Eight during the early 1980s, Casillas, a blue-chip defensive lineman from Tulsa, didn’t know if he was, himself, in the right place when he began practicing as a freshman in 1981.

Oklahoma Sooners, Tony Casillas — Oklahoma noseguard Tony Casillas | RVR Photos-Imagn Images

“When you’re that young, you think you're better than everyone else,” Casillas told Sooners On SI. “There were so many great players, you don’t know where you stand.

“I said, ‘Look, this is going to take some work,'” he said.

Casillas was right. He and the Sooners had some work ahead before they climbed back atop the mountain.

The 1981 season was a disappointment right out the gate. OU lost on the road to No. 1-ranked USC and Marcus Allen in The Coliseum. The Sooners backed that up with a tie in Norman to Iowa State, the first time Oklahoma failed to beat the Cyclones since John F. Kennedy was president. They closed their early season schedule by getting routed by Texas in the Cotton Bowl.

Back-to-back losses against Missouri and Nebraska ensured that there would be no Sooner Magic to save the season. The team settled for a Sun Bowl victory over Houston.

In 1981, it didn’t seem like a quick turnaround was on the horizon. It would prove to be a long climb back for Switzer, Casillas and the Sooners, but the foundation for glory was being rebuilt. Still, more hurdles lay ahead.

There’s No I-Formation In ‘Team’

Marcus Dupree’s recruitment was a saga in itself. His rare talent forced Switzer into a dilemma: How do you coach a freshman from Philadelphia, MS, who is talented enough to stand with the veterans from the first day on campus?

Casillas, who later won the Lombardi Award as an all-American noseguard, still remembers how that question was answered. Like many of his teammates, Casillas was not thrilled that Dupree was treated differently. Yet, he said he understood then, and now, why Switzer made an exception.

“A lot of us guys weren’t in a position to make demands. He was such a tremendous athlete,” Casillas said. “We resented that he was treated differently, but that’s life.”

Oklahoma Sooners, Marcus Dupree — Oklahoma running back Marcus Dupree | Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

That coach-player relationship proved up and down, but in the moment, Switzer did what any coach would do after landing a generational recruit: He put the ball in Dupree’s hands — often.

After the Sooners’ shutout loss to USC, the team’s first shutout in 169 games, Switzer pivoted from the wishbone to the I-formation, hoping to let Dupree run downhill. A week later, at the Cotton Bowl, Dupree delivered his coming out party. He rushed for 96 yards on nine carries, highlighted by a 63-yard fake reverse touchdown run that showcased his blend of power and speed.

From there, Dupree ran wild. His long touchdown bursts were so electric that radio voice John Brooks’ signature “Jiiiimminy Christmas!” during a 75-yard touchdown against Kansas or a 77-yard punt return for a touchdown against Colorado still echoes in the memories of Sooner Nation.

But Dupree’s immaturity was becoming impossible to ignore. According to former Sooners running backs coach Scott Hill, “He only practiced six times the last six weeks of his senior year (of high school). If he had the slightest ache, they let him sit down.” That routine followed him to Norman. Switzer found himself balancing the benefits of a rare talent with the challenge of a questionable work ethic.

“You have to pay your dues,” Casillas said. “We were out there busting our ass all week, but Marcus was just a freak. He didn’t work hard. If Marcus got tired, his hamstring started getting tight. And we’d joke about ‘Marcus Dupree Syndrome.’ ‘Hey man, I got a tight hammy!’”

The First Turning Point Towards Glory

The tight hamstring came to the forefront when Dupree ran all over the Arizona State Sun Devils in the Fiesta Bowl at season’s end.

Dupree finished the game with a Fiesta Bowl-record 239 yards on 17 carries. The talented freshman was visibly slower than during the regular season – extra holiday pounds and a tight hamstring were the culprits. To anyone who will ask him, Switzer would tell you that Dupree was out of shape. Had Dupree been up to par physically, he would have rushed for even more yards and the Sooners would have won.

That is when things went south for the Switzer-Dupree relationship.

“I think that’s when Coach Switzer understood the messaging he was sending (to the rest of the team). He got the vibe from everyone else and said ‘Look, I can’t allow this anymore, Marcus. I don’t care how good of a player you are.’”

Following Oklahoma’s loss to Texas in 1983, Dupree exited stage left and never played again for the Sooners.

“That was a turning point,” Casillas added. “(Switzer) sent a message to us as players. This is a team effort. We’re not going to let one player dictate how good we’re going to be.

“The message was received really well,” Casillas added. “We had to move on and build trust with the players. You can’t allow that for one guy. We started to turn the corner.”

Oklahoma Sooners, Danny Bradley — Oklahoma quarterback Danny Bradley | Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

The Sooners continued on with newcomers Danny Bradley at quarterback and Spencer Tillman at running back. After Dupree left for his home in Mississippi, OU finished its season on a 5-2 run, narrowly missing an upset victory of No. 1-ranked Nebraska.

The 1983 season marked the third of three consecutive four-loss seasons. While 8-4 years can get a coach a raise at most schools, Oklahoma does not suffer losing four games a year for long. Many questioned at the time if the team or Switzer still had another run in them.

Regardless of the doubt, the foundation was already set for a championship run.

Even The Great Ones Can Have Imposter Syndrome

Oklahoma had put the Dupree saga behind them and looked towards a new beginning with the 1984 season.

By this point, Casillas was an upperclassman and leader on the team. His path to becoming one of the premier defensive linemen in the nation was marked by hard work that mirrored the labors the program had to endure to dig itself out of the early 1980s rut.

But it wasn’t always an upward trajectory.

Early on in his career, Casillas recalled his first season in 1981 as a wake-up call.

“Steve Williams, ‘Dr. Death,’ was a tough dual athlete,” he said. “He baptized my ass. He had these black gloves and they hit me like brass knuckles.

“I was used to dominating in high school. The first time I lined up one-on-one with him, he hit me so hard it almost made me quit.”

Casillas questioned if he was good enough to be an Oklahoma Sooner in his early days. His doubt led to a momentary collapse of confidence when he went back home to Tulsa with the intention to give it up.

“I had a lot of self doubt then. Mine was the mental aspect and physicality. Getting the deer caught in the headlight syndrome. ‘Am I cut out to do this?’

“My response was, ‘I’m not,’” Casillas added. “I got hurt my freshman year (broken foot), and I got depressed and thought I’d just go back home.”

That’s when Merv Johnson, assistant coach to Switzer, offensive line coach and Tulsa recruiting ace, got to work. Johnson and Switzer drove up I-44 to Tulsa to try and persuade Casillas to come back to Norman. Fortunately for the Sooners, they convinced him to return.

Casillas credited Johnson’s foresight into his own abilities as a player.

“He believed in me,” Casillas said. “Merv is one of those guys that, when he says something, you’d listen. I don’t remember Merv getting pissed off at his players, he didn’t have to.

“Merv told me back then, ‘You’re going to help us win a championship, you’re making a mistake,’ It didn't take a whole lot for him to convince me.”

Coach Merv

Switzer had known Johnson since their days as assistants under Frank Broyles at Arkansas in the early to mid-1960s. After the 1978 season, Switzer reached out to Johnson, then the offensive coordinator at Notre Dame and a 1977 national champion, with a question.

“I called Merv thinking to ask about some offensive line coaches I wanted to hire,” Switzer told Sooners On SI. “I was asking about each one of them, so I asked him, ‘Which one’s the best?’ and he said, ‘I am.’”

“‘Well, hell, will you take the job?’’ Switzer asked Johnson. “‘He said, ‘Yes’ and came to Norman after 1978.”

Johnson, who coached Joe Montana in South Bend, brought with him championship experience, a deep knowledge of Oklahoma’s secondary recruiting bed – Missouri, Arkansas, eastern Oklahoma – and an ability to communicate to different players regardless of their recruiting rankings.

Notre Dame, Joe Montana — Notre Dame quarterback Joe Montana | Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

Rick Blubaugh was a former Oklahoma Class 2A All Star running back from Tonkawa High School. Nowadays, he’s an emergency medical physician at Cox Medical Center Branson in Joplin, MO. Blubaugh’s connection to the story is through his experience as a walk-on running back on the 1985 Sooners, an opportunity that wouldn’t have happened if not for Johnson’s belief.

“My (high school) coach had a relationship with Merv Johnson, and Merv knew of me, and watched some of my film,” Blubaugh told Sooners On SI. “Merv invited me to come on to the team. So, I did.”

Blubaugh was one of three walk-ons selected for the team that offseason.

“I loved Merv Johnson,” he said. “He taught me that you can be an important and powerful guy, but you can still be a humble and giving guy who’s kind to people and isn't an a-hole.”

From an All-American defensive lineman to a walk-on running back, Johnson helped provide the glue for a championship staff and roster to come.

The Roller Coaster of 1984

The Sooners navigated the 1984 season that was fraught with adversity.

“In ‘84, you remember we got (screwed) out of the Texas game,” Switzer said.

The 87-year old coach’s bitterness towards the controversial game still shines through. Keith Stanberry intercepted the ball well in-bounds with the Sooners leading No. 1-ranked Texas before it was waved off incomplete, leading to a Longhorn field goal to end the game in a 15-15 tie.

“We should have had the Texas victory,” Switzer reiterated.

Oklahoma still managed to climb up to No. 2 in the polls following the tie. It seemed like OU had built back up a monster with a 6-0 record masquerading as a 5-0-1 record. Quarterback Danny Bradley injured his hand and ankle in a win over Iowa State the week following the Red River Rivalry. He would sit out the Sooners’ next game in Lawrence.

A young freshman from Henryetta, OK, by the name of Troy Aikman slid in at quarterback.

The future Pro Football Hall of Famer became the first true freshman to start at quarterback for Oklahoma since World War II. That honor would not translate into a victory. On the contrary, it would become a day he and the Sooners would want to forget.

OU lost 28-11 to the Jayhawks in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicates. The defense shut down Kansas all game, but the offense was a disaster. Aikman threw three interceptions, with one returned for a touchdown. Oklahoma fumbled twice inside their own 10-yard line, setting up easy Jayhawk field goals. Aikman was benched in the fourth quarter for third stringer Kyle Irvin, who also threw an interception late.

The Sooners’ Lawrence nightmare wasn’t over yet.

In the hours following the loss after the team returned to Norman, Stanberry and fellow defensive back Andre Johnson were seriously injured when their car smashed into a utility pole in downtown Norman.

In a separate event, Irvin, the backup who replaced Aikman in the loss hours before, was charged with a DUI along with grad assistant Mark Gale that same evening.

Casillas remembers the adversity of that period well.

“Keith and Andre had that awful automobile accident,” Casillas said. “That tested our resilience, and tested our bond because we had to deal with losing two defensive starters. That was hard to overcome.”

Oklahoma would have to overcome quite a bit. With the Big Eight title and a trip to the Orange Bowl on the line, the Sooners answered the call. For the first time since 1980, OU triumphed over No. 1-ranked Nebraska 17-7 and followed it up with a Bedlam victory and a share of the Big Eight championship.

Next, was a trip to Miami and a date with the Washington Huskies. On the line: A potential national championship.

South Beach Night Life is Undefeated

“All we did was go out and party, not take the game seriously,” Casillas said. “When we played Washington, it was a free-for-all, guys were going out partying. We embarrassed ourselves.”

The sentiment is shared with Casillas’ former coach.

“We went down and just played (awful against) Washington,” Switzer said. “Right, (awful). The way we played, we made some mistakes.

“We screwed up the Orange Bowl.”

Oklahoma lost to Washington 28-17, wiping away any hope they had of being crowned national champion. That honor went to undefeated BYU, who won the WAC and then beat 6-5 Michigan in the Holiday Bowl.

After climbing out of the hole the program dug for itself in the early 1980s, OU returned to where they belonged, only to fall flat on their face due to an uncharacteristic lack of discipline.

But the groundwork had been laid. Eternal glory was just a year away.

‘Welcome to the Big Eight’

Heading into 1985, Oklahoma was loaded on both sides of the ball. With a plethora of talent and experience, the Sooners were expected to build upon their good-but-not-great season of the previous season.

Casillas, Brian Bosworth, Ricky Dixon, Keith Jackson and Spencer Tillman led in the headlines along with other greats like the one Switzer affectionately described as the “most underrated player we ever had, that damn Stevie Bryan.”

Like Casillas’ first impression of Steve Williams in 1981, walk-on running back Rick Blubaugh had a similar experience with Steve Bryan in 1985. The Tonkawa native still fondly remembers that encounter.

“It was a blocking/tackling drill for linemen,” Blubaugh said. “They have me at running back. I’ve got Steve Bryan across from me. He hits me so hard that I’m laying there and it feels like a cartoon with the birds circling over my head. I’m thinking, ‘This is a big mistake, this was very different from high school.’

“Bryan reaches down and grabs my hand to help me up and says ‘Welcome to the Big Eight.’”

The 1985 Sooners hit hard. They didn’t want you to breathe.

“Our motto was to play physical, kick your ass,” Casillas said. “When we got you down, we stomped on you. We were a shark in the water when we smelled blood. We were nasty and carried that chip.”

With that mentality, OU welcomed everyone to the new Big Eight. Oklahoma was back.

The Second Turning Point Towards Glory

It was an all-star roster, but the Orange Bowl experience against Washington left a bitter taste in their mouths that offseason.

“That was a wake-up call,” Casillas said of the Orange Bowl loss.

As fate would have it, the Sooners' loss to Washington seemed necessary for their hero’s journey. They had clawed back to the top of the sport, but clearly lacked the discipline to finish the job. That fueled the program into the 1985 season.

While the players soul-searched inward, the coaching staff also looked outside for some help. Switzer took his offensive staff to the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs to seek advice from then-head coach Fisher DeBerry.

DeBerry was running his own version of the wishbone with the Falcons. He served as the Academy’s offensive coordinator for three seasons from 1981 to 1983. In his final season as the OC, Air Force went 10-2 and finished No. 13 in the country following their Independence Bowl victory over Ole Miss. DeBerry was promoted to head coach in 1984.

Air Force Fisher DeBerry — Air Force head coach Fisher DeBerry | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Switzer was interested in finding any edge possible to improve the Sooners’ chances in 1985 following their Orange Bowl collapse.

“We went to Air Force for a week and studied their offense and playbook,” Switzer said. “They were doing some things that made our wishbone better. Just little techniques they had. The things we did that we learned up there made us so much better.”

The Falcons threw the ball slightly more than the Sooners had done with a similar offense. It seemed that a small change was on the horizon in Norman, but it would be short lived.

Exit Aikman, Enter Holieway

Aikman put the awful experience at Kansas in 1984 behind him and assumed the role as QB1 at Oklahoma heading into the 1985 season.

Switzer had adapted the wishbone to try to suit Aikman’s strengths, but he would be the first one to tell you that the pro-style pocket-passer had a 48-yard touchdown run in their game against Miami that was ruled a 26-yard run thanks to Aikman’s shoe just barely touching the boundary.

Aikman would be lost for the season in Oklahoma’s loss to Miami that day with a broken ankle, courtesy of Hurricanes defensive star Jerome Brown. While Aikman eventually had a bright future waiting for him at UCLA, Casillas still tells his former Sooner and Dallas Cowboys teammate that he was integral to the team’s championship growth.

UCLA Bruins, Troy Aikman — UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman | RVR Photos-Imagn Images

“You’re a big part of that (success),” Casillas said of Aikman. “He is really grateful for his memories (at Oklahoma).”

Suddenly, the Sooners were going into the meat of their schedule with a loss and now a true freshman quarterback named Jamelle Holieway.

“We didn’t know this little cat from Carson, California, would pick it up and do it like he had been doing it forever,” Casillas said.

The defense, anchored by Casillas and Bosworth, understood that their burden would be a bit heavier with the loss of their starting quarterback. It’s typical for a defense to look at a situation like OU was staring at following their loss to Miami and plan to create more takeaways and more stops. Anything to help out your backup quarterback.

Little did the defense know, Holieway was, as rapper Kevin Gates would later coin in 2019, “Him.”

“He looked like J.C. Watts or Thomas Lott out there,” Casillas said of Holieway. “This guy looks like one of those cats. He had that command and confidence. We had Derrick Shepard, Keith Jackson, even in a non-passing offense, and he (Holieway) was freaking amazing.”

Oklahoma quarterback Jamelle Holieway | Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

Holieway’s maturity for a 17-year old freshman was astounding. He mastered practice, according to Casillas, who credited his execution of drills and timing plays.

“Whenever he would pitch off the perimeter, a kind of a zone-read, it was perfect. We watched it for a couple of games, and thought, ‘Damn, this cat’s good.’ You could tell his confidence and aura.”

Behind the best defense in the country and the now-fully automated wishbone attack under Holieway, Oklahoma rattled off seven consecutive wins following their loss to Miami. No game was close, including wins over No. 2 Nebraska and No. 17 Oklahoma State in the “Ice Bowl” in Stillwater.

With the Big Eight crown secured, the Sooners set their sights back on Miami – where they had failed the year before – and didn’t intend to repeat their errors.

‘You Didn’t See Me And I Didn’t See You’

Switzer wasn’t going to allow for another lackadaisical week of preparation in the Orange Bowl. Oklahoma was set to square off against undefeated and top-ranked Penn State. The No. 3-ranked Sooners would still need help in the event they defeated the Nittany Lions, as Miami – the one team who beat OU – was playing in the Sugar Bowl against Tennessee.

Despite that, Switzer was confident that if OU prevailed, they would be crowned champions. He also ensured that the team would be ready for their Orange Bowl date this time.

The Sooners arrived in Miami earlier than they had the previous year and set the tone by running two-a-day practices. Switzer himself set the discipline tone to the team.

“One of the things Switzer said was, ‘If anyone misses their 11 p.m. curfew I’m sending you back home,’” Casillas said.

The team was staying at the Fontainebleau Hotel, where they had stayed the year prior, and where Casillas, along with Bosworth and Dante Jones, had got stuck in an elevator for 45 minutes – an experience Casillas described as “not very pleasant with 250-300 pound men stuck in a tiny elevator.”

Oklahoma Sooners Keith Jackson — Oklahoma tight end Keith Jackson | Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

Following the curfew announcement, Switzer and a friend were enjoying themselves in the hotel bar. As the clock struck midnight, Switzer hesitated and revealed that he couldn’t go through the lobby for fear of a player seeing him after setting the curfew rule. They eventually came to the idea of sneaking through the service elevator.

Casillas shared that as Switzer was on the service elevator, the door opened to reveal Keith Jackson trying to enter the elevator – also past curfew.

Switzer looked at his All-American tight end and said, “You didn’t see me and I didn’t see you,” according to Casillas.

It’s a good thing Switzer didn’t send Jackson home.

The Monster is Fed

Oklahoma dominated Penn State 25-10. Jackson, spared from Switzer’s curfew ban, made the play of the day with a 71-yard touchdown catch from Holieway.

With Miami falling 35-7 to Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl, Oklahoma secured its sixth national championship.

The victory capped years of hard work, setbacks, character tests, and reinvention. The Sooners briefly abandoned the wishbone, then returned to it in fits and starts before fully recommitting. The failures of 1981 through 1983 built a team that wasn’t quite ready in 1984 but fully realized in 1985.

The win was especially meaningful for Switzer after the tough years of the 1980s.

“There was a dry spell for him,” Casillas said. “After the ‘84 Orange Bowl, he felt like he let the fans down because he let us act like kids and not focus on the task.”

Oklahoma Sooners Jamelle Holieway — Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Jamelle Holieway | RVR Photos-USA TODAY NETWORK

Switzer recognized the moment’s significance.

“1985 was a great team,” he said. “With that victory, we tied Bud Wilkinson’s record at this point in his career: 126 wins, 24 losses, three ties, and three national championships. That’s exactly what Bud had, and we had identical records.”

Switzer consistently said “we,” not “I” – a reflection of how he viewed his role in Sooner lore.

He has described Oklahoma football as a monster, demanding wins and championships for sustenance. Win, and the monster is sated; lose, and it becomes angry and hungry. This monster had consumed coaches before and after him, smiling on only one since he resigned following a tumultuous spring in 1989.

Switzer saw achieving the milestone with Wilkinson as a team effort spanning recruiting cycles, player generations, and coaching staffs. He was simply the caretaker trying to keep the monster at bay.

Forty years ago, in the late hours of January 1, 1986, the monster was finally fed.