Year-by-Year: 1980
November 24, 1980 10:00 AM
Sooners Spoil Seminole Uprising
Oklahoma 24
Florida State 7
J.C. Watts and Billy Sims each rushed for more than 100 yards and a stingy Oklahoma defense shut down undefeated and fourth-ranked Florida State for a 24-7 victory.
For 17 minutes, it appeared Florida State would realize its dream of a 12-0 season. Making its first appearance in the Orange, Florida State took a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard Mike Whiting run.
The Seminoles had a chance to double the lead when Bobby Butler blocked a Sooner punt and Florida State had the ball on the Oklahoma 17. But a series of miscues, including a fumbled field goal snap, left the Seminoles without a score.
Watts quickly quieted the biased Garnet & Gold crowd with a 61-yard touchdown run, the first of 24 unanswered points by Oklahoma.
Moments later, safety Bud Hebert intercepted a Jimmy Jordan pass at the Seminole 10 and Stanley Wilson cashed it in two plays later. A Mike Keeling 24-yard field goal before the half made it 17-7.
Watts finished the day with 127 yards rushing and Sims had 164.
GAME STATISTICS
Oklahoma FSU
First Downs 23 12
Rushing Plays 35 35
Rushing Yards 411 82
Passes Attempted 4 27
Passes Completed 2 8
Had Intercepted 0 3
Passing Yards 36 100
Total Offense 447 182
Punting/Avg.  4/25 9/42.2
Fumbles/Lost 5/4 1/0
Penalties/Yards 3/27 4/20
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Oklahoma 0 17 0 7 24
Florida State 7 0 7 0 7
SCORING SUMMARY
FS: Whiting 1 run (Cappelen kick); OU: Watts 61 run (Keeling kick); OU: Wilson 5 run (Keeling kick); OU: Keeling 24 FG; OU: Sims 22 run; Watts 12 on lateral (Keeling kick) ... MVPs: J.C. Watts and Bub Herbert (Oklahoma)
Oklahoma Head Coach Barry Switzer
Florida State Head Coach Bobby Bowden