Oklahoma Sooners National Championship Seasons
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The chance for OU fans to wear Oklahoma Sooners National Championship gear emerged when Bud Wilkinson took hold of the Sooner
reins in 1947. Within three seasons, Oklahoma earned its first national championship. Bud Wilkinson delivered three Oklahoma Sooners
national championships and an NCAA record-winning streak. In the 1950s, Wilkinson’s Oklahoma teams reached a level of dominance that
compared to the New York Yankees and Boston Celtic dynasties of that era.
When Oklahoma’s 1950 season began, the Sooners had already established a 21 game winning streak. The momentum continued through
the regular season as Oklahoma extended the streak to 31 games. With a Sooners national championship already in hand, Bear Bryant’s
Kentucky Wildcats upset the Sooners 13-7 in the Sugar Bowl.
The Sooners began a national championship run in 1955 with a 19-game winning streak in the books. Nothing could slow the Sooners
championship march as they went 21-0 over the next two seasons while capturing consecutive national championships. The two campaigns
saw Oklahoma eclipse the 40-point mark 12 times while blanking 11 opponents. Oklahoma would extend their winning streak to 47 games
before Notre Dame broke the streak late in the 1957 season.
Another national championship trifecta was accomplished when Barry Switzer became Oklahoma’s head coach in 1973. The Sooners ran
the wishbone offense to perfection while Switzer’s players gained the national spotlight both on and off the field.
The trend of establishing a long winning streak to set up a national title run continued in 1974 as OU began the campaign with an 18-game
non-losing streak. Sooners fans enjoyed wearing national championship gear as Oklahoma averaged 43 points a game while reaching
national championship heights with an undefeated season.
Switzer’s team pushed their non-losing streak to 30 games into the 1975 season before a late season loss to Kansas ended it. However, an
11-1 record that included an Orange Bowl win over Michigan, brought another national championship to the Sooners.
Oklahoma earned national championship glory a decade later when Barry Switzer led the Sooners to an 11-1 record in 1985. A loss to an
emerging Miami team had caused the Sooners to briefly stumble, but an Orange Bowl win over Penn State gave the Sooners the opportunity
to wear their national championship
gear again.
The Sooners national championship level of play disappeared from the radar screen until Head Coach Bob Stoopes added new energy to the
program. Oklahoma reemerged in 2000 with the nation’s only undefeated team. The Sooners capped their remarkable comeback season
with a 13-2 victory over heavily favored Florida State.
OU nearly handed FSU its first shutout in 12 seasons as Bob Stoops squad harassed Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Chris Weinke
throughout the evening in the Orange Bowl. FSU’s only score was the result of a botched OU snap to the punter with 55 seconds left in the
game. Besides championship glory, the victory also netted added satisfaction for Sooner quarterback Josh Heupel, who had finished
second in the Heisman voting behind Weinke.
The seeds were planted for OU’s return to national prominence in 1999 when Stoops took the school’s coaching reins after successful
defensive coaching stints at Kansas State and Florida. Although the Sooners had stumbled to a 12-22 record the three previous years,
Stoops quickly returned the thump to “Boomer Sooner” as OU went bowling in 1999.
As the 2000 season dawned, the Sooners returned quarterback Josh Heupel and posted a No. 19 national ranking.
After easing through September, the next month’s schedule was anything but an Octoberfest with No. 11 Texas, No. 2 Kansas State and No.
1 Nebraska lying in wait. However, OU’s Boomer Schooner plowed straight to the top of the BCS standings after dismantling the Longhorns
63-14, whipping the Wildcats on the road 31-14 and shucking the Cornhuskers 31-14.
Oklahoma Sooners National Championship Seasons
YEAR REC COACH POLLS
1950 10-1 Bud Wilkinson Unanimous
1955 11-0 Bud Wilkinson Unanimous
1956 10-0 Bud Wilkinson Unanimous
1974 11-0 Barry Switzer AP
1975 11-1 Barry Switzer Unanimous
1985 11-1 Barry Switzer Unanimous
2000 13-0 Bob Stoops BCS-Unanimous
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