Hang Half-a-Hundred on 'Em: Looking Back on OU's 50 Conference Titles, Part 3
In 2020, the Oklahoma Sooners won their 50th conference title, four more than second place Nebraska. Every Friday this summer in our Hang Half-a-Hundred on ‘Em series, SI Sooners takes a look back at every single conference championship season in OU history.
1978: Heisman No. 3
Billy Sims
Rich Clarkson/NCAA Photos via Wochit
Led by eventual Heisman Trophy winner Billy Sims, Barry Switzer’s Sooners were able to avenge a regular season loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers to finish the year Orange Bowl Champions. Rolling Missouri and Texas in back-to-back weeks, OU vaulted to No. 1, only getting tested against the Kansas Jayhawks until making the trip north to Lincoln. The top-ranked Sooners met the No. 2 Cornhuskers, but multiple mistakes did Oklahoma in. The biggest was a fumble by Sims with 3:27 remaining on the clock, sealing a 17-14 win for the ‘Huskers, their first over Oklahoma since the Game of the Century and pushed both teams to a 6-1 record and a share of the conference title. A month and a half later, Oklahoma played a much cleaner game, exacting revenge on Nebraska 31-24 behind a pair of touchdowns from Sims and a big third quarter from the Sooners.
1977: The Kick
Billy Sims
Rich Clarkson / Sports Illustrated
It wasn't a conference game, but it was the biggest game of the '77 season. Switzer took his Sooner show on the road to Columbus in 1977, capturing the program’s first win over the Buckeyes. Matching up against Woody Hayes’ No. 4-ranked Buckeyes, Oklahoma raced out to a 20-0 lead before Thomas Lott and Billy Sims got hurt. Ohio State stormed back on a 28-0 run, but a failed Sooner 2-point conversion paved the way for one of the all-time OU moments. Oklahoma recovered the ensuing onside kick, and Dean Blevins was able to get OU into field goal range, where the Buckeyes then tried to ice kicker Uwe Von Schamann. As the “block that kick chant” broke out, Von Schamann proceeded to lead the chant, like an orchestral conductor, then knocked through the field goal and handed his team the victory. Unfortunately, the Sooners were unable to capitalize, falling to Texas two games later. Running the conference slate unbeaten, the Big Eight Champion Sooners fell to the No. 6-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks 31-6 in the Orange Bowl.
1976: The Reload
Barry Switzer
Denver Post / Getty Images via Wochit
After back-to-back national titles, the Sooners had a letdown by their standards in 1976. Still, posting a 9-2-1 record, Oklahoma was able to earn a share of the Big Eight Championship. With Billy Sims sidelined with an injury, the Sooners fought to a 6-6 tie against the Texas Longhorns, then dropped back-to-back games against Oklahoma State and Colorado to fall into the three-way tie with the Cowboys and the Buffaloes. But Switzer’s team got back in the saddle, surviving 27-20 against Missouri and a 20-17 fight against the Cornhuskers in Lincoln to earn a berth in the Fiesta Bowl. In Tempe, the Sooners ran all over Fred Akers’ Wyoming Cowboys to cap the season off with a 41-7 victory.
1975: Go, Joe!
Barry Switzer
Rich Clarkson / NCAA Photos via Wochit
Looking to repeat as National Champions, the Sooners started off with back-to-back-to-back wins over Miami, No. 19 Colorado and No. 5 Texas. Oklahoma’s title hopes were on the rocks though after the Kansas Jayhawks stunned OU 23-3 in Norman, snapping a 28-game win streak. But A week later, Joe Washington sprinted into Oklahoma history. Down 27-20 in the closing minutes, Washington made two Missouri Tigers miss at the line of scrimmage, planted in the hole and darted to the left, and made a 70-yard house call. He then converted the 2-point conversion to complete the 28-27 comeback. The next week, the Sooners rolled No. 2 Nebraska 35-10 sealed back-to-back titles, and then finished a two-year probation with a television appearance in the Orange Bowl and a 14-6 win over the No. 5-ranked Michigan Wolverines.
1974: The Best Team Nobody Ever Saw
Dewey Selmon and Lee Roy Selmon
Rich Clarkson / NCAA Photos via Wochit
Still on probation, the 1974 Sooners were banned from appearing on television, which hurt them early on. Struggling but finally beating Baylor 28-11 in the season opener, the Sooners immediately dropped from No. 1 to No. 3 in the polls. But then Oklahoma got things back on the tracks. Dominating Utah State and Wake Forest, the Sooners then topped No. 17 Texas 16-13, one of few close games they would play the rest of the way. OU beat Nebraska without registering a passing yard, silencing a record Memorial Stadium crowd in Lincoln 28-14 behind 147 yards from Jim Littrell and 142 yards from Washington, then drubbed Oklahoma State 44-13 to win the conference crown. Despite not appearing in a bowl game, the Sooners were voted national champions after Notre Dame beat Alabama in the Orange Bowl.
1973: The Coronation of a King
Clyde Powers and Road Shoate
Rich Clarkson / NCAA Photos via Wochit
Anchored by one of the best defenses in school history, the 1973 Sooners went undefeated, only tying USC inside The Coliseum. Led by Rod Shoate and the Selmon brothers, Oklahoma never allowed more than 20 points. They beat Miami in the third week of the season and No. 18 Kansas in November. Facing Nebraska, OU shut out their rivals, marking the first time in 58 contests the Cornhuskers had been blanked. OU finished the year with a 45-18 victory over Oklahoma State, ending the year ranked No. 2 due to not participating in a bowl as the program was serving the first year of a two-year bowl ban. It was the first of Switzer's eight straight Big Eight titles.
1972: Selmons United
The Selmons
Rich Clarkson / NCAA Photos via Wochit
Chuck Fairbanks’ last year in Norman was marked by sending the program onto probation, but the talent of the 1972 Oklahoma Sooners team was undeniable. Beating their first three opponents 169-6, the Sooners pulled away from Texas late behind a 5-yard touchdown run from Greg Pruitt to open the scoring, topping the ‘Horns 27-0. A week later, Oklahoma was upset by Colorado 20-14, sending them tumbling down the rankings. OU finished the season with wins over five ranked opponents, including a 14-point comeback against Nebraska, and beat Penn State on New Year’s Eve in the Sugar Bowl to end the season the No. 2-ranked team in the country.
1968: Owens Runs Wild
Steve Owens
via Wochit
Though he wouldn’t win the Heisman Trophy until 1969, Steve Owens was a workhorse for Fairbanks and the Sooners in 1968, totaling 1,536 yards and 21 touchdowns. Out of the gate, OU lost two of its three non-conference games, falling to Notre Dame 45-21 in South Bend and then losing to Texas two games later in the Cotton Bowl. The Sooners stubbed their toe again against Colorado, but then reeled off five straight wins, including a 47-0 drubbing of Nebraska, to win the Big Eight Championship. In the Bluebonnet Bowl, the Sooners again came up short against SMU 28-27.
1967: Good Luck Chuck
Chuck Fairbanks
Rich Clarkson / NCAA Photos via Wochit
The 1967 season began in tragedy, with head coach Jim Mackenzie suffering a fatal heart attack in April after just one season at the helm. Fairbanks was promoted to head coach, and he immediately reeled off a Big Eight title and a 10-1 season. Only falling to Texas 9-7 in the third game of the season, the Sooners outscored their conference foes 201-59. Riding their star running back, Owens, No. 2 OU outlasted the No. 3-ranked Tennessee Volunteers 26-24 in the Orange Bowl
1962: Bud’s Final Title
Bud Wilkinson
Denver Post / Getty Images via Wochit
After two lean years, OU was led offensively by Joe Don Looney for Bud Wilkinson’s final conference title in his penultimate season on the sidelines for Oklahoma. Beating Syracuse 7-3 in the season opener, the Sooners then lost back-to-back games to Notre Dame and No. 2 Texas by a combined score of 22-13. Rallying from the disappointing non-conference, OU rallied to dominate the Big Eight. Blanking No. 6 Missouri 13-0, the Sooners then rolled Nebraska 34-6 and Oklahoma State 37-6, punching their ticket to the Orange Bowl. Awaiting them was Bear Bryant’s No. 5-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, where quarterback Joe Namath was able to orchestrate a 17-0 victory over Wilkinson’s Sooners.
