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1976 Oklahoma Sooners football
Big 8 co-champion
Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 41–7 vs. Wyoming
Conference Big Eight Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 6
APNo. 5
Record9–2–1 (5–2 Big 8)
Head coach
Offensive coordinator Galen Hall (4th season)
Offensive scheme Wishbone
Defensive coordinator Larry Lacewell (7th season)
Base defense 5–2
Captains
Home stadium Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Seasons
←  1975
1977 →
1976 Big Eight Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 16 Colorado + 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
No. 14 Oklahoma State + 5 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 5 Oklahoma + 5 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 1
No. 19 Iowa State 4 – 3 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
No. 9 Nebraska 4 – 3 – 0 9 – 3 – 1
Missouri 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Kansas 2 – 5 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Kansas State 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1976 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. Oklahoma was a member of the Big Eight Conference and played its home games in Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, where it has played its home games since 1923. [1] The team posted a 9–2–1 overall record and a 5–2–0 conference record to earn a share of the Conference title under head coach Barry Switzer who took the helm in 1973. [2] [3] This was Switzer's fourth conference title in four seasons. [2]

The team was led by two All-Americans: Zac Henderson [4] and Mike Vaughan. [5] After tying with Oklahoma State and Colorado for the conference title, it earned a trip to the Fiesta Bowl where it came out victorious against the Wyoming Cowboys. [3] During the season, it faced five ranked opponents (In order, #16 Texas, #15 Kansas, #19 Colorado, #11 Missouri and #10 Nebraska). Four of its opponents finished the season ranked. It tied with Texas in the Red River Shootout and lost to Oklahoma State and Colorado. [3] The Sooners started the season with a 5–0–1 record. They also began and ended the season with four-game winning streaks. [3] Sophomore Daryl Hunt's 177 tackles that season would stand as the school record for five years and continues to be the second highest total behind Jackie Shipp's 189 in 1981. [6]

Kenny King led the team in rushing with 839 yards, Dean Blevins led the team in passing with 384 yards, Steve Rhodes led the team in receiving with 160 yards, Uwe von Schamann and Horace Ivory led the team in scoring with 72 points, Hunt led the team in tackles with a record-setting 177 as well as interceptions with 4. [6]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 11at Vanderbilt*No. 5
W 24–334,694 [7]
September 18 California*No. 4
W 28–1772,026
September 25 Florida State*No. 4
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 24–971,343
October 2at Iowa StateNo. 3
W 24–1047,186
October 9vs. No. 16 Texas*No. 3
 ABCT 6–672,032
October 16at No. 15 KansasNo. 6
W 28–1049,085
October 23 Oklahoma StateNo. 5
L 24–3172,041
October 30at No. 19 ColoradoNo. 13
L 31–4253,380
November 6 Kansas StateNo. 14
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 49–2070,987
November 13No. 11 MissouriNo. 14
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK ( rivalry)
W 27–2071,620
November 26at No. 10 NebraskaNo. 8
ABCW 20–1774,284
December 25vs. Wyoming*No. 8
 CBSW 41–748,714
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1976 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
OT 67 Karl Baldischwiler Jr
QB 2 Dean Blevins Jr
OT 63 Sam Claphan  So
WR 15 Jim Culbreath Sr
RB 28 George Cumby  Fr
WR 33 Bud Hebert So
TE 80 Victor Hicks So
RB 32 Horace Ivory  Sr
RB 30 Kenny King So
QB 6 Thomas Lott So
RB 11 Fred Nixon Fr
OT 66 Louis Oubre Fr
RB 4 Elvis Peacock  Jr
SE 3 Darrol Ray Fr
SE 24 Steve Rhodes Fr
G 65 Greg Roberts So
RB 34 Jimmy Rogers  So
HB 23 Woodie Shepard So
HB 20 Billy Sims So
OT 79 Mike Vaughan (C) Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB 17 Jerry Anderson (C) Sr
DE 72 John Goodman Fr
S 1 Zac Henderson Jr
S 7 Scott Hill (C) Sr
DT 70 Dave Hudgens  Jr
LB 85 Daryl Hunt So
DT 62 Reggie Kinlaw So
DE 58 Reggie Mathis So
DT 74 Phil Tabor So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 10 Uwe von Schamann So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

Game summaries

Vanderbilt

California

Florida State

Florida State Seminoles at #4 Oklahoma Sooners
1 234Total
Florida State 6 030 9
• Oklahoma 3 1407 24
  • Source: Eugene Register-Guard
Scoring summary
1OKLAvon Schamann 40-yard field goalOKLA 3-0
1FSUKey 5-yard run (kick failed)FSU 6-3
2OKLAIvory 37-yard run (von Schamann kick)OKLA 10-6
2OKLAIvory 23-yard run (von Schamann kick)OKLA 17-6
3FSUCappelen 41-yard field goalOKLA 17-9
4OKLAPeacock 3-yard run (von Schamann kick)OKLA 24-9

Iowa State

Texas

1 234Total
Texas 0 303 6
Oklahoma 0 006 6

[8]

Kansas

Oklahoma State

1 234Total
• Oklahoma St 10 3810 31
Oklahoma 14 730 24
  • Date: October 23
  • Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium

[9]

Colorado

Kansas State

1 234Total
Kansas St 7 1030 20
• Oklahoma 21 7714 49
Scoring summary
1OKLAIvory 4-yard run (von Schamann kick)Oklahoma 7-0
1OKLAIvory 6-yard run (von Schamann kick)Oklahoma 14-0
1KSULovely 1-yard run (Sinovic kick)Oklahoma 14-7
1OKLAKing 30-yard run (von Schamann kick)Oklahoma 21-7
2OKLALott 2-yard run (von Schamann kick)Oklahoma 28-7
2KSUWhitley 9-yard pass from Henrikson (Sinovic kick)Oklahoma 28-14
2KSUSinovic 30-yard field goalOklahoma 28-17
3KSUSinovic 39-yard field goalOklahoma 28-20
3OKLALott 11-yard run (von Schamann kick)Oklahoma 35-20
4OKLALott 3-yard run (von Schamann kick)Oklahoma 42-20
4OKLAIvory 8-yard run (von Schamann kick)Oklahoma 49-20

[10]

Missouri

Nebraska

1 234Total
• Oklahoma 7 0013 20
Nebraska 0 3140 17
Scoring summary
Q10:16OKLA Peacock 1 yard run ( von Schamann kick)OKLA 7–0
Q29:06NEBEveland 33 yard field goalOKLA 7–3
Q39:56NEBCraig 9 yard run (Eveland kick)NEB 10–7
Q36:31NEBBerns 4 yard run (Eveland kick)NEB 17–7
Q412:28OKLAPeacock 50 yard run (run failed)NEB 17–13
Q40:38OKLAPeacock 2 yard run (von Schamann kick)OKLA 20–17

[11]

Fiesta Bowl

Rankings

See also: 1976 NCAA Division I football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112Final
AP5 (6)4 (4)4 (3)3 (2)2 (3)6513171410885

Awards and honors

A football signed by the 1976 Oklahoma Sooners, including Billy Sims and J. C. Watts, that was gifted to President Gerald Ford.

Postseason

NFL draft

The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season. [12]

Round Pick Player Position NFL Team
2 44 Horace Ivory Running back New England Patriots
3 82 Sidney Brown Defensive back New England Patriots
4 88 Mike Vaughan Tackle New York Giants
4 105 Jerry Anderson Defensive back Cincinnati Bengals
10 260 Jim Culbreath Running back Green Bay Packers

References

  1. ^ "Memorial Stadium". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 28, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  2. ^ a b "OU Football Tradition – 42 Conference Titles". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 22, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d "1976 Football Season". SoonerStats.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  4. ^ a b "All-American: Zac Henderson". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
  5. ^ a b "All-American: Mike Vaughan". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
  6. ^ a b "2009 Football Record Book" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. p. 175. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  7. ^ "Sooners crush Vanderbilt, 24–3". The Sunday Express-News. September 12, 1976. Retrieved October 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Oct-07.
  9. ^ SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Oct-07.
  10. ^ Palm Beach Post. 1976 Nov 7.
  11. ^ HuskerMax. Retrieved 2018-Oct-07.
  12. ^ "1977 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
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