1970 Oklahoma Sooners football team
| 1970 Oklahoma Sooners football | |
|---|---|
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, T 24–24 vs. Alabama | |
| Conference | Big Eight Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 15 |
| AP | No. 20 |
| Record | 7–4–1 (5–2 Big 8) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Barry Switzer (5th season) |
| Offensive scheme | I formation (first 3 games) Wishbone (final 9 games) |
| Defensive coordinator | Larry Lacewell (1st season) |
| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Oklahoma Memorial Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 1 Nebraska $ | 7 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 0 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 20 Oklahoma | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kansas State | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Missouri | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colorado | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kansas | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oklahoma State | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa State | 1 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1970 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1970 NCAA University Division football season, the 76th season of Sooner football. The team was led by head coach Chuck Fairbanks in his fourth season as the OU head coach. They played their home games at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. They were a member of the Big Eight Conference.
Conference play began at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado on October 17, with a win over the Colorado Buffaloes, and ended on November 28 at home in Norman with a win over Oklahoma State in the annual Bedlam Series. The Sooners lost their second conference game to Kansas State; the Wildcats' next victory in the series did not occur until 1993.
Following a loss in their third game to Oregon State, the Sooners installed the wishbone offense during the open week prior to the Red River Shootout against Texas. The Sooners ran the wishbone continuously, save for a switch to the I formation in 1982 and 1983, until the early 1990s.
After finishing the regular season with a record of 7–4 (5–2 in Big 8 play), the Sooners were invited to play in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, where they tied the Alabama Crimson Tide, 24–24.
Following the season, John Watson was selected in the seventh round of the 1971 NFL draft, and Steve Casteel was chosen in the 10th.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 12 | at SMU* | No. T–20 | W 28–11 | 51,909 | [1] | |||
| September 19 | Wisconsin* | No. 18 | W 21–7 | 58,100 | [2] | |||
| September 26 | Oregon State* | No. 14 |
| L 14–23 | 54,700 | [3] | ||
| October 10 | vs. No. 2 Texas* |
| ABC | L 9–41 | 71,938 | [4] | ||
| October 17 | at No. 13 Colorado | W 23–15 | 47,700 | [5] | ||||
| October 24 | Kansas State |
| L 14–19 | 60,800 | [6] | |||
| October 31 | 1:30 p.m. | at Iowa State | W 29–28 | 27,000 | [7] | |||
| November 7 | Missouri |
| W 28–13 | 54,750 | [8] | |||
| November 14 | at Kansas | W 28–24 | 38,200 | [9] | ||||
| November 21 | at No. 3 Nebraska | L 21–28 | 67,392 | [10] | ||||
| November 28 | Oklahoma State |
| W 66–6 | 60,300 | [11] | |||
| December 31 | vs. Alabama* | No. 24 | T 24–24 | 53,822 | [12] | |||
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Rankings
| Week | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Final |
| AP | 20 т | 18 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 20 | 20 | 20 т |
Roster
| 1970 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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NFL draft
The following players were selected into the 1971 NFL draft following the season.[15]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 179 | John Watson | Tackle | San Francisco 49ers |
| 10 | 258 | Steve Casteel | Linebacker | Cleveland Browns |
| 17 | 427 | Monty Johnson | Defensive back | Green Bay Packers |
References
- ^ "Sooners steal contest from Mustangs, 28–11". The Orange Leader. September 13, 1970. Retrieved March 26, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sooners conquer Badgers". The Shreveport Times. September 20, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Oregon State controls OU, 23 to 14". Tulsa World. September 27, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Horns crunch OU wishbone". Tulsa World. October 11, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sooners splatter Colorado". The Odessa American. October 18, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Wildcats score late to tumble Sooners". Southwest Times Record. October 25, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sooners shade Cyclones". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. November 1, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sooners club Mizzou, 28–13". Wichita Falls Times. November 8, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Oklahoma rally trims Kansas". Columbia Daily Tribune. November 15, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Nebraska wraps up Big Eight". The Orlando Sentinel. November 22, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Oklahoma in rout". The Houston Chronicle. November 29, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Darling, Ed (January 1, 1971). "Tide–Sooner deadlock some kind of game". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 11. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
- ^ 1970 OU Football Season Schedule – SoonerStats – Historical scores, records, and stats for Oklahoma Sooners football, basketball, baseball, and softball
- ^ "Schedule/Results (1970 Oklahoma)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved October 19, 2025.
- ^ "1971 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.