1976 Oklahoma Sooners football team

1976 Oklahoma Sooners football
Big 8 co-champion
Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 41–7 vs. Wyoming
ConferenceBig Eight Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 6
APNo. 5
Record9–2–1 (5–2 Big 8)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGalen Hall (4th season)
Offensive schemeWishbone
Defensive coordinatorLarry Lacewell (7th season)
Base defense5–2
Captains
Home stadiumOklahoma Memorial Stadium
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 18California*No. 4
W 28–1771,286[8]
September 25Florida State*No. 4
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 24–971,184[9]
October 2at Iowa StateNo. 3
W 24–1048,500[10]
October 9vs. No. 16 Texas*No. 3
ABCT 6–672,032[11]
October 16at No. 15 KansasNo. 6
W 28–1052,100[12]
October 23Oklahoma StateNo. 5
L 24–3171,184[13]
October 30at No. 19 ColoradoNo. 13
L 31–4253,380[14]
November 6Kansas StateNo. 14
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 49–2071,184[15]
November 13No. 11 MissouriNo. 14
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK (rivalry)
W 27–2071,184[16]
November 26at No. 10 NebraskaNo. 8
ABCW 20–1776,247[17]
December 25vs. Wyoming*No. 8
CBSW 41–748,714[18]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

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

Game summaries

Vanderbilt

California

Florida State

Florida State Seminoles at #4 Oklahoma Sooners
Team 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

Team 1 234Total
Texas 0 303 6
Oklahoma 0 006 6

[19]

Kansas

Oklahoma State

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

[20]

Colorado

Kansas State

Team 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

[21]

Missouri

Nebraska

Team 1 234Total
• Oklahoma 7 0013 20
Nebraska 0 3140 17
Scoring summary
Q10:16OKLAPeacock 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

[22]

Wyoming—Fiesta Bowl

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
  • Redshirt

Roster

[23]

Awards and honors

NFL draft

The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.[24]

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. ^ "Sooners let air out of Cal 28–17". The Wichita Eagle & Beacon. September 19, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Oklahoma pressed to beat Seminoles". Panama City News. September 26, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Big OU plays burst Cyclone's bubble, 24–10". Lincoln Journal & Star. October 3, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Texas and Oklahoma deadlock". Del Rio News Herald. October 10, 1976. Retrieved March 29, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Cromwell hurt; Sooners whip KU". The Salina Journal. October 17, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Comeback Cowboys finish OU, 31–24". Lincoln Journal & Star. October 24, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Buffaloes bury OU 42–31". Southwest Times Record. October 31, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Sooners rediscover winning ways 49–20". The El Paso Times. November 7, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Sooners, OSU run wild". Tulsa World. November 14, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Sooners comeback kills Huskers". Casper Star-Tribune. November 27, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Sooners crush Wyoming". The Odessa American. December 26, 1976. Retrieved October 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Oct-07.
  20. ^ SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Oct-07.
  21. ^ Palm Beach Post. 1976 Nov 7.
  22. ^ HuskerMax. Retrieved 2018-Oct-07.
  23. ^ Woodling, Chuck (October 14, 1976). "Aerial circus unlikely when Kansas, Oklahoma vie". Lawrence Journal-World. p. 14.
  24. ^ "1977 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
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