Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Five Toughest Oklahoma Football Opponents All-Time

By Chip Rouse

Dec 31, 2015; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Oklahoma Sooners defensive end Charles Tapper (91) tackles Clemson Tigers wide receiver Artavis Scott (3) in the second quarter of the 2015 CFP Semifinal at the Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2015; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Oklahoma Sooners defensive end Charles Tapper (91) tackles Clemson Tigers wide receiver Artavis Scott (3) in the second quarter of the 2015 CFP Semifinal at the Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 1, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Josh Adams (33) runs the ball against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the 2016 Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Buckeyes defeated the Fighting Irish 44-28. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Josh Adams (33) runs the ball against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the 2016 Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Buckeyes defeated the Fighting Irish 44-28. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 2 – The Fighting Irish Have Taken the Fight Out of the Sooners

In 2013, Oklahoma made its sixth visit all time to South Bend, Ind., to take on the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. The Sooners had won just one time previously at Notre Dame, and that one, a 40-0 whitewashing of the Irish in OU’s 1956 national championship season, was Oklahoma’s only victory over Notre Dame in 10 games all-time.

The then-14th ranked Sooners (in the Associated Press Top 25) jumped out to an early lead in the 2013 game and held on for a 35-21 win. The year before, in front of a sold-out highly partisan crowd at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, the fifth-ranked Fighting Irish broke open a close game after three quarters to win going away, 30-13. The Sooners were ranked No. 8 in the country at the time.

These two elite college football brands have only faced each other 11 times in their storied histories, but several of the games have been among the more noteworthy in college football history.

The first game in this historic series was in 1952, with 10th-ranked Notre Dame upsetting No. 4 Oklahoma 27-21 at Notre Dame. The same two teams met again the following season in the season-opener in Norman. The Fighting Irish were the top-ranked team in the country in the AP poll to begin the 1953 season, and they held on to win again by virtually the same score, 28-21, over the sixth-ranked Sooners.

That loss to open the season in 1953 was the last time an Oklahoma team would lose until the eighth game of the 1957 season, a span of an NCAA-record 47 consecutive games, a mark that still stands today. The team that snapped the Sooners 47-game streak ironically was their old nemesis Notre Dame, which defeated OU 7-0 in Norman in one of the classic games in college football history.

Oklahoma is 2-9 all-time in games with Notre Dame.

Next: No. 3 - The Trojan Wars Have Not Been Kind to the Sooners

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