Stormin in Norman
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Oklahoma football: The 10 best teams of the Wilkinson-Switzer-Stoops eras

By Chip Rouse

NORMAN, OK - NOVEMBER 11: The Oklahoma Sooners take the field before the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on November 11, 2017 in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma defeated TCU 38-20. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
NORMAN, OK - NOVEMBER 11: The Oklahoma Sooners take the field before the game against the TCU Horned Frogs at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on November 11, 2017 in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma defeated TCU 38-20. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /
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No. 10 — 1950 Oklahoma Sooners (10-1, 6-0), national champions
No. 10 — 1950 Oklahoma Sooners (10-1, 6-0), national champions /

The year 1950 marked a milestone in the first half-century of Oklahoma football. That year, in Bud Wilkinson’s fourth season as the Sooners’ head coach, Oklahoma lost just once in 11 games and was undefeated in what was then the Big Seven Conference. At season’s end, the Sooners were awarded the school’s first national championship in football.

The one loss came in the final game of the season. The No. 1 -ranked Sooners fumbled the ball away five times and came up on the short end of a 13-7 decision against Kentucky, coached by Paul “Bear” Bryant, in the Sugar Bowl. The loss snapped a 31-game Oklahoma winning streak (OU had not lost a game since midway through the 1947 season).

The Sooners were down 13-0 entering the fourth quarter. A 17-yard touchdown pass by Billy Vessels midway through the final quarter cut into the Kentucky advantage, but OU was unable to get any closer.

Despite the bowl loss, Oklahoma held on to the No. 1 ranking as a result of its overall body of work that season, which included wins over No. 4 Texas, No. 19 Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma State.

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