Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma football: The Top-10 teams in Sooner gridiron history

By Aaron Gelvin

NORMAN, OK - SEPTEMBER 18: An Oklahoma Sooners Ruf Nek runs across the field with an OU flag after a 100-yard return on a blocked point-after-touchdown for two points against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 18, 2021 in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma won 23-16. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
NORMAN, OK - SEPTEMBER 18: An Oklahoma Sooners Ruf Nek runs across the field with an OU flag after a 100-yard return on a blocked point-after-touchdown for two points against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 18, 2021 in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma won 23-16. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
10 of 12
Next
Safety Chanse Sylvie #28 of the Oklahoma Sooners runs onto the field for a game against the TCU Horned Frogs. on at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
Safety Chanse Sylvie #28 of the Oklahoma Sooners runs onto the field for a game against the TCU Horned Frogs. on at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /

No. 3 — 1974 Oklahoma Sooners team

1974

Record: 11-0 overall (7-0 Big 8) National Champions

Head Coach: Barry Switzer

Ranking the top three teams on this list was very difficult to do, but in the end, Barry Switzer’s greatest team slides in at third. As was the case with 1973 and 1975, the Sooners were on probation in 1974. Unlike those years, however, OU didn’t appear on television at all or appear in a bowl game. Only one opponent played the Sooners within 14 points (Texas) and four opponents failed to score a touchdown at all. At the same time, OU led the nation in scoring offense with an average of 43 points per game. The stars were RB Joe Washington, QB Steve Davis, and defensive stars Lee Roy Selmon, Dewey Selmon, Jimbo Elrod and Rod Shoate.

The Sooners were named champs by the Associated Press after Alabama lost to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl. Oklahoma was not named the consensus national champion, however, as the Coaches Poll named USC as its national champ (imagine if that happened in 2022) after the Trojans beat Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. Still, the ’74 Sooners rolled through their entire regular season and didn’t need a bowl game to convince AP voters they were the best in the land.

Home/OU Football