Five standout Oklahoma football bowl wins not for a national title

An Oklahoma football team has played in 55 postseason bowl games, the fourth most of any team in college team.

And that number would be much higher had it not have been for the Big Eight rule prohibiting its conference champion from playing in the Orange Bowl (with which the conference had a contractual agreement) two years in a row.

Thirty-nine of the bowl games the Sooners have appeared in are now one of the venues considered part of the New Year’ Six bowls — or the premier bowl games — including 21 times in the Orange Bowl.

Four of Oklahoma’s seven national championships have been the result of bowl victories, all coming in the Orange Bowl. On New Year’s Day 1951, Oklahoma actually lost to then-No. 7 Kentucky, 16-7, in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans and still was crowned national champion, the school’s first national title in football.

OU’s 55 all-time bowl appearances have been in 15 different bowl locations, including all six of those that make up the current New Year’s Six bowls.

Considering all 55 bowl games that the Sooners have had the privilege of participating in, what are the five best Oklahoma bowl victories that did not result in a national championship?

You don’t have to ponder this question for long because we’ve done the analysis for you: Here is the list we came up with, ranked in ascending order.