Most college football fans are aware of Oklahoma's record 47-game winning streak, one of the legendary achievements that will likely stand the test of time.
Whenever talk turns to Oklahoma's historic greatness on the gridiron, the Sooners' remarkable string of 47 consecutive victories over five seasons generally finds itself somewhere in the discussion. That is unequivocably the most notable college football record owned by Oklahoma. But it represents merely the tip of the iceberg.
Sooner fans especially, but also college fans in general, might be surprised to know that Oklahoma owns outright or shares close to 50 current NCAA team and individual records in football.
Sooners own nearly 50 NCAA records
Although a handful of the Oklahoma team NCAA records date back 50-plus years, most of the team and individual records that still stand today were established this century.
ESPN recently posted an article on college football's 10 most unbreakable records. Three of those belonged to Oklahoma. The 47-game win streak ranked No. 1 on the list. No. 4 was OU's punishing wishbone offense, which averaged 472 yards per game in 1971, and No. 7 was Antonio Perkins' three punt returns for touchdowns in a 2003 game against UCLA.
Also cited, in the No. 9 spot in the ESPN ranking, was Patrick Mahomes' 819 yards of total offense in a 2016 showdown against Baker Mayfield and Oklahoma. The Sooners outlasted Mahomes and Texas Tech and won the old-fashioned offensive shootout by a score of 66-59. Both teams totaled 1,708 yards of total offense in the game (854 by each) to also set an NCAA record.
Here are some of the more prominent team and individual records that still have Oklahoma's name next to them in the NCAA record books:.
Selected OU team NCAA records
- Most rushing yards in a single game: 768 vs. Kansas State in 1988
- Rushing yards averaged per game for a full season: 472.36, 1971 (5,196 in 11 games). The Sooners hold the top four spots in NCAA record history for the average rushing yards per game (428.8 in 1987; 427.5 in 1978; 404.7 in 1986).
- Average rushing attempts per game: 73.9 in 1974 (813 in 11 games)
- Passing yards gained per attempt for a season: 11.70 in 2017
- Highest average gain per play: 8.60 in 2018
- Total offensive yards in a game by both teams: 1,708 by Oklahoma (854) and Texas Tech (854) in 2016
- Most touchdowns rushing and passing for a season: 96 in 2008 (14 games)
- Most games scoring 60-plus points in a season (5 in 2008)
Selected individual NCAA records by Sooner players
- Rushing yards in a game: 427 by Samaje Perine (2014 vs. Kansas)
- Most rushing yards by a freshman in a season: 1,924 by Adrian Peterson (2004)
- Consecutive games gaining 100-plus yards by a freshman: 9 by Adrian Peterson (2004)
- Most yards gained by two opposing players: 1,383 - Baker Mayfield (564) and Patrick Mahomes (819) in 2016
- Highest average gain per play in a season: 10.37 by Kyler Murray (2018)
- Must touchdowns by punt returns in a single game: 3 by Antonio Perkins (2003)
- Most yards gained on punt returns in a single game: 277 by Antonio Perkins (2003)
- Total tackles in a single game: 28 by Kenneth Murray vs. Army (2018)
For a fairly comprehensive list of of Oklahoma team and individual NCAA records you can click here.
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