Boomer Sooner, the new song of the South - Where does the Oklahoma football program stack up with the SEC?
By Brandon Self
The Oklahoma football program has spent the last 28 years in the Big 12 and they won the conference's title 14 times. Prior to that the Sooners were in the Big 8 for 89 years and won 32 conference titles. Now the Sooners are in college football's equivalent of "The Show" and we need to look at how they stack up against the big boys.
When programs transition into a new conference, like Oklahoma and Texas are doing with the SEC, they DO NOT bring their previous conference clout with them. When colleges change conferences, their historical records do not transition into their new conference. Instead, the historical records remain associated with the conference in which the games were originally played. However, the school's overall history and achievements are still part of their legacy and can be celebrated in their new conference. So lets celebrate! Lets compare the Sooners history with the history of all other SEC programs.
This article is going to compare the Sooners most historical achievements with the programs of the SEC. *Trigger warning* This article is full of stats. The metrics we will compare are: national championships, Heisman trophy selections, major award winners, consensus All-Americans, and bowl victories.
Following every college football season, various groups and foundations award deserving players with their different positional awards. These awards include: The Heisman Memorial Trophy, Maxwell award (most outstanding player), Walter Camp award (player of the year), Doak Walker award (running back), Davey O'Brien award (quarterback), Biletnikoff award (wide receiver), Mackey award (tight-end), Outland award (interior lineman), Lombardi award (nation's top player), Rimington award (centers), Bednarik (top defensive player), Nagurski (defensive players of the year), Butkus (linebacker), Thorpe award (defensive back), Groza award (kicker), Guy award (punter), Hendricks (defensive end), Sammy Baugh award (top passer), Lott trophy (defensive player), Manning award (quarterback), Johnnie Rodgers (top returner), and the AP Player of the Year award.
So, without further adieu, lets compare.