In the wide world of sports, one of the most discernible ways to judge a team or individual athlete's widespread popularity or notoriety is how many times the subject appears on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine.
The Oklahoma football program has appeared on a Sports Illustrated cover, either as a mention, a full cover feature or a special commemorative edition, 46 times in the 73-year history of the iconic sports magazine. That is the second-most of any college football team, trailing only Alabama (65). The Sooners are tied with Ohio State, each with 46 football-related Sport Illustrated covers.
Former Oklahoma quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield has appeared on more Sports Illustrated covers than any other Sooner. Mayfield appeared on four SI covers over a four-month period between September and December 2017.
Thirty-nine of the 46 Oklahoma football SI covers occurred during the time Bob Stoops was head coach. The Sooners appeared on an SI cover 16 times from 2000 to 2009, and 13 times between 2010 and 2018. Heisman-winning quarterback Kyler Murray was the last Oklahoma student-athlete to appear on an SI cover. His image graced the cover as part of the 2018 college football preview issue.
This is how I rank the five best Oklahoma football Sports Illustrated covers:
Baker Mayfield leads OU players in quantity but not quality of SI covers
5. "Oklahoma O.K" (October 1977)
In late September 1977, No. 3 Oklahoma traveled to Columbus, Ohio, to take on No. 4 Ohio State and its legendary head coach Woody Hayes. With the Buckeyes leading 28-26 and six seconds remaining in the game, Oklahoma's Uwe von Schamann lifted a 41-yard field goal perfectly through the uprights to give the Sooners a thrilling come-from-behind 29-28 victory.
The following week's issue of Sports Illustrated featured a cover photo of No. 20 Billy Sims leaping over an Ohio State defender and the accompanying headline "Oklahoma O.K.: Billy Sims bounds over the Buckeyes." Sims scored a touchdown and rushed for 60 yards in the game. The Sooner All-American running back gained 406 yards on the ground that season. The following season, however, Sims exploded for a Big Eight-best 1,762 yards and 20 touchdowns on the way to winning the Heisman Trophy.
4. "Take That Texas!" (October 2001)
In 2001, Oklahoma completed the second of what would be five straight Red River Rivalry wins over Texas. With Oklahoma holding on to a narrow 7-3 advantage late in the fourth quarter and Texas beginning an offensive series backed up against its own goal line, "Superman" OU safety Roy Williams catapulted over the line of scrimmage and hit Texas quarterback Chris Simms as he was releasing the football. The ball popped into the air and into the waiting arms of Oklahoma linebacker Teddy Lehman, who took a couple of steps into the end zone for a Sooner touchdown and a 14-3 lead. That proved to be the winning play of the game and earned Oklahoma an SI cover feature the following week.
3. "So Good, It's Scary" (August 2002)
The 2002 College Football Preview issue of Sports Illustrated featured a menacing image of All-America Oklahoma defensive tackle Tommie Harris on the cover, along with the accompanying headline: "So Good, It's Scary" in reference to the daunting Sooner defense that Harris was one of the leaders of. Oklahoma also happened to be SI's No. 1-ranked team in its preseason issue that season.
2. "Irresistible Oklahoma Meets Immovable Nebraska" (November 1971)
The 1971 rivalry game between longtime Big Eight foes Oklahoma and Nebraska featured a showdown between the No. 1 Cornhuskers and No. 2 Sooners. The Sports Illustrated cover the week of the game, billed nationally as the "Game of the Century," featured images of Oklahoma running back Greg Pruitt and Nebraska linebacker Bob Terrio under the imposing headline: "Irresistible Oklahoma Meets Immovable Nebraska."
The game itself lived up to all the hype and then some. Nebraska mounted a touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter to overcome a 31-28 deficit and beat OU 35-31. The Cornhuskers finished the season undefeated, winning the national championship for the second straight season. Nebraska and the Sooners ended the 1971 season ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively.
1. "Perfect!" (January 2001)
Quarterback Josh Heupel was featured on the cover after leading Oklahoma to the 2000 BCS national championship with a 13-2 win over Florida State. "Perfect!" was the main cover headline on this Sports Illustrated commemorative issue. Heupel finished second in the Heisman voting that season and was voted AP College Football Player of the Year.
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