1976 Oklahoma Sooners football team

1976 Oklahoma Sooners football
1976 Oklahoma Sooners football
Big 8 co-champion; Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 41–7 vs. Wyoming
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 6
AP	No. 5
Record	9–2–1 (5–2 Big 8)
Head coach	Barry Switzer (4th season);
Offensive coordinator	Galen Hall (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Wishbone
Defensive coordinator	Larry Lacewell (7th season)
Base defense	5–2
Captains	Jerry Anderson; Scott Hill; Mike Vaughan;
Home stadium	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
	Seasons ← 1975 1977 →

1976 Big Eight Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 16 Colorado +	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
No. 14 Oklahoma State +	5	–	2	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
No. 5 Oklahoma +	5	–	2	–	0	9	–	2	–	1
No. 19 Iowa State	4	–	3	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
No. 9 Nebraska	4	–	3	–	0	9	–	3	–	1
Missouri	3	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Kansas	2	–	5	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Kansas State	0	–	7	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1976 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. Oklahoma was a member of the Big Eight Conference and played its home games in Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, where it has played its home games since 1923.^[1] The team posted a 9–2–1 overall record and a 5–2–0 conference record to earn a share of the Conference title under head coach Barry Switzer who took the helm in 1973.^[2]^[3] This was Switzer's fourth conference title in four seasons.^[2]

The team was led by two All-Americans: Zac Henderson^[4] and Mike Vaughan.^[5] After tying with Oklahoma State and Colorado for the conference title, it earned a trip to the Fiesta Bowl where it came out victorious against the Wyoming Cowboys.^[3] During the season, it faced five ranked opponents (In order, #16 Texas, #15 Kansas, #19 Colorado, #11 Missouri and #10 Nebraska). Four of its opponents finished the season ranked. It tied with Texas in the Red River Shootout and lost to Oklahoma State and Colorado.^[3] The Sooners started the season with a 5–0–1 record. They also began and ended the season with four-game winning streaks.^[3] Sophomore Daryl Hunt's 177 tackles that season would stand as the school record for five years and continues to be the second highest total behind Jackie Shipp's 189 in 1981.^[6]

Kenny King led the team in rushing with 839 yards, Dean Blevins led the team in passing with 384 yards, Steve Rhodes led the team in receiving with 160 yards, Uwe von Schamann and Horace Ivory led the team in scoring with 72 points, Hunt led the team in tackles with a record-setting 177 as well as interceptions with 4.^[6]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11	at Vanderbilt*	No. 5	Dudley Field Nashville, TN		W 24–3	34,694	^[7]
September 18	California*	No. 4	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 28–17	72,026
September 25	Florida State*	No. 4	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 24–9	71,343
October 2	at Iowa State	No. 3	Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA		W 24–10	47,186
October 9	vs. No. 16 Texas*	No. 3	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Red River Shootout)	ABC	T 6–6	72,032
October 16	at No. 15 Kansas	No. 6	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS		W 28–10	49,085
October 23	Oklahoma State	No. 5	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (Bedlam Series)		L 24–31	72,041
October 30	at No. 19 Colorado	No. 13	Folsom Field Boulder, CO		L 31–42	53,380
November 6	Kansas State	No. 14	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 49–20	70,987
November 13	No. 11 Missouri	No. 14	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry)		W 27–20	71,620
November 26	at No. 10 Nebraska	No. 8	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	ABC	W 20–17	74,284
December 25	vs. Wyoming*	No. 8	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl)	CBS	W 41–7	48,714
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
AP	5 (6)	4 (4)	4 (3)	3 (2)	2 (3)	6	5	13	17	14	10	8	8	5

Game summaries

Vanderbilt

California

Florida State

Florida State Seminoles at #4 Oklahoma Sooners

	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida State	6	0	3	0	9
• Oklahoma	3	14	0	7	24

Date: Saturday, September 25
Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma

Source: Eugene Register-Guard

Iowa State

Texas

	1	2	3	4	Total
Texas	0	3	0	3	6
Oklahoma	0	0	0	6	6

Date: October 9
Location: Cotton Bowl
Game attendance: 72,032
TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson and Bud Wilkinson

^[8]

Kansas

Oklahoma State

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Oklahoma St	10	3	8	10	31
Oklahoma	14	7	3	0	24

Date: October 23
Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium

^[9]

Colorado

Kansas State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kansas St	7	10	3	0	20
• Oklahoma	21	7	7	14	49

Date: November 6
Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma
Game attendance: 71,184

^[10]

Missouri

Nebraska

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Oklahoma	7	0	0	13	20
Nebraska	0	3	14	0	17

Date: November 26
Location: Memorial Stadium
Game attendance: 76,247
TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson and Ara Parseghian

^[11]

Fiesta Bowl

Roster

1976 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
OT	`67`	Karl Baldischwiler	Jr
QB	`2`	Dean Blevins	Jr
OT	`63`	Sam Claphan	So
WR	`15`	Jim Culbreath	Sr
RB	`28`	George Cumby	Fr
WR	`33`	Bud Hebert	So
TE	`80`	Victor Hicks	So
RB	`32`	Horace Ivory	Sr
RB	`30`	Kenny King	So
QB	`6`	Thomas Lott	So
RB	`11`	Fred Nixon	Fr
OT	`66`	Louis Oubre	Fr
RB	`4`	Elvis Peacock	Jr
SE	`3`	Darrol Ray	Fr
SE	`24`	Steve Rhodes	Fr
G	`65`	Greg Roberts	So
RB	`34`	Jimmy Rogers	So
HB	`23`	Woodie Shepard	So
HB	`20`	Billy Sims	So
OT	`79`	Mike Vaughan (C)	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`17`	Jerry Anderson (C)	Sr
DE	`72`	John Goodman	Fr
S	`1`	Zac Henderson	Jr
S	`7`	Scott Hill (C)	Sr
DT	`70`	Dave Hudgens	Jr
LB	`85`	Daryl Hunt	So
DT	`62`	Reggie Kinlaw	So
DE	`58`	Reggie Mathis	So
DT	`74`	Phil Tabor	So

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`10`	Uwe von Schamann	So

Head coach

Barry Switzer (4th year)

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Donnie Duncan (assistant)
Gary Gibbs (GA)
Galen Hall (OC)
Warren Harper (LB)
Gene Hochevar
Larry Lacewell (DC)
Rex Norris (DL)
Gerald O'Dell
Jerry Pettibone
Lucious Selmon (DL)
Mike Shanahan (GA)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

^[12]

Awards and honors

All-American: Zac Henderson^[4] and Mike Vaughan^[5]

NFL draft

The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.^[13]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL team
2	44	Horace Ivory	Running back	New England Patriots
3	82	Sidney Brown	Defensive back	New England Patriots
4	88	Mike Vaughan	Tackle	New York Giants
4	105	Jerry Anderson	Defensive back	Cincinnati Bengals
10	260	Jim Culbreath	Running back	Green Bay Packers

References

^ "Memorial Stadium". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 28, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
^ ^a ^b "OU Football Tradition – 42 Conference Titles". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 22, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "1976 Football Season". SoonerStats.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
^ ^a ^b "All-American: Zac Henderson". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
^ ^a ^b "All-American: Mike Vaughan". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
^ ^a ^b "2009 Football Record Book" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. p. 175. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
^ "Sooners crush Vanderbilt, 24–3". The Sunday Express-News. September 12, 1976. Retrieved October 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Oct-07.
^ SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Oct-07.
^ Palm Beach Post. 1976 Nov 7.
^ HuskerMax. Retrieved 2018-Oct-07.
^ Woodling, Chuck (October 14, 1976). "Aerial circus unlikely when Kansas, Oklahoma vie". Lawrence Journal-World. p. 14.
^ "1977 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.

[1] "Memorial Stadium". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 28, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.

[OFT42CT-2] "OU Football Tradition – 42 Conference Titles". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 22, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.

[76FS-3] "1976 Football Season". SoonerStats.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010.

[AAZH-4] "All-American: Zac Henderson". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.

[AAMV-5] "All-American: Mike Vaughan". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.

[2009_Football_Record_Book-6] "2009 Football Record Book" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. p. 175. Retrieved June 30, 2010.

[7] "Sooners crush Vanderbilt, 24–3". The Sunday Express-News. September 12, 1976. Retrieved October 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[8] SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Oct-07.

[9] SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Oct-07.

[10] Palm Beach Post. 1976 Nov 7.

[11] HuskerMax. Retrieved 2018-Oct-07.

[acunlkl-12] Woodling, Chuck (October 14, 1976). "Aerial circus unlikely when Kansas, Oklahoma vie". Lawrence Journal-World. p. 14.

[13] "1977 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.

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v t e Oklahoma Sooners football
Venues	Boyd Field (1905–1923) Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (1923–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Missouri Nebraska Oklahoma State: Bedlam Series Texas: Red River Rivalry
Culture & lore	T formation Wishbone formation 1971 Nebraska game 2008 Big 12 South 3-way tie controversy 2016 Texas Tech game Oklahoma drill Sooner Schooner RUF/NEKS Black 41 Flash Reverse Pass Boomer and Sooner "Boomer Sooner" Marching band The Kick Play Like a Champion Today
People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks All-Americans NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e Big Eight Conference football champions
MVIAA	Iowa & Nebraska (1907) Kansas (1908) Missouri (1909) Nebraska (1910) Iowa State & Nebraska (1911) Iowa State & Nebraska (1912) Missouri & Nebraska (1913) Nebraska (1914) Nebraska (1915) Nebraska (1916) Nebraska (1917) Missouri (1919) Oklahoma (1920) Nebraska (1921) Drake & Nebraska (1922) Kansas & Nebraska (1923) Missouri (1924) Missouri (1925) Oklahoma A&M (1926) Missouri (1927)
Big Six	Nebraska (1928) Nebraska (1929) Kansas (1930) Nebraska (1931) Nebraska (1932) Nebraska (1933) Kansas State (1934) Nebraska (1935) Nebraska (1936) Nebraska (1937) Oklahoma (1938) Missouri (1939) Nebraska (1940) Missouri (1941) Missouri (1942) Oklahoma (1943) Oklahoma (1944) Missouri (1945) Kansas & Oklahoma (1946) Kansas & Oklahoma (1947)
Big Seven	Oklahoma (1948) Oklahoma (1949) Oklahoma (1950) Oklahoma (1951) Oklahoma (1952) Oklahoma (1953) Oklahoma (1954) Oklahoma (1955) Oklahoma (1956) Oklahoma (1957) Oklahoma (1958) Oklahoma (1959)
Big Eight	Missouri (1960) Colorado (1961) Oklahoma (1962) Nebraska (1963) Nebraska (1964) Nebraska (1965) Nebraska (1966) Oklahoma (1967) Kansas & Oklahoma (1968) Missouri & Nebraska (1969) Nebraska (1970) Nebraska (1971) Nebraska (1972) Oklahoma (1973) Oklahoma (1974) Nebraska & Oklahoma (1975) Colorado, Oklahoma, & Oklahoma State (1976) Oklahoma (1977) Nebraska & Oklahoma (1978) Oklahoma (1979) Oklahoma (1980) Nebraska (1981) Nebraska (1982) Nebraska (1983) Nebraska & Oklahoma (1984) Oklahoma (1985) Oklahoma (1986) Oklahoma (1987) Nebraska (1988) Colorado (1989) Colorado (1990) Colorado & Nebraska (1991) Nebraska (1992) Nebraska (1993) Nebraska (1994) Nebraska (1995)
National championships in bold