A Look Back At OU's National Championships

<p>OU has seven national titles to its name. Here's a look at each one.</p>

Sunday, December 6th 2015, 12:02 am

By: News 9


The Sooners have a long and rich championship history. From Bud Wilkinson to Barry Switzer to Bob Stoops, OU has seven National Championships to its name. The 2015 Sooners have a chance for No. 8, but for now, let’s take a look back at OU’s titles.

1950

(10-1)

The Sooners fell only once, a 13-7 Sugar Bowl loss to Kentucky. Nowadays, that would disqualify you from title consideration, but OU still received enough AP votes to finish the season No. 1 and win the title. Other noteables in the top 10: Army (2nd) and Princeton (6th).

1955

(11-0)

This dominant OU squad won nonconference games against UNC and Pittsburgh and shut out five of its opponents, including Texas, Nebraska and Oklahoma State. OU creamed Maryland in the Orange Bowl to finish as the undisputed champs.

1956

(10-0)

Another perfect season that included six more shutouts. In fact, OU held four of its first five opponents scoreless, including Texas and Notre Dame. This is arguably the most dominant OU team of all time.

1974

(11-0)

This one felt good after what was a long drought. OU only played one close game all year, a 16-13 win over No. 17 Texas. The Sooners clinched their fate with a 28-14 win over No. 6 Nebraska in the second-to-last week of the season. OU was the only undefeated team left when it was all said and done.

1975

(11-1)

OU won seven games against top 25 opponents in ’75, including a 14-6 win over Michigan in the Orange Bowl. The Sooners’ lone blemish was a head-scratching 23-3 loss to unranked Kansas. However, thanks to OU’s brutal schedule, the AP voters gave them the nod over unbeaten Arizona State.

1985

(11-1)

Another season, another early nonconference loss to an unranked opponent. Just like ’75, though, OU rebounded and ran the table. Wins over No. 2 Nebraska and No. 17 Oklahoma State propelled the Sooners into an Orange Bowl showdown with No. 1 Penn State. OU not only won, but did so convincingly in a 25-10 route. The win earned the Sooners their six title.

2000

(13-0)

OU didn’t enter the 2000 campaign with too high of expectations. Ranked 19th entering their first game against UTEP, the Sooners had a tall hill to climb if they wanted to get nationally relevant. OU opened the season with four wins over poor opponents and crept all the way up to 11th in the process. The Sooners passed their first big test with flying colors, a 63-14 win over No. 10 Texas, and vaulted up to No. 8 afterward. OU’s second test was a week later against No. 2 Kansas State, and the Sooners took home a 10-point win. OU rose all the way to third, but still had to face its toughest opponent of all: No. 1 Nebraska. OU smoked the Huskers 31-14 and rose took over their spot as the top team in the land. OU went on to beat K-State again in the Big 12 title game to earn a spot in the BCS National Title, where the Sooners dominated Florida State, 13-2.

The 2015 Sooners have a lot in common with some of these past winners. Like the 1975 and 1985 teams, this year’s unit had a bad early loss to an unranked opponent, but was able to rebound and win out. And like the 2000 team, the 2015 Sooners didn’t come into the season with the highest of expectations.

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