1976 Oklahoma Sooners football team

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]

1976 Oklahoma Sooners football
Big Eight co-champion
Fiesta Bowl champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 41–7 vs. Wyoming
ConferenceBig Eight Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 5
APNo. 6
1976 record9–2–1 (5–2 Big 8)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGalen Hall (4th season)
Offensive schemeWishbone
Defensive coordinatorLarry Lacewell (7th season)
Base defense5–2
Home stadiumOklahoma Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 71,187)
1976 Big Eight Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 5 Oklahoma + 5 –2 –0  9 –2 –1
No. 14 Oklahoma State + 5 –2 –0  9 –3 –0
No. 16 Colorado + 5 –2 –0  8 –4 –0
No. 9 Nebraska 4 –3 –0  9 –3 –1
No. 19 Iowa State 4 –3 –0  8 –3 –0
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 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
DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 11at Vanderbilt*No. 5
W 24–334,171[7]
September 18California*No. 4
W 28–1772,026[7]
September 25Florida State*No. 4
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 24–971,343[7]
October 2at Iowa StateNo. 3
W 24–1047,186[7]
October 9vs. No. 16 Texas*No. 3
ABCT 6–672,032[7]
October 16at No. 15 KansasNo. 6
W 28–1049,085[7]
October 23Oklahoma StateNo. 5
L 24–3172,041[7]
October 30at No. 19 ColoradoNo. 13
L 31–4252,000[7]
November 6Kansas StateNo. 14
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 49–2070,987[7]
November 13No. 11 MissouriNo. 14
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK (rivalry)
W 27–2071,620[7]
November 26at No. 10 NebraskaNo. 8
ABCW 20–1774,284[7]
December 25vs. Wyoming*No. 8
CBSW 41–748,714[7]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster
1976 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB 2 Dean Blevins Jr
RB Horace Ivory
QB 6 Thomas Lott So
HB 4 Elvis Peacock Jr
WR 24 Steve Rhodes Fr
HB 23 Woodie Shepard So
HB 20 Billy Sims So
OT 79 Mike Vaughan Sr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
S 1 Zac Henderson Sr
S 7 Scott Hill (C) Sr
LB 85 Daryl Hunt So
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K Uwe von Schamann
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Game summaries

Florida State
Florida State Seminoles at #4 Oklahoma Sooners
1 234Total
Florida State 6 030 9
• Oklahoma 3 1407 24
  • Source: Eugene Register-Guard

Texas
1 234Total
Texas 0 303 6
Oklahoma 0 006 6
  • Date: October 9
  • Location: Cotton Bowl
  • Game attendance: 72,032

[8]

Oklahoma State
1 234Total
• Oklahoma St 10 3810 31
Oklahoma 14 730 24
  • Date: October 23
  • Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium

[9]

Kansas State
1 234Total
Kansas St 7 1030 20
• Oklahoma 21 7714 49

[10]

Nebraska
1 234Total
• Oklahoma 7 0013 20
Nebraska 0 3140 17

[11]

Awards and honors
A football signed by the 1976 Oklahoma Sooners, including Billy Sims and J. C. Watts, that was gifted to President Gerald Ford.

Postseason

NFL draft

The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.[12]

Player Position Round Pick Franchise
Horace IvoryRunning back244New England Patriots
Sidney BrownDefensive back382New England Patriots
Mike VaughanTackle488New York Giants
Jerry AndersonDefensive back4105Cincinnati Bengals
Jim CulbreathRunning back10260Green Bay Packers


References
  1. "Memorial Stadium". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 28, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  2. "OU Football Tradition – 42 Conference Titles". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 22, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  3. "1976 Football Season". SoonerStats.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  4. "All-American: Zac Henderson". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
  5. "All-American: Mike Vaughan". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
  6. "2009 Football Record Book" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. p. 175. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  7. http://www.soonerstats.com/football/seasons/schedule.cfm?seasonid=1974
  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.
  12. "1977 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
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