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1970 Oklahoma

7–⁠4–⁠1 (5–⁠2 Big Eight), coached by Chuck Fairbanks, finished No. 20 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Oklahoma in 1970, game by game: won at SMU 28–11; won vs. Wisconsin 21–7; lost vs. Oregon State 14–23; lost vs. No. 2 Texas 9–41; won at No. 13 Colorado 23–15; lost vs. Kansas State 14–19; won at Iowa State 29–28; won vs. Missouri 28–13; won at Kansas 28–24; lost at No. 3 Nebraska 21–28; won vs. Oklahoma State 66–6; tied vs. Alabama 24–24+60−32Won 28–11 at SMU+17SMUWon 21–7 vs. Wisconsin+14WisconsinLost 14–23 vs. Oregon State-9Oregon StateLost 9–41 vs. No. 2 Texas-32No. 2 TexasWon 23–15 at No. 13 Colorado+8No. 13 ColoradoLost 14–19 vs. Kansas State-5Kansas StateWon 29–28 at Iowa State+1Iowa StateWon 28–13 vs. Missouri+15MissouriWon 28–24 at Kansas+4KansasLost 21–28 at No. 3 Nebraska-7No. 3 NebraskaWon 66–6 vs. Oklahoma State+60Oklahoma StateTied 24–24 vs. Alabama0Alabama
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12atSMUW 28–⁠1151%
Sep 19vsWisconsinW 21–⁠781%
Sep 26vsOregon StateL 14–⁠2361%
Oct 10vs2TexasL 9–⁠4126%
Oct 17at13ColoradoW 23–⁠1528%
Oct 24vsKansas StateL 14–⁠1965%
Oct 31atIowa StateW 29–⁠2858%
Nov 7vsMissouriW 28–⁠1351%
Nov 14atKansasW 28–⁠2457%
Nov 21at3NebraskaL 21–⁠2820%
Nov 28vsOklahoma StateW 66–⁠670%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsAlabamaAstro-Bluebonnet BowlT 24–⁠2450%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Tied Alabama 24–⁠24 in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl; No. 20 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big Eight.

In program history: The 73rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 20
  2. Wk 2: 18
  3. Wk 3: 14
  4. Wk 13: 20
  5. Wk 14: 20
  6. Final: 20

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1970.

Record
7–⁠4–⁠1
Conference
5–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Big Eight
AP final
No. 20 peak No. 14
Points
305–⁠239
Coach
Chuck Fairbanks
Elo
1611 +63 this season
SP+ rating
17.8 No. 20 of 117; offense No. 18, defense No. 26
SRS
19.6 No. 16 of 123 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Barry Switzer
Defensive coordinator
Larry Lacewell
Captains
Steve Casteel and Monty Johnson
Offense
I formation (first 3 games) Wishbone (final 9 games)

Drafted in 1971

The 1971 draft
Rd 7John Watson OTSan Francisco 49ers

All-Big Eight

3 first team, 1 second team

First team

  • Joe WylieRBAP-1; UPI-1
  • Steve AycockLBAP-1; UPI-1
  • Monty JohnsonDBAP-1; UPI-2

Second team

  • Kevin GradyDTUPI-2

From Wikipedia’s 1970 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1970 Big Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Nebraska7–⁠011–⁠0–⁠11
Oklahoma5–⁠27–⁠4–⁠120
Kansas State5–⁠26–⁠5
Colorado3–⁠46–⁠5
Missouri3–⁠45–⁠6
Kansas2–⁠55–⁠6
Oklahoma State2–⁠54–⁠7
Iowa State1–⁠65–⁠6

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.