CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1976 Oklahoma

9–⁠2–⁠1 (5–⁠2 Big Eight), coached by Barry Switzer, finished No. 5 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Oklahoma in 1976, game by game: won at Vanderbilt 24–3; won vs. California 28–17; won vs. Florida State 24–9; won at Iowa State 24–10; tied vs. No. 16 Texas 6–6; won at No. 15 Kansas 28–10; lost vs. Oklahoma State 24–31; lost at No. 19 Colorado 31–42; won vs. Kansas State 49–20; won vs. No. 11 Missouri 27–20; won at No. 10 Nebraska 20–17; won vs. Wyoming 41–7+34−11Won 24–3 at Vanderbilt+21VanderbiltWon 28–17 vs. California+11CaliforniaWon 24–9 vs. Florida State+15Florida StateWon 24–10 at Iowa State+14Iowa StateTied 6–6 vs. No. 16 Texas0No. 16 TexasWon 28–10 at No. 15 Kansas+18No. 15 KansasLost 24–31 vs. Oklahoma State-7Oklahoma StateLost 31–42 at No. 19 Colorado-11No. 19 ColoradoWon 49–20 vs. Kansas State+29Kansas StateWon 27–20 vs. No. 11 Missouri+7No. 11 MissouriWon 20–17 at No. 10 Nebraska+3No. 10 NebraskaWon 41–7 vs. Wyoming+34Wyoming
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 11atVanderbiltW 24–⁠370%
Sep 18vsCaliforniaW 28–⁠1777%
Sep 25vsFlorida StateW 24–⁠991%
Oct 2atIowa StateW 24–⁠1069%
Oct 9vs16TexasT 6–⁠664%
Oct 16at15KansasW 28–⁠1064%
Oct 23vsOklahoma StateL 24–⁠3181%
Oct 30at19ColoradoL 31–⁠4258%
Nov 6vsKansas StateW 49–⁠2092%
Nov 13vs11MissouriW 27–⁠2067%
Nov 26at10NebraskaW 20–⁠1748%
Dec 25Bowls & playoffvsWyomingFiesta BowlW 41–⁠784%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Wyoming 41–⁠7 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 5 in the final AP poll; Big Eight champions.

In program history: The 38th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 5
  2. Wk 2: 4
  3. Wk 3: 4
  4. Wk 4: 3
  5. Wk 5: 3
  6. Wk 6: 6
  7. Wk 7: 5
  8. Wk 8: 13
  9. Wk 9: 17
  10. Wk 10: 14
  11. Wk 11: 10
  12. Wk 12: 8
  13. Wk 13: 8
  14. Final: 5

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 1976.

Big Eight champions5–⁠2 in the conference, shared with Colorado and Oklahoma State

Consensus All-AmericanMike Vaughan, OT

Record
9–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
5–⁠2 shared first in Big Eight
AP final
No. 5 peak No. 3
Points
326–⁠192
Coach
Barry Switzer
Elo
1749 +40 this season
SP+ rating
23.1 No. 8 of 132; offense No. 12, defense No. 22
SRS
20.2 No. 9 of 137 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Galen Hall
Defensive coordinator
Larry Lacewell
Captains
Jerry Anderson, Scott Hill and Mike Vaughan
Offense
Wishbone
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1977

The 1977 draft
Rd 2Horace Ivory RBNew England Patriots
Rd 3Sidney Brown DBNew England Patriots
Rd 4Mike Vaughan OTNew York Giants
Rd 4Jerry Anderson DBCincinnati Bengals

All-Big Eight

4 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

  • Jamie MelendezOGAP-2
  • Mike PhillipsDEAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1976 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1976 Big Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma5–⁠29–⁠2–⁠15
Oklahoma State5–⁠29–⁠314
Colorado5–⁠28–⁠416
Nebraska4–⁠39–⁠3–⁠19
Iowa State4–⁠38–⁠319
Missouri3–⁠46–⁠5
Kansas2–⁠56–⁠5
Kansas State0–⁠71–⁠10

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