CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1978 Oklahoma

11–⁠1 (6–⁠1 Big Eight), coached by Barry Switzer, finished No. 3 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Oklahoma in 1978, game by game: won at Stanford 35–29; won vs. West Virginia 52–10; won vs. Rice 66–7; won vs. No. 14 Missouri 45–23; won vs. No. 6 Texas 31–10; won at Kansas 17–16; won at Iowa State 34–6; won vs. Kansas State 56–19; won at Colorado 28–7; lost at No. 4 Nebraska 14–17; won vs. Oklahoma State 62–7; won vs. No. 6 Nebraska 31–24+59−3Won 35–29 at Stanford+6StanfordWon 52–10 vs. West Virginia+42West VirginiaWon 66–7 vs. Rice+59RiceWon 45–23 vs. No. 14 Missouri+22No. 14 MissouriWon 31–10 vs. No. 6 Texas+21No. 6 TexasWon 17–16 at Kansas+1KansasWon 34–6 at Iowa State+28Iowa StateWon 56–19 vs. Kansas State+37Kansas StateWon 28–7 at Colorado+21ColoradoLost 14–17 at No. 4 Nebraska-3No. 4 NebraskaWon 62–7 vs. Oklahoma State+55Oklahoma StateWon 31–24 vs. No. 6 Nebraska+7No. 6 Nebraska
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 9atStanfordW 35–⁠2954%
Sep 16vsWest VirginiaW 52–⁠1080%
Sep 23vsRiceW 66–⁠792%
Sep 30vs14MissouriW 45–⁠2374%
Oct 7vs6TexasW 31–⁠1052%
Oct 14atKansasW 17–⁠1683%
Oct 21atIowa StateW 34–⁠668%
Oct 28vsKansas StateW 56–⁠1994%
Nov 4atColoradoW 28–⁠768%
Nov 11at4NebraskaL 14–⁠1746%
Nov 18vsOklahoma StateW 62–⁠789%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs6NebraskaOrange BowlW 31–⁠2456%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Nebraska 31–⁠24 in the Orange Bowl; No. 3 in the final AP poll; Big Eight champions.

In program history: The 17th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 1978.

Big Eight champions6–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Nebraska

Led the nationBilly Sims: rushing touchdowns (20 TD), points (120 pts), points per game (10.9); Kenny King: yards per carry (7.9)

Heisman TrophyBilly Sims, RB; also the Walter Camp

Outland TrophyGreg Roberts, OG

2 consensus All-AmericansGreg Roberts, OG; Billy Sims, RB

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠1 shared first in Big Eight
AP final
No. 3 peak No. 1
Points
471–⁠175
Coach
Barry Switzer
Elo
1798 +139 this season
SP+ rating
28.5 No. 4 of 133; offense No. 1, defense No. 33
SRS
29.6 No. 1 of 138 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Galen Hall
Defensive coordinator
Rex Norris
Captains
Daryl Hunt, Thomas Lott, Greg Roberts and Phil Tabor
Offense
Wishbone
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1979

The 1979 draft
Rd 2Greg Roberts OGTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 2Reggie Mathis LBNew Orleans Saints
Rd 2Sam Claphan OTCleveland Browns
Rd 3Kenny King RBHouston Oilers
Rd 4Phil Tabor DENew York Giants
Rd 5Victor Hicks TELos Angeles Rams
Rd 6Daryl Hunt LBHouston Oilers
Rd 6Thomas Lott RBSt. Louis Cardinals
Rd 7Uwe von Schamann KMiami Dolphins

All-Big Eight

10 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1978 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1978 Big Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma6–⁠111–⁠13
Nebraska6–⁠19–⁠38
Iowa State4–⁠38–⁠4
Missouri4–⁠38–⁠415
Kansas State3–⁠44–⁠7
Oklahoma State3–⁠43–⁠8
Colorado2–⁠56–⁠5
Kansas0–⁠71–⁠10

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