American college football season
The 1973 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1973 NCAA Division I football season . Oklahoma participated as members of the Big Eight Conference and played its home games in Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium where it has played its home games since 1923.[1] The team posted a 10–0–1 overall record and a 7–0 conference record to earn the Conference outright title under first-year head coach Barry Switzer .[2] [3] This would be the first of eight consecutive Big Eight Conference championships for the Sooners with Switzer as head coach.[2]
The team was led by three All-Americans: Rod Shoate (Oklahoma's second three-time All-American)[4] the oldest of the Selmon brothers, Lucious ,[5] and Eddie Foster .[5] The Selmon brothers Lucious, Lee Roy and Dewey started on the defensive line .[6] The team went undefeated on a schedule that included seven ranked opponents (In order, #1 USC , #17 Miami , #13 Texas , #13 Colorado , #10 Missouri , #18 Kansas , and #10 Nebraska ). Five of these opponents finished the season ranked. The team tied with USC in the second game of the season before winning nine consecutive contests. It began the season ranked number 11 and steadily climbed in the polls as the season progressed.[3]
Joe Washington led the team in rushing with 1173 yards, Steve Davis led the team in passing yard for with 934 yards, Tinker Owens led the team in receiving with 472 yards, Davis led the team in scoring with 108 points, Shoate led the team in tackles with 126, and Randy Hughes led the team in interceptions with 5.[7]
Prior to the season in August, the Sooners were put on probation by the Big Eight Conference, which included a two-year ban on bowl appearances, and a two-year ban on television appearances (1974 , 1975 ).[8]
Schedule
Date Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance Source September 15 at Baylor * No. 11 W 42–1441,573
September 29 at No. 1 USC * No. 8 T 7–783,986
October 6 No. 17 Miami (FL) * No. 6 W 24–2062,040
October 13 vs. No. 13 Texas * No. 6 ABC W 52–1372,032
October 20 No. 16 Colorado No. 3 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK W 34–761,826–62,580 [9]
October 27 at Kansas State No. 3 W 56–1429,523
November 3 Iowa State No. 3 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK W 34–1761,876
November 10 at No. 10 Missouri No. 3 W 31–365,515
November 17 No. 18 Kansas No. 3 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK W 48–2060,961–64,122
November 23 No. 10 Nebraska No. 3 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry ) ABC W 27–062,257
December 1 at Oklahoma State No. 2 W 45–1850,964
*Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
[3]
Personnel
1973 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Pos.
#
Name
Class
OL
74
Jerry Arnold
Jr
RB
20
Bob Berg
Jr
WR
82
Billy Brooks
Jr
RB
Grant Burget
RB
Waymon Clark
OL
Kyle Davis
QB
Steve Davis
OT
77
Eddie Foster (C)
Sr
RB
Jerry Foster
RB
Randy Harris
QB
7
Scott Hill
Fr
WR
Wayne Hoffman
RB
David James
RB
Steve Jenkinson
RB
Jim Littrell
QB
Jeff Mabry
RB
Danny McClure
RB
Joe McReynolds
So
WR
11
Tinker Owens
So
OL
John Roush
RB
Clyde Russell
RB
Joe Washington
OL
Terry Webb
RB
Tim Welch
RB
Gary Young
Defense
Special teams
Pos.
#
Name
Class
K
Tony DiRienzo
K
8
Rick Fulcher
Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Roster
Game summaries
At Baylor
#11 Oklahoma Sooners at Baylor Bears
1
2 3 4 Total
• #11 Oklahoma
21
14 0 7
42
Baylor
0
0 6 8
14
[10]
At USC
Miami (FL)
1
2 3 4 Total
Miami (FL)
7
13 0 0
20
• Oklahoma
7
0 14 3
24
[11]
vs Texas
#6 Oklahoma Sooners (2–0) vs. #13 Texas Longhorns (2–1)
at Cotton Bowl , Dallas, Texas
Date : October 13Game time : 12:30 p.m.Game weather : 68 °F (20 °C)Game attendance : 72,204TV : ABCBox Score
Worst loss in Darrell Royal 's coaching career [12]
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
OU
UT
1
10:05
6
82
2:37
Oklahoma
Tinker Owens 40-yard touchdown reception from Joe Washington , Rick Fulcher kick good
7
0
1
3:25
14
79
6:40
Texas
36-yard field goal by Billy Schott
7
3
2
11:14
12
90
5:17
Texas
44-yard field goal by Billy Schott
7
6
2
10:46
2
68
0:28
Oklahoma
Tinker Owens 63-yard touchdown reception from Steve Davis , Rick Fulcher kick good
14
6
2
0:29
3
47
0:31
Oklahoma
Billy Brooks 47-yard touchdown reception from Steve Davis, Rick Fulcher kick good
21
6
3
11:26
8
77
3:34
Oklahoma
Steve Davis 15-yard touchdown run, Rick Fulcher kick good
28
6
3
1:09
2
7
0:46
Oklahoma
Steve Davis 2-yard touchdown run, Rick Fulcher kick good
35
6
4
13:35
4
9
1:15
Oklahoma
25-yard field goal by Rick Fulcher
38
6
4
11:59
1
11
0:07
Oklahoma
Scott Hill 11-yard touchdown run, Rick Fulcher kick good
45
6
4
7:05
7
80
2:55
Texas
Mike Presley 31-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick good
45
13
4
1:39
11
81
5:26
Oklahoma
Joe McReynolds 11-yard touchdown run, Fulcher kick good
52
13
"TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .
52
13
Colorado
1
2 3 4 Total
Colorado
7
0 0 0
7
• Oklahoma
7
7 7 13
34
[9]
At Kansas State
1
2 3 4 Total
• Oklahoma
21
14 14 7
56
Kansas St
0
7 7 0
14
Date: KSU StadiumLocation: October 27Game attendance: 34,500
[13]
Iowa State
1
2 3 4 Total
Iowa St
14
3 0 0
17
• Oklahoma
7
13 7 7
34
Joe Washington 136 Rush Yds
[14]
At Missouri
#3 Oklahoma Sooners at #10 Missouri Tigers
1
2 3 4 Total
• #3 Oklahoma
7
3 12 9
31
#10 Missouri
3
0 0 0
3
[15]
Kansas
Nebraska
#10 Nebraska Cornhuskers at #3 Oklahoma Sooners
1
2 3 4 Total
#10 Nebraska
0
0 0 0
0
• #3 Oklahoma
14
0 6 7
27
[16]
At Oklahoma State
#2 Oklahoma Sooners at Oklahoma State Cowboys
1
2 3 4 Total
• #2 Oklahoma
7
14 7 17
45
Oklahoma State
0
3 3 12
18
[17]
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Final AP 11 т 11 9 8 (1) 6 (1.5) 6 3 (8) 3 (8) 3 (9) 3 (7) 3 (10) 3 (9) 2 (20) 2 (16) 3 (16)
Awards and honors
Postseason
NFL draft
Seven Sooners were selected in the 1974 NFL Draft .[22]
References
^ "Memorial Stadium" . CBS Interactive . Archived from the original on June 28, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010 .
^ a b "OU Football Tradition – 42 Conference Titles" . CBS Interactive . Archived from the original on June 22, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010 .
^ a b c "1973 Football Season" . SoonerStats.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010 .
^ a b "All-American: Rod Shoate" . CBS Interactive . Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2010 .
^ a b c d e f "All-American: Lucious Selmon" . CBS Interactive . Archived from the original on May 23, 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2010 .
^ Seays, Lillian (2005). "LEE ROY SELMON: Small Town Boy-Next-Door Makes Good" . Onyx Magazine . Archived from the original on October 30, 2006. Retrieved July 2, 2010 .
^ "2009 Football Record Book" (PDF) . Big 12 Conference. p. 164. Retrieved July 2, 2010 .
^ "Oklahoma on probation for 10 grid infractions" . Nashua Telegraph . (New Hampshire). Associated Press. August 9, 1973. p. 15.
^ a b "Sooners cruise by Colorado; Buckeyes, Michigan triumph" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). Associated Press. October 21, 1973. p. 4B.
^ "Powerful Sooners Rip Baylor in 42-14 Game." Palm Beach Post. 1973 Sept 16.
^ Palm Beach Post. 1973 Oct 7.
^ "Sooners Slam Texas, 52-13." Palm Beach Post. October 14, 1973
^ "Sooners Crush Wildcats." Palm Beach Post. 1973 Oct 28.
^ "Sooners Get Past Cyclones." Palm Beach Post. 1973 Nov 4.
^ "Powerful Sooners Rip Missouri, 31-3." Palm Beach Post. November 11, 1973
^ "Nebraska vs. Oklahoma 1973 -- HuskerMax" .
^ "Sooners Corral Cowboys." Palm Beach Post. December 2, 1973
^ "All-American: Eddie Foster" . CBS Interactive . Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2010 .
^ "ActivePaper Archive" .
^ "ActivePaper Archive" .
^ "ActivePaper Archive" .
^ "1974 NFL Draft Listing" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved November 29, 2020 .
External links
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