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
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 5
AP	No. 6
1976 record	9–2–1 (5–2 Big 8)
Head coach	Barry Switzer (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Galen Hall (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Wishbone
Defensive coordinator	Larry Lacewell (7th season)
Base defense	5–2
Home stadium	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 71,187)

1976 Big Eight Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		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

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 11	at Vanderbilt*	No. 5	Dudley Field Nashville, TN		W 24–3	34,171[7]
September 18	California*	No. 4	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 28–17	72,026[7]
September 25	Florida State*	No. 4	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 24–9	71,343[7]
October 2	at Iowa State	No. 3	Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA		W 24–10	47,186[7]
October 9	vs. No. 16 Texas*	No. 3	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Red River Shootout)	ABC	T 6–6	72,032[7]
October 16	at No. 15 Kansas	No. 6	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS		W 28–10	49,085[7]
October 23	Oklahoma State	No. 5	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (Bedlam Series)		L 24–31	72,041[7]
October 30	at No. 19 Colorado	No. 13	Folsom Field Boulder, CO		L 31–42	52,000[7]
November 6	Kansas State	No. 14	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 49–20	70,987[7]
November 13	No. 11 Missouri	No. 14	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry)		W 27–20	71,620[7]
November 26	at No. 10 Nebraska	No. 8	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	ABC	W 20–17	74,284[7]
December 25	vs. Wyoming*	No. 8	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl)	CBS	W 41–7	48,714[7]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1976 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class 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. # Name Class S 1 Zac Henderson Sr S 7 Scott Hill (C) Sr LB 85 Daryl Hunt So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Uwe von Schamann	Head coach Barry Switzer Coordinators/assistant coaches Galen Hall (OC) Larry Lacewell (DC) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

Florida State

Florida State Seminoles at #4 Oklahoma Sooners

1 2 3 4 Total Florida State 6 0 3 0 9 • Oklahoma 3 14 0 7 24 Date: Saturday, September 25 Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma Source: Eugene Register-Guard

Scoring summary 1 OKLA von Schamann 40-yard field goal OKLA 3-0 1 FSU Key 5-yard run (kick failed) FSU 6-3 2 OKLA Ivory 37-yard run (von Schamann kick) OKLA 10-6 2 OKLA Ivory 23-yard run (von Schamann kick) OKLA 17-6 3 FSU Cappelen 41-yard field goal OKLA 17-9 4 OKLA Peacock 3-yard run (von Schamann kick) OKLA 24-9

Texas

1 2 3 4 Total Texas 0 3 0 3 6 Oklahoma 0 0 0 6 6 Date: October 9 Location: Cotton Bowl Game attendance: 72,032

[8]

Oklahoma State

1 2 3 4 Total • Oklahoma St 10 3 8 10 31 Oklahoma 14 7 3 0 24 Date: October 23 Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium

[9]

Kansas State

1 2 3 4 Total Kansas St 7 10 3 0 20 • Oklahoma 21 7 7 14 49 Date: November 6 Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma Game attendance: 71,184

Scoring summary 1 OKLA Ivory 4-yard run (von Schamann kick) Oklahoma 7-0 1 OKLA Ivory 6-yard run (von Schamann kick) Oklahoma 14-0 1 KSU Lovely 1-yard run (Sinovic kick) Oklahoma 14-7 1 OKLA King 30-yard run (von Schamann kick) Oklahoma 21-7 2 OKLA Lott 2-yard run (von Schamann kick) Oklahoma 28-7 2 KSU Whitley 9-yard pass from Henrikson (Sinovic kick) Oklahoma 28-14 2 KSU Sinovic 30-yard field goal Oklahoma 28-17 3 KSU Sinovic 39-yard field goal Oklahoma 28-20 3 OKLA Lott 11-yard run (von Schamann kick) Oklahoma 35-20 4 OKLA Lott 3-yard run (von Schamann kick) Oklahoma 42-20 4 OKLA Ivory 8-yard run (von Schamann kick) Oklahoma 49-20

[10]

Nebraska

1 2 3 4 Total • Oklahoma 7 0 0 13 20 Nebraska 0 3 14 0 17 Date: November 26 Location: Memorial Stadium Game attendance: 76,247

Scoring summary Q1 0:16 OKLA Peacock 1 yard run (von Schamann kick) OKLA 7–0 Q2 9:06 NEB Eveland 33 yard field goal OKLA 7–3 Q3 9:56 NEB Craig 9 yard run (Eveland kick) NEB 10–7 Q3 6:31 NEB Berns 4 yard run (Eveland kick) NEB 17–7 Q4 12:28 OKLA Peacock 50 yard run (run failed) NEB 17–13 Q4 0:38 OKLA Peacock 2 yard run (von Schamann kick) OKLA 20–17

[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.

• All-American: Zac Henderson[4] and Mike Vaughan[5]

Postseason

NFL draft

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

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Horace Ivory	Running back	2	44	New England Patriots
Sidney Brown	Defensive back	3	82	New England Patriots
Mike Vaughan	Tackle	4	88	New York Giants
Jerry Anderson	Defensive back	4	105	Cincinnati Bengals
Jim Culbreath	Running back	10	260	Green 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.

External links

• 1976 season at SoonerStats.com