1953 Oklahoma Sooners football team
| 1953 Oklahoma Sooners football | |
|---|---|
National champion (B(QPRS), CFRA) Big 7 champion Orange Bowl champion | |
Orange Bowl, W 7–0 vs. Maryland | |
| Conference | Big Seven Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 5 |
| AP | No. 4 |
| Record | 9–1–1 (6–0 Big 7) |
| Head coach |
|
| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Oklahoma Memorial Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 4 Oklahoma $ | 6 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Missouri | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kansas State | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colorado | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kansas | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa State | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1953 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma during the 1953 college football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Bud Wilkinson, they played their home games at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma, and were members of the Big Seven Conference.
The Sooners dropped their opener at home to top-ranked Notre Dame,[1] tied at Pittsburgh,[2] then won nine straight, concluding with a 7–0 shutout of #1 Maryland in the Orange Bowl in Miami on New Year's Day and were named national champions by Berryman.[3][4] The final polls were released in late November, prior to the bowl games.[5][6]
Oklahoma's initial win of the 1953 season, over Texas in Dallas on October 10, was the start of their record 47-game winning streak that extended more than four years, until November 1957.[7]
Schedule
[edit]| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 26 | No. 1 Notre Dame* | No. 6 | L 21–28 | 59,461 | ||
| October 3 | at Pittsburgh* | No. 8 | T 7–7 | 28,152 | ||
| October 10 | vs. No. 15 Texas* | No. 16 | W 19–14 | 75,504 | [8] | |
| October 17 | Kansas | No. 12 |
| W 45–0 | 45,862 | |
| October 24 | Colorado | No. 9 |
| W 27–20 | 36,565 | |
| October 31 | at Kansas State | No. 9 |
| W 34–0 | 23,822 | |
| November 7 | at Missouri | No. 8 | W 14–7 | 30,020 | ||
| November 14 | Iowa State | No. 6 |
| W 47–0 | 43,713 | |
| November 21 | at Nebraska | No. 4 | W 30–7 | 31,551 | ||
| November 28 | Oklahoma A&M* | No. 4 |
| W 42–7 | 50,524 | |
| January 1, 1954 | vs. No. 1 Maryland* | No. 4 | W 7–0 | 68,640–68,718 | [9] | |
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Rankings
[edit]| Week | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Final |
| AP | 6 (3) | 8 | 16 | 12 (1) | 9 | 9 (1) | 8 (1) | 6 (1) | 4 (3) | 4 (9) | 4 (10) |
Roster
[edit]- G J. D. Roberts, Sr.
- E Carl Allison, Jr.
NFL draft
[edit]The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.[11]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 16 | Larry Grigg | Back | Baltimore Colts |
| 10 | 116 | Merrill Green | Back | Washington Redskins |
| 14 | 164 | Roger Nelson | Tackle | Washington Redskins |
| 17 | 195 | J. D. Roberts | Guard | Green Bay Packers |
| 30 | 355 | Juel Sweatte | Back | Pittsburgh Steelers |
References
[edit]- ^ Fullerton, Hugh Jr. (September 27, 1953). "The Irish flame in Norman heat to stop O.U., 28-21". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. 1, sports.
- ^ "Pitt holds Sooners to 7-7 draw". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. October 4, 1953. p. 32.
- ^ "Oklahoma's defense upsets Maryland, 7-0". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 2, 1954. p. 10.
- ^ "Maryland deflated by Sooners, 7-0". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. January 2, 1954. p. 6.
- ^ "Undefeated Maryland eleven leads final AP football poll". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. December 1, 1953. p. 18.
- ^ "Maryland keeps top spot in nation's college ratings". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. December 1, 1953. p. 24.
- ^ "Irish snap Sooners' string, 7-0". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. November 17, 1957. p. 1C.
- ^ "Sooners hang on to squeeze 19–14 victory out of Texas". Abilene Reporter-News. October 11, 1953. Retrieved April 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Maryland beaten by Oklahoma, 7–0, in Orange Bowl". The Baltimore Sun. January 2, 1954. Retrieved January 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "SoonerSports.com". Archived from the original on February 29, 2008. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
- ^ "1954 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
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