1970 Oklahoma Sooners football team

The 1970 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1970 college football season, the 76th season of Sooner football. The team was led by head coach Chuck Fairbanks in his fourth season as the OU head coach. They played their home games at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. They were a member of the Big Eight Conference.

Conference play began at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado on October 17, with a win over the Colorado Buffaloes, and ended on November 28 at home in Norman with a win over Oklahoma State in the annual Bedlam Series. The Sooners lost their second conference game to Kansas State; the Wildcats' next victory in the series would not occur until 1993.

Following a loss in their third game to Oregon State, the Sooners installed the Wishbone offense during the open week prior to the Red River Shootout vs. Texas. The Sooners would run the Wishbone continuously, save for a switch to the I formation in 1982 and 1983, until the early 1990s.

After finishing the regular season with a record of 7–4 (5–2 in Big 8 play), the Sooners were invited to play in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, where they tied the Alabama Crimson Tide, 24–24.

Following the season, John Watson was selected in the seventh round of the 1971 NFL Draft, and Steve Casteel was chosen in the 10th.

Schedule

Date	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 12	at SMU*	No. 20	Cotton Bowl • Dallas		W 28–11	51,909[1]
September 19	Wisconsin*	No. 18	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma		W 21–7	58,100[1]
September 26	Oregon State*	No. 14	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma		L 14–23	54,700[1]
October 10	vs. No. 2 Texas*		Cotton Bowl • Dallas (Red River Shootout)	ABC	L 9–41	71,938[1]
October 17	at No. 13 Colorado		Folsom Field • Boulder, Colorado		W 23–15	47,700[1]
October 24	Kansas State		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma		L 14–19	60,800[1]
October 31	at Iowa State		Clyde Williams Field • Ames, Iowa		W 29–28	26,672[1]
November 7	Missouri		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma (Rivalry)		W 28–13	54,750[1]
November 14	at Kansas		Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, Kansas		W 28–24	36,820[1]
November 21	at No. 3 Nebraska		Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska (Rivalry)		L 21–28	67,392[1]
November 28	Oklahoma State		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma (Bedlam Series)		W 66–6	60,300[1]
December 31	vs. Alabama*	No. 24	Houston Astrodome • Houston (Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl)		T 24–24	53,822[1]
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Roster

1971 NFL Draft

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References