1966 Oklahoma Sooners football team

Last updated

1966 Oklahoma Sooners football
Oklahoma Sooners Logo 1966-79.png
Conference Big Eight Conference
Record6–4 (4–3 Big 8)
Head coach
Offensive coordinator Barry Switzer (1st season)
Defensive coordinator Chuck Fairbanks (1st season)
Captains
Home stadium Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Seasons
  1965
1967  
1966 Big Eight Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 6 Nebraska $ 6 1 09 2 0
Colorado 5 2 07 3 0
Missouri 4 2 16 3 1
Oklahoma State 4 2 14 5 1
Oklahoma 4 3 06 4 0
Iowa State 2 3 22 6 2
Kansas 0 6 12 7 1
Kansas State 0 6 10 9 1
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1966 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma during the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. Led by first-year head coach Jim Mackenzie, they played their home games at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and competed as members of the Big Eight Conference.

Contents

A longtime assistant at Arkansas, Mackenzie was hired in December 1965. [1]

Following one of the worst seasons in program history, the Sooners improved to 6–4, defeated rival Texas for the first time in nine years, [2] and upset undefeated rival Nebraska on Thanksgiving, [3] [4] Mackenzie was named the Coach of the Year in the Big Eight. [5]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 17 Oregon *W 17–048,590 [6] [7]
September 24at Iowa State W 33–1121,467
October 8vs. Texas *W 18–975,504 [8]
October 15at Kansas W 35–037,252
October 22No. 1 Notre Dame *No. 10
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
L 0–3862,626
October 29at Colorado L 21–2435,738
November 5 Kansas State
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 37–644,792
November 12 Missouri
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK (rivalry)
L 7–1055,585
November 24No. 4 Nebraska
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK (rivalry)
ABC W 10–942,884
December 3at Oklahoma State L 14–1536,581
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[9]

Game summaries

Oregon

1234Total
Oregon00000
Oklahoma0017017

Iowa State

1234Total
Oklahoma1439733
Iowa St290011

Texas

1234Total
Texas30069
Oklahoma633618
  • Date: October 8
  • Location: Cotton Bowl
  • Game attendance: 75,504
Source: [2] [10]

Kansas

1234Total
Oklahoma7714735
Kansas00000

Notre Dame

1234Total
Notre Dame01721038
Oklahoma00000
  • Date: October 22
  • Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 62,626

Colorado

1234Total
Oklahoma7014021
Colorado7010724
  • Date: October 29
  • Location: Folsom Field
  • Game attendance: 35,738

Kansas State

1234Total
Kansas St00066
Oklahoma010131437
  • Date: November 5
  • Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 44,792

Missouri

1234Total
Missouri0010010
Oklahoma00077
  • Date: November 12
  • Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 55,585

Nebraska

1234Total
Nebraska03609
Oklahoma070310

Oklahoma State

1234Total
Oklahoma008614
Oklahoma St080715

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
PollPre1234567891011Final
AP 10

NFL/AFL draft

The following players were drafted into the National Football League or American Football League following the season. [11]

RoundPickPlayerPositionNFL team
229 Jim Riley Tackle Miami Dolphins
380Ben HartRunning back New Orleans Saints
496James Roy JacksonWide receiver Oakland Raiders
9236Eugene RossDefensive backNew Orleans Saints
13292Tom StidhamKicker New York Giants

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References

  1. "Mackenzie faces two big problems". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. December 23, 1965. p. 10.
  2. 1 2 "Field goals boost OU past Texas". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. October 9, 1966. p. 11A.
  3. "Sooners upset Nebraska, 10-9". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. November 25, 1966. p. 13.
  4. "Nebraska loses bid for college crown". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. November 25, 1967. p. 10.
  5. Van Valkenberg, Jim (December 1, 1966). "Nebraskans lead All-Big 8 team". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. p. 15.
  6. Uhrhammer, Jerry (September 18, 1966). "Oregon collegians blanked in openers". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
  7. "Sooners shut out Oregon". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. September 18, 1966. p. 6, sports.
  8. "Texas races by Texas Tech". The Daily Oklahoman. September 25, 1966. Retrieved April 30, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  9. "SoonerSports.com". Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  10. "Field Goals Stop Texas." Palm Beach Post. October 9, 1966
  11. "1967 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.