1967 Oklahoma Sooners football team

1967 Oklahoma Sooners football
National Champion(Poling) Big 8 champion Orange Bowl champion [1] National Champion
Orange Bowl, W 26–24 vs. Tennessee
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 3
AP	No. 3
Record	10–1 (7–0 Big 8)
Head coach	Chuck Fairbanks (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Barry Switzer (2nd season)
Captain	Bob Kalsu
Home stadium	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Seasons ←  1966 1968  →

1967 Big Eight Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Oklahoma $	7	–	0	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
Colorado	5	–	2	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
Kansas	5	–	2	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Missouri	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Nebraska	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Oklahoma State	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	1
Iowa State	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
Kansas State	0	–	7	–	0			1	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1967 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma during the 1967 NCAA University Division football season. Led by first-year head coach Chuck Fairbanks, they played their home games at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and competed as members of the Big Eight Conference. The Sooners won all seven conference games and finished the season with one loss to hated rival Texas in the Red River Shootout by two points. The Sooners upset number 9 Colorado on November 4 by a score of 23-0 in Norman to move into the top 10 ranking; they defeated Tennessee, 26–24, to win the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. ^{[1] [2]}

Entering his second season as head coach, 37-year-old Jim Mackenzie suffered a fatal heart attack at his Norman home in late April. ^{[3] [4]} Assistant coach Fairbanks, age 33, was promoted several days later. ^[5]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 23	Washington State *		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 21–0	51,700	[6]
September 30	Maryland *		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	ABC	W 35–0	46,215	[7]
October 14	vs. Texas *		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Red River Shootout)		L 7–9	75,504	[8]
October 21	at Kansas State		Memorial Stadium Manhattan, KS		W 46–7	19,000	[9]
October 28	at Missouri		Memorial Stadium Columbia, MO (rivalry)		W 7–0	55,000	[10]
November 4	No. 9 Colorado	No. 15	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 23–0	62,000	[11]
November 11	at Iowa State	No. 8	Clyde Williams Field Ames, IA		W 52–14	14,000	[12]
November 18	Kansas	No. 7	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 14–10	58,300	[13]
November 23	at Nebraska	No. 5	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	ABC	W 21–14	60,048	[14]
December 2	Oklahoma State	No. 3	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (Bedlam Series)		W 38–14	61,826	[15]
January 1, 1968	vs. No. 2 Tennessee *	No. 3	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (Orange Bowl)	NBC	W 26–24	76,563	[16]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^{[17] [18]}

Rankings

See also: 1967 NCAA University Division football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked ( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	8	7	5 (1)	3

Game summaries

Kansas

Kansas (4-4) at #7 Oklahoma (6-1)

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Kansas	3	0	7	0	10
• Oklahoma	0	0	7	7	14

• Date: November 18
• Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
• Game start: 1:30 p.m. CST
• Game attendance: 57,649
• Game weather: Sunny

• Dad's Day

^[19]

Orange Bowl

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Oklahoma	7	12	0	7	26
Tennessee	0	0	14	10	24

• Date: January 1
• Location: Orange Bowl
• Game attendance: 76,563
• Television network: NBC

Roster

1967 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WB 33 Eddie Hinton Jr OT 77 Bob Kalsu Sr TB 22 Ron Shotts Sr RB Steve Owens So QB 11 Bobby Warmack Jr E 82 Steve Zabel So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL 66 Granville Liggins Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 92 Mike Vachon Jr	Head coach Chuck Fairbanks Coordinators/assistant coaches Galen Hall (WR) Pat James Bill Michael (DE) Carl Nystrom Barry Switzer (OC) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Awards

All-Big 8: OT Bob Kalsu, DE John Koller, NG Granville Liggins, RB Steve Owens, QB Bob Warmack

^[20]

NFL/AFL draft

The following players were drafted into the National Football League or American Football League following the season. ^[21]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL team
8	199	Bob Kalsu	Tackle	Buffalo Bills
10	256	Granville Liggins	Linebacker	Detroit Lions
11	292	Ron Shotts	Running back	Detroit Lions

References

1. Grimsley, Will (January 2, 1968). "Oklahoma trips Tennessee, 26-24". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. p. 14.
2. "Oklahoma shades Tennessee in Orange 'doubleheader'". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. January 2, 1968. p. 36.
3. "OU grid coach dies at age 37 of heart attack". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. Kansas. Associated Press. April 28, 1967. p. 13.
4. "OU to name grid coach soon". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. Kansas. Associated Press. May 1, 1967. p. 15.
5. "Fairbanks hired as Sooner coach". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. Kansas. Associated Press. May 2, 1967. p. 10.
6. "Sooners slam Cougars, 21–0". The Odessa American. September 24, 1967. Retrieved October 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Sooners boom Maryland". Tulsa World. October 1, 1967. Retrieved January 21, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Longhorns fight back to edge Sooners, 9–7". The Kilgore News Herald. October 15, 1967. Retrieved May 1, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Sooners slam K-State". The Kansas City Star. October 22, 1967. Retrieved October 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Sooners snag Tigers, retain perfect record". Lincoln Sunday Journal Star. October 29, 1967. Retrieved October 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Sooners shut out Buffs". The Mercury. November 5, 1967. Retrieved October 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Sooners unleash offense, pulverize Cyclones, 52–14". The Wichita Eagle & Beacon. November 12, 1967. Retrieved October 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Sooners rally for title share". The Des Moines Register. November 19, 1967. Retrieved October 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
14. "OB-bound Sooners rally, defeat Nebraska, 21–14". The Miami Herald. November 24, 1967. Retrieved October 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
15. "Sooners romp over Cowboys, 38–14". Miami News-Record. December 3, 1967. Retrieved October 30, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
16. "Sooners hold on to win". The Kansas City Times. January 2, 1968. Retrieved May 7, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
17. "SoonerSports.com". Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
18. "Schedule/Results (1967 Oklahoma)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved October 30, 2025.
19. SoonerStats.com. Retrieved 2018-Nov-28.
20. Oklahoma Sooners Football Media Guide. p. 186. Retrieved 2018-Nov-28.
21. "1968 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.