1969 Oklahoma Sooners football team

1969 Oklahoma Sooners football
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Record	6–4 (4–3 Big 8)
Head coach	Chuck Fairbanks (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Barry Switzer (4th season)
Captains	Steve Owens Steve Zabel
Home stadium	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Seasons ←  1968 1970  →

1969 Big Eight Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 6 Missouri +	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
No. 11 Nebraska +	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
No. 16 Colorado	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Oklahoma	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Kansas State	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Oklahoma State	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Iowa State	1	–	6	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Kansas	0	–	7	–	0			1	–	9	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1969 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. It was the 75th season for the Sooners.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 20	at Wisconsin *	No. 6	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		W 48–21	43,633	[1]
September 27	Pittsburgh *	No. 6	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 37–8	56,600	[2]
October 11	vs. No. 2 Texas *	No. 8	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Red River Shootout)	ABC	L 17–27	71,938	[3]
October 18	Colorado	No. 12	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 42–30	60,450	[4]
October 25	at No. 18 Kansas State	No. 11	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS		L 21–59	38,500	[5]
November 1	Iowa State		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 37–14	54,500	[6]
November 8	at No. 9 Missouri	No. 20	Memorial Stadium Columbia, MO (rivalry)	ABC	L 10–44	61,000	[7]
November 15	Kansas		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 31–15	59,128	[8] [9]
November 22	No. 16 Nebraska		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry)		L 14–44	53,500	[10]
November 29	at Oklahoma State		Lewis Field Stillwater, OK (Bedlam Series)		W 28–27	38,200	[11]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^{[12] [13]}

Rankings

See also: 1969 NCAA University Division football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
AP	6	6	6	8	12	11	—	20 т	—	—	—	—	—	—

Game summaries

Oklahoma State (Bedlam Series)

Oklahoma Sooners at Oklahoma State Cowboys

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
•Oklahoma	14	0	7	7	28
Oklahoma State	7	14	0	6	27

• Date: November 29
• Location: Lewis Field, Stillwater, Oklahoma
• Game attendance: 38,200

Scoring summary

1		Oklahoma	Owens 1-yard run (Derr kick)	Oklahoma 7-0
1		Oklahoma	Killingsworth 51-yard pass from Mildren (Derr kick)	Oklahoma 14-0
1		Oklahoma St	Cutburth 8-yard run (Pruss kick)	Oklahoma 14-7
2		Oklahoma St	Cutburth 1-yard run (Pruss kick)	Tie 14-14
2		Oklahoma St	Eben 7-yard pass from Cutburth (Pruss kick)	Oklahoma St 21-14
3		Oklahoma	Owens 1-yard run (Derr kick)	Tie 21-21
4		Oklahoma	Mildren 34-yard run (Derr kick)	Oklahoma 28-21
4	1:33	Oklahoma St	Eben 7-yard pass from Cutburth (run failed)	Oklahoma 28-27

Steve Owens rushed for a career-high 261 yards and broke the single season Big Eight touchdown record set by Nebraska's Bobby Reynolds in 1950.

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Roster

1969 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WB 37 Gary Jamar Jr WR 83 Joe Killingsworth Sr C 54 Bob Klitzman Jr C 50 Ken Mendenhall Sr QB 11 Jack Mildren So TB 36 Steve Owens Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class RE 84 Jim Files Sr DT 69 Randy Little Jr DHB 26 Jerry Hetherington Jr DHB 32 Rick Hetherington Sr LB 82 Steve Zabel Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Chuck Fairbanks Coordinators/assistant coaches Galen Hall (WR) Warren Harper (LB) Gene Hochevar Pat James Larry Lacewell (DE) Bill Michael (OL) Barry Switzer (OC) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Awards and honors

• Steve Owens, Heisman Trophy ^[15]
• Steve Owens, Walter Camp Award ^[16]

NFL draft

The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season. ^[17]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Team
1	6	Steve Zabel	Linebacker	Philadelphia Eagles
1	13	Jim Files	Linebacker	New York Giants
1	19	Steve Owens	Running back	Detroit Lions
5	116	Ken Mendenhall	Center	Atlanta Falcons
8	187	Jack Porter	Center	New York Jets
17	420	Joe Killingsworth	Wide receiver	Boston Patriots

References

1. "Oklahoma routs Wisconsin". Chicago Tribune. September 21, 1969. Retrieved October 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
2. "OU rolls; Mildren fires 37–8 victory over Panthers". The Sunday Oklahoman. September 28, 1969. Retrieved October 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Longhorns stampede Sooners 27–17". The Galveston Daily News. October 12, 1969. Retrieved October 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Sooners trip Buffs, 42–20". The Tyler Courier-Times-Telegraph. October 19, 1969. Retrieved October 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Eureka! Kansas State confounds the experts, Sooners and fans with 59–21 victory". The Salina Journal. October 26, 1969. Retrieved October 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Sooners romp". The Sunday Oklahoman. November 2, 1969. Retrieved October 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Tigers 'bowl' over Oklahoma". Columbia Daily Tribune. November 9, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
8. Soldan, Ray (November 16, 1969). "OU Zaps Jayhawks As Owens Goes 201". The Sunday Oklahoman . Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. p. 1, sports section. Retrieved October 2, 2023– via Newspapers.com .
9. Soldan, Ray (November 16, 1969). "OU Wins on Second Half Surge (continued)". The Sunday Oklahoman . Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. p. 2, sports section. Retrieved October 2, 2023– via Newspapers.com .
10. "Defense, Kinney star as Huskers rip Sooners 44–14 to end 'snakepit jinx'". Scottsbluff Daily Star-Herald. November 23, 1969. Retrieved October 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Owens led Sooners triumphs". Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph. November 30, 1969. Retrieved October 22, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "1969 OU Football Season Schedule - SoonerStats - Historical scores, records, and stats for Oklahoma Sooners football, basketball, baseball, and softball".
13. "Schedule/Results (1969 Oklahoma)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved October 22, 2025.
14. "Owens, Oklahoma Nip Cowboys, 28-27." Palm Beach Post. 1969 Nov 30.
15. "Heisman.com - Heisman Trophy". Archived from the original on April 11, 2007. Retrieved April 16, 2007.
16. "Football". Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2009.
17. "1970 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.