1970 Oklahoma Sooners football team

Last updated

1970 Oklahoma Sooners football
Oklahoma Sooners Logo 1966-79.png
Conference Big Eight Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 15
APNo. 20
Record7–4–1 (5–2 Big 8)
Head coach
Offensive coordinator Barry Switzer (5th season)
Offensive scheme I formation (first 3 games)
Wishbone (final 9 games)
Defensive coordinator Larry Lacewell (1st season)
Captains
  • Steve Casteel
  • Monty Johnson
Home stadium Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Seasons
  1969
1971  
1970 Big Eight Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 1 Nebraska $ 7 0 011 0 1
No. 20 Oklahoma 5 2 07 4 1
Kansas State 5 2 06 5 0
Missouri 3 4 05 6 0
Colorado 3 4 06 5 0
Kansas 2 5 05 6 0
Oklahoma State 2 5 04 7 0
Iowa State 1 6 05 6 0
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1970 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1970 NCAA University Division 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.

Contents

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 did 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 against Texas. The Sooners ran 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

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 12at SMU *No. T–20W 28–1151,909 [1]
September 19 Wisconsin *No. 18W 21–758,100 [2]
September 26 Oregon State *No. 14
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
L 14–2354,700 [3]
October 10vs. No. 2 Texas *
ABC L 9–4171,938 [4]
October 17at No. 13 Colorado W 23–1547,700 [5]
October 24 Kansas State
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
L 14–1960,800 [6]
October 311:30 p.m.at Iowa State W 29–2827,000 [7]
November 7 Missouri
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK (rivalry)
W 28–1354,750 [8]
November 14at Kansas W 28–2438,200 [9]
November 21at No. 3 Nebraska L 21–2867,392 [10]
November 28 Oklahoma State
W 66–660,300 [11]
December 31vs. Alabama *No. 24T 24–2453,822 [12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

[13] [14]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below
Week
PollPre12345678910111213Final
AP 20 т1814202020 т

Roster

1970 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster
PlayersCoaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
HB 35 Roy Bell Jr
FB 17 Leon Crosswhite So
OE 82 Al Chandler So
QB 11 Jack Mildren Jr
SE 83 Greg Pruitt So
QB 15Dave RobertsonSo
OT 71Nelson ToddJr
OT 76 John Watson Sr
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
LB 43Steve AycockJr
WB 37Gary JamarSr
S 25Monty JohnsonSr
DT 99John NicholsonSr
DHB 19Geoffrey NordgrenJr
DHB 18Steve O'ShaughnessyJr
Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injury icon 2.svg Injured
  • Redshirt.svg Redshirt

Roster

NFL draft

The following players were selected into the 1971 NFL draft following the season. [15]

RoundPickPlayerPositionNFL team
7179 John Watson Tackle San Francisco 49ers
10258Steve CasteelLinebacker Cleveland Browns
17427Monty JohnsonDefensive back Green Bay Packers

References

  1. "Sooners steal contest from Mustangs, 28–11". The Orange Leader. September 13, 1970. Retrieved March 26, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Sooners conquer Badgers". The Shreveport Times. September 20, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Oregon State controls OU, 23 to 14". Tulsa World. September 27, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Horns crunch OU wishbone". Tulsa World. October 11, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Sooners splatter Colorado". The Odessa American. October 18, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Wildcats score late to tumble Sooners". Southwest Times Record. October 25, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Sooners shade Cyclones". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. November 1, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Sooners club Mizzou, 28–13". Wichita Falls Times. November 8, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Oklahoma rally trims Kansas". Columbia Daily Tribune. November 15, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Nebraska wraps up Big Eight". The Orlando Sentinel. November 22, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Oklahoma in rout". The Houston Chronicle. November 29, 1970. Retrieved October 19, 2025 via Newspapers.com.
  12. Darling, Ed (January 1, 1971). "Tide–Sooner deadlock some kind of game". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 11. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  13. 1970 OU Football Season Schedule – SoonerStats – Historical scores, records, and stats for Oklahoma Sooners football, basketball, baseball, and softball
  14. "Schedule/Results (1970 Oklahoma)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved October 19, 2025.
  15. "1971 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.