Billy Ray Sims is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons from 1980 to 1984. Sims played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners, where he was a two-time consensus All-American, and won the Heisman Trophy in 1978. He was the first overall pick in the 1980 NFL Draft, selected by the Detroit Lions.
Billy Dale Vessels was an American professional football player at the halfback position. He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners, winning a national championship in 1950 and being awarded the 1952 Heisman Trophy.
Loren Everett "Steve" Owens is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons with the Detroit Lions. He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners, where he won the 1969 Heisman Trophy and was named to the All-American team. He was selected in the first round of the 1970 NFL Draft by the Lions, and became the first Lion to rush for over a 1,000 yards in a season.
Jerry Pettibone is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Northern Illinois University from 1985 to 1990 and Oregon State University from 1991 to 1996. compiling a career college football record of 46–84–2 (.356).
The Oklahoma Sooners football team represents the University of Oklahoma in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level in the Big 12 Conference. The program began in 1895 and is one of the most successful in history, having won 944 games and possessing a .725 winning percentage, both sixth all-time. Oklahoma has appeared in the AP poll 897 times, including 101 No. 1 rankings, both third all-time. The program claims seven national championships, 50 conference championships, 167 first-team All-Americans, and a record-tying seven Heisman Trophy winners. The school has had 29 former players and coaches inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and holds the record for the longest winning streak in Division I history with 47 straight victories. Oklahoma is also the only program with which four coaches have won more than 100 games each.
The 1975 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1975 NCAA Division I football season. The team was helmed by Barry Switzer in his third season as head coach. After sailing through their first eight games, Oklahoma suffered a surprising home loss to Kansas, which snapped a 28-game winning streak. With only two regular season games and a bowl trip left, any hopes for a repeat national championship looked slim.
The 1971 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. Oklahoma was a member of the Big Eight Conference and played its home games in Oklahoma Memorial Stadium where it has played its home games since 1923. The team posted an 11–1 and 6–1 conference record under head coach Chuck Fairbanks. The Sooners finished the season ranked #2, losing only once, 35–31 to eventual national champion Nebraska in the 1971 Nebraska vs. Oklahoma football game, which has become known as Game of the Century.
The 1971 Nebraska vs. Oklahoma football game was the 51st edition of the rivalry, one of several labeled as a "Game of the Century." The Big Eight Conference matchup was held on Thursday, November 25, 1971, in Norman, Oklahoma.
The 1979 Orange Bowl was the 45th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Monday, January 1. Part of the 1978–79 bowl game season, it matched the fourth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners and #6 Nebraska Cornhuskers, both of the Big Eight Conference.
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.
The 1972 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. Oklahoma was a member of the Big Eight Conference and played its home games in Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, where it has played its home games since 1923. The team posted an 11–1 overall record and were 6–1 in conference, later changed to 8–4 and 3–4. This was Chuck Fairbanks' last season as Sooner head coach; he left for the New England Patriots of the NFL.
The 1973 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. Oklahoma participated as members of the Big Eight Conference and played its home games in Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium where it has played its home games since 1923. The team posted a 10–0–1 overall record and a 7–0 conference record to earn the Conference outright title under first-year head coach Barry Switzer. This would be the first of eight consecutive Big Eight Conference championships for the Sooners with Switzer as head coach.
The 1976 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. Oklahoma was a member of the Big Eight Conference and played its home games in Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, where it has played its home games since 1923. The team posted a 9–2–1 overall record and a 5–2–0 conference record to earn a share of the Conference title under head coach Barry Switzer who took the helm in 1973. This was Switzer's fourth conference title in four seasons.
The 1977 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. Oklahoma was a member of the Big Eight Conference and played its home games in Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, where it has played its home games since 1923. The team posted a 10–2 overall record and a 7–0 conference record to earn the Conference title under head coach Barry Switzer who took the helm in 1973. This was Switzer's fifth conference title and third undefeated conference record in five seasons.
The 1979 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the college football 1979 NCAA Division I-A season. Oklahoma Sooners football participated in the former Big Eight Conference at that time and played its home games in Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium where it has played its home games since 1923. The team posted an 11–1 overall record and a 7–0 conference record to earn the Conference title outright under head coach Barry Switzer who took the helm in 1973. This was Switzer's seventh conference title and fourth undefeated conference record in seven seasons.
The 1980 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. Oklahoma was a member of the Big Eight Conference and played its home games in Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The team posted a 10–2 overall record and a 7–0 conference record to earn the conference title outright under head coach Barry Switzer who took the helm in 1973. This was Switzer's eighth conference title and fifth undefeated conference record in eight seasons.
The 1984 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the college football 1984 NCAA Division I-A season. Oklahoma Sooners football participated in the former Big Eight Conference at that time and played its home games in Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium where it has played its home games since 1923. The team posted a 9–2–1 overall record and a 6–1 conference record to earn a share of the Conference title under head coach Barry Switzer who took the helm in 1973. This was Switzer's ninth conference title in twelve seasons.
The 1987 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1987 NCAA Division I-A football season. Oklahoma was a member of the Big Eight Conference played its home games in Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, where it has played its home games since 1923. The team posted an 11–1 overall record and a 7–0 conference record to the Conference title outright under head coach Barry Switzer who took the helm in 1973. This was Switzer's twelfth conference title, fourth consecutive conference title and eighth undefeated conference record in fifteen seasons.
The 1978 Orange Bowl was the 44th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Monday, January 2. Part of the 1977–78 bowl game season, it matched the sixth-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks of the Southwest Conference (SWC) against the heavily-favored #2 Oklahoma Sooners of the Big Eight Conference.
The Nebraska–Wisconsin football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers and University of Wisconsin Badgers. The winner of the game receives the Freedom Trophy. Wisconsin leads the series 13–4.
