American college football season
1956 Oklahoma Sooners football Conference Big Seven Conference Coaches No. 1 AP No. 1 1956 record 10–0 (6–0 Big 7) Head coach Bud Wilkinson (10th season)Captains
Home stadium Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 55,647)Seasons
1956 Big Seven Conference football standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
T
W
L
T
No. 1 Oklahoma $
6
–
0
–
0
10
–
0
–
0
No. 20 Colorado
4
–
1
–
1
8
–
2
–
1
Missouri
3
–
2
–
1
4
–
5
–
1
Nebraska
3
–
3
–
0
4
–
6
–
0
Kansas
2
–
4
–
0
3
–
6
–
1
Kansas State
2
–
4
–
0
3
–
7
–
0
Iowa State
0
–
6
–
0
2
–
8
–
0
Rankings from AP Poll
The 1956 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1956 NCAA University Division football season . It was the 62nd season of play for the Sooners and they repeated as consensus national champions. They were led by hall of fame head coach Bud Wilkinson , in his tenth season. On the field, the Sooners were led on offense by quarterback Jim Harris, and played their home games at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma .
After another undefeated season, Oklahoma was first in both final polls in early December.[1] Their winning streak was up to forty games,[2] but they did not play in a bowl game due to the Big Seven's no-repeat rule;[1] runner-up Colorado was invited to and won the Orange Bowl .
Schedule [ ]
Date Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance September 29 North Carolina * No. 1 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK W 36–057,559[3]
October 6 Kansas State No. 1 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK W 66–039,981[3]
October 13 vs. Texas * No. 1 Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Red River Shootout )NBC W 45–075,504[3]
October 20 at Kansas No. 1 Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS W 34–1230,129[3]
October 27 at Notre Dame * No. 2 Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN NBC W 40–060,128[3]
November 3 at No. 18 Colorado No. 1 W 27–1946,563[3]
November 10 at Iowa State No. 1 Clyde Williams Stadium Ames, IA W 44–011,409[3]
November 17 Missouri No. 1 W 67–1457,647[3]
November 24 Nebraska No. 1 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry ) W 54–650,039[3]
December 1 at Oklahoma A&M * No. 1 Lewis Field Stillwater, OK (Bedlam Series )W 53–036,500[3]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
Roster [ ]
QB Jimmy Harris, Sr.
HB Tommy McDonald, Sr.
C Jerry Tubbs, Sr.
Game summaries [ ]
Texas [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Texas
0
0 0 0
0
• Oklahoma
6
13 13 13
45
Date: October 13Location: Cotton Bowl Game attendance: 75,504Game weather: 83°FTelevision network: NBC
Scoring summary Q1 11:57 OKLA Thomas 2 yard run (kick failed)OKLA 6–0
Q2 14:27 OKLA McDonald 4 yard run (kick failed)OKLA 12–0
Q2 :27 OKLA McDonald 27 yard pass from Harris (Harris kick) OKLA 19–0
Q3 8:41 OKLA Thomas 8 yard run (kick failed) OKLA 25–0
Q3 1:32 OKLA McDonald 44 yard run (Pricer kick) OKLA 32–0
Q4 12:55 OKLA Thomas 1 yard run (Pricer kick) OKLA 39–0
Q4 :45 OKLA Day 25 yard interception return (kick failed) OKLA 45–0
[4]
Rankings [ ]
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll
Pre
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Final
AP
1 (111)
1 (91)
1 (60)
1 (76)
1 (67)
2 (44)
1 (143)
1 (116)
2 (92)
1 (111)
1 (81)
1 (104)
Awards [ ]
C Jerry Tubbs (All-American, Heisman Finalist)
G Bill Krisher (All-American)
HB Tommy McDonald (All-American)
G Ed Gray (All-American)
[5]
Postseason [ ]
NFL draft [ ]
The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.[6]
Player
Position
Round
Pick
Franchise
Jerry Tubbs
Center
1
10
Chicago Cardinals
Tommy McDonald
Wide Receiver
3
31
Philadelphia Eagles
Jimmy Harris
Quarterback
5
50
Philadelphia Eagles
Billy Pricer
Back
6
65
Baltimore Colts
Ed Gray
Tackle
7
75
Los Angeles Rams
Bob Derrick
Back
12
142
Chicago Cardinals
Tom Emerson
Guard
28
336
Chicago Bears
References [ ]
^ a b Miller, Norman (December 4, 1956). "Oklahoma voted grid champion in final AP and UP polls" . Reading Eagle . (Pennsylvania). United Press. p. 23.
^ "Oklahoma wins 40th in a row" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 2, 1956. p. 1, sports.
^ a b c d e f g h i j "1956 OU Football Season Schedule - SoonerStats - Historical scores, records, and stats for Oklahoma Sooners football, basketball, baseball, and softball" .
^ [1] . Retrieved 2015-Jul-25.
^ SoonerSports.com . Retrieved 2015-Jul-25.
^ "1957 NFL Draft Listing" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved November 29, 2020 .
Head coach: Bud Wilkinson
Venues Bowls & rivalries
Bowl games
Missouri
Nebraska
Oklahoma State: Bedlam Series
Texas: Red River Showdown
Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
1936–1949 1950s 1960s
1960 : Minnesota (AP, Coaches, NFF ) / Ole Miss (FWAA)
1961 : Alabama (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ohio State (FWAA)
1962 : USC
1963 : Texas
1964 : Alabama (AP, Coaches) / Arkansas (FWAA) / Notre Dame (NFF)
1965 : Alabama (AP, FWAA) / Michigan State (Coaches, FWAA, NFF)
1966 : Notre Dame (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF) / Michigan State (NFF)
1967 : USC
1968 : Ohio State
1969 : Texas
1970s
1970 : Nebraska (AP, FWAA) / Texas (NFF, Coaches) / Ohio State (NFF)
1971 : Nebraska
1972 : USC
1973 : Notre Dame (AP, FWAA, NFF) / Alabama (Coaches)
1974 : Oklahoma (AP) / USC (FWAA, NFF, Coaches)
1975 : Oklahoma
1976 : Pittsburgh
1977 : Notre Dame
1978 : Alabama (AP, FWAA, NFF) / USC (Coaches)
1979 : Alabama
1980–1991
1980 : Georgia
1981 : Clemson
1982 : Penn State
1983 : Miami (FL)
1984 : BYU
1985 : Oklahoma
1986 : Penn State
1987 : Miami (FL)
1988 : Notre Dame
1989 : Miami (FL)
1990 : Colorado (AP, FWAA, NFF, USAT /CNN ) / Georgia Tech (Coaches)
1991 : Miami (FL) (AP) / Washington (Coaches, FWAA, UPI /NFF)
MVIAA Big Six Big Seven Big Eight National championships in bold