1966 Oklahoma Sooners football team

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1966 Oklahoma Sooners football
ConferenceBig Eight Conference
1966 record6–4 (4–3 Big 8)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBarry Switzer (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorChuck Fairbanks (1st season)
Captains
Home stadiumOklahoma Memorial Stadium
(Capacity: 61,836)
Seasons
← 1965
1967 →
1966 Big Eight Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 Nebraska $ 6 1 0 9 2 0
Colorado 5 2 0 7 3 0
Missouri 4 2 1 6 3 1
Oklahoma 4 3 0 6 4 0
Oklahoma State 4 2 1 4 5 1
Iowa State 2 3 2 2 6 2
Kansas 0 6 1 2 7 1
Kansas State 0 6 1 0 9 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1966 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma during the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. Led by first-year head coach Jim Mackenzie, they played their home games at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and competed as members of the Big Eight Conference.

A longtime assistant at Arkansas, Mackenzie was hired in December 1965.[1]

Following one of the worst seasons in program history, the Sooners improved to 6–4, defeated rival Texas for the first time in nine years,[2] and upset undefeated rival Nebraska on Thanksgiving,[3][4] Mackenzie was named the Coach of the Year in the Big Eight.[5]

Schedule[]

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 17Oregon*
W 17–048,590
September 24at Iowa StateW 33–1121,467
October 8vs. Texas*
W 18–975,504
October 15at Kansas
W 35–037,252
October 22No. 1 Notre Dame*No. 10
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
L 0–3862,626
October 29at ColoradoL 21–2435,738
November 5Kansas State
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 37–644,792
November 12Missouri
L 7–1055,585
November 24No. 4 Nebraska
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK (rivalry)
ABCW 10–942,884
December 3at Oklahoma StateL 14–1536,581
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[6]

Game summaries[]

Oregon[]

1 234Total
Oregon 0 000 0
• Oklahoma 0 0170 17
  • Date: September 17
  • Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 48,590

Iowa State[]

1 234Total
• Oklahoma 14 397 33
Iowa St 2 900 11

Texas[]

1 234Total
Texas 3 006 9
• Oklahoma 6 336 18
  • Date: October 8
  • Location: Cotton Bowl
  • Game attendance: 75,504
Source:[2][7]

Kansas[]

1 234Total
• Oklahoma 7 7147 35
Kansas 0 000 0
  • Date: October 15
  • Location: Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 37,252

Notre Dame[]

1 234Total
• Notre Dame 0 17210 38
Oklahoma 0 000 0
  • Date: October 22
  • Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 62,626


Colorado[]

1 234Total
Oklahoma 7 0140 21
• Colorado 7 0107 24
  • Date: October 29
  • Location: Folsom Field
  • Game attendance: 35,738

Kansas State[]

1 234Total
Kansas St 0 006 6
• Oklahoma 0 101314 37
  • Date: November 5
  • Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 44,792

Missouri[]

1 234Total
• Missouri 0 0100 10
Oklahoma 0 007 7
  • Date: November 12
  • Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 55,585

Nebraska[]

1 234Total
Nebraska 0 360 9
• Oklahoma 0 703 10
  • Date: November 24
  • Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium

Oklahoma State[]

1 234Total
Oklahoma 0 086 14
• Oklahoma St 0 807 15
  • Date: December 3
  • Location: Lewis Field

Rankings[]

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ 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 11 Final 
AP NR NR NR NR NR 10 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

Postseason[]

NFL/AFL draft[]

The following players were drafted into the National Football League or American Football League following the season.[8]

Player Position Round Pick Franchise
Jim Riley Tackle 2 29 Miami Dolphins
Ben Hart Running back 3 80 New Orleans Saints
James Roy Jackson Wide receiver 4 96 Oakland Raiders
Eugene Ross Defensive back 9 236 New Orleans Saints
Tom Stidham Kicker 13 292 New York Giants

References[]

  1. ^ "Mackenzie faces two big problems". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. December 23, 1965. p. 10.
  2. ^ a b "Field goals boost OU past Texas". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. October 9, 1966. p. 11A.
  3. ^ "Sooners upset Nebraska, 10-9". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. November 25, 1966. p. 13.
  4. ^ "Nebraska loses bid for college crown". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. November 25, 1967. p. 10.
  5. ^ Van Valkenberg, Jim (December 1, 1966). "Nebraskans lead All-Big 8 team". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. p. 15.
  6. ^ "SoonerSports.com". Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
  7. ^ "Field Goals Stop Texas." Palm Beach Post. October 9, 1966
  8. ^ "1967 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
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