1977 Oklahoma Sooners football team

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1977 Oklahoma Sooners football
Oklahoma Sooners logo.svg
Big Eight champion
Orange Bowl, L 6–31 vs. Arkansas
ConferenceBig Eight Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 6
APNo. 7
1977 record10–2 (7–0 Big 8)
Head coach
  • Barry Switzer (5th season)
Offensive coordinatorGalen Hall (5th season)
Offensive schemeWishbone
Defensive coordinatorLarry Lacewell (8th season)
Base defense5–2
Captains
  • Karl Baldischwiler
  • Zac Henderson
  • Elvis Peacock
Home stadiumOklahoma Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 71,187)
Seasons
← 1976
1978 →
1977 Big Eight Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 Oklahoma $ 7 0 0 10 2 0
Iowa State 5 2 0 8 4 0
No. 12 Nebraska 5 2 0 9 3 0
Colorado 3 3 1 7 3 1
Missouri 3 4 0 4 7 0
Kansas 2 4 1 4 6 1
Oklahoma State 2 5 0 4 7 0
Kansas State 0 7 0 2 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

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.[1] 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.[2][3] This was Switzer's fifth conference title and third undefeated conference record in five seasons.[2]

The team was led by All-Americans George Cumby,[4] Daryl Hunt,[5] Reggie Kinlaw,[6] and Zac Henderson[7] Cumby was named Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year.[4] After winning the conference title outright, it earned a trip to the Orange Bowl where it lost to Arkansas Razorbacks.[3] During the season, it faced five ranked opponents (In order, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 5 Texas, No. 16 Iowa State, No. 11 Nebraska, and No. 6 Arkansas). Four of its opponents ended the season ranked. It endured its only regular season defeat in the Red River Shootout against Texas.[3] The Sooners started the season with a four consecutive wins before losing to Texas and then won the next six before their unsuccessful bowl game.[3]

Elvis Peacock led the team in rushing with 812 yards, Dean Blevins led the team in passing with 385 yards, Steve Rhodes led the team in receiving with 272 yards, Uwe von Schamann led the team in scoring with 89 points, Hunt led the team in tackles with 159 tackles and Henderson posted 7 interceptions.[8]

Schedule[]

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 10Vanderbilt*No. 1
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 25–2371,184
September 17Utah*No. 5
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 62–2471,184
September 24at No. 4 Ohio State*No. 3
  • Ohio Stadium
  • Columbus, OH
ABCW 29–2888,119
October 1KansasNo. 1
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 24–971,184
October 8vs. No. 5 Texas*No. 2
  • Cotton Bowl
  • Dallas, TX (Red River Shootout)
L 6–1372,032
October 15at MissouriNo. 7
W 21–1763,774
October 22No. 16 Iowa StateNo. 6
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 35–1671,184
October 29at Kansas StateNo. 4
  • KSU Stadium
  • Manhattan, KS
W 42–725,600
November 5at Oklahoma StateNo. 3
  • Lewis Field
  • Stillwater, OK (Bedlam Series)
W 61–2850,088
November 12ColoradoNo. 3
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
ABCW 52–1471,184
November 25No. 11 NebraskadaggerNo. 3
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK (rivalry)
ABCW 38–771,184
January 1, 1978vs. No. 6 ArkansasNo. 2
NBCL 6–3160,987
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[3]

Personnel[]

1977 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
HB 43 Vickey Ray Anderson Jr
T 67 Karl Baldischwiler Sr
QB 2 Dean Blevins Sr
OT 63 Sam Claphan Redshirt.svg Jr
G 75 Terry Crouch Fr
TE 80 Victor Hicks Jr
WR 21 Bobby Kimball Jr
RB 30 Kenny King Jr
QB 6 Thomas Lott Jr
WR 11 Fred Nixon Fr
T 66 Louis Oubre So
HB 22 David Overstreet Fr
RB 4 Elvis Peacock Redshirt.svg Sr
SE 24 Steve Rhodes So
G 65 Greg Roberts Jr
RB 34 Jimmy Rogers Redshirt.svg Jr
RB 20 Billy Sims Redshirt.svg So
C 51 Mike Spencer Sr
T 73 Paul Tabor Jr
OL 61 Jeff Ward Jr
QB 1 J. C. Watts So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 28 George Cumby Redshirt.svg So
DT 72 John Goodman Fr
DE 90 Rusty Griffis Jr
DB 33 Bud Hebert Jr
S 19 Zac Henderson Sr
DT 70 Dave Hudgens Redshirt.svg Sr
LB 85 Daryl Hunt Jr
DE 83 Mike Joyce So
DT 62 Reggie Kinlaw Jr
DE 58 Reggie Mathis Jr
DB 3 Darrol Ray So
DE 41 Mike Rilley Fr
DT 74 Phil Tabor Jr
DT 96 Richard Turner Fr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 10 Uwe von Schamann Jr
Head coach
  • Barry Switzer
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

Game summaries[]

Vanderbilt[]

1 234Total
Vanderbilt 5 1008 23
• Oklahoma 0 11014 25
  • Date: September 10
  • Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 71,184

Utah[]

1 234Total
Utah 0 1707 24
• Oklahoma 31 10714 62
  • Date: September 17
  • Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 71,184

at Ohio State[]

#3 Oklahoma Sooners (2–0) at #4 Ohio State Buckeyes (2–0)
1 2 34Total
Oklahoma 17 3 0929
Ohio State 0 14 14028

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

  • Date: September 29
  • Game time: 1:55 p.m.
  • Game weather: Overcast, 78 °F (26 °C)
  • Game attendance: 88,119
  • TV: ABC
  • Box Score

"The Kick" - Uwe von Schamann pretended to conduct the crowd as they chanted prior to his field goal attempt

Kansas[]

1 234Total
Kansas 0 009 9
• Oklahoma 0 7170 24
  • Date: October 1
  • Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 71,184

[9]

Texas[]

1 234Total
Oklahoma 3 030 6
• Texas 0 1003 13
  • Date: October 8
  • Location: Cotton Bowl
  • Game attendance: 72,032

Missouri[]

1 234Total
• Oklahoma 0 7140 21
Missouri 0 1007 17
  • Date: October 15
  • Location: Faurot Field
  • Game attendance: 63,774

[10]

Iowa State[]

1 234Total
Iowa St 9 070 16
• Oklahoma 7 7714 35
  • Date: October 22
  • Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 71,184

Kansas State[]

1 234Total
• Oklahoma 14 7147 42
Kansas St 0 007 7
  • Date: October 29
  • Location: KSU Stadium
  • Game attendance: 25,600

Oklahoma State[]

1 234Total
• Oklahoma 10 112416 61
Oklahoma St 14 0140 28
  • Date: November 5
  • Location: Lewis Field
  • Game attendance: 50,088

[11]

Colorado[]

Colorado at #3 Oklahoma
1 234Total
Colorado 0 707 14
• Oklahoma 14 21107 52
  • Date: November 12
  • Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Game attendance: 71,184

[12]

Nebraska[]

1 234Total
Nebraska 0 700 7
• Oklahoma 0 21314 38
  • Date: November 25
  • Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium

Orange Bowl[]

1 234Total
• Arkansas 14 0107 31
Oklahoma 0 006 6
  • Date: January 2, 1978
  • Location: Orange Bowl, Miami
  • Game attendance: 60,987
  • Referee: R. Pete Williams
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jim Simpson and Merlin Olsen

[13]

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 12 Final 
AP 1 5 3 1 2 7 6 4 3 3 3 3 2 7 
Coaches Poll Not released 6 4 2 3 6 6 3 3 3 2 2 2 6

Awards and honors[]

  • All-American: George Cumby,[4] Daryl Hunt,[5] Reggie Kinlaw,[6] and Zac Henderson[7]
  • Big 8 Defensive Player of the Year: Cumby[4]

Postseason[]

NFL draft[]

The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.[14]

Player Position Round Pick Franchise
Elvis Peacock Running back 1 20 Los Angeles Rams
Dave Hudgens Tackle 3 84 Dallas Cowboys
Karl Baldischwiler Tackle 7 178 Miami Dolphins
Richard Murray Defensive tackle 11 289 Detroit Lions

References[]

  1. ^ "Memorial Stadium". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 28, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  2. ^ a b "OU Football Tradition – 42 Conference Titles". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 22, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d e "1977 Football Season". SoonerStats.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d "All-American: George Cumby". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 23, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
  5. ^ a b "All-American: Daryl Hunt". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
  6. ^ a b "All-American: Reggie Kinlaw". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
  7. ^ a b "All-American: Zac Henderson". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
  8. ^ "2009 Football Record Book" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. p. 175. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  9. ^ "Sooners Grind Kansas; Wolverines Chew A&M." Ocala Star-Banner. 1977 Oct 2.
  10. ^ Ocala Star-Banner. 1977 Oct 16. Retrieved 2018-Dec-22.
  11. ^ "Sooners keep control of State and conference, 61-28." Eugene Register-Guard. 1977 Nov 6.
  12. ^ "Sooners run over Colorado and play for the Orange." Eugene Register-Guard. November 13, 1977
  13. ^ "The 1970s". Orange Bowl.
  14. ^ "1978 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.

External links[]

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