1953 Oklahoma Sooners football team
American college football season
The 1953 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma during the 1953 college football season . Led by seventh-year head coach Bud Wilkinson , they played their home games at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma , and were members of the Big Seven Conference .
The Sooners dropped their opener at home to top-ranked Notre Dame ,[ 1] tied at Pittsburgh ,[ 2] then won nine straight, concluding with a 7–0 shutout of #1 Maryland in the Orange Bowl in Miami on New Year's Day and were named national champions by Berryman.[ 3] [ 4] The final polls were released in late November, prior to the bowl games .[ 5] [ 6]
Oklahoma's initial win of the 1953 season, over Texas in Dallas on October 10, was the start of their record 47-game winning streak that extended more than four years, until November 1957 .[ 7]
Schedule
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance Source September 26 No. 1 Notre Dame * No. 6 L 21–2859,461
October 3 at Pittsburgh * No. 8 T 7–728,152
October 10 vs. No. 15 Texas * No. 16 W 19–1475,504 [ 8]
October 17 Kansas No. 12 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK W 45–045,862
October 24 Colorado No. 9 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK W 27–2036,565
October 31 at Kansas State No. 9 Memorial Stadium Manhattan, KS W 34–023,822
November 7 at Missouri No. 8 W 14–730,020
November 14 Iowa State No. 6 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK W 47–043,713
November 21 at Nebraska No. 4 W 30–731,551
November 28 Oklahoma A&M * No. 4 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (Bedlam ) W 42–750,524
January 1, 1954 vs. No. 1 Maryland * No. 4 W 7–068,640–68,718 [ 9]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
[ 10]
Roster
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Final AP 6 (3) 8 16 12 (1) 9 9 (1) 8 (1) 6 (1) 4 (3) 4 (9) 4 (10)
Postseason
NFL Draft
The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.[ 11]
References
^ Fullerton, Hugh Jr. (September 27, 1953). "The Irish flame in Norman heat to stop O.U., 28-21" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. 1, sports.
^ "Pitt holds Sooners to 7-7 draw" . Reading Eagle . (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. October 4, 1953. p. 32.
^ "Oklahoma's defense upsets Maryland, 7-0" . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Associated Press. January 2, 1954. p. 10.
^ "Maryland deflated by Sooners, 7-0" . Pittsburgh Press . United Press. January 2, 1954. p. 6.
^ "Undefeated Maryland eleven leads final AP football poll" . Milwaukee Journal . Associated Press. December 1, 1953. p. 18.
^ "Maryland keeps top spot in nation's college ratings" . Pittsburgh Press . United Press. December 1, 1953. p. 24.
^ "Irish snap Sooners' string, 7-0" . Milwaukee Sentinel . Associated Press. November 17, 1957. p. 1C.
^ "Sooners hang on to squeeze 19–14 victory out of Texas" . Abilene Reporter-News . October 11, 1953. Retrieved April 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Maryland beaten by Oklahoma, 7–0, in Orange Bowl" . The Baltimore Sun . January 2, 1954. Retrieved January 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "SoonerSports.com" . Archived from the original on February 29, 2008. Retrieved June 19, 2012 .
^ "1954 NFL Draft Listing" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved November 29, 2020 .
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