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.
| 1953 Oklahoma Sooners football | |
|---|---|
National champion (B(QPRS), CFRA) Big 7 champion Orange Bowl champion | |
Orange Bowl, W 7–0 vs. Maryland | |
| Conference | Big Seven Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 5 |
| AP | No. 4 |
| Record | 9–1–1 (6–0 Big 7) |
| Head coach |
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| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Oklahoma Memorial Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 4 Oklahoma $ | 6 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Missouri | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kansas State | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colorado | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kansas | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa State | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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
edit| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 26 | No. 1 Notre Dame* | No. 6 | L 21–28 | 59,461 | ||
| October 3 | at Pittsburgh* | No. 8 | T 7–7 | 28,152 | ||
| October 10 | vs. No. 15 Texas* | No. 16 | W 19–14 | 75,504 | [8] | |
| October 17 | Kansas | No. 12 |
| W 45–0 | 45,862 | |
| October 24 | Colorado | No. 9 |
| W 27–20 | 36,565 | |
| October 31 | at Kansas State | No. 9 |
| W 34–0 | 23,822 | |
| November 7 | at Missouri | No. 8 | W 14–7 | 30,020 | ||
| November 14 | Iowa State | No. 6 |
| W 47–0 | 43,713 | |
| November 21 | at Nebraska | No. 4 | W 30–7 | 31,551 | ||
| November 28 | Oklahoma A&M* | No. 4 |
| W 42–7 | 50,524 | |
| January 1, 1954 | vs. No. 1 Maryland* | No. 4 | W 7–0 | 68,640–68,718 | [9] | |
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Rankings
edit| 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) |
Roster
edit- G J. D. Roberts, Sr.
- E Carl Allison, Jr.
NFL draft
editThe following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.[11]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 16 | Larry Grigg | Back | Baltimore Colts |
| 10 | 116 | Merrill Green | Back | Washington Redskins |
| 14 | 164 | Roger Nelson | Tackle | Washington Redskins |
| 17 | 195 | J. D. Roberts | Guard | Green Bay Packers |
| 30 | 355 | Juel Sweatte | Back | Pittsburgh Steelers |
References
edit- ^ 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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