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American college football season
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 Source September 29
North Carolina * No. 1 W 36–057,559
[3]
October 6
Kansas State No. 1 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK W 66–039,981
October 13 vs.
Texas * No. 1
NBC W 45–075,504
October 20 at
Kansas No. 1 W 34–1230,129
October 27 at
Notre Dame * No. 2 NBC W 40–060,128
November 3 at No. 18
Colorado No. 1 NBC W 27–1946,563
November 10 at
Iowa State No. 1 W 44–011,409
November 17
Missouri No. 1 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (
rivalry ) W 67–1457,647
November 24
Nebraska No. 1 Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (
rivalry ) W 54–650,039
December 1 at
Oklahoma A&M * No. 1 W 53–036,500
*Non-conference game Rankings from
AP Poll released prior to the game
[4]
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 °F (28 °C)Television 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
[5]
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = 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
[6]
After the season
NFL Draft
The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.
[7]
[8]
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.
^
"Sooners rip Tar Heels, 36–0" . The Ponca City News . September 30, 1956. Retrieved January 6, 2024 – via
Newspapers.com .
^
"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 .
^
"Oklahoma Drafted Players/Alumni" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved April 23, 2023 .
Venues Bowls & rivalries 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 1980–1991
MVIAA Big Six Big Seven Big Eight National championships in bold