1954 Oklahoma Sooners football team

The 1954 Oklahoma Sooners football team (variously "Oklahoma", "OU", or the "Sooners") represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1954 college football season, the sixtieth season of Sooner football. Led by eighth-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.

1954 Oklahoma Sooners football
Big 7 champion
ConferenceBig Seven Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
APNo. 3
Record10–0 (6–0 Big 7)
Head coach
Captains
  • Gene Calame
  • Gene Mears
Home stadiumOklahoma Memorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1953
1955 →
1954 Big Seven Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Oklahoma $ 6 0 0 10 0 0
Nebraska 4 2 0 6 5 0
Colorado 3 2 1 7 2 1
Missouri 3 2 1 4 5 1
Kansas State 3 3 0 7 3 0
Iowa State 1 5 0 3 6 0
Kansas 0 6 0 0 10 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The Sooners went undefeated and were ranked third in both final polls, released in late November at the end of the regular season. Because of a conference "no-repeat" rule, Oklahoma did not play in a bowl game.[1][2] Unranked runner-up Nebraska was invited to the Orange Bowl,[1] and was defeated 34–7 by No. 14 Duke.[2]

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 18at No. 12 California*No. 2ABCW 27–1348,095
September 25No. 20 TCU*No. 1W 21–1650,878
October 9vs. No. 15 Texas*No. 1W 14–776,204[3]
October 16at KansasNo. 1W 65–028,211
October 23Kansas StateNo. 1
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 21–046,356
October 30at ColoradoNo. 2W 13–631,247
November 6at Iowa StateNo. 3W 40–010,209
November 13MissouriNo. 3
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK (rivalry)
W 34–1354,173
November 20NebraskaNo. 3
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK (rivalry)
W 55–755,172
November 27at Oklahoma A&M*No. 3W 14–038,000
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[4]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre12345678910Final
AP2 (74)1 (56)2 (24)1 (77)1 (118)1 (115)2 (74)3 (42)3 (44)3 (28)3 (31)3 (35)

Roster

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NFL Draft

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The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.[5]

Round Pick Player Position NFL team
1 2 Max Boydston End Chicago Cardinals
1 13 Kurt Burris Center Cleveland Browns
3 29 Buddy Leake Back Green Bay Packers
16 182 Bob Herndon Back Chicago Cardinals
18 217 Steve Champlin Tackle Cleveland Browns
22 263 Carl Allison Back Detroit Lions

References

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  1. ^ a b "Busy scoreboard eyed as Duke, Nebraska tangle". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 1, 1955. p. 8.
  2. ^ a b Funk, Ben (January 2, 1955). "Duke rips Huskers 34-7". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). Associated Press. p. 1C.
  3. ^ "Sooners tip Texas 14–7". The Odessa American. October 10, 1954. Retrieved April 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "1954 OU Football Season Schedule - SoonerStats - Historical scores, records, and stats for Oklahoma Sooners football, basketball, baseball, and softball".
  5. ^ "1955 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.