1956 Oklahoma Sooners football team

The 1956 Oklahoma Sooners football team was an American football team that represented the University of Oklahoma during the 1956 college football season. In their tenth season under head coach Bud Wilkinson, the Sooners compiled a 10–0 record and repeated as consensus national champions. The Sooners were led on offense by quarterback Jim Harris and played their home games at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma.

1956 Oklahoma Sooners football
Consensus national champion Big 7 champion
Conference	Big Seven Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
Record	10–0 (6–0 Big 7)
Head coach	Bud Wilkinson (10th season)
Captains	Ed Gray Jerry Tubbs
Home stadium	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1955 1957 →

1956 Big Seven Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Oklahoma $	6	–	0	–	0			10	–	0	–	0
No. 20 Colorado	4	–	1	–	1			8	–	2	–	1
Missouri	3	–	2	–	1			4	–	5	–	1
Nebraska	3	–	3	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Kansas	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	6	–	1
Kansas State	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Iowa State	0	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

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	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 36–0	57,559	[3]
October 6	Kansas State	No. 1	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 66–0	39,981
October 13	vs. Texas*	No. 1	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Red River Shootout)	NBC	W 45–0	75,504	[4]
October 20	at Kansas	No. 1	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS		W 34–12	30,129
October 27	at Notre Dame*	No. 2	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN	NBC	W 40–0	60,128
November 3	at No. 18 Colorado	No. 1	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	NBC	W 27–19	46,563
November 10	at Iowa State	No. 1	Clyde Williams Stadium Ames, IA		W 44–0	11,409
November 17	Missouri	No. 1	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry)		W 67–14	57,647
November 24	Nebraska	No. 1	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry)		W 54–6	50,039
December 1	at Oklahoma A&M*	No. 1	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK (Bedlam Series)		W 53–0	36,500
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[5]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ 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)

Game summaries

Texas

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Texas	0	0	0	0	0
• Oklahoma	6	13	13	13	45

• Date: October 13
• Location: Cotton Bowl
• Game attendance: 75,504
• Game 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

^[6]

Roster

• QB Jimmy Harris, Sr.
• HB Tommy McDonald, Sr.
• C Jerry Tubbs, Sr.

Awards

• C Jerry Tubbs (All-American, Heisman Finalist)
• G Bill Krisher (All-American)
• HB Tommy McDonald (All-American)
• G Ed Gray (All-American)

^[7]

NFL draft

The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.^{[8] [9]}

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL team
1	10	Jerry Tubbs	Center	Chicago Cardinals
3	31	Tommy McDonald	Wide receiver	Philadelphia Eagles
5	50	Jimmy Harris	Quarterback	Philadelphia Eagles
6	65	Billy Pricer	Back	Baltimore Colts
7	75	Ed Gray	Tackle	Los Angeles Rams
12	142	Bob Derrick	Back	Chicago Cardinals
28	336	Tom Emerson	Guard	Chicago Bears