1973 Oklahoma Sooners football team

The 1973 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. Oklahoma participated as members of the Big Eight Conference and played its home games in Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium where it has played its home games since 1923.^[1] The team posted a 10–0–1 overall record and a 7–0 conference record to earn the Conference outright title under first-year head coach Barry Switzer.^[2][3] This would be the first of eight consecutive Big Eight Conference championships for the Sooners with Switzer as head coach.^[2]

1973 Oklahoma Sooners football
National champion (CFRA, Sagarin) Big 8 champion
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 3
Record	10–0–1 (7–0 Big 8)
Head coach	Barry Switzer (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Galen Hall (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Wishbone
Defensive coordinator	Larry Lacewell (4th season)
Captains	Gary Baccus Eddie Foster Lucious Selmon Tim Welch
Home stadium	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1972 1974 →

1973 Big Eight Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Oklahoma $	7	–	0	–	0			10	–	0	–	1
No. 7 Nebraska	4	–	2	–	1			9	–	2	–	1
No. 18 Kansas	4	–	2	–	1			7	–	4	–	1
No. 17 Missouri	3	–	4	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Oklahoma State	2	–	3	–	2			5	–	4	–	2
Colorado	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Kansas State	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Iowa State	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The team was led by three All-Americans: Rod Shoate (Oklahoma's second three-time All-American)^[4] the oldest of the Selmon brothers, Lucious,^[5] and Eddie Foster.^[5] The Selmon brothers Lucious, Lee Roy and Dewey started on the defensive line.^[6] The team went undefeated on a schedule that included seven ranked opponents (In order, #1 USC, #17 Miami, #13 Texas, #13 Colorado, #10 Missouri, #18 Kansas, and #10 Nebraska). Five of these opponents finished the season ranked. The team tied with USC in the second game of the season before winning nine consecutive contests. It began the season ranked number 11 and steadily climbed in the polls as the season progressed.^[3]

Joe Washington led the team in rushing with 1173 yards, Steve Davis led the team in passing yard for with 934 yards, Tinker Owens led the team in receiving with 472 yards, Davis led the team in scoring with 108 points, Shoate led the team in tackles with 126, and Randy Hughes led the team in interceptions with 5.^[7]

Prior to the season in August, the Sooners were put on probation by the Big Eight Conference, which included a two-year ban on bowl appearances, and a two-year ban on television appearances (1974, 1975).^[8]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 15		at Baylor*	No. 11	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX		W 42–14	41,573	[9]
September 29		at No. 1 USC*	No. 8	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		T 7–7	83,986
October 6	1:30 p.m.	No. 17 Miami (FL)*	No. 6	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 24–20	62,040
October 13		vs. No. 13 Texas*	No. 6	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Red River Shootout)	ABC	W 52–13	72,032–72,242	[10]
October 20		No. 16 Colorado	No. 3	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 34–7	61,826–62,580	[11]
October 27		at Kansas State	No. 3	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS		W 56–14	29,523
November 3		Iowa State	No. 3	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 34–17	61,876
November 10		at No. 10 Missouri	No. 3	Memorial Stadium Columbia, MO (rivalry)		W 31–3	65,515
November 17		No. 18 Kansas	No. 3	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 48–20	60,961–64,122
November 23		No. 10 Nebraska	No. 3	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry)	ABC	W 27–0	62,257
December 1		at Oklahoma State	No. 2	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK (Bedlam Series)		W 45–18	50,964
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[3]

Rankings

See also: 1973 NCAA Division I football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
AP	11 т	11	9	8 (1)	6 (1.5)	6	3 (8)	3 (8)	3 (9)	3 (7)	3 (10)	3 (9)	2 (20)	2 (16)	3 (16)

Awards and honors

• All-American: Rod Shoate,^[4] Eddie Foster^{[12][13][14][15]} and Lucious Selmon^[5]
• Big Eight Athlete of the Year: Selmon^[5]
• Big Eight Defensive Player: Selmon^[5]
• Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Year: Selmon^[5]

Game summaries

At Baylor

#11 Oklahoma Sooners at Baylor Bears

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• #11 Oklahoma	21	14	0	7	42
Baylor	0	0	6	8	14

• Date: September 15
• Location: Floyd Casey Stadium, Waco, Texas
• Game attendance: 46,000

Scoring summary

1		Oklahoma	Davis 3-yard run (Fulcher kick)	Oklahoma 7-0
1		Oklahoma	Foster recovered fumble in end zone (Fulcher kick)	Oklahoma 14-0
1		Oklahoma	Washington 7-yard run (Fulcher kick)	Oklahoma 21-0
2		Oklahoma	Washington 13-yard run (Fulcher kick)	Oklahoma 28-0
2		Oklahoma	Clark 50-yard run (Fulcher kick)	Oklahoma 35-0
3		Baylor	Dancer 6-yard pass from Jeffries (run failed)	Oklahoma 35-6
4		Oklahoma	Davis 27-yard run (Fulcher kick)	Oklahoma 42-6
4		Baylor	Kent 28-yard pass from Armstrong (Kent run)	Oklahoma 42-14

^[16]

At USC

Miami (FL)

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Miami (FL)	7	13	0	0	20
• Oklahoma	7	0	14	3	24

• Date: October 6
• Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma
• Game attendance: 61,826

Scoring summary

1		OKLA	Davis 6 Yard Run (Fulcher Kick)	Oklahoma 7–0
1		MIA	Thompson 5 Yard Run (Huffman Kick)	Tie 7-7
2		MIA	Mitchell 79 Yard Pitchout Interception (Huffman kick)	Miami (FL) 14-7
2		MIA	Thompson 4 Yard Run (kick failed)	Miami (FL) 20-7
3		OKLA	Davis 13 Yard Run (Fulcher Kick)	Miami (FL) 20-14
3		OKLA	Owens 52 Yard Pass from Davis (Fulcher Kick)	Oklahoma 21-20
4		OKLA	Fulcher 30 Yard Field Goal	Oklahoma 24-20

^[17]

vs Texas

See also: Red River Rivalry

#6 Oklahoma Sooners (2–0) vs. #13 Texas Longhorns (2–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Oklahoma	7	14	14	17	52
Texas	3	3	0	7	13

at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

• Date: October 13
• Game time: 12:30 p.m.
• Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C)
• Game attendance: 72,204
• TV: ABC
• Box Score

Worst loss in Darrell Royal's coaching career ^[18]

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Oklahoma	Passing	Steve Davis	5/6, 185 Yds, 2 TD
	Rushing	Joe Washington	12 Rush, 117 Yds
	Receiving	Tinker Owens	4 Rec, 163 Yds, 2 TD
Texas	Passing	Marty Akins	5/9, 64 Yds, INT
	Rushing	Roosevelt Leaks	20 Rush, 82 Yds
	Receiving	Pat Kelly	4 Rec, 71 Yds

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP OU UT 1 10:05 6 82 2:37 Oklahoma Tinker Owens 40-yard touchdown reception from Joe Washington, Rick Fulcher kick good 7 0 1 3:25 14 79 6:40 Texas 36-yard field goal by Billy Schott 7 3 2 11:14 12 90 5:17 Texas 44-yard field goal by Billy Schott 7 6 2 10:46 2 68 0:28 Oklahoma Tinker Owens 63-yard touchdown reception from Steve Davis, Rick Fulcher kick good 14 6 2 0:29 3 47 0:31 Oklahoma Billy Brooks 47-yard touchdown reception from Steve Davis, Rick Fulcher kick good 21 6 3 11:26 8 77 3:34 Oklahoma Steve Davis 15-yard touchdown run, Rick Fulcher kick good 28 6 3 1:09 2 7 0:46 Oklahoma Steve Davis 2-yard touchdown run, Rick Fulcher kick good 35 6 4 13:35 4 9 1:15 Oklahoma 25-yard field goal by Rick Fulcher 38 6 4 11:59 1 11 0:07 Oklahoma Scott Hill 11-yard touchdown run, Rick Fulcher kick good 45 6 4 7:05 7 80 2:55 Texas Mike Presley 31-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick good 45 13 4 1:39 11 81 5:26 Oklahoma Joe McReynolds 11-yard touchdown run, Fulcher kick good 52 13 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 52 13

Colorado

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Colorado	7	0	0	0	7
• Oklahoma	7	7	7	13	34

• Date: October 20
• Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma
• Game attendance: 61,826

Scoring summary

1		COL	Matthews 3-yard run (Lima kick)	Colorado 7–0
1		OKLA	Hoffman 37-yard pass from Davis (Fulcher kick)	Tie 7–7
2		OKLA	Hughes 90-yard interception return (Fulcher kick)	Oklahoma 14–7
3		OKLA	Davis 1-yard run (Fulcher kick)	Oklahoma 21–7
4		OKLA	Clark 9-yard run (Fulcher kick)	Oklahoma 28–7
4		OKLA	Russell 12-yard run (kick failed)	Oklahoma 34–7

^[11]

At Kansas State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Oklahoma	21	14	14	7	56
Kansas St	0	7	7	0	14

• Date: KSU Stadium
• Location: October 27
• Game attendance: 34,500

Scoring summary

1		OKLA	Welch 1 yard run (Fulcher kick)	Oklahoma 7–0
1		OKLA	Hoffman 13 yard pass from Davis (Fulcher kick)	Oklahoma 14–0
1		OKLA	Davis 22 yard run (Fulcher kick)	Oklahoma 21–0
2		KSU	Holman 4 yard pass from Grogan (Brumley kick)	Oklahoma 21–7
2		OKLA	Davis 27 yard run (Fulcher kick)	Oklahoma 28–7
2		OKLA	Washington 1 yard run (Fulcher kick)	Oklahoma 35–7
3		OKLA	Washington 6 yard run (Fulcher kick)	Oklahoma 42–7
3		OKLA	Brooks 34 yard run (Fulcher kick)	Oklahoma 49–7
3		KSU	Grogan 2 yard run (Brumley kick)	Oklahoma 49–14
4		OKLA	Berg 9 yard run (Fulcher kick)	Oklahoma 56–14

^[19]

Iowa State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Iowa St	14	3	0	0	17
• Oklahoma	7	13	7	7	34

• Date: November 3
• Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma
• Game attendance: 61,826

Scoring summary

Q1		OKLA	Washington 30 yard run (Fulcher kick)	OKLA 7–0
Q1		ISU	Krefple 16 yard pass from Stanley (Goedjen kick)	Tie 7–7
Q1		ISU	Krefple 9 yard pass from Stanley (Goedjen kick)	ISU 14–7
Q2		ISU	Goedjen 22 yard field goal	ISU 17–7
Q2		OKLA	Jones 2 yard run (kick failed)	ISU 17–13
Q2		OKLA	Brooks 68 yard pass from Davis (Fulcher kick)	OKLA 20–17
Q3		OKLA	Hoffman 5 yard pass from Davis (Fulcher kick)	OKLA 27–17
Q4		OKLA	Washington 1 yard run (Fulcher kick)	OKLA 34–17

Joe Washington 136 Rush Yds ^[20]

At Missouri

#3 Oklahoma Sooners at #10 Missouri Tigers

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• #3 Oklahoma	7	3	12	9	31
#10 Missouri	3	0	0	0	3

• Date: November 10
• Location: Memorial Stadium, Columbia, Missouri
• Game attendance: 68,831

Scoring summary

1		MU	Hill 42-yard field goal	MU 3-0
1		OU	Waymon Clark 14-yard run (Rick Fulcher kick)	OU 7-3
2		OU	Rick Fulcher 39-yard field goal	OU 10-3
3		OU	Joe Washington 26-yard run (kick failed)	OU 16-3
3		OU	Billy Brooks 63-yard pass from Steve Davis (pass failed)	OU 22-3
4		OU	Rick Fulcher 30-yard field goal	OU 25-3
4	5:51	OU	Joe Washington 80-yard punt return (kick failed)	OU 31-3

^[21]

Kansas

Nebraska

#10 Nebraska Cornhuskers at #3 Oklahoma Sooners

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
#10 Nebraska	0	0	0	0	0
• #3 Oklahoma	14	0	6	7	27

• Date: November 23
• Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma
• Game attendance: 61,826
• Television network: ABC

Scoring summary

1	6:55	OU	Waymon Clark 2-yard run (Rick Fulcher kick)	OU 7-0
1	0:01	OU	Steve Davis 47-yard run (Rick Fulcher kick)	OU 14-0
3	2:37	OU	Steve Davis 1-yard run (pass failed)	OU 20-0
4	2:11	OU	Steve Davis 8-yard run (Rick Fulcher kick)	OU 27-0

^[22]

At Oklahoma State

See also: Bedlam Series

#2 Oklahoma Sooners at Oklahoma State Cowboys

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• #2 Oklahoma	7	14	7	17	45
Oklahoma State	0	3	3	12	18

• Date: December 1
• Location: Lewis Field, Stillwater, Oklahoma
• Game attendance: 50,511

Scoring summary

1		OU	Steve Davis 7-yard run (Rick Fulcher kick)	OU 7-0
2		OU	Waymon Clark 7-yard run (Rick Fulcher kick)	OU 14-0
2		OSU	Daigle 50-yard field goal	OU 14-3
2	2:52	OU	Steve Davis 9-yard run (Rick Fulcher kick)	OU 21-3
3		OSU	Daigle 36-yard field goal	OU 21-6
3		OU	Steve Dodd recovered punt in end zone (Rick Fulcher kick)	OU 28-6
4		OU	Rick Fulcher 38-yard field goal	OU 31-6
4		OU	Steve Davis 8-yard run (Rick Fulcher kick)	OU 38-6
4		OU	Scott Hill 10-yard run (Rick Fulcher kick)	OU 45-6
4		OSU	Charlie Weatherbie 8-yard run (pass failed)	OU 45-12
4		OSU	Charlie Weatherbie 5-yard run (pass failed)	OU 45-18

^[23]

Personnel

1973 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OL 74 Jerry Arnold Jr RB 20 Bob Berg Jr WR 82 Billy Brooks Jr RB Grant Burget RB Waymon Clark OL Kyle Davis QB Steve Davis OT 77 Eddie Foster (C) Sr RB Jerry Foster RB Randy Harris QB 7 Scott Hill Fr WR Wayne Hoffman RB David James RB Steve Jenkinson RB Jim Littrell QB Jeff Mabry RB Danny McClure RB Joe McReynolds So WR 11 Tinker Owens So OL John Roush RB Clyde Russell RB Joe Washington OL Terry Webb RB Tim Welch RB Gary Young	Defense Pos. # Name Class DE 88 Gary Baccus (C) Sr DL Jimbo Elrod LB 41 Gary Gibbs Jr DB Randy Hughes DB Durwood Keeton DB Terry Peters DB Ken Pope DB Clyde Powers DT 91 Dewey Selmon So DT 93 Lee Roy Selmon So NG 98 Lucious Selmon (C) Sr LB Rod Shoate LB Dave Smith DL Mike Struck	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Tony DiRienzo K 8 Rick Fulcher Sr	Head coach Barry Switzer Coordinators/assistant coaches Donnie Duncan Galen Hall (OC) Warren Harper (LB) Gene Hochevar Larry Lacewell (DC) Wendell Mosley (RB) Rex Norris (DL) Jerry Pettibone Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

NFL draft

Seven Sooners were selected in the 1974 NFL draft.^[24]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL team
4	85	Durwood Keeton	Defensive back	St. Louis Cardinals
5	110	Gary Baccus	Linebacker	New York Giants
5	119	Clyde Powers	Defensive back	New York Jets
9	227	Ken Pope	Defensive back	Oakland Raiders
12	296	Eddie Foster	Tackle	New England Patriots
14	349	David Smith	Linebacker	Philadelphia Eagles
16	399	Lucious Selmon	Defensive tackle	New England Patriots