The 1975 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1975 NCAA Division I football season. The team was helmed by Barry Switzer in his third season as head coach. After sailing through their first eight games, Oklahoma suffered a surprising home loss to Kansas, which snapped a 28-game winning streak. With only two regular season games and a bowl trip left, any hopes for a repeat national championship looked slim.
OU defeated Missouri, 28–27, in Columbia before coming home to defeat second-ranked Nebraska, 35–10 to take the Big 8 Conference title. With the conference title in tow, the No. 3-ranked Sooners, in their first bowl game under Switzer, headed to the Orange Bowl to meet Michigan.
Prior to the Orange Bowl, the Sooners moved from #3 to #2 in the polls when previous No. 2 Texas A&M was routed 31-6 in its regular season finale by Southwest Conference rival Arkansas at Little Rock Dec. 6.
OU prevailed in that game with a 14–6 victory and was pushed to the top spot in the polls when #1 Ohio State fell 23-10 to UCLA in the Rose Bowl (the Buckeyes defeated the Bruins 41-20 at Los Angeles during the regular season).
Oklahoma won its 27th conference and fifth national championship.
The Sooners served their third season of NCAA probation in 1975. They were banned from appearing on television during the regular season, but the portion of the probation banning them from bowl games was lifted (Oklahoma did not play in a bowl game in 1973, but appeared twice on television; it was banned from both television and bowl games in 1974). Oklahoma returned to television for the Orange Bowl.
Schedule
Rankings
Game summaries Oklahoma had won the AP National Title in 1974 and began the year by thrashing Oregon 62–7 in Norman. OU played host to a Johnny Majors coached #15 Pittsburgh squad, sporting junior running back sensation Tony Dorsett (only a year away from the Heisman Trophy and the collegiate rushing record), and they dominated, outscoring the Panthers 46–10. But a trip to unranked Miami was nearly fatal. The Sooners scored all 20 of their points in the second quarter and finished with just 163 rushing yards and 176 total, barely surviving a ten-point Hurricanes' fourth quarter en route to a 20–17 victory. That win was not enough to knock the Sooners to the second spot in the polls, but a one-point win over Colorado the following week was. Against the Buffaloes, the vaunted Sooner wishbone offense looked abysmal, and they surrendered a 14-point lead in the second half. A botched CU extra point in the final 79 seconds proved the difference. Ohio State took over the number one ranking. The Sooners, despite the close calls, came into Dallas atop a 24-game winning streak and a 33-game unbeaten streak and ranked #2 in the country.
Oregon
Pittsburgh
Miami (FL)
Colorado
Texas
"Oklahoma Outlasts Rugged Heat, Texas." Palm Beach Post. October 12, 1975
Texas came into Dallas with a star in 225-pound sophomore fullback Earl Campbell. The runner had trampled everything in his path en route to 508 yards (8.1 ypc), including 198 yards against Washington. Behind the young Campbell, the Longhorns were leading the nation in rushing, total offense and scoring, averaging 44 points per game.
The Sooners was led by Steve Davis, an ordained minister that could run and pass. The halfbacks, Joe Washington and Horace Ivory. The receiving corps, paced by Senior Billy Brooks, was famous in the wishbone era at OU. The 1975 OU defense was led by Lee Roy Selmon, who would go on to win both the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Award as the nation's best lineman.
It was the Sooner defense that made the Longhorns lose a fifth straight Red River Shootout. Neither offense exploded with big plays, both scoring hard fought points in the red zone. The game was best characterized by the hard hitting from both sides, which led to a considerable number of turnovers. The Longhorns fumbled the ball four times and gave away an interception. The Sooners lost two fumbles. The Sooner defense proved its mettle against the powerful Campbell, holding him to 95 yards on 23 carries. Although he was the game's leading ball carrier, he also marked the 21st straight time that a team failed to have a 100-yard rusher against the Sooners. The Sooners prevailed 24–17.
Kansas State
Iowa State
Eugene Register-Guard. October 26, 1975
Oklahoma State
Kansas
After thrashing Kansas State, Iowa State, and Oklahoma State by a combined score of 91–17, the Sooners returned home. Inexplicably, a team that had run roughshod over equivalent teams, managed to suffer a 23–3 loss to unranked Kansas, a team that came into Norman with a 5–3 record. The Sooners were caught flat and were upset by the Jayhawks, knocking them from the #2 spot in the polls down to #7. In Columbia against #18 Missouri the following week, they needed a 71-yard touchdown run from Joe Washington on a critical fourth and one, a Washington run for a successful two-point conversion, and two missed field goal attempts by the Tigers in the final two minutes to eke out a 28–27 win. The struggles took their toll, and OU found themselves down another spot in the poll heading into the annual showdown against Nebraska. The defending national champs were reeling and in search of an identity. No game could have had nearly as much on the line as the final regular season game for the Big 8 Championship.
Missouri
Nebraska
"Oklahoma rides fumbles to Miami." Eugene Register-Guard. November 23, 1975
Nebraska began 1975 mostly under the radar, but they were riding a 10–0 record and sporting one of the best passing quarterbacks in the nation in Vince Ferragamo, who had transferred a season before from California. He had completed 66 of 109 passes for 1,007 yards and 12 touchdowns, against only two interceptions. The Huskers had stepped into the #2 spot in the polls that the Sooners had vacated in their loss to Kansas.
The Cornhusker offense was balanced, averaging 265.6 yards rushing and 156.7 yards passing per game, and was among the nation's leaders in scoring, averaging 34.3 points per game. The Nebraska defense was allowing only 8.5 points per game. They had posted four shutouts, including their last two opponents to run their string to ten consecutive scoreless quarters. The Black Shirt D had held the same Jayhawks team that had upset OU earlier in the season to only 177 yards of total offense.
The Big Eight title, as usual, was on the line in 1975. The winner would play in the Orange Bowl with a possible shot at a national championship. Oklahoma, realizing all that was on the line, had worked with Fiesta Bowl officials for a potential bid in Tempe if they lost to the Cornhuskers. Nebraska had shunned the Fiesta officials, possibly shutting themselves out of the bowls in the event of a loss.
Ultimately, the Sooners came out of Norman with the conference title and a shot at a national title in the Orange Bowl, and it turned out to not even be close. Three turnovers in the fourth quarter had ended the Huskers' chances. Oklahoma scored on all three to make it five touchdowns from six Nebraska turnovers. The Sooners came away with a 25-point victory over the second-ranked team in the land.
Once again, it was the Oklahoma defense that made the big plays when they needed to and controlled the Nebraska offense, limiting them to 245 total yards, only 70 on the ground. Ferragamo, who came into the game with high expectations, had completed 13 of his 25 passes for 146 yards. His four turnovers, however, had spoiled the game for Nebraska, and Oklahoma was on its way to face Michigan in the 1976 Orange Bowl.
Michigan—Orange Bowl
UCLA upset top-ranked Ohio State earlier in the day, and Oklahoma knew that it had a chance for a national title in Barry Switzer's first bowl game as a head coach. It wouldn't be easy. The Wolverines were a punishing team, and made the Sooners know it early. In the end, a 39-yard end around by Billy Brooks and a nine-yard keeper by Steve Davis were enough for a 14–6 victory and a fifth national championship.
Roster Complete Roster of 1975 season Quarterbacks
Tony Antone – Freshman 2 Dean Blevins – Sophomore 5 Steve Davis† – Senior 14 Kerry Jackson – Senior 10 Thomas Lott – Freshman 12 Joe McReynolds – Sophomore Louis Patmon – Sophomore
Running backs
34 Jimmy Rogers – Sophomore Ken Crosswhite FB – Junior Jim Culbreath FB – Senior 46 Calvin Harris FB – Sophomore 37 Larry Lawton FB – Junior 42 Jim Littrell FB† – Senior Robin Roof FB – Junior Doug Simcik FB – Sophomore Larry Briggs – Senior 25 Greg Byram – Freshman 28 George Cumby – Freshman Jerry Foster – Senior 44 Mike Gaither – Freshman Greg Hutchings – Sophomore 32 Horace Ivory – Junior 30 Kenny King – Freshman 23 Woodie Shepard – Freshman 20 Billy Sims – Freshman Edward Williams – Sophomore 24 Joe Washington† – Senior 4 Elvis Peacock† – Sophomore
Receivers
82 Billy Brooks† – Senior Bill Gill – Freshman 33 Bud Hebert – Freshman Lee Hover – Sophomore Jimbo Owens – Sophomore 11 Tinker Owens† – Senior Terry Williams – Sophomore
Tight ends
83 Kent Bradford – Freshman Howard Humphreys/Humphrey – Sophomore Craig Lund – Junior Reggie Mathis – Sophomore 47 Wayne Petties – Freshman John Randolph – Sophomore 81 Keith Thomas – Junior John Trest – Freshman Offensive line
Phil Applegate T – Sophomore 69 Ralph Kulbeth T – Junior 68 Bill O'Gara T – Freshman 67 Ron Ross T – Freshman 73 Paul Tabor T – Freshman 74 Phil Tabor T – Freshman 94 Mark Wilson T – Freshman Karl Baldischwiler OT – Sophomore Sam Claphan OT – Sophomore Reed Coody OT – Junior 72 Jim Dodds OT – Junior 75 Chez Evans OT – Junior 78 Leo Martin OT – Senior 79 Mike Vaughan OT† – Junior Jeff Ward OT – Sophomore Lonnie Wright OT – Junior Tyrone Armstrong OG – Sophomore 65 Larry Duke OG – Junior Jody Farthing OG – Sophomore 63 Jay Holman OG – Sophomore 60 Jaime Melendez OG – Sophomore 66 Terry Webb OG† 58 Jeff Bodin C – Senior 55 Dennis Buchanan C – Senior 52 Todd Dutton C – Sophomore Mike Spencer C – Junior
Defensive line
88 Duane Baccus DE – Junior Gary Bishop DE – Junior 92 Victor Brown DE – Sophomore Marshall Cantrell DE – Sophomore 54 Jimbo Elrod DE† Kenneth Franklin DE – Sophomore Mike Mitchell DE – Sophomore 89 Mike Phillips DE – Junior Terry Sherman DE – Sophomore David Bentley DT – Junior 71 Anthony Bryant DT – Junior Brett Cargill DT – Sophomore Joel Estes DT – Sophomore Dave Hudgens DT – Senior Harvey Johnson DT – Sophomore 76 Richard Murray DT – Sophomore Phil Roland DT – Sophomore 93 Lee Roy Selmon DT† 56 Glenn Comeaux NG – Sophomore Reggie Kinlaw NG – Freshman Don Morton NG – Senior 91 Dewey Selmon NG† 98 George Walrond NG – Junior Linebackers
49 Marty Brecht – Junior 40 Bill Dalke – Sophomore George Davis – Junior 50 Barry Dittman – Freshman Rusty Griffis – Sophomore 80 Victor Hicks – Freshman 85 Daryl Hunt – Freshman Steve Kunkle – Senior Danny McCullough – Sophomore 57 Obie Moore – Sophomore 59 Doug Morgan – Freshman Ted Phillips – Sophomore 43 Greg Roberts – Freshman 39 Greg Sellmyer – Freshman 38 Jamie Thomas – Senior 48 Russ Williamson – Sophomore
Defensive backs
17 Jerry Anderson CB – Junior Russell E Johnson DB – Junior Vickey Ray Anderson CB – Sophomore Roger/Rogers Owens CB – Sophomore Jeff Brown DB – Sophomore John Bunch DB – Sophomore Tyrrell Jackson DB – Sophomore Steve Larghe DB – Sophomore Mike Pleasant DB – Sophomore Mike Babb DHB – Freshman 1 Zac Henderson FS – Sophomore 27 Jerry Reese FS – Junior 21 Sidney Brown LCB – Junior 26 Frank Rohr LCB – Sophomore 16 Terry Peters RCB – Sophomore 31 Eric Van Camp RCB – Senior 15 Mike Birks SS – Senior 7 Scott Hill SS – Junior 8 Myron Shoate SS – Sophomore
Kickers
3 Tony DiRienzo K – Senior 33 Bill Shirk K – Sophomore Uwe von Schamann K – Freshman† Starter at position * Injured; did not play in 1975.Courtesy of Soonerstats.com
Awards and honors