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1973 Oklahoma Sooners football
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 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]

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	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 15	at Baylor*	No. 11	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX		W 42–14	41,573
September 29	at No. 1 USC*	No. 8	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		T 7–7	83,986
October 6	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
October 20	No. 16 Colorado	No. 3	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 34–7	61,826–62,580	^[9]
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

^[3]

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

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

Game summaries

At Baylor

#11 Oklahoma Sooners at Baylor Bears

	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

^[10]

At USC

Miami (FL)

	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

^[11]

vs Texas

#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 ^[12]

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
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	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

	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

^[9]

At Kansas State

	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

^[13]

Iowa State

	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

Joe Washington 136 Rush Yds ^[14]

At Missouri

#3 Oklahoma Sooners at #10 Missouri Tigers

	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

^[15]

Kansas

Nebraska

#10 Nebraska Cornhuskers at #3 Oklahoma Sooners

	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

^[16]

At Oklahoma State

#2 Oklahoma Sooners at Oklahoma State Cowboys

	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

^[17]

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^[18]^[19]^[20]^[21] 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]

Postseason

NFL draft

Seven Sooners were selected in the 1974 NFL draft.^[22]

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

References

^ "Memorial Stadium". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 28, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
^ ^a ^b "OU Football Tradition – 42 Conference Titles". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 22, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c "1973 Football Season". SoonerStats.com. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
^ ^a ^b "All-American: Rod Shoate". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "All-American: Lucious Selmon". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 23, 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
^ Seays, Lillian (2005). "LEE ROY SELMON: Small Town Boy-Next-Door Makes Good". Onyx Magazine. Archived from the original on October 30, 2006. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
^ "2009 Football Record Book" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. p. 164. Retrieved July 2, 2010.
^ "Oklahoma on probation for 10 grid infractions". Nashua Telegraph. (New Hampshire). Associated Press. August 9, 1973. p. 15.
^ ^a ^b "Sooners cruise by Colorado; Buckeyes, Michigan triumph". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 21, 1973. p. 4B.
^ "Powerful Sooners Rip Baylor in 42-14 Game." Palm Beach Post. 1973 Sept 16.
^ Palm Beach Post. 1973 Oct 7.
^ "Sooners Slam Texas, 52-13." Palm Beach Post. October 14, 1973
^ "Sooners Crush Wildcats." Palm Beach Post. 1973 Oct 28.
^ "Sooners Get Past Cyclones." Palm Beach Post. 1973 Nov 4.
^ "Powerful Sooners Rip Missouri, 31-3." Palm Beach Post. November 11, 1973
^ "Nebraska vs. Oklahoma 1973 -- HuskerMax".
^ "Sooners Corral Cowboys." Palm Beach Post. December 2, 1973
^ "All-American: Eddie Foster". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved July 1, 2010.
^ "ActivePaper Archive".
^ "ActivePaper Archive".
^ "ActivePaper Archive".
^ "1974 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.