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However, these negative connotations rapidly cooled as time passed after and land claims were settled. By the time of statehood, Sooner had become an affectionate term for Oklahomans as a whole with a whiff of rebellion. In , the University of Oklahoma football team adopted the nickname "Sooners".

The U. Sooners were often deputy marshals , land surveyors , railroad employees, and others who were able to legally enter the territory early. The term Boomer relating to Oklahoma refers to participants in the "Boomer Movement," white settlers who believed the Unassigned Lands were public property and open to anyone for settlement, not just Native American tribes.

Their reasoning came from a clause in the Homestead Act of , which said that any settler could claim acres 0. Those who actually observed the official start of the land run and began the race for free land often found choice sections of land already occupied by Sooners or, in some cases, by Boomers. Problems with Sooners continued with each successive land run; in an land run as much as half of the available land was taken by Sooners.

Litigation between legitimate land-run participants and Sooners continued well into the 20th century, and eventually the United States Department of the Interior was given ultimate authority to settle the disputes. In , the University of Oklahoma adopted "Sooners" as the nickname of its football team, after having first tried "Rough Riders" and " Boomers ". Eventually, Oklahoma became known as "The Sooner State.

The school "mascot" is a replica of a 19th-century covered wagon, called the " Sooner Schooner. His final record at Oklahoma was 11—12—4, [26] making him the first coach in program history with a losing record aside from John A. Harts , who only coached a single game. Although the next head coach, Lawrence "Biff" Jones , went an unspectacular 9—6—3 in his two seasons at the helm, [27] his impact on the athletic department's administration and finances was significant.

Stidham left for Marquette in , and assistant coach Dewey "Snorter" Luster succeeded him. After Luster's resignation, several candidates were interviewed for the head coaching job, among them North Carolina native Jim Tatum. Following Tatum's departure, Bud Wilkinson was promoted to head coach. Over the next two years, Oklahoma lost only a single game and went undefeated in conference play, winning two straight Sugar Bowls. In , Wilkinson guided the Sooners to their first national championship, though they lost the Sugar Bowl to Bear Bryant's Kentucky team.

The Sooners went undefeated for the remainder of the season, culminating in an Orange Bowl victory over national champions Maryland , [48] coached by Jim Tatum. They went 10—0 in and 11—0 in , concluding the latter season with another Orange Bowl win over Tatum and Maryland. At the start of the season , with the streak standing at 40 games, speculation arose that the team was not as good as it had been in previous years, having lost 18 lettermen from The record of 47 consecutive wins has never been seriously threatened; since it ended, no school FBS has achieved a streak longer than 35 wins.

Wilkinson's best teams came during the first 11 years of his tenure. In that time, he recorded winning streaks of 31 and 47 games and went —10—3 for a. Wilkinson retired from coaching after the season, finishing with a record of —29—4, 14 conference titles and straight games without being shut out.

During Wilkinson's tenure, Prentice Gautt became the first black football player at the University of Oklahoma. After a freshman game in Tulsa , when Gautt was refused service at a restaurant, his teammates left and found a restaurant that would serve him. Following Wilkinson's retirement, his assistant coach, Gomer Jones , was promoted to head coach, a move supported by Wilkinson.

Following a 3—7 season in his second year as head coach, [58] Oklahoma's worst record since its inaugural season in , Jones was replaced by Arkansas assistant Jim Mackenzie. They also beat rival Nebraska , then ranked fourth in the nation, by a score of 10—9. Assistant coach Chuck Fairbanks succeeded Mackenzie, and in , the Sooners went 10—1, including a 26—24 win over second-ranked Tennessee in the Orange Bowl.

In the s, several college football teams began implementing the wishbone offense , a run-based scheme designed to expand the possibilities of the option offense by placing three rushers in the backfield behind the quarterback. On November 25, Nebraska edged Oklahoma, 35—31, Oklahoma's only loss of the season. In , the Sooners went 11—1, finishing the year at No.

Soon after Barry Switzer , who previously served as Oklahoma's offensive coordinator, took the reins of the program, Oklahoma forfeited eight games from the season due to violations involving the alteration of transcripts.

As a punishment, the Sooners could not play in a bowl game for two years. This setback did not stop Switzer's Sooners. His team finished 10—0—1 with only a tie to the number one ranked USC team. The next year, Switzer's Sooners finished 11—0 and won the national championship. This was the Sooners' first undefeated season and national championship since That team was another high-scoring team averaging 43 points per game.

Switzer's teams in the s went a combined 73—7—2 in seven years. That year, he set the Oklahoma record for most rushing yards in a season with 1,, a record that would stand for 26 years. His season ranks third in team history in yards per attempt with 7.

The early s saw the Sooners begin to slip under Switzer. They lost four games each in , , and It was the first time they lost four games in a season since under Coach Fairbanks. They began to turn things around in when they went 9—2—1 and finished the season at No.

The team featured Buster Rhymes at wide receiver, Spencer Tillman at running back and Tony Casillas at defensive tackle. Over the next three years, the team continued to grow and went 11—1 each year with all three losses coming to Miami , including a national championship in they finished ranked number three in and While Switzer was not able to match Wilkinson's unimaginable string of 13 consecutive conference championships, he was able to rack up 12 of his own during his career at Oklahoma.

Suddenly, in , it all came crashing down for Switzer. His team was placed on probation by the NCAA for violating several rules. In a six-month time frame, there was a shooting and a rape in the athletic dorm on Oklahoma's campus. Switzer was succeeded by his longtime defensive coordinator, Gary Gibbs. He largely succeeded in his primary task—cleaning up the program's image.

However, even though his rosters were smaller than normal due to the scholarship reductions, Gibbs found it hard to please boosters and administrators with an 8—3 year.

Gibbs' squads struggled to build success off two moderately successful seasons, and In , OU went 9—3, finished the season ranked No. In the follow-up campaign, however, OU finished 5—4—2, unranked and did not earn an invitation to a post-season bowl.

Gibbs' Sooners rebounded with a 9—3 record, a No. In the season the Sooners finished 6—6. Gibbs went 2—15—1 against Texas, Nebraska and Colorado. In addition to his record, he was thought to be uncomfortable around alumni and the media, and with being a head coach in general.

To replace Gibbs, Oklahoma looked towards the seasoned Howard Schnellenberger , then 61 years old. He had built Miami from an also-ran to a national champion in , and turned around a once-moribund Louisville program.

In the end, he was almost too sure of himself. He was quoted as saying, "They will write books and make movies about my time here.

However, an embarrassing loss to Colorado on national television started a downward spiral. The Sooners ultimately finished 5—5—1, [95] including only their second losing conference record since World War II. Schnellenberger resigned a month after the season ended. He ordered numerous old files to be thrown out; instead, they were archived without his knowledge.

For the season, Oklahoma hired former player John Blake as head coach. His coaching experience was very limited, especially compared to Schnellenberger. In his seven-year coaching career four years at OU, three years with the Dallas Cowboys and one year at Tulsa , he had never been more than a position coach. The skeptics were proven right. In Blake's first season, he went 3—8. The eight losses. In his three years at Oklahoma, Blake went 3—8, 4—8, and 5—6 for a final record of 12— However, Blake's lasting contribution proved to be his recruiting.

He recruited several players that would help lead the program's resurgence, including J. Many of them got a chance to play fairly quickly, since Blake's teams were often out of games early. Blake was fired after the season. The university looked at many candidates to replace Blake. Many big-time college coaches were considered for the post.

However, Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione decided to hire a year-old defensive coordinator from Florida , Bob Stoops. On his arrival to campus he would find that for all his predecessor's failings as a head football coach, John Blake had been an excellent recruiter and many of his players were potential stars. Stoops would remedy this by signing a little-known junior college quarterback, Josh Heupel , to run his offense. In his first year as head coach, the Sooners showed marked improvement; starting the season with three wins over non-conference opponents amassing points to their opponents' They lost the next two games, which included a 34—30 loss against Notre Dame at South Bend and finished the season with an overall record of 7—5.

They would not be disappointed. In , the Sooners opened the season with a new offensive coordinator, Mark Mangino , and ranked number 19, [] the first time they opened the season ranked in five years.

The Sooners opened 4—0, dominating their early-season opponents by a combined score of — The annual Red River Shootout against arch-rival Texas would prove to be the first signature victory of the Bob Stoops era. The Sooners dominated the Longhorns by a score of 63—14 in what was then the most lopsided upset in the history of the rivalry. Oklahoma running back Quentin Griffin smashed the Oklahoma record for most touchdowns in a game with six scores. The Sooners were now officially back in the hunt for a national title.

In the following weeks the team narrowly beat the number two ranked Kansas State 41—31 in Manhattan and the following week went on to beat number one ranked Nebraska 31— The team defeated the Kansas State Wildcats for the second time that season in the Big 12 Championship, a victory which propelled the program to its first national title berth since The Sooners finished the season with a stunning 13—2 win over a heavily favored Florida State team in the Orange Bowl and claimed the Sears Trophy.

The championship was the Sooners' 7th national title and their first since Barry Switzer's departure. The team had finally regained its status as a power in the college football world. The stoic coach from Ohio had resurrected a football giant, bringing the once great program back to the pinnacle of college athletics. The Sooners and their fans were hungry for more success and Coach Stoops would deliver. After the season, Mark Mangino stepped down as OU offensive coordinator to accept the head football coach position at Kansas.

The team's national success reemerged in the and seasons. The team was the highest-scoring squad at the time in Oklahoma's storied history, scoring points to their opponents The team, led by Heisman Trophy winner Jason White , was billed as one of "the greatest college football teams of all time.

Prior to the Big 12 Title Game, the Sooners Defensive Coordinator, Mike Stoops , accepted the head coaching position at Arizona , becoming the third Sooners coordinator to take a head coaching job during the Stoops era. On a warm night in New Orleans, the Sooners were handed their second consecutive defeat and their first title loss; this time to LSU squad by a score of 21— The heartbreaking defeats shocked the "Sooner Nation" while conversely establishing the team as a perennial title contender.

In , Stoops finished the season with an 8—4 record, his worst season record since his inaugural season. Paul Thompson was moved to the wide receiver slot for the rest of the season. They started the season 2—3 with additional losses at UCLA and against eventual national champion Texas. The team started to improve as the season progressed, especially the young Bomar. The next loss came against Texas Tech , coached by former OU offensive coordinator Mike Leach , and was a controversial loss.

Texas Tech's Taurean Henderson scored on the final play of the game. The play was reviewed by replay officials, but video replays were deemed inconclusive. It was a setback for the Sooners but they moved on and were able to soundly defeat their in-state rival Oklahoma State in Norman by a final score of 42— The unranked Sooners would represent the Big 12 in the Holiday Bowl and they would play the sixth-ranked Oregon.

On July 11, , the NCAA announced that the Sooners would have to vacate all victories from the season, including the bowl game, due to NCAA violations related to three former players, including Bomar, thereby giving the Sooners an official record of 0—4.

In the offseason, OU made Kevin Wilson the new offensive coordinator. One day before fall practice began, returning quarterback Rhett Bomar and J. Quinn, a projected starter on the offensive line, were kicked off the team for violating NCAA rules when they received payment for work they did not do.

Paul Thompson, who had played wide receiver in and had not practiced in the quarterback role for nearly a year, was asked to move back to quarterback which he did. In mid-September, Oklahoma played Oregon for the third time in three years. The Sooners lost this game 34— During the game a controversy arose when game officials awarded an onside kick to the Ducks when it should have been Oklahoma's ball.

Following these setbacks, the team regrouped and the defense vastly improved. Following the Oregon game, the defense was ranked 97th nationally [] but by the end of the regular season, they were ranked 17th. However, on the final touchdown drive for the Sooners, star running back Adrian Peterson suffered a broken collar bone when he attempted to dive into the end zone to finish a tough touchdown run.

The Sooners did not miss a step. The team went on a seven-game winning streak to finish Big 12 conference play 11—2. The defending national champions Texas Longhorns were favored to win the Big 12 but they suffered two losses to finish their regular season which sent Oklahoma to the Big 12 Championship game against a former rival, the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

The Sooners defeated the 19th ranked Cornhuskers 21—7 to win the Big 12 title for the fourth time under Bob Stoops, automatically sending them to the Fiesta Bowl. The Sooners lost the wild, thrilling game in overtime, on a trick two-point conversion play by a score of 43—42 to Boise State. The Oklahoma team opened up with a home game against North Texas and soundly beat them 79— The 79 points scored by OU was the most in the country for Week 1. In Week 2, the Sooners played a much tougher opponent in Miami.

However, the results seemed to show a mismatch, as OU easily defeated the Hurricanes 51— In Week 3, the Sooners got the best of Utah State with a 54—3 thrashing. Week 4 matched OU up with an in-state foe, Tulsa. Just as it had been all season except for the Sep 29 loss at unranked Colorado , the Sooners put up another dominant performance with a 62—21 victory.

In Week 5 September 29, , the No. The Sooners only had net yards compared to Colorado's net yards. The match-up between Oklahoma and Texas on Oct. The Oklahoma football team proved itself worthy of the top ten rankings when it defeated Texas 28—21 at the Red River Rivalry. The Texas Longhorns played up to their potential when they answered almost every point during the October 6 game.

For the second consecutive year Oklahoma would lose to an underdog opponent in a BCS bowl game, although this game was not as close as the previous year. Opening with back to back home victories against Chattanooga and Cincinnati and scoring over 50 points against both opponents would vault Oklahoma to number two in both polls, coupled with, then number three, Ohio State's loss and a lackluster victory by, then number two, Georgia over South Carolina.

A road victory at Washington where the Sooners again scored more than 50 points, a home victory over then-undefeated and 24th-ranked Texas Christian University, and a road win at Baylor resulted in Oklahoma being ranked number one in both polls after then-ranked number one USC tumbled after a defeat at Oregon State.

The Sooners had defeated each of their first five opponents by 25 points or more before facing then-number five Texas. In a see-saw battle where Oklahoma would take their last lead at 35—30, Texas would come from behind with 15 unanswered points to upset the Sooners at a neutral field by a final score of 45— The Sooners could muster up only 48 rushing yards while giving up Also of note, the Sooners failed to convert on three fourth-down attempts and Bradford threw two interceptions.

The game would result in controversy later in the season. Oklahoma would rebound by defeating No. The Sooners would then go on to defeat their next three opponents by more than 30 points each, scoring 60 or more points. Alabama would hold number one in all polls with an undefeated record.

The result of the three-way tie between Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech in the Big 12 South standings, where each team suffered one loss at the hands of the other, would be the cause for many fans, particularly Texas fans, to cry foul.

The Big 12 tie-breaker in this scenario was for the team with the highest BCS ranking to go on to play for the Big 12 Title. Texas would finish number three in all polls, rendering them ineligible to play in the title game.

The season was a challenge for the Sooners. After losing star quarterback Sam Bradford in the first game, and eventually for the whole season, freshman quarterback Landry Jones had to take over. The Sooners ended up with a total of 15 injuries at the end of the season. The season ended in an 8—5 record.

The season turned out to be much more successful than the campaign. The Sooners ended the season with a record of 12—2 [] and became the Tostito's Fiesta Bowl champions by defeating Connecticut by a score of 48—20 in Glendale, Arizona. The Bedlam match-up between the Sooners and Cowboys proved to be the decisive game in who would represent the Big 12 South in the conference championship game.

The Sooners defeated the Cowboys in a high-scoring affair 47— The Sooners went on to win the Big 12 Championship game 23—20, the final match between conference rival Nebraska. After the season, offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson left OU to become head coach at Indiana , becoming the fifth Sooners offensive coordinator under Bob Stoops to become a head coach and the sixth coordinator overall. With star players, Landry Jones, Ryan Broyles, and Travis Lewis coming back for the season, there were high expectations for Bob Stoops and his Sooner football team.

Stoops hired former Sooners quarterback Josh Heupel as offensive coordinator to replace the departed Wilson. OU began the season ranked No. The Sooners became the first teams to reach the top ranking in the Associated Press poll times since the poll began in They were able to accomplish this feat without even stepping foot on the field, as they had their bye week this weekend. Their early season match-up with fellow top-five team Florida State proved to test the Sooners, as they looked to prove that their No.

As the Sooners played well the first few weeks the Sooners were thought to be out of the National Title race with a heartbreaking loss to the unranked Texas Tech Red Raiders snapping a school-record 39 game home win streak. However, the Sooners bounced back the following. They stayed in the hunt for a share of the conference title and a Fiesta Bowl appearance until losing to in-state rival Oklahoma State in the last game of the season.

They finished the regular season 9—3 and went on to defeat Iowa 31—14 in the Insight Bowl. The Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the college football season, the th season of Sooner football. Conference play began at home on September 7 with a win against the West Virginia Mountaineers and ended in the annual Bedlam Series on December 7 against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Stillwater with the Sooners upsetting the Cowboys 33— With the victory over the Kansas State Wildcats on November 23, head coach Bob Stoops got his th career win to move past Barry Switzer for the most wins in program history.

After finishing the regular season with a record of 10—2 7—2 in Big 12 play , finishing in a tie for second place in the conference. The Sooners received an at-large bid to participate in the Sugar Bowl , where they defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide, the previous year's national champions, with a final score of 45— In , the Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in their th season and the inaugural season for the College Football Playoff.

Knight was the starting quarterback for the season. The Sooners opened the season ranked 4th and quickly jumped to a 4—0 record. The Sooners then lost their 5th game to TCU. The Sooners closed the regular season with an 8—4 record after losing to in-state rival Oklahoma State in overtime.

The Sooners got one more chance to redeem themselves as they faced the 18th-ranked Clemson Tigers in the Russell Athletic Bowl Orlando, Florida , but instead suffered one of the worst bowl losses in Sooner history as they lost, 40—6. The Sooners regained national prominence during the season, despite a preseason AP ranking of No. Baker Mayfield took over as the starting quarterback at the start of the season and led the Sooners to a 11—1 regular-season record with the help of his high-powered offense, including wide receiver Sterling Shepard and running back Samaje Perine.

The non-conference schedule included a dramatic double-overtime win on September 12 at Tennessee , as Mayfield led the Sooners from a 17—3 deficit with eight minutes left in regulation. Oklahoma earned the fourth and final spot in the College Football Playoff, and Mayfield finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting. The stage was set for a rematch against Clemson in the Orange Bowl. They lost, once again, to Clemson by a score of 37—17, even though they led at halftime 17— Shepard declared for the NFL Draft.

The season was a continuation of the success the Sooners had the year before. Mayfield was granted the season of eligibility that he had lost due to Big 12 Conference transfer restrictions, and Dede Westbrook and the controversial, oft-suspended Joe Mixon had breakthrough years.

The Sooners were unable to make the College Football Playoff this time around, as they lost 2 of their first 3 games, in Week 1 vs. Houston and Week 3 vs. Ohio State. They still enjoyed a successful season, defeating Oklahoma State 38—20 to win their second Big 12 Conference Title in a row, and having two Heisman Trophy finalists Mayfield and Westbrook. They defeated the Auburn Tigers in the Sugar Bowl , 35— The government eventually overcame the problem of illegal entry by using methods such as a lottery and sealed bids to open former Indian reservations.

The early legal settlers of Oklahoma Territory held a very low opinion of sooners. That began to change by when the University of Oklahoma adopted the name for its football team. By the s the term no longer carried a negative connotation, and Oklahomans adopted the nickname as a badge of pride and progressivism. Although apparently never officially designated as such by statute or resolution, Oklahoma has since been known as the Sooner State.

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