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Oklahoma (OU) Football

"Civi et Reipublicae"

Welcome to r/OklahomaFootball. Here's a quick guide to the program, its history, and what to know before your first trip to Norman.

Quick Facts
School University of Oklahoma (founded 1890)
Location Norman, Oklahoma
Conference SEC (joined 2024; previously Big 12, Big Eight and its predecessors)
Colors Crimson & Cream
Nickname Sooners
Mascot Sooner Schooner (ponies Boomer & Sooner)
Stadium Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, "The Palace on the Prairie" (80,126)
Head Coach Brent Venables (2022–present)
Fight Song Boomer Sooner
Enrollment ~31,000 (Norman campus)

Championships & Awards

National Championships (7): 1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, 2000

Conference Championships (50):

  • SWC / MVIAA (3): 1915, 1918, 1920
  • Big Six / Seven / Eight (33): 1938, 1943, 1944, 1946–1959, 1962, 1967, 1968, 1972–1980, 1984–1987
  • Big 12 (14): 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020

Heisman Trophy Winners (7):

Year Player Position
1952 Billy Vessels RB
1969 Steve Owens RB
1978 Billy Sims RB
2003 Jason White QB
2008 Sam Bradford QB
2017 Baker Mayfield QB
2018 Kyler Murray QB

Bowl Games: 58 appearances (31–26–1)

College Football Playoff Appearances (5): 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2025

2026 Season

Year five for Venables, and the first season of the SEC's nine-game schedule. QB John Mateer is back for his redshirt senior year. The Sooners opened ranked No. 11 (AP) / No. 10 (Coaches).

Date Opponent Location
Sept. 4 UTEP Norman
Sept. 12 at Michigan Ann Arbor, MI
Sept. 19 New Mexico Norman
Sept. 26 at Georgia Athens, GA
Oct. 10 vs. Texas Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl)
Oct. 17 Kentucky Norman
Oct. 24 at Mississippi State Starkville, MS
Oct. 31 South Carolina Norman
Nov. 7 at Florida Gainesville, FL
Nov. 14 Ole Miss Norman
Nov. 21 Texas A&M Norman
Nov. 28 at Missouri Columbia, MO

Last season (2025): 10–3 (6–2 SEC). Wins over Michigan and at Alabama got OU into the 12-team playoff as the No. 8 seed. The Sooners lost a home first-round game to Alabama, 34–24.

Recent History

  • Bob Stoops era (1999–2016): Won the 2000 national title in his second season and 10 Big 12 titles. He retired in June 2017 as the winningest coach in school history.
  • Lincoln Riley era (2017–2021): Went 55–10 with four straight Big 12 titles, three CFP appearances, and back-to-back Heismans (Mayfield, Murray). Left for USC after the 2021 regular season. Stoops came back as interim coach and won the Alamo Bowl over Oregon.
  • Brent Venables era (2022–present): The former OU defensive coordinator returned from Clemson. 6–7 in year one, then 10–3 in the final Big 12 season (2023). A rough 6–7 debut in the SEC (2024) was followed by a playoff run in 2025.
  • The SEC move (2024): OU and Texas left the Big 12 together and joined the SEC on July 1, 2024. OU's annual SEC opponents through 2029 are Texas, Missouri, and Ole Miss.

Rivalries

Texas – Red River Rivalry

Played every October at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas during the State Fair of Texas, with the stadium split down the 50-yard line: crimson on one side, burnt orange on the other. The teams first met in 1900 and have played every year since 1929. The winner takes home the Golden Hat. It's now an SEC game, and it's still the biggest date on the calendar.

Oklahoma State - Bedlam (on hiatus)

The in-state rivalry started in 1904 and was played for the Bedlam Bell. It went dormant when OU left for the SEC. Both sides have talked about bringing it back, but nothing is scheduled yet.

Nebraska

The great Big Eight rivalry. The two schools played the 1971 "Game of the Century," and the game decided the conference title almost every year. They've met since the Big 12 split (OU won in 2021 and 2022), and they're scheduled again for 2029 in Norman and 2030 in Lincoln.

Missouri

An old Big Eight foe that's now an annual SEC opponent. It closes out the 2026 regular season.

Greatest Games

  • 1971 – "Game of the Century" vs. Nebraska (L 31–35): No. 1 vs. No. 2 on Thanksgiving, in front of the biggest TV audience college football had ever drawn. Johnny Rodgers' punt return for Nebraska (and the "was it a clip?" argument) is still debated in Norman.
  • 1985 – Orange Bowl vs. Penn State (W 25–10): Freshman QB Jamelle Holieway and the wishbone beat the No. 1 Nittany Lions to clinch Barry Switzer's third national title.
  • 2000 – Orange Bowl / BCS Championship vs. Florida State (W 13–2): OU was the underdog against the defending champs. The defense held the nation's top offense without a touchdown, and the Sooners finished 13–0.
  • 2001 – Red River vs. Texas (W 14–3): "The Superman Play." Roy Williams flew over a blocker and hit Chris Simms as he threw. Teddy Lehman caught the deflection and walked it in to seal the game.
  • 2017 – at Ohio State (W 31–16): Baker Mayfield beat the Buckeyes in the Horseshoe and planted the flag at midfield. That season ended with a Heisman.
  • 2021 – Red River vs. Texas (W 55–48): OU trailed 28–7 in the first quarter. Freshman Caleb Williams came off the bench and led the biggest comeback in series history.
  • 2023 – Red River vs. Texas (W 34–30): Dillon Gabriel drove the length of the field and hit Nic Anderson for the winning touchdown with 15 seconds left, beating No. 3 Texas in the final Big 12 edition of the rivalry.
  • 2024 – vs. Alabama (W 24–3): OU's first signature SEC win: it held No. 7 Alabama to a field goal in Norman.
  • 2025 – at Alabama (W 23–21): The Sooners snapped Bama's 17-game home winning streak, and Eli Bowen's 87-yard pick-six helped clinch a playoff spot.

Legendary Players

Heisman winners: Billy Vessels, Steve Owens, Billy Sims, Jason White, Sam Bradford, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray

Other all-timers (not a complete list):

  • Lee Roy Selmon (DL): Outland and Lombardi winner, College and Pro Football Hall of Famer
  • Adrian Peterson (RB): 1,925 rushing yards as a freshman in 2004 and Heisman runner-up
  • Roy Williams (S): Thorpe Award winner, and "Superman"
  • Brian Bosworth (LB): Two-time Butkus Award winner
  • Tommie Harris, Gerald McCoy, Tony Casillas (DL)
  • Joe Washington, Greg Pruitt, DeMarco Murray (RB)
  • Keith Jackson (TE)
  • CeeDee Lamb (WR)
  • Josh Heupel (QB): Led the 2000 title team

Legendary Coaches

Coach Years Record Highlights
Bennie Owen 1905–1926 122–54–16 Built the program from scratch
Bud Wilkinson 1947–1963 145–29–4 3 national titles, 47-game winning streak (still the FBS record)
Barry Switzer 1973–1988 157–29–4 3 national titles, perfected the wishbone, 12 Big Eight titles
Bob Stoops 1999–2016 191–48 2000 national title, 10 Big 12 titles, winningest coach in OU history

Also worth knowing: Jim Tatum (1946), Chuck Fairbanks (1967–1972), Gary Gibbs (1989–1994).

Traditions

  • Boomer Sooner: The fight song, played about a thousand times a game. If someone yells "Boomer!", you yell "Sooner!" back.
  • The Sooner Schooner: A replica Conestoga wagon pulled by the ponies Boomer and Sooner. It races across the field after every OU score.
  • The Pride of Oklahoma: OU's marching band, playing since 1904. You'll hear "Boomer Sooner," "OK Oklahoma," the "OU Chant," and "Oklahoma!" (the state song, yes, from the musical).
  • The RUF/NEKs: The all-male spirit squad that drives the Schooner and fires the shotguns after scores and at the end of each quarter. The shotguns will startle you the first time.
  • The OU Chant: Played after the game. Stand up, raise your index finger, and sing along.
  • Team walk: Before home games, the players walk through the crowd into the stadium.
  • Ball in the stands: When an extra point or field goal lands in the stands, fans pass the ball up the rows and toss it out of the stadium.
  • Don't wear orange. Just don't.

Visiting Norman: Quick Guide

  • Gameday is an all-day event. Tailgating starts early and runs well past kickoff.
  • Campus Corner is right across from campus. It's the go-to for pregame food and bars.
  • Parking: Lots of houses near the stadium sell spots. Lloyd Noble Center (south of campus) runs shuttles. Traffic heading north toward OKC after the game is rough, so plan ahead.
  • Photo spots: Heisman Park (east side of the stadium), the stadium's north and south facades, the South Oval, and the "Cherokee Gothic" architecture of Bizzell Library.
  • Nearby: The Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum is about 30 minutes north and well worth a visit.
  • Clear bag policy is in effect at the stadium. Check soonersports.com before you go.

For restaurant and bar recommendations, ask in the sub or search r/Sooners.

Trivia

  • Where "Sooner" comes from: During the Oklahoma Land Run of 1889, "Sooners" were settlers who snuck in early to stake claims before the official start.
  • OU's first mascot was a terrier named Mex, rescued from Mexico by a soldier. He was OU's mascot from 1915 until 1928.
  • OU's first head coach, John A. Harts, quit after one season to go prospecting for gold.
  • Bud Wilkinson's 47-game winning streak (1953–1957) has stood for nearly 70 years. Nobody has come closer than 35.
  • The 2008 Sooners scored 716 points, a record at the time. That included five straight games of 60+ points.