Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Sooners are, I think, the last of the programs in the Big XII that we have profiled, and in my opinion they are the best.  The Sooners have finished first in the AP Poll on seven occasions:  1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, and 2000.  Only Notre Dame (8) and Alabama (9) have topped the AP poll more often than Oklahoma.  The Sooners are 6th in all-time wins (840) and 4th in all-time winning percentage (.719).

Oklahoma also has a rich record in the UCFC.  They are 26-16-1 all-time in UCFC games, and have played in some of the biggest title bouts.  On January 2, 1956, they beat Maryland 20-6 in the Orange Bowl to take the crown in the same season they won the national championship.  They then held the trophy for seventeen games in a row, before being stunned by Notre Dame 7-0 on November 16, 1957.  On September 28, 1963, they went to Los Angeles and took the crown from defending national champion Southern California -- only to lose it a few weeks later to eventual 1963 Champion Texas.  On January 1, 1968, the Sooners beat Tennessee 26-24 in the Orange Bowl to regain the crown.  The Sooners played for the UCFC on January 4, 2005 -- when they played Southern California for the 2004 national championship -- but lost 55-19.  The UCFC was also on the line when Oklahoma played for the 2008 national championship against Florida on January 8, 2009 -- but the Sooners lost that game 24-14.  That 2008 Oklahoma team was the last Sooner squad to hold the Big Gold Trophy.

Of course, Oklahoma had a chance to win the UCFC a few weeks ago, but were drubbed by Baylor, 41-12.  We will have to see if they do better today.