1978 Oklahoma Sooners football team
American college football season
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The 1978 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the college football 1978 NCAA Division I-A season. Oklahoma Sooners football participated in the former Big Eight Conference at that time and played its home games in Oklahoma Memorial Stadium where it has played its home games since 1923.[1] The team posted an 11–1 overall record and a 6–1 conference record to earn a share of the conference title under head coach Barry Switzer. This was Switzer's sixth conference title in six seasons since taking the helm in 1973.[2][3]
| 1978 Oklahoma Sooners football | |
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National champion (8 selectors) Big 8 co-champion Orange Bowl champion | |
Orange Bowl, W 31–24 vs. Nebraska | |
| Conference | Big Eight Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 3 |
| AP | No. 3 |
| Record | 11–1 (6–1 Big 8) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Galen Hall (6th season) |
| Offensive scheme | Wishbone |
| Defensive coordinator | Rex Norris (1st season) |
| Base defense | 5–2 |
| Captains | |
| Home stadium | Oklahoma Memorial Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3 Oklahoma + | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 8 Nebraska + | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 15 Missouri | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa State | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kansas State | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oklahoma State | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colorado | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kansas | 0 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 10 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The team was led by All-Americans Billy Sims (who won the Heisman Trophy),[4] Daryl Hunt,[5] Reggie Kinlaw,[6] and Greg Roberts,[7] The Sooners started the season with nine consecutive wins before losing to Nebraska.[3] During the season, OU faced ranked opponents four times (#14 Missouri, #6 Texas, and #4 & #6 Nebraska); four different opponents finished the season ranked. Its only defeat came against Nebraska in their regular season match.[3] The Sooners were able to avenge that loss as an at-large selection to the Orange Bowl against conference co-champions Nebraska, who had claimed the automatic berth by virtue of their victory over OU.[8]
Sims led the nation in scoring with 132 points (based on per game average of 10.9, which includes 120 in 11 games).[9] Sims led the team in rushing with a record-setting 1896 yards, Thomas Lott led the team in passing with 487 yards, Bobby Kimball led the team in receiving with 207 yards, Hunt led the team with 157 tackles and Darrol Ray posted 8 interceptions.[10]
The 5001 yards rushing remain second in Oklahoma football history behind the 1971 team's 5635.[11] The defense set the school's all-time record with 28 interceptions and tied the record of 50 forced turnovers.[12] Daryl Hunt set the school record for career tackles.[13] Billy Sims became the only Sooner to post four 200-yard games in a season.[12] Sims' 1896 yards stood as the Sooner record until Adrian Peterson posted 1925 in 2004.[12]
Billy Sims became the sixth junior to win the Heisman Trophy. Sims was the nation's leading rusher and scorer for 1978. He averaged 160.1 yards and 10.9 points. He set the Big Eight Conference single season rushing record of 1,762 yards on 231 carries for an average of 7.6 yards. Sims was the only back in the nation's top 50 to average 7.0 per carry, and became the first player in Big Eight history to rush for more than 300 yards in three straight games.[14]
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 9 | at Stanford* | No. 4 | W 35–29 | 58,883 | [15] | ||
| September 16 | West Virginia* | No. 3 | W 52–10 | 71,187–71,885 | [16] | ||
| September 23 | Rice* | No. 3 |
| W 66–7 | 71,774 | [17] | |
| September 30 | No. 14 Missouri | No. 1 |
| W 45–23 | 72,371 | [18] | |
| October 7 | vs. No. 6 Texas* | No. 1 | ABC | W 31–10 | 72,032 | [19] | |
| October 14 | at Kansas | No. 1 | W 17–16 | 40,450–44,450 | [20] | ||
| October 21 | at Iowa State | No. 1 | W 34–6 | 49,862 | [21] | ||
| October 28 | Kansas State | No. 1 |
| W 56–19 | 72,105 | [22] | |
| November 4 | at Colorado | No. 1 | W 28–7 | 52,506 | [23] | ||
| November 11 | at No. 4 Nebraska | No. 1 | ABC | L 14–17 | 74,657 | [24] | |
| November 18 | Oklahoma State | No. 4 |
| W 62–7 | 72,339 | [25] | |
| January 1, 1979 | vs. No. 6 Nebraska | No. 4 | NBC | W 31–24 | 66,365 | [26] | |
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Rankings
| Week | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Final |
| AP | 4 | 3 | 3 т | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Coaches Poll | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
Game summaries
Stanford
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • #4 Oklahoma | 14 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 35 |
| Stanford | 7 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 29 |
- Date: Saturday, September 9
- Location: Stanford Stadium
- Game attendance: 58,883
- Source: Eugene Register-Guard
| 1 | OKLA | Sims 2-yard run (von Schamann kick) | OKLA 7-0 | |
| 1 | OKLA | Rhodes 70-yard pass from Lott (von Schamann kick) | OKLA 14-0 | |
| 1 | STAN | Margerum 7-yard pass from Dils (Naber kick) | OKLA 14-7 | |
| 2 | STAN | Naber 43-yard field goal | OKLA 14-10 | |
| 2 | OKLA | Lott 19-yard run (von Schamann kick) | OKLA 21-10 | |
| 2 | OKLA | Kimball 17-yard pass from Lott (von Schamann kick) | OKLA 28-10 | |
| 3 | STAN | Banks 4-yard pass from Dils (Naber kick) | OKLA 28-17 | |
| 3 | STAN | Naber 49-yard field goal | OKLA 28-20 | |
| 4 | OKLA | Lott 1-yard run (von Schamann kick) | OKLA 35-20 | |
| 4 | STAN | Safety, von Schamann intentionally downed ball in end zone | OKLA 35-22 | |
| 4 | STAN | Margerum 11-yard pass from Dils (Naber kick) | OKLA 35-29 | |
West Virginia
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| • Oklahoma | 17 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 52 |
- Date: September 16
- Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
- Game attendance: 71,885
Rice
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rice | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • Oklahoma | 17 | 35 | 7 | 7 | 66 |
- Date: September 23
- Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
- Game attendance: 71,774
Missouri
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri | 0 | 7 | 2 | 14 | 23 |
| Oklahoma | 21 | 7 | 17 | 0 | 45 |
at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma
- Game attendance: 72,371
Texas
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #6 Texas | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| • #1 Oklahoma | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
- Date: Saturday, October 7
- Location: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas
- Game attendance: 72,032
- Game weather: Sunny
- Television network: ABC
- Source: Palm Beach Post
| 1 | OKLA | Billy Sims 18-yard run (Uwe von Schamann kick) | OKLA 7-0 | |
| 2 | OKLA | Billy Sims 1-yard run (Uwe von Schamann kick) | OKLA 14-0 | |
| 2 | TEX | Russell Erxleben 26-yard field goal | OKLA 14-3 | |
| 2 | OKLA | Uwe von Schamann 35-yard field goal | OKLA 17-3 | |
| 3 | OKLA | Bobby Kimball 24-yard pass from Thomas Lott (Uwe von Schamann kick) | OKLA 24-3 | |
| 3 | TEX | Johnny Lam Jones 25-yard run (Russell Erxleben kick) | OKLA 24-10 | |
| 4 | OKLA | David Overstreet 2-yard run (Uwe von Schamann kick) | OKLA 31-10 | |
Statistics
- OU: Billy Sims 25 Rush, 131 Yds (Sims had been injured in two previous meetings)
Kansas
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Oklahoma | 10 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Kansas | 0 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 16 |
- Date: October 14
- Location: Memorial Stadium
- Game attendance: 44,450
Iowa State
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Oklahoma | 21 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 34 |
| Iowa St | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
- Date: October 21
- Location: Cyclone Stadium
- Game attendance: 49,82
Kansas State
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas St | 0 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 19 |
| • Oklahoma | 21 | 14 | 0 | 21 | 56 |
- Date: October 28
- Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
- Game attendance: 72,105
Colorado
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • #1 Oklahoma | 7 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 28 |
| Colorado | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
- Date: November 4
- Location: Folsom Field
- Game attendance: 53,553
| 1 | OU | Lott 1-yard run (von Schamann kick) | OU 7-0 | |
| 2 | COL | Mayberry 4-yard run (Dadiotis kick) | Tied 7-7 | |
| 3 | OU | Sims 59-yard run (von Schamann kick) | OU 14-7 | |
| 3 | OU | Valora 20-yard pass from Lott (von Schamann kick) | OU 21-7 | |
| 4 | OU | King 74-yard run (von Schamann kick) | OU 28-7 | |
Nebraska
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| • Nebraska | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
- Date: November 11
- Location: Memorial Stadium
- Game start: 12:10 p.m. CST
- Game attendance: 74,567
- Referee: Earl Shostrom
- TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson and Frank Broyles
Oklahoma State
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma St | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Oklahoma | 7 | 21 | 21 | 13 | 62 |
- Date: November 18
- Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
- Game attendance: 72,339
Orange Bowl
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Oklahoma | 7 | 7 | 17 | 0 | 31 |
| Nebraska | 7 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 24 |
- Date: January 1
- Location: Orange Bowl
- Game attendance: 66,365
Roster
| 1978 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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Awards and honors
- All-American: Billy Sims,[4] Daryl Hunt,[5] Reggie Kinlaw,[6] Greg Roberts,[7]
- Greg Roberts, Outland Trophy[7]
- Billy Sims, Associated Press College Player of the Year
- Billy Sims, Heisman Trophy[29]
- Billy Sims, Sports Magazine's Player of the Year
- Billy Sims, United Press College Player of the Year
- Billy Sims, Walter Camp Foundation's Player of the Year[30]
- Big 8 rushing champion: Sims[4]
- NCAA DI scoring champion: Sims[4]
- NCAA team rushing leaders[7]
- NCAA team scoring leaders[7]
NFL draft
The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.[31]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 33 | Greg Roberts | Guard | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 2 | 38 | Reggie Mathis | Linebacker | New Orleans Saints |
| 2 | 47 | Sam Claphan | Tackle | Cleveland Browns |
| 3 | 72 | Kenny King | Running back | Houston Oilers |
| 4 | 90 | Phil Tabor | Defensive end | New York Giants |
| 5 | 122 | Victor Hicks | Tight end | Los Angeles Rams |
| 6 | 143 | Daryl Hunt | Linebacker | Houston Oilers |
| 6 | 144 | Thomas Lott | Running back | St. Louis Cardinals |
| 7 | 189 | Uwe von Schamann | Kicker | Miami Dolphins |
| 12 | 284 | Reggie Kinlaw | Defensive tackle | Oakland Raiders |