1953 Oklahoma Sooners football team

The 1953 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma during the 1953 college football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Bud Wilkinson, they played their home games at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma, and were members of the Big Seven Conference.

1953 Oklahoma Sooners football
National champion (B(QPRS), CFRA)
Big 7 champion
Orange Bowl champion
Orange Bowl, W 7–0 vs. Maryland
ConferenceBig Seven Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 5
APNo. 4
Record9–1–1 (6–0 Big 7)
Head coach
Captains
Home stadiumOklahoma Memorial Stadium
(capacity: 55,647)
1953 Big Seven Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 4 Oklahoma $ 6 –0 –09 –1 –1
Missouri 4 –2 –06 –4 –0
Kansas State 4 –2 –06 –3 –1
Colorado 2 –4 –06 –4 –0
Nebraska 2 –4 –03 –6 –1
Kansas 2 –4 –02 –8 –0
Iowa State 1 –5 –02 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The Sooners dropped their opener at home to top-ranked Notre Dame,[1] tied at Pittsburgh,[2] then won nine straight, concluding with a 7–0 shutout of #1 Maryland in the Orange Bowl in Miami on New Year's Day.[3][4] The final polls were released in late November, prior to the bowl games.[5][6]

Oklahoma's initial win of the 1953 season, over Texas in Dallas on October 10, was the start of their record 47-game winning streak that extended more than four years, until November 1957.[7]

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 26No. 1 Notre Dame*No. 6
L 21–2859,461
October 3at Pittsburgh*No. 8
T 7–728,152
October 10vs. No. 15 Texas*No. 16
W 19–1475,504[8]
October 17KansasNo. 12
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 45–045,862
October 24ColoradoNo. 9
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 27–2036,565
October 31at Kansas StateNo. 9
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Manhattan, KS
W 34–023,822
November 7at MissouriNo. 8
W 14–730,020
November 14Iowa StateNo. 6
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK
W 47–043,713
November 21at NebraskaNo. 4
W 30–731,551
November 28Oklahoma A&M*No. 4
  • Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
  • Norman, OK (Bedlam)
W 42–750,524
January 1, 1954vs. No. 1 Maryland*No. 4
W 7–068,640
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[9]

Roster

Rankings
See also: 1953 NCAA football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
( ) = First place votes.
Week
PollPre123456789Final
AP6 (3)81612 (1)99 (1)8 (1)6 (1)4 (3)4 (9)4 (10)

Postseason

NFL Draft

The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.[10]

Round Pick Player Position NFL Team
216Larry GriggBackBaltimore Colts
10116Merrill GreenBackWashington Redskins
14164Roger NelsonTackleWashington Redskins
17195J. D. RobertsGuardGreen Bay Packers
30355Juel SweatteBackPittsburgh Steelers

References
  1. Fullerton, Hugh Jr. (September 27, 1953). "The Irish flame in Norman heat to stop O.U., 28-21". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. 1, sports.
  2. "Pitt holds Sooners to 7-7 draw". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. October 4, 1953. p. 32.
  3. "Oklahoma's defense upsets Maryland, 7-0". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 2, 1954. p. 10.
  4. "Maryland deflated by Sooners, 7-0". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. January 2, 1954. p. 6.
  5. "Undefeated Maryland eleven leads final AP football poll". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. December 1, 1953. p. 18.
  6. "Maryland keeps top spot in nation's college ratings". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. December 1, 1953. p. 24.
  7. "Irish snap Sooners' string, 7-0". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. November 17, 1957. p. 1C.
  8. "Sooners hang on to squeeze 19–14 victory out of Texas". Abilene Reporter-News. October 11, 1953. Retrieved April 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "SoonerSports.com". Archived from the original on February 29, 2008. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  10. "1954 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
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