History
Written by J. Robert Byrom
Overall Record: 24-17-1
wins in crimson & bold
Dec 31, 2009 Sun Bowl - Oklahoma 31 Stanford 27
Jan. 8, 2009 BCS championship Game- Miami - Florida 24, Oklahoma 14
Jan. 2, 2008 Fiesta Bowl-West Virginia 48, Oklahoma 28
Jan. 1, 2007 Fiesta Bowl-Boise State 43, Oklahoma 42, OT
Dec. 29, 2005 Holiday Bowl-Oklahoma 17, Oregon 14
Jan. 4, 2005 Orange Bowl-Southern Cal 55, Oklahoma 19
Jan. 4, 2004 Sugar Bowl-LSU 21, Oklahoma 14
Jan. 1, 2003 Rose Bowl-Oklahoma 34, Washington State 14
Jan. 1, 2002 Cotton Bowl-Oklahoma 10, Arkansas 3
Jan. 3, 2001 Orange Bowl-Oklahoma 13, Florida State 2
Dec. 31, 1999 Independence Bowl-Mississippi 27, Oklahoma 25
Dec. 29, 1994 Copper Bowl-Brigham Young 31, Oklahoma 6
Dec. 24, 1993 John Hancock Bowl-Oklahoma 41, Texas Tech 10
Dec. 29, 1991 Gator Bowl-Oklahoma 48, Virginia 14
Jan. 2, 1989 Citrus Bowl-Clemson 13, Oklahoma 6
Jan. 1, 1988 Orange Bowl-Miami, Fla. 20, Oklahoma 14
Jan. 1, 1987 Orange Bowl-Oklahoma 42, Arkansas 8
>Jan. 1, 1986 Orange Bowl-Oklahoma 25, Penn State 10
Jan. 1, 1985 Orange Bowl-Washington 28, Oklahoma 17
Jan. 1, 1983 Fiesta Bowl-Arizona State 32, Oklahoma 21
Dec. 26, 1981 Sun Bowl-Oklahoma 40, Houston 14
Jan. 1, 1981 Orange Bowl-Oklahoma 18, Florida State 17
Jan. 1, 1980 Orange Bowl-Oklahoma 24, Florida State 7
Jan. 1, 1979 Orange Bowl-Oklahoma 31, Nebraska 24
Jan. 2, 1978 Orange Bowl-Arkansas 31, Oklahoma 6
Dec. 25, 1976 Fiesta Bowl-Oklahoma 41, Wyoming 7
Jan. 1, 1976 Orange Bowl-Oklahoma 14, Michigan 6
Dec. 31, 1972 Sugar Bowl-Oklahoma 14, Penn State 0
Jan. 1, 1972 Sugar Bowl-Oklahoma 40, Auburn 22
Dec. 31, 1970 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl-Oklahoma 24, Alabama 24, tie
Dec. 31, 1968 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl-Southern Methodist 28, Oklahoma 27
Jan. 1, 1968 Orange Bowl-Oklahoma 26, Tennessee 24
Jan. 2, 1965 Gator Bowl-Florida State 36, Oklahoma 19
Jan. 1, 1963 Orange Bowl-Alabama 17, Oklahoma 0
Jan. 1, 1959 Orange Bowl-Oklahoma 21, Syracuse 6
Jan. 1, 1958 Orange Bowl-Oklahoma 48, Duke 21
Jan. 2, 1956 Orange Bowl-Oklahoma 20, Maryland 6
Jan. 1, 1954 Orange Bowl-Oklahoma 7, Maryland 0
Jan. 1, 1951 Sugar Bowl-Kentucky 13, Oklahoma 7
Jan. 2, 1950 Sugar Bowl-Oklahoma 35, Louisiana State 0
Jan. 1, 1949 Sugar Bowl-Oklahoma 14, North Carolina 6
Jan. 1, 1947 Gator Bowl-Oklahoma 34, North Carolina State 13
Jan. 2, 1939 Orange Bowl-Tennessee 17, Oklahoma 0
As described by Jim Dent, author, in his bok "The Undefeated"
The term "Sooner Magic" was born on a cold and windy afternoon in Lincoln, Neb., in 1976 when the fourth quarter found the Sooners trailing the Cornhuskers 17-7. With three minutes to play, and the lead down to four, hope for a comeback had all but vanished into the Nebraska clouds.
Oklahoma was stuck at the Husker 16-yard line when Woodie Shepard completed a 50-yard halfback pass to freshman end Steve Rhodes, whose catch was nothing short of miraculous. Two plays later, Rhodes ran a curl pattern and then pitched to halfback Elvis Peacock on the old hook-and-lateral. Peacock was finally knocked out of bounds at the Nebraska three.
Peacock scored the winning touchdown on next play with 30 seconds remaining, vaulting the Sooners into a three-way tie for the conference championship.
Further proof of the pixy dust that filled the air over Lincoln that day was the pregame prayer delivered in the Oklahoma locker room by defensive back and team captain Scott Hill at the behest of coach Barry Switzer: "Please dear Lord don't let any injury or harm come to any player. And please, please, please, dear Lord, please don't let the best team win."
The youthful Sooners were outmanned and outgunned that day. But "Sooner Magic" never failed them.
Three years later, Nebraska was unbeaten and the Sooners had lost but one game to Texas when the teams met in Norman. Oklahoma led 10-7 with eight minutes to go, and were lining up for a chip shot field goal when Switzer sent the offense back onto the field. Quarterback J.C. Watts scored a touchdown and the gamble paid off. Nebraska marched 86 yards in the final minutes for a touchdown, but would fall short 17-14.
A year later in 1980, Nebraska halfback Jarvis Redwine dashed 89 yards for an early touchdown, and the Cornhuskers led 10-0 after one quarter. With three minutes left in the game, Nebraska clung to a 17-14 lead, with the Sooners eighty yards from the goal.
When Buster Rhymes gained forty yards on the game's most critical play, a young Nebraska fan sprinted along the sideline, expressing despair. Sportswriter Jim Weeks would record the youngster's words the next day in the Norman Transcript; "Oh, no," the boy cried. "They're going to do it to us again."
They did. Rhymes dived for the winning touchdown with 56 seconds to play. Sooner Magic 21, Nebraska 17.
In the sixteen years that Barry Switzer coached the Sooners (1973-88), the Nebraska-Oklahoma game normally determined either the conference or the national championship or both. The teams played seventeen times during the Switzer era, the Sooners taking twelve. Oklahoma came from behind eight times in the fourth quarter to win.
Written by J. Robert Byrom
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* denotes consensus All-American.