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1955 Oklahoma Sooners football team

American college football season

American college football season

FieldValue
year1955
teamOklahoma Sooners
sportfootball
imageOklahoma Sooners Logo 1951-1966.png
conferenceBig Seven Conference
short_confBig 7
CoachRank1
APRank1
record11–0
conf_record6–0
head_coachBud Wilkinson
hc_year9th
captainBo Bolinger
captain2Robert Loughridge
captain3Cecil Morris
stadiumOklahoma Memorial Stadium
championConsensus national champion
Big 7 champion
Orange Bowl champion
bowl[Orange Bowl](1956-orange-bowl)
bowl_resultW 20–6 vs. [Maryland](1955-maryland-terrapins-football-team)

Big 7 champion Orange Bowl champion The 1955 Oklahoma Sooners football team was an American football team that represented the University of Oklahoma in the Big Seven Conference (Big 7) during the 1955 college football season. Led by ninth-year head coach Bud Wilkinson, the Sooners compiled an 11–0 record, outscored opponents by a total of 385 to 60, won the Big 7 and national championships, and defeated No. 3 Maryland, 20–6, in the 1956 Orange Bowl. In the Orange Bowl, Oklahoma trailed by six at halftime, and then outscored Maryland, 20–0, in the second half.

The Sooners played their home games at Owen Field in Norman, Oklahoma.

Schedule

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Rankings

National championship

In the final AP Poll released on November 28, 1955, Oklahoma was ranked No. 1 with 3,581 points, more than 300 points ahead of No. 2 Michigan State. The Sooners also finished with the No. 1 ranking in the final UPI coaches poll. The team was also recognized as the 1955 national champion in rankings and analyses issued by Berryman (QPRS), Billingsley Report, College Football Researchers Association, DeVold System, Dunkel System, Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), Helms Athletic Foundation, International News Service, Litkenhous, National Championship Foundation, Poling System, Sagarin Ratings, and Williamson System.

Honors and statistical leaders

Guard Bo Bolinger was a consensus first-team pick on the 1955 All-America college football team.

Halfback Tommy McDonald led the team with 102 points scored, 715 rushing yards, and 284 passing yards. McDonald received first-team All-America honors from the Associated Press.

Three of the coaches and two of the players on the 1955 Sooners were later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame: coach Wilkinson (inducted 1969); assistant coach Gomer Jones (inducted 1978); Tommy McDonald (inducted 1985); assistant coach Pete Elliott (inducted 1994); and center Jerry Tubbs (inducted 1996).

Personnel

Players

  • Hugh Ballard, end
  • John Bell, end
  • Bo Bolinger, guard
  • Henry Bonney, guard
  • Chuck Bowman, center
  • Bill Brown, fullback
  • J. Broyles, center
  • Bob Burris, back
  • Roland Butler, guard
  • Steve Champlin, tackle
  • Gene Cockrell, tackle
  • Bobby Darnell, center
  • Billy Davis, guard
  • Ernie Day
  • Dale DePue, quarterback
  • Robert Derrick, halfback
  • Wilbur Derrick, end
  • Carl Dodd, quarterback
  • John Ederer
  • Tom Emerson, tackle
  • Jerry Fronterhouse, center
  • Duane Goff, end
  • Ed Gray, end
  • Wayne Greenlee, fullback
  • Kenneth Hallum, tackle
  • Bill Harris, end
  • Jimmy Harris, quarterback
  • Jim Heard, fullback
  • Fred Hood, end
  • Doyle Jennings, tackle
  • Mickey Johnson
  • Charles Joseph, halfback
  • Bill Krisher, guard
  • Benton Ladd, tackle
  • Delbert Long, halfback
  • David Loop, end
  • Robert Loughridge, tackle
  • Bob Martin, end
  • Tommy McDonald, halfback
  • Gerald McPhail, halfback
  • Frank Merkt, halfback
  • Joe Mobra, end
  • Cecil Morris, guard
  • Dennit Morris, linebacker
  • Don Nelson, fullback
  • Ken Northcutt, guard
  • Jay O'Neal, quarterback
  • Joseph Oujesky, guard
  • Edward Parry, tackle
  • Tommy Pearson, end
  • Billy Pricer, back
  • Billy Rhodes, halfback
  • Byron Searcy, tackle
  • Dale Sherrod, halfback
  • Dan Smith, halfback
  • Don Stiller, end/guard
  • Bill Sturm, quarterback
  • Rodger Taylor, halfback
  • Clendon Thomas, halfback
  • Bob Timberlake, end
  • Jerry Tubbs, center
  • Barry West, guard
  • Woody Wolverton, center
  • Calvin Woodworth, tackle

Coaches

  • Head coach: Bud Wilkinson
  • Assistant coaches: Pete Elliott, Gomer Jones, Sam Lyle

NFL draft

The following Sooners were selected in the 1955 NFL draft following the season.

20241Joe MobraEndCleveland Browns

References

References

  1. "1955 Oklahoma Sooners Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC.
  2. (November 17, 1957). "Irish snap Sooners' streak, 7-0". Milwaukee Sentinel.
  3. Wayne Bishop. (September 25, 1955). "Third-Ranked Sooners, In Spite Of Carolina Goal Line Defense, Topple Tar Heels, 13-6 In Rough, Tough Second Half Performance". The Daily Tar Heel.
  4. Jerry Magee. (October 2, 1955). "58,000 See OU Smack Ponderous Pitt 26-14: McDonald Earns Spot With Greats". The Norman Transcript.
  5. Flem Hall. (October 9, 1955). "Oklahoma Storms Past Longhorns, 20-0". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
  6. Jerry Magee. (October 16, 1955). "Sooners Slap Kansas 44-6 in Big 7 Opener: Jayhawks Fade After Scoring 1st Touchdown". The Norman Transcript.
  7. Jerry Magee. (October 23, 1955). "Sooners Fell Buffaloes In 56-21 Bombardent: Colorado Wilts After Storming Into 14-0 Lead". The Norman Transcript.
  8. Dick King. (October 30, 1955). "Relentless Oklahoma Pulverizes K-State". The Manhattan Mercury.
  9. (November 6, 1955). "Sooners Slap Mizzou 20-0 To Run Longest Winning Streak to 26: 51st Big Seven Victory Features Rough Tackling". The Norman Transcript.
  10. Jerry Magee. (November 13, 1955). "Big Red Knocks Wind Out of Cyclones 52-0: Long McDonald Run Highlights Scoring Parade". The Norman Transcript.
  11. Dick Becker. (November 20, 1955). "Terrifying Sooners, Rip Huskers 41-0, for Title: Bill Glassford's Finale, Tremendous Effort Not Enough for Game N.U.". Lincoln Journal and Star.
  12. Jerry Magee. (November 27, 1955). "OU Warms Up for Bowl By Chilling A&M 53-0: Sooners Show Confidence With Aerial Attack". The Norman Transcript.
  13. Jimmy Burns. (January 3, 1956). "Oklahoma Takes the Merry Out of Maryland: The Sooners The Better, 20-6: Terrapins Grab 6-0 Lead, Then Lose Their Snap". The Miami Herald.
  14. "1955 OU Football Season Schedule - SoonerStats - Historical scores, records, and stats for Oklahoma Sooners football, basketball, baseball, and softball".
  15. Hugh Fullerton Jr.. (November 29, 1955). "Oklahoma Voted Nation's Top Grid Team". The South Bend Tribune.
  16. (November 29, 1955). "Final UP poll". Eugene Register-Guard.
  17. Miller, Norman. (December 4, 1956). "Oklahoma voted grid champion in final AP and UP polls". Reading Eagle.
  18. (August 2018). "2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records". National Collegiate Athletic Association.
  19. (2016). "Football Award Winners". National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
  20. "1955 Oklahoma Sooners Stats". Sports Reference LLC.
  21. "Bud Wilkinson". National Football Foundation.
  22. "Gomer Jones". National Football Foundation.
  23. "Tommy McDonald". National Football Foundation.
  24. "Pete Elliott". National Football Foundation.
  25. "Jerry Tubbs". National Football Foundation.
  26. "1955 NFL Draft Listing".
  27. "Oklahoma Drafted Players/Alumni".
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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