# 1976 Oklahoma Sooners football team

The 1976 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. Oklahoma was a member of the Big Eight Conference and played its home games in Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, where it has played its home games since 1923. The team posted a 9–2–1 overall record and a 5–2–0 conference record to earn a share of the Conference title under head coach Barry Switzer who took the helm in 1973. This was Switzer's fourth conference title in four seasons.
The team was led by two All-Americans: Zac Henderson and Mike Vaughan. After tying with Oklahoma State and Colorado for the conference title, it earned a trip to the Fiesta Bowl where it came out victorious against the Wyoming Cowboys. During the season, it faced five ranked opponents (In order, #16 Texas, #15 Kansas, #19 Colorado, #11 Missouri and #10 Nebraska). Four of its opponents finished the season ranked. It tied with Texas in the Red River Shootout and lost to Oklahoma State and Colorado. The Sooners started the season with a 5–0–1 record. They also began and ended the season with four-game winning streaks. Sophomore Daryl Hunt's 177 tackles that season would stand as the school record for five years and continues to be the second highest total behind Jackie Shipp's 189 in 1981.
Kenny King led the team in rushing with 839 yards, Dean Blevins led the team in passing with 384 yards, Steve Rhodes led the team in receiving with 160 yards, Uwe von Schamann and Horace Ivory led the team in scoring with 72 points, Hunt led the team in tackles with a record-setting 177 as well as interceptions with 4.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 11 | at Vanderbilt* | No. 5 | Dudley FieldNashville, TN | | W 24–3 | 34,694 |
| September 18 | California* | No. 4 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | | W 28–17 | 72,026 |
| September 25 | Florida State* | No. 4 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | | W 24–9 | 71,343 |
| October 2 | at Iowa State | No. 3 | Cyclone StadiumAmes, IA | | W 24–10 | 47,186 |
| October 9 | vs. No. 16 Texas* | No. 3 | Cotton BowlDallas, TX (Red River Shootout) | ABC | T 6–6 | 72,032 |
| October 16 | at No. 15 Kansas | No. 6 | Memorial StadiumLawrence, KS | | W 28–10 | 49,085 |
| October 23 | Oklahoma State | No. 5 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK (Bedlam Series) | | L 24–31 | 72,041 |
| October 30 | at No. 19 Colorado | No. 13 | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO | | L 31–42 | 53,380 |
| November 6 | Kansas State | No. 14 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | | W 49–20 | 70,987 |
| November 13 | No. 11 Missouri | No. 14 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK (rivalry) | | W 27–20 | 71,620 |
| November 26 | at No. 10 Nebraska | No. 8 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE (rivalry) | ABC | W 20–17 | 74,284 |
| December 25 | vs. Wyoming* | No. 8 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl) | CBS | W 41–7 | 48,714 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game ||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
| AP | 5 (6) | 4 (4) | 4 (3) | 3 (2) | 2 (3) | 6 | 5 | 13 | 17 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 5 |

## Game summaries
### Florida State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Florida State | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| • Oklahoma | 3 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 24 |

### Texas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Texas | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Oklahoma | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |

### Oklahoma State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Oklahoma St | 10 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 31 |
| Oklahoma | 14 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 24 |

### Kansas State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Kansas St | 7 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 20 |
| • Oklahoma | 21 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 49 |

### Nebraska

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Oklahoma | 7 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 20 |
| Nebraska | 0 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 17 |

### Fiesta Bowl
## Awards and honors

* All-American: Zac Henderson and Mike Vaughan

## NFL draft

The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL team |
| 2 | 44 | Horace Ivory | Running back | New England Patriots |
| 3 | 82 | Sidney Brown | Defensive back | New England Patriots |
| 4 | 88 | Mike Vaughan | Tackle | New York Giants |
| 4 | 105 | Jerry Anderson | Defensive back | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 10 | 260 | Jim Culbreath | Running back | Green Bay Packers |