# 1973 Oklahoma Sooners football team

The 1973 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. Oklahoma participated as members of the Big Eight Conference and played its home games in Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium where it has played its home games since 1923. The team posted a 10–0–1 overall record and a 7–0 conference record to earn the Conference outright title under first-year head coach Barry Switzer. This would be the first of eight consecutive Big Eight Conference championships for the Sooners with Switzer as head coach.
The team was led by three All-Americans: Rod Shoate (Oklahoma's second three-time All-American) the oldest of the Selmon brothers, Lucious, and Eddie Foster. The Selmon brothers Lucious, Lee Roy and Dewey started on the defensive line. The team went undefeated on a schedule that included seven ranked opponents (In order, #1 USC, #17 Miami, #13 Texas, #13 Colorado, #10 Missouri, #18 Kansas, and #10 Nebraska). Five of these opponents finished the season ranked. The team tied with USC in the second game of the season before winning nine consecutive contests. It began the season ranked number 11 and steadily climbed in the polls as the season progressed.
Joe Washington led the team in rushing with 1173 yards, Steve Davis led the team in passing yard for with 934 yards, Tinker Owens led the team in receiving with 472 yards, Davis led the team in scoring with 108 points, Shoate led the team in tackles with 126, and Randy Hughes led the team in interceptions with 5.
Prior to the season in August, the Sooners were put on probation by the Big Eight Conference, which included a two-year ban on bowl appearances, and a two-year ban on television appearances (1974, 1975).

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 15 | at Baylor* | No. 11 | Baylor StadiumWaco, TX | | W 42–14 | 41,573 |
| September 29 | at No. 1 USC* | No. 8 | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | | T 7–7 | 83,986 |
| October 6 | No. 17 Miami (FL)* | No. 6 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | | W 24–20 | 62,040 |
| October 13 | vs. No. 13 Texas* | No. 6 | Cotton BowlDallas, TX (Red River Shootout) | ABC | W 52–13 | 72,032 |
| October 20 | No. 16 Colorado | No. 3 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | | W 34–7 | 61,826–62,580 |
| October 27 | at Kansas State | No. 3 | KSU StadiumManhattan, KS | | W 56–14 | 29,523 |
| November 3 | Iowa State | No. 3 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | | W 34–17 | 61,876 |
| November 10 | at No. 10 Missouri | No. 3 | Memorial StadiumColumbia, MO (rivalry) | | W 31–3 | 65,515 |
| November 17 | No. 18 Kansas | No. 3 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | | W 48–20 | 60,961–64,122 |
| November 23 | No. 10 Nebraska | No. 3 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK (rivalry) | ABC | W 27–0 | 62,257 |
| December 1 | at Oklahoma State | No. 2 | Lewis FieldStillwater, OK (Bedlam Series) | | W 45–18 | 50,964 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game ||||||||

## Game summaries
### At Baylor

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #11 Oklahoma | 21 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 42 |
| Baylor | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 14 |

### Miami (FL)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Miami (FL) | 7 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| • Oklahoma | 7 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 24 |

### vs Texas

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Oklahoma | 7 | 14 | 14 | 17 | 52 |
| Texas | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas
* Date: October 13
* Game time: 12:30 p.m.
* Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C)
* Game attendance: 72,204
* TV: ABC
* Box Score
Worst loss in Darrell Royal's coaching career
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Oklahoma | Passing | Steve Davis | 5/6, 185 Yds, 2 TD |
| Oklahoma | Rushing | Joe Washington | 12 Rush, 117 Yds |
| Oklahoma | Receiving | Tinker Owens | 4 Rec, 163 Yds, 2 TD |
| Texas | Passing | Marty Akins | 5/9, 64 Yds, INT |
| Texas | Rushing | Roosevelt Leaks | 20 Rush, 82 Yds |
| Texas | Receiving | Pat Kelly | 4 Rec, 71 Yds |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | OU | UT |
| 1 | 10:05 | 6 | 82 | 2:37 | Oklahoma | Tinker Owens 40-yard touchdown reception from Joe Washington, Rick Fulcher kick good | 7 | 0 |
| 1 | 3:25 | 14 | 79 | 6:40 | Texas | 36-yard field goal by Billy Schott | 7 | 3 |
| 2 | 11:14 | 12 | 90 | 5:17 | Texas | 44-yard field goal by Billy Schott | 7 | 6 |
| 2 | 10:46 | 2 | 68 | 0:28 | Oklahoma | Tinker Owens 63-yard touchdown reception from Steve Davis, Rick Fulcher kick good | 14 | 6 |
| 2 | 0:29 | 3 | 47 | 0:31 | Oklahoma | Billy Brooks 47-yard touchdown reception from Steve Davis, Rick Fulcher kick good | 21 | 6 |
| 3 | 11:26 | 8 | 77 | 3:34 | Oklahoma | Steve Davis 15-yard touchdown run, Rick Fulcher kick good | 28 | 6 |
| 3 | 1:09 | 2 | 7 | 0:46 | Oklahoma | Steve Davis 2-yard touchdown run, Rick Fulcher kick good | 35 | 6 |
| 4 | 13:35 | 4 | 9 | 1:15 | Oklahoma | 25-yard field goal by Rick Fulcher | 38 | 6 |
| 4 | 11:59 | 1 | 11 | 0:07 | Oklahoma | Scott Hill 11-yard touchdown run, Rick Fulcher kick good | 45 | 6 |
| 4 | 7:05 | 7 | 80 | 2:55 | Texas | Mike Presley 31-yard touchdown run, Billy Schott kick good | 45 | 13 |
| 4 | 1:39 | 11 | 81 | 5:26 | Oklahoma | Joe McReynolds 11-yard touchdown run, Fulcher kick good | 52 | 13 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 52 | 13 |

### Colorado

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colorado | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Oklahoma | 7 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 34 |

### At Kansas State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Oklahoma | 21 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 56 |
| Kansas St | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |

### Iowa State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Iowa St | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| • Oklahoma | 7 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 34 |
Joe Washington 136 Rush Yds

### At Missouri

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #3 Oklahoma | 7 | 3 | 12 | 9 | 31 |
| #10 Missouri | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |

### Nebraska

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #10 Nebraska | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • #3 Oklahoma | 14 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 27 |

### At Oklahoma State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #2 Oklahoma | 7 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 45 |
| Oklahoma State | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 18 |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | 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 | 13 | Final |
| AP | 11 т | 11 | 9 | 8 (1) | 6 (1.5) | 6 | 3 (8) | 3 (8) | 3 (9) | 3 (7) | 3 (10) | 3 (9) | 2 (20) | 2 (16) | 3 (16) |

## Awards and honors

* All-American: Rod Shoate, Eddie Foster and Lucious Selmon
* Big Eight Athlete of the Year: Selmon
* Big Eight Defensive Player: Selmon
* Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Year: Selmon

## Postseason
### NFL draft

Seven Sooners were selected in the 1974 NFL draft.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Team |
| 4 | 85 | Durwood Keeton | Defensive back | St. Louis Cardinals |
| 5 | 110 | Gary Baccus | Linebacker | New York Giants |
| 5 | 119 | Clyde Powers | Defensive back | New York Jets |
| 9 | 227 | Ken Pope | Defensive back | Oakland Raiders |
| 12 | 296 | Eddie Foster | Tackle | New England Patriots |
| 14 | 349 | David Smith | Linebacker | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 16 | 399 | Lucious Selmon | Defensive tackle | New England Patriots |