page_title: 2006 Oklahoma Sooners football team
section_title: Postseason
hierarchical_section_title: 2006 Oklahoma Sooners football team / Postseason
caption_attribution_description: Football player Adrian Peterson when he played at the University of Oklahoma
context_page_description: The 2006 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season, the 112th season of Sooner football. The team was led by two-time Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award winner, Bob Stoops, in his eighth season as head coach. They played their homes games at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. They were a charter member of the Big 12 Conference.
  The season began on a bad note when starting quarterback Rhett Bomar and offensive lineman J.D. Quinn were kicked off the team for violating NCAA rules when they received payment for work they did not do the day before fall practice started. Paul Thompson, who had not practiced in the quarterback role for nearly a year, was asked to move back to quarterback, which he did.
  Conference play began with a loss to the Texas Longhorns in the annual Red River Rivalry on October 7, and ended with a win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Big 12 Championship Game on December 2. The Sooners finished the regular season with an 11–2 record while winning their fourth Big 12 title and their 40th conference title overall.
context_section_description: As the 2006 college football season neared the end, many organizations began to announce finalists and winners of various post-season awards. Sooner players and coaches appeared on many of these lists. Head coach Bob Stoops was unanimously named Coach of the Year on the AT&T All-Big 12 Coaches Team. This was the third time he'd won the award, more than any other coach in the conference. Stoops was also named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award, a national award handed out by the Football Writer's Association of America. Oklahoma defensive coordinator/linebacker coach/associate head coach Brent Venables was named one of five finalists for the Broyles Award which goes to the nation's best assistant coach.
  Several players for the Sooners were also honored. Oklahoma junior kicker Garrett Hartley was named a finalist for the Lou Groza Award. Oklahoma senior linebacker Rufus Alexander was named the AT&T All-Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. He was the third Oklahoma player to earn this honor, following Teddy Lehman in 2003 and Roy Williams in 2001. He was also Oklahoma's lone All-American this year was linebacker, and was given first team All-American status by the American Football Coaches Association. The following Oklahoma players were also named to the All–Big 12 First, Second, and Honorable Mention Team:
  Adrian Peterson finished his last season at Oklahoma with 1,012 yards. This brought his career total to 4,045 which placed him third all-time at Oklahoma. He would remain 26 yards behind Joe Washington and 73 yards behind Billy Sims.
caption: Running back Adrian Peterson finished his career at Oklahoma following the 2006 season.
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