Oklahoma
Where did Oklahoma Sooners land in ESPN’s decade rankings since 1920?
Oct 8, 1977; Dallas, TX, USA; FILE PHOTO; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Barry Switzer prepares his team prior to facing the Texas Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl during the 1977 season. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
This one came as a little bit of a surprise to me. This was a really good decade for the Sooners that saw them win two national championships and would have won a third if they weren’t on probation in 1973.
In the 1970s, the Sooners had eight top-five finishes and two number-one rankings. This was also when Barry Switzer became “King.”
The Sooners went 102-13-3 and is another contender for the best decade in Sooners’ history. The Sooners had double-digit wins in all but two seasons. 1970 with Chuck Fairbanks at the helm and in 1976 when the Sooners went 9-2-1 and finished No. 5 in the AP Poll.
According to ESPN, the 1974 team ranked as the second-best team of the decade. They also had three of the five best offenses in that span.
The surprise comes when they have zero of the five best defenses of the decade. I mean, the 1974 team allowed just 8.4 points per game, and in 1975, the Sooners allowed just 12.8 points per game.