The 2021 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...
during the
2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 152nd season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision. The r ...
, the 127th season for the
Oklahoma Sooners
The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Run ...
. They played their home games at
Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, also known as Owen Field or The Palace on the Prairie, is the football stadium on the campus of the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma. It serves as the home of the Oklahoma Sooners football team. ...
in
Norman, Oklahoma
Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, Oklahoma, Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma C ...
. They are a charter member of the
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...
. The team was led during the regular season by
Lincoln Riley
Lincoln Michael Riley (born September 5, 1983) is an American college football coach and former player who is the head coach of the USC Trojans football program at the University of Southern California.
He previously served as the head coach a ...
, in his fifth and final year as head coach.
Riley departed Oklahoma for
USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
**South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
on November 28. Former Sooners head coach
Bob Stoops
Robert Anthony Stoops (born September 9, 1960) is an American football coach. He was the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1999 through the 2016 season, and on an interim basis during the 2021 Alamo Bowl. He led the Oklahoma ...
was named the interim head coach and led the team to their win in the
Alamo Bowl
The Alamo Bowl is an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game played annually since 1993 in the Alamodome in San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas. Since 2010 it matches the second choice team from the Pac-12 Conference and ...
.
Previous season
The Sooners finished the
2020 season 9–2, 6–2 in Big 12 play. Despite beginning the season 1–2, 0–2 in Big 12 play, they came back and finished the season in 2nd place in the Big 12 behind
Iowa State
Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...
, who they defeated in the
2020 Big 12 Championship Game 27-21 for their sixth consecutive Big 12 Championship. For the first time since 2016, the Sooners were not selected for the College Football Playoff. Instead, the sixth-ranked Sooners were selected to face the seventh-ranked SEC East Champion
Florida Gators
The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...
in the
Cotton Bowl, where they defeated the Gators 55–20. They finished the season ranked 6th in the AP and Coaches Poll.
Offseason
Position key
Offseason departures
Recruiting
Transfers
Outgoing
The Oklahoma Sooners lost seventeen players via transfer portal for the 2021 season.
Incoming
The Oklahoma Sooners add nine players via transfer portal from the 2020 season.
Returning starters
Offense
Defense
Special Teams
† Indicates player was a starter in 2020 but missed all of 2021 due to injury.
2021 NFL Draft
NFL Combine
The official list of participants for the 2021 NFL Combine included Oklahoma football players: -
Team players drafted into the NFL
Preseason
Award watch lists
Listed in the order that they were released
Big 12 media days
Big 12 media poll
Preseason awards
2021 Preseason All-Big 12
*Offensive Player of the Year:
Spencer Rattler
Spencer Michael Rattler (born September 28, 2000) is an American football quarterback who plays college football for South Carolina. Rattler began his college career with Oklahoma before transferring to South Carolina in 2021.
High school car ...
, QB, Oklahoma
*Newcomer of the Year:
Eric Gray, RB, Oklahoma
Personnel
Roster
Coaching staff
;Graduate assistants
;Analysts
Depth chart
Injury report
Schedule
Spring Game
Regular season
The 2021 schedule consists of 7 home games, 4 away games and 1 neutral-site game in the regular season. The Sooners will host 2 non-conference games against Western Carolina and Nebraska and was originally scheduled to travel to Tulane, but the effects of Hurricane Ida forced the game to be played in Oklahoma with Tulane still being the home team. Oklahoma will host Iowa State, TCU, Texas Tech, and West Virginia, and travel to Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, and Oklahoma State in regular-season conference play. Oklahoma will play Texas in Dallas, Texas at the
Cotton Bowl Stadium
The Cotton Bowl is an outdoor stadium in Dallas, Texas, United States. Opened in 1930 as Fair Park Stadium, it is on the site of the State Fair of Texas, known as Fair Park.
The Cotton Bowl was the longtime home of the annual college football p ...
in the
Red River Showdown
The Oklahoma–Texas football rivalry is a college football rivalry game between border rivals Oklahoma and Texas. The two teams first played each other in 1900, and the rivalry has been renewed annually and uninterrupted since 1929 for a to ...
, the 116th game played in the series.
Game summaries
at Tulane
vs. Western Carolina
vs. Nebraska
vs West Virginia
at Kansas State
vs. No. 21 Texas
vs. TCU
at Kansas
vs. Texas Tech
at No. 13 Baylor
vs. Iowa State
at No. 7 Oklahoma State
vs. Oregon (2021 Alamo Bowl)
Statistics
Scoring
Scores by quarter (non-conference opponents)
Scores by quarter (Big 12 opponents)
Scores by quarter (All opponents)
Rankings
Awards and honors
Postseason
Bowl game
References
{{Oklahoma Sooners football navbox
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
Oklahoma Sooners football seasons
Alamo Bowl champion seasons
Oklahoma Sooners football
The Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma (variously "Oklahoma" or "OU"). The team is a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (forme ...