The 1978 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 ...

in the

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

1978 NCAA Division I-A season.

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 ...

participated in the former

Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Associatio ...

at that time and played its home games in

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. ...

where it has played its home games since 1923. The team posted an 11–1 overall record and a 6–1 conference record to earn a share of the conference title under

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Barry Switzer Barry Layne Switzer (born October 5, 1937) is a former American football coach and player. He served for 16 years as head football coach at the University of Oklahoma and four years as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football Le ...

. This was Switzer's sixth conference title in six seasons since taking the helm in 1973. The team was led by All-Americans

Billy Sims Billy Ray Sims (born September 18, 1955) is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons during the 1980s. Sims played college football for the Universi ...

(who won the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

Daryl Hunt Daryl Lynn Hunt (November 3, 1956 – July 9, 2010) was a professional American football player, a linebacker for six seasons for the Houston Oilers appearing in 78 career regular season games after being selected by Houston during the 6th roun ...

Reggie Kinlaw Reggie Kinlaw (born January 9, 1957) is a former American football defensive tackle who played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners and Professionally for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders and Seattle Seahawks in the National Football Le ...

, and Greg Roberts, The Sooners started the season with nine consecutive wins before losing to

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

. During the season, OU faced ranked opponents four times (#14

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, #6

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, and #4 & #6 Nebraska); four different opponents finished the season ranked. Its only defeat came against Nebraska in their regular season match. The Sooners were able to avenge that loss as an at-large selection to the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...

against conference co-champions Nebraska, who had claimed the automatic berth by virtue of their victory over OU. Sims led the nation in scoring with 132 points (based on per game average of 10.9, which includes 120 in 11 games). Sims led the team in rushing with a record-setting 1896 yards,

Thomas Lott Thomas Willie Lott Jr. (born August 1, 1957) is an American former college and professional football player who was a running back and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL) and United States Football League (USFL). Lott played ...

led the team in passing with 487 yards,

Bobby Kimball Robert Troy Kimball (born March 29, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter best known as the original and longtime frontman of the rock band Toto from 1977 to 1984 and again from 1998 to 2008. Kimball has also performed as a solo artist and ...

led the team in receiving with 207 yards, Hunt led the team with 157

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

and

Darrol Ray Darrol Anthony Ray (born June 25, 1958) is a former American football player for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). Early years Ray spent his early years in Belgium, Germany, and France while his father served in the Unite ...

posted 8

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

s. The 5001 yards rushing remain second in Oklahoma football history behind the 1971 team's 5635. The defense set the school's all-time record with 28

s and tied the record of 50 forced turnovers.

set the school record for career tackles.

became the only Sooner to post four 200-yard games in a season. Sims' 1896 yards stood as the Sooner record until

Adrian Peterson Adrian Lewis Peterson (born March 21, 1985) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest running backs in football history. He played college football at Oklahoma, where he set the ...

posted 1925 in 2004. Billy Sims became the sixth junior to win the Heisman Trophy. Sims was the nation's leading rusher and scorer for 1978. He averaged 160.1 yards and 10.9 points. He set the Big Eight Conference single season rushing record of 1,762 yards on 231 carries for an average of 7.6 yards. Sims was the only back in the nation's top 50 to average 7.0 per carry, and became the first player in Big Eight history to rush for more than 300 yards in three straight games.

Schedule

Roster

Game summaries

Stanford

*Source:''
Eugene Register-Guard

West Virginia

Rice

Missouri

Texas

*Source:''
Palm Beach Post
Statistics *OU: Billy Sims 25 Rush, 131 Yds (Sims had been injured in two previous meetings)

Kansas

Iowa State

Kansas State

Colorado

Nebraska

Oklahoma State

Orange Bowl

Rankings

Awards and honors

* All-American:

, Greg Roberts, *Greg Roberts,

Outland Trophy The Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman in the United States as adjudged by the Football Writers Association of America. It is named after John H. Outland. One of only a few players ever to be named an All-Ame ...

*Billy Sims, Associated Press College Player of the Year *

, Heisman Trophy *Billy Sims, Sports Magazine's Player of the Year *Billy Sims, United Press College Player of the Year *Billy Sims, Walter Camp Foundation's Player of the Year *Big 8 rushing champion: Sims *NCAA DI scoring champion: Sims *NCAA team rushing leaders *NCAA team scoring leaders

Postseason

NFL draft

The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.

References

External links

1978 season
at SoonerStats.com {{Big Eight Conference football champions

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 Big Eight Conference football champion seasons Orange Bowl champion seasons