1954 Oklahoma Sooners football team

The 1954 Oklahoma Sooners football team (variously "Oklahoma", "OU", or the "Sooners") represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1954 college football season, the sixtieth season of Sooner football. Led by eighth-year head coach Bud Wilkinson, they played their home games at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma, and were members of the Big Seven Conference.

1954 Oklahoma Sooners football
Big 7 champion
Conference	Big Seven Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 3
AP	No. 3
Record	10–0 (6–0 Big 7)
Head coach	Bud Wilkinson (8th season)
Captains	Gene Calame Gene Mears
Home stadium	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1953 1955 →

1954 Big Seven Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Oklahoma $	6	–	0	–	0			10	–	0	–	0
Nebraska	4	–	2	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Colorado	3	–	2	–	1			7	–	2	–	1
Missouri	3	–	2	–	1			4	–	5	–	1
Kansas State	3	–	3	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Iowa State	1	–	5	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Kansas	0	–	6	–	0			0	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The Sooners went undefeated and were ranked third in both final polls, released in late November at the end of the regular season. Because of a conference "no-repeat" rule, Oklahoma did not play in a bowl game.^[1][2] Unranked runner-up Nebraska was invited to the Orange Bowl,^[1] and was defeated 34–7 by No. 14 Duke.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 18	at No. 12 California*	No. 2	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	ABC	W 27–13	48,095
September 25	No. 20 TCU*	No. 1	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 21–16	50,878
October 9	vs. No. 15 Texas*	No. 1	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (rivalry)		W 14–7	76,204	^[3]
October 16	at Kansas	No. 1	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS		W 65–0	28,211
October 23	Kansas State	No. 1	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 21–0	46,356
October 30	at Colorado	No. 2	Folsom Field Boulder, CO		W 13–6	31,247
November 6	at Iowa State	No. 3	Clyde Williams Stadium Ames, IA		W 40–0	10,209
November 13	Missouri	No. 3	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry)		W 34–13	54,173
November 20	Nebraska	No. 3	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry)		W 55–7	55,172
November 27	at Oklahoma A&M*	No. 3	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK (Bedlam)		W 14–0	38,000
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[4]

Roster

• E Carl Allison, Sr.
• QB Jimmy Harris, So.
• C Jerry Tubbs, So.

Rankings

See also: 1954 NCAA football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
AP	2 (74)	1 (56)	2 (24)	1 (77)	1 (118)	1 (115)	2 (74)	3 (42)	3 (44)	3 (28)	3 (31)	3 (35)

Postseason

NFL Draft

The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.^[5]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Team
1	2	Max Boydston	End	Chicago Cardinals
1	13	Kurt Burris	Center	Cleveland Browns
3	29	Buddy Leake	Back	Green Bay Packers
16	182	Bob Herndon	Back	Chicago Cardinals
18	217	Steve Champlin	Tackle	Cleveland Browns
22	263	Carl Allison	Back	Detroit Lions

References

1. "Busy scoreboard eyed as Duke, Nebraska tangle". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 1, 1955. p. 8.
2. Funk, Ben (January 2, 1955). "Duke rips Huskers 34-7". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). Associated Press. p. 1C.
3. "Sooners tip Texas 14–7". The Odessa American. October 10, 1954. Retrieved April 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "1954 OU Football Season Schedule - SoonerStats - Historical scores, records, and stats for Oklahoma Sooners football, basketball, baseball, and softball".
5. "1955 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.