Forty-three bowl appearances and 25 bowl victories have firmly entrenched Oklahoma among the most tradition-rich schools in America. The Sooners have become synonymous with postseason play. Oklahoma enjoys favored status among the bowl community, partly for its tradition, but also for its fan following. Regardless of the location, Sooner fans flock to follow a bowl tradition that is as fresh as it is historic. All 11 of Bob Stoops' Sooner teams have been to bowl games (1999-2009) including seven BCS and four national championship games. None of Stoops' predecessors took even his first three teams to bowl play.
Bowl Destinations Due to the longstanding tradition that sent the Big 8 Conference champion to the Orange Bowl, Oklahoma has played in Miami 18 times and earned 12 Orange Bowl crowns -- more than any other team. OU has also played in the Sugar Bowl six times (4-2) and three other bowl games more than once.
Bowl Opponents Oklahoma has played a total of 31 different opponents in bowl games. The Sooners have met seven teams more than once in a bowl including Florida State four times (last in the 2001 Orange Bowl). Over the years, Oklahoma has been matched most against teams from the SEC (13) ACC (12), Pac 10 (5) and Big 10 (3).
 Playing in its third national title game in six years, the No. 1-ranked Oklahoma Sooners were upset in their opponent's backyard as the No. 2 Florida Gators prevailed, 24-14. Tied at halftime, Florida outscored Oklahoma 17-7 in the second half despite the 110-yard rushing effort by Chris Brown and the 256 yards of passing from Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford. OU tight end Jermaine Gresham led all receivers with eight catches, including two for TDs. More >>
West Virginia quarterback Pat White rushed for 150 yards and running back Noel Devine added 108 more as the No. 9 Mountaineers upset the No. 3-ranked Oklahoma Sooners. West Virginia never trailed despite the passing of OU quarterback Sam Bradford, who hit on 21-of-33 for 242 yards and two touchdowns. More >>
A pair of Boise State trick plays at the end of regulation and overtime ended Oklahoma's comeback and sealed a perfect season for Boise State. More >>
Oklahoma linebacker Clint Ingram made a leaping interception of Oregon quarterback Brady Leaf's pass at the 10-yard line with 33 seconds left to preserve the Sooners' 17-14 upset of the No. 6 Oregon Ducks. Rhett Bomar threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to fullback J.D. Runnels for a 10-7 Oklahoma lead with 9:20 to play in the third quarter. Late in the third, Adrian Peterson's backup, Kejuan Jones, scored on an 8-yard run to make it 17-7. More >>
USC didn't need any help, but Oklahoma obliged anyway. The Trojans played a nearly flawless game, made even more so by five OU turnovers, and cruised to the BCS National Championship, 55-19. More >>
Riding its defense, LSU won the BCS title, 21-14. Oklahoma entered the game as the nation's top scoring offense, but struggled against the Tigers. LSU defensive end Marcus Spears returned an interception 20 yards for a TD on the first series of the second half. After pulling within seven at 21-14, the Sooners made another push to the LSU 12, but missed on four straight pass attempts, the last one with just 2:46 left. The crowd was the largest ever to see a sporting event in the Louisiana Superdome. More >>
Oklahoma dominated the Pac 10 champs in the Sooners' first trip to the Rose Bowl. OU's defense logged six sacks and two interceptions to set the tone. Rose Bowl MVP Nate Hybl tossed two TD passes and Quentin Griffin rushed for 144 yards as the OU offense wore down the Cougars. Oklahoma became just the fourth school in college football history to win the four BCS games and the Cotton Bowl. More >>
Arkansas' defense played well, but few will remember. Oklahoma's defense was that much better. The Razorbacks, who reached OU territory just twice the entire game, could muster only 13 passing yards on two completions while their rushing attempts (42) outnumbered their rushing yards (37). Sooner defenders tied a school and Cotton Bowl record with a whopping nine sacks. Late in the first quarter, Oklahoma set sail on a 13-play, 63-yard scoring drive that culminated with a one-yard sneak by quarterback Nate Hybl. OU added a 32-yard field goal by Tim Duncan in the third frame to build a 10-0 advantage that felt like twice that given the play of the defense. More >>
Top-ranked Oklahoma used a smothering defense to shut down the third-ranked Seminoles and Josh Heupel generated enough offense to lead OU to a perfect season and the school's seventh national championship. Led by Orange Bowl MVP Torrance Marshall, the Sooners time and again forced Florida State's Chris Weinke into bad decisions. Tim Duncan kicked two field goals and Quentin Griffin scored the clinching touchdown on a 10-yard run up the middle with 8:30 to play. Florida State avoided its first shutout in 12 seasons when Stanford Samuels tackled OU punter Jeff Ferguson in the end zone for a safety with 55 seconds remaining. More >>
In the final college game of the 20th century, Ole Miss topped Oklahoma in a thriller, 27-25. OU quarterback and game offensive MVP Josh Heupel set school and Independence Bowl records for attempts, completions and yards, and tied the record for touchdowns. Jarrail Jackson tied the Independence Bowl record for receptions with 10. Ole Miss' Les Binkley kicked a 39-yard field goal for the win on the last play of the game. More >>
After completing its worst regular season in 30 years and playing under a head coach who had resigned, Oklahoma ended its season with a dismal 31-6 loss. OU's defense surrendered 485 yards and four touchdowns through the air. BYU's John Walsh set Copper Bowl records for completions (31) and TD passes (4). Sooner linebacker Broderick Simpson was Defensive Player of the Game with 13 tackles, a sack and a pass breakup.
QB Cale Gundy brilliantly guided Oklahoma's offense and the Sooner defense slowed Doak Walker Award winner Bam Morris as OU claimed a 41-10 win. The Sooners scored the first two times they had the ball. Another Gundy TD pass boosted the lead to 21-3. Just over a minute later, the game MVP hit again and Oklahoma was cruising at halftime 28-3. Meanwhile, the Sooner defense held the nation's second-leading rusher to just 95 yards.
Cale Gundy unleashed one of the greatest passing efforts in school history as Oklahoma crushed Virginia, 48-14. Gundy was 25-of-31, including 11 straight completions, for 329 yards and two TDs. The Sooners scored touchdowns on four of their first five possessions to put the game out of reach before halftime. The OU defense never allowed the Cavaliers inside the 20. The 48 points tied the OU bowl game record (48-21 over Duke in the `58 Orange Bowl).
After a dry three quarters and the score deadlocked at 6-6, Clemson held off a late Sooner rally to post a 13-6 victory and give the ACC its first victory over the Sooners in 16 tries. On OU's last possession, the Sooners took over at their own 20 with 2:59 left on the clock. QB Jamelle Holieway, playing in his final game, scampered 11 yards on a fourth down to keep the drive alive. He guided OU all the way to the Tiger 14 with 12 seconds remaining, but two desperation heaves dropped incomplete to end Oklahoma's hopes.
The Sooners' hopes of winning their seventh national championship were put to rest by Miami, 20-14. The Hurricanes took the opening kickoff and moved 65 yards in eight plays for a 7-0 lead and never looked back. Late in the fourth quarter, the Sooners scored on a 29-yard fumblerooski which gave the Oklahoma faithful a flicker of hope. The Hurricane defenders blew it out when they sacked quarterback Charles Thompson and caused a fumble to ensure the victory.
After nine years, Barry Switzer avenged his most embarrassing loss, coaching Oklahoma to a 42-8 rout of Arkansas. LB Danté Jones, playing in place of All-American Brian Bosworth, led the defense in holding the Hogs to just 48 rushing yards. Spencer Tillman gained 109 yards rushing on just seven carries. Todd Thomsen set an Orange Bowl record with five punts for a 47.6-yard average.
A swarming defense, a record field goal performance and two big plays helped the Sooners defeat Penn State to capture both the Orange Bowl and the program's sixth national championship. Butkus Award winner Brian Bosworth had 13 solo tackles and the Oklahoma secondary picked off four Penn State passes to thwart any rallies. Tim Lashar booted an Orange Bowl record four field goals to give the Sooners an early lead. Lydell Carr and Keith Jackson then provided big plays, a 61-yard jaunt by Carr and a 71-yard pass play from Jamelle Holieway to Jackson.
BYU was No. 1 in the polls, but Sooner head coach Barry Switzer had argued that the Sooners should be No. 1 because of a tougher schedule. A win over a fine Husky team would solidify that claim. Washington refused to cooperate, however, and turned a 17-14 fourth-quarter deficit into a 28-17 triumph. The game was marked by a bizarre incident when, after an Oklahoma field goal, the Sooner Schooner raced onto the field as called for by tradition. The only problem was the drivers apparently had not received the proper permission for the trip. OU was penalized 15 yards and lost the three points.
The magic of Marcus Dupree ran out as the Sun Devils rallied for 14 fourth-quarter points to win the first meeting between the two. Dupree ran wild early, amassing 239 yards before recurrent leg injuries forced him out in the third quarter. The turning point came when Oklahoma punter Michael Keeling could not get his punt away and was forced to throw an illegal pass. The Devils took over at the OU 43 and later scored when Darryl Clack raced 15 yards for at TD.
A season that produced four losses for Oklahoma ended on a bright note with an easier than anticipated 40-14 victory over Houston. MVP Darrell Shepard, who began his career at UH, scored two touchdowns against his former team. The Sooners scored 30 fourth-quarter points to turn a seat squirmer into a rout. Freshman Fred Sims rolled up 181 yards rushing in the game after rushing for just 179 in the regular season.
This contest featured a rematch with a great deal more excitement as OU turned to a foreign weapon, the pass, to notch its third straight Orange Bowl win. The Seminoles used a fourth-quarter TD to break a 10-10 tie and seemingly gain control. OU was forced to start deep in its own territory after the kickoff with little time left. QB J.C. Watts went to work and passed the Sooners to the 11-yard line where he hit Steve Rhodes with a TD strike to pull the Sooners to within one with less than a minute to go. Watts then proceeded to hit tight end Forrest Valora for the two-point conversion that gave the Sooners the victory.
The Big Eight Champion Sooners met an undefeated Florida State team on New Year's night. After the Seminoles took a 7-0 first-quarter lead, OU unleashed 17 second-quarter points to take the lead for good. J.C. Watts was named Orange Bowl MVP on offense. He scored on a 61-yard option play and rushed for more than 100 yards. Bud Hebert, who recorded three interceptions, earned the award on defense. Billy Sims wrapped up his brilliant collegiate career scoring on a 22-yard pitch. The Seminoles crossed midfield only two times after the first quarter and never passed the 35-yard line.
A truly amazing turn of events produced a rematch after Nebraska's victory in November. The Sooners, ranked No. 1 with one loss, had lost a heartbreaker to the Cornhuskers, 17-14, on a late fumble at the NU three-yard line. When Missouri upset the Huskers the following week, producing a Big Eight tie, the Orange Bowl officials came up with the idea of a rematch, much to the Sooners' joy and the Huskers' shock. It went as predicted: an Oklahoma victory.
Barry Switzer called it "the most disappointing loss of my career," as OU was a victim of one of the biggest upsets in bowl history. When Notre Dame downed Texas in the Cotton Bowl, OU was in the running for a national championship. A big win over Arkansas might impress the voters and secure the crown for the Sooners. As a result, Switzer went against his own strategy by choosing to receive the opening kickoff rather than play defense. OU fumbled inside its own 10 on the third play of the game and Arkansas immediately scored for a lead it never relinquished.
This was a mismatch that was decided early on as Oklahoma rolled up almost 500 yards in total offense and cruised to an easy victory. The Sooners led 27-0 at the third quarter mark before the reserves added two more scores in the fourth period. OU did not punt the entire game, the only time in Sooner bowl history that had happened.
It was Oklahoma's first bowl trip under legendary head coach Barry Switzer and a storybook setting. Ohio State, the No. 1-ranked team in the country, had lost in the Rose Bowl earlier in the afternoon. The upset gave the Sooners an opportunity to win the national championship if they could beat Michigan. A 39-yard end around by Billy Brooks and a nine-yard keeper by Steve Davis were enough for a 14-6 victory and a fifth national championship.
Played for the first time on New Year's Eve, the Sugar Bowl brought the Big Eight Champion Sooners to do battle with Joe Paterno's fifth-ranked Nittany Lions. The Sooner defense posted a shutout while allowing only 11 first downs and 49 yards rushing the entire game. It was the first year that freshmen were eligible and Sooner wide receiver Tinker Owens celebrated with five catches, good for 132 yards and one touchdown.
OU had lost only one game, the "Game of the Century" to Nebraska on Thanksgiving Day. Auburn featured Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan. It was run vs. pass, with OU's runners prevailing. The Sooners roared to a 31-0 halftime lead and amassed 439 yards rushing by game's end, a new Oklahoma and Sugar Bowl record. QB Jack Mildren, playing in the final game of his brilliant college career, scored a Sugar Bowl record three times. OU finished second in the polls to Nebraska with another Big Eight team, Colorado, finishing third.
The emergence of the wishbone and Greg Pruitt were late-season developments that propelled OU to four wins in its last five games and a postseason invitation. The "bone" produced 349 yards rushing and touchdown runs of 58 and 25 yards by All-American Greg Pruitt, but the Sooners still needed a late field goal by Bruce Derr to forge the tie.
OU led 20-6 entering the fourth but SMU quarterback Chuck Hixson led a comeback that produced a 28-21 lead. OU, without injured QB Bob Warmack, narrowed the margin to one on a pass from Mickey Ripley, but missed a two-point conversion for the lead. One last chance came after recovering an onside kick but a field goal attempt from inside the SMU 30-yard line went wide as time expired.
Oklahoma had won the Big Eight title in Chuck Fairbank's first year as head coach. Although a slight underdog to the Vols, OU broke out to a 19-0 halftime lead. Tennessee came back to narrow the Sooner lead to 19-17 before Oklahoma defensive back Bob Stephenson picked off a pass and raced 24 yards to give OU an all important insurance TD. The Sooners desperately needed the insurance when Dewey Warren plowed in from a yard out. The Volunteers then missed a potential game-winning field goal as the gun went off.
Florida State used a sophisticated passing attack to win easily. To add insult to injury, four of the Seminoles' TD passes were thrown on fourth-down plays. Four Oklahoma players had been found ineligible the night before the game because they had signed pro contracts which was in violation of NCAA rules. FSU wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff finished the game with 13 receptions for 192 yards and four TDs.
It was Bud Wilkinson's last bowl game. Paul "Bear" Bryant, coaching his alma mater, repeated his victory as the coach at Kentucky in the 1951 Sugar Bowl with a 17-0 triumph. LB Lee Roy Jordan, the MVP, and quarterback Joe Namath led the Crimson Tide to the victory. The Sooners had first and goal twice in the first half, but fumbles ended OU's chances and the Sooners never really threatened again.
Waiving the "no repeat rule" because of a new bowl contract, the Sooners played in their second consecutive Orange Bowl, defeating the Orangemen from Syracuse, 21-6. The Sooners were led by Prentice Gautt who scored the game's first TD on the second play of the game with a 42-yard run. Gautt averaged an OU bowl record 15.7 yards every time he touched the ball.
The 47-game winning streak had been broken earlier in the season, but the Sooners still came into the game ranked No. 4. Duke, the ACC winner, was unranked. Oklahoma got only six first downs, lost the total offense battle (328 yards to 279) and picked up an OU bowl record 165 yards in penalties. However, the Sooners used two interception returns for TDs, including an OU bowl record 94-yarder from David Baker, two fumble recoveries, a blocked punt and a bad snap from center to secure the win.
This time it was OU that carried the number one ranking into the game with Maryland ranked third, having lost just one game during the regular season. The Sooners, a perfect 10-0 and in the midst of their 47-game winning streak, trailed 6-0 at the half. The Sooners went into their famous "fast break offense" in the second half and scored three times to post their second Orange Bowl victory. It was the second national championship for Oklahoma.
It was the first game of the contract that pitted the Big Seven champion against the ACC champ. Maryland came into the game as the regular season national champion with OU rated fourth. Twice, the Terrapins had first down with the ball inside the 10-yard line, and both times the Sooner defense refused to allow any points on the scoreboard. Sooner tailback Larry Grigg scored the only TD of the game with a 25-yard scamper in the second period. The 1954 bowl game was the first bowl game in which the players had to play both ways. Grigg also played defensive back.
OU won its first national championship by going a perfect 10-0 in the regular season. However, Kentucky, coached by Paul "Bear" Bryant, upset the Sooners and broke a 31-game OU winning streak. OU lost a bowl record five fumbles in falling behind 13-0. A fourth quarter 17-yard TD pass by Billy Vessels narrowed the margin but a come-from-behind effort was foiled by an interception in the final minute of play.
Wilkinson's team was rated second in the nation and it was the first one of his squads to post an undefeated record. The game was one-sided and still stands as the largest margin of victory in OU bowl history. One of the many Sooner big plays was Leon Heath's OU bowl record 86-yard TD run. The game was marred by an early-week incident where a former LSU player was caught spying on Sooner practices. It was the only time in Wilkinson's career that he publicly blasted an opponent.
It was legendary Coach Bud Wilkinson's first bowl game as the fifth-ranked and underdog Sooners took on third-ranked and unbeaten North Carolina and All-America tailback Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice. Oklahoma upset the Tar Heels with the big play coming in the first quarter as linebacker Myrle Greathouse intercepted a pass and returned it 70 yards to set up Jack Mitchell's one-yard run. The Sooners never trailed after that.
In a game that featured two of the marquee names in college football at the time, Oklahoma blasted North Carolina State 34-13 before an overflowing crowd of 10,000 in the second annual Gator Bowl. The Sooners took only two minutes to get on the scoreboard on an Eddie Davis one-yard plunge. N.C. State roared back to even the score, but OU put the game out of reach by scoring 20 second-quarter points and coasted from there.
This was the first Orange Bowl that featured two national powers as both teams were undefeated and untied. To lure the Sooners to Miami, the Orange Bowl director circled the Norman campus, leaving chalk messages that promoted the game. Tennessee's powerful ground attack was too much for the Sooners, winners of 14 straight, as the Volunteers raced to a 17-0 victory. The game was considered to be the roughest of all bowl games played that year as both teams combined for more than 200 yards in penalties.
  
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