Difficult Trivia What new OU Head Coach in opening poll had OU ranked #2?
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1964 under Gomer Jones.
Attended the season opener against Maryland and saw OU barely escape with a 13-3 win. A 90 yard pass to Rentzel in the 4th quarter, with OU trailing 3-0, went for OU's first score.
LB David Voiles picked off a pass minutes later and ran it to Maryland's 10 yard line where three plays later QB Mike Ringer ran in for the clincher.
After the game the Maryland players questioned OU's lofty ranking. A week later USC proved the 1964 Sooners were indeed pretenders.
I believe the 1963 and 1964 Sooners were the two most underachieving teams OU's ever had.
Attended the season opener against Maryland and saw OU barely escape with a 13-3 win. A 90 yard pass to Rentzel in the 4th quarter, with OU trailing 3-0, went for OU's first score.
LB David Voiles picked off a pass minutes later and ran it to Maryland's 10 yard line where three plays later QB Mike Ringer ran in for the clincher.
After the game the Maryland players questioned OU's lofty ranking. A week later USC proved the 1964 Sooners were indeed pretenders.
I believe the 1963 and 1964 Sooners were the two most underachieving teams OU's ever had.
CTOkie Correct.
But you should have included the1965 Sooners being underachievers.,
The1964 Sooners finished 6-4-1
The1965 Sooners finished a dismal 3-7 and Gomer was either fired or retired.
The 1963 Sooners were 9-2. They lost to Texas 28-7 and then Joe Don Looney was kicked off of the team. The 2nd loss was to Nebraska with the game being played a day after JFK was assassinated on Nov 23[/QUOTE]
But you should have included the1965 Sooners being underachievers.,
The1964 Sooners finished 6-4-1
The1965 Sooners finished a dismal 3-7 and Gomer was either fired or retired.
The 1963 Sooners were 9-2. They lost to Texas 28-7 and then Joe Don Looney was kicked off of the team. The 2nd loss was to Nebraska with the game being played a day after JFK was assassinated on Nov 23[/QUOTE]
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The two teams that beat the 63 Sooners were pretty good. Texas was an undefeated national champ who smoked number two Navy in the NC game. And Nebraska was played the day after the Kennedy assassination in Lincoln, when the whole country was walking around in a funk.
In 64, a whole bunch of good players that Bud left Gomer, but he wasn't up to the task. The next year was his last, 3-7 and one of two losings seasons for OU between the first year of WWII and John Blake.
The other was the year that started with the team poisoning in Chicago, the night before we played Northwestern and went downhill from there. 3-6-1
In 64, a whole bunch of good players that Bud left Gomer, but he wasn't up to the task. The next year was his last, 3-7 and one of two losings seasons for OU between the first year of WWII and John Blake.
The other was the year that started with the team poisoning in Chicago, the night before we played Northwestern and went downhill from there. 3-6-1
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No, Bull.
The 1965 team lost most of its headline players and it was in a complete rebuilding mode. Gone were Neely, Burton, Rentzel, Mayhue, Condren, Garrett, Bumgardner and several others.
This team played hard, but simply wasn't very talented. They did not underachieve by any means.
The 1963 Sooners were 8-2, with no bowl bid....and lost decisively to Texas and Nebraska.
The 1964 team upset Nebraska but were blown out by USC and Texas and lost to Kansas with KU scoring on the first and last plays of the game....a kickoff return and about a 25 yard run as time expired. The team looked listless at times and the Oklahoman even wrote about it following the 34-9 win over a bad K-State team.
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I agree, CT, but what was missing during the 60's was a really good QB. Then Bobby Warmack arrived. Monte Deere, Hammond, Ringer, Page and Fletcher were just not enough, IMO. I might be forgetting someone. BTW, Monte Deere was one of my favorite players and a nephew of my junior high English teacher. I met him and of course that was a trilling time for me.
Monte Deere took OU to the Orange Bowl after the 8-2 1962 season to face Namath and Lee Roy Jordan (31 tackles).
Ringer may have had a decent career had he not backed into a fan which wrecked his elbow early in the 1963 season. Of the QBs on the 1963 roster, Ringer had the biggest upside.
No, Bull.
The 1965 team lost most of its headline players and it was in a complete rebuilding mode. Gone were Neely, Burton, Rentzel, Mayhue, Condren, Garrett, Bumgardner and several others.
This team played hard, but simply wasn't very talented. They did not underachieve by any means.
The 1963 Sooners were 8-2, with no bowl bid....and lost decisively to Texas and Nebraska.
The 1964 team upset Nebraska but were blown out by USC and Texas and lost to Kansas with KU scoring on the first and last plays of the game....a kickoff return and about a 25 yard run as time expired. The team looked listless at times and the Oklahoman even wrote about it following the 34-9 win over a bad K-State team.[/QUOTE]
The 63 team had,a bowl bid. But the voted to stay home, in the wake of a very disappointing loss to the Huskers in the conference championship game in Lincoln. Bill Thunder Thornton had a great game, and we never really stopped him.
Those were like the transition years of college football, moving from one platoon foitball in the 50s to two platoon in the 70s. There were some funky rules in between.
The 1965 team lost most of its headline players and it was in a complete rebuilding mode. Gone were Neely, Burton, Rentzel, Mayhue, Condren, Garrett, Bumgardner and several others.
This team played hard, but simply wasn't very talented. They did not underachieve by any means.
The 1963 Sooners were 8-2, with no bowl bid....and lost decisively to Texas and Nebraska.
The 1964 team upset Nebraska but were blown out by USC and Texas and lost to Kansas with KU scoring on the first and last plays of the game....a kickoff return and about a 25 yard run as time expired. The team looked listless at times and the Oklahoman even wrote about it following the 34-9 win over a bad K-State team.[/QUOTE]
The 63 team had,a bowl bid. But the voted to stay home, in the wake of a very disappointing loss to the Huskers in the conference championship game in Lincoln. Bill Thunder Thornton had a great game, and we never really stopped him.
Those were like the transition years of college football, moving from one platoon foitball in the 50s to two platoon in the 70s. There were some funky rules in between.
In 1967, we were a win away from a possible national championship. OU lost one game....barely....to Texas. Even so, the Sooners beat Tennessee in the Orange Bowl. The Vols had been crowned champions before the bowl game, and were the last champion to be named prior to the end of the bowl season. 1962 and 1967 were about all the Sooners could muster during the decade. Really only 1967, IMO. The beating Alabama put on the 1962 Sooners in Orange Bowl kinda ruined a fairly strong regular season for me.
Mike Vachon, who kicked 4 field goals in 1966 to beat Texas 18-9, missed 4 field goals a year later in 1967....if he had just made one of the four, OU would have gone 10-0.
I do not believe the polls would have ranked the 9-1 USC team behind the Sooners, however.
No question OU would have won the natty had Vachon made the FG. The Sooners would have been the only undefeated team in the regular season and for that matter, the "season" having beaten Tennessee in the Orange. Well, almost there was another school that had gone 10-0. Wyoming??? That Texas win was the most painful that I can recall even after all these years later. I get pissed just thinking about it.
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The 63 team had,a bowl bid. But the voted to stay home, in the wake of a very disappointing loss to the Huskers in the conference championship game in Lincoln. Bill Thunder Thornton had a great game, and we never really stopped him.
Those were like the transition years of college football, moving from one platoon foitball in the 50s to two platoon in the 70s. There were some funky rules in between.[/QUOTE]
Maybe the 63 team did not play in a bowl game because OU may have been on probation
Didn't we lose three players because they signed with an agent?
That got confusing. My post appeared as your post and vice versa. Except for the last sentence.
The '63 was offered a bowl, but decided not to go. They'd been to the Orange Bowl to play Bama the year before, and lost 17-0. That game, Lee Roy Jordan set the all time record for tackles in a game against an OU team. He had 31. Remember, in those days we likely didn't have 55 snaps in a game. The CT quarterback was soph Joe Namath.
The probation was before that 62 bowl team. So it wasn't a factor after the 63 season.
The four players who didn't play was the Gator Bowl after the 1964 season on 1-2-65 against Steve Tensi, Fred Billetnikoff and Florida State. Gomer was in his first year as HC. Neely, Rentzel, Grisham and Wes Skidgel sat out the bowl game.
The two latter never played a down. Neely and Rentzel were both second round picks and both played ten or more seasons. The NFL was in a war with the AFL. They allowed future draft picks a year early and they also had their draft before the end of the football season. So players who were either drafted the year before as a "future", or drafted that season, were drafted before the bowl games, and many already had their agreements in place. OUr four all signed their contracts and were caught, making them ineligible. Tensi and Billetnikoff did the same thing, but signed for show under the goal posts after the game.
I agree that the 65 team took a step down in talent. Bud left Gomer a talented senior laden team for the 64 season, but the 65 team had a pretty good defense, but little offense. The 19-0 RRR loss was close to the most boring OU-Texas game ever.
They had a great middle linebacker, Tommy Nobis. We did too. Carl McAdams. But we couldn't run the ball at all against a solid defense. Three wins for the season would indicate that.
The '63 was offered a bowl, but decided not to go. They'd been to the Orange Bowl to play Bama the year before, and lost 17-0. That game, Lee Roy Jordan set the all time record for tackles in a game against an OU team. He had 31. Remember, in those days we likely didn't have 55 snaps in a game. The CT quarterback was soph Joe Namath.
The probation was before that 62 bowl team. So it wasn't a factor after the 63 season.
The four players who didn't play was the Gator Bowl after the 1964 season on 1-2-65 against Steve Tensi, Fred Billetnikoff and Florida State. Gomer was in his first year as HC. Neely, Rentzel, Grisham and Wes Skidgel sat out the bowl game.
The two latter never played a down. Neely and Rentzel were both second round picks and both played ten or more seasons. The NFL was in a war with the AFL. They allowed future draft picks a year early and they also had their draft before the end of the football season. So players who were either drafted the year before as a "future", or drafted that season, were drafted before the bowl games, and many already had their agreements in place. OUr four all signed their contracts and were caught, making them ineligible. Tensi and Billetnikoff did the same thing, but signed for show under the goal posts after the game.
I agree that the 65 team took a step down in talent. Bud left Gomer a talented senior laden team for the 64 season, but the 65 team had a pretty good defense, but little offense. The 19-0 RRR loss was close to the most boring OU-Texas game ever.
They had a great middle linebacker, Tommy Nobis. We did too. Carl McAdams. But we couldn't run the ball at all against a solid defense. Three wins for the season would indicate that.
USC and OJ (wife killer) Simpson were the media darlings that year and OU may have suffered the same fate as Arizona State did in 1975....going unbeaten, but finishing behind Oklahoma. We'll never know for certain where OU might have finished had it beat Texas. (USC, by the way, beat Texas 17-13 in 1967).No question OU would have won the natty had Vachon made the FG. The Sooners would have been the only undefeated team in the regular season and for that matter, the "season" having beaten Tennessee in the Orange. Well, almost there was another school that had gone 10-0. Wyoming??? That Texas win was the most painful that I can recall even after all these years later. I get pissed just thinking about it.
I'm going to agree with you so maybe I can get the loss to Texas going on and on out of my head.
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