1949 Oklahoma Sooners football team

The 1949 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1949 college football season. In their third year under head coach Bud Wilkinson, the Sooners compiled an undefeated 11–0 record (5–0 against conference opponents), won the Big Seven Conference championship, were ranked #2 in the final AP Poll, were named national champions by Football Research, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 399 to 88.^[1][2]

1949 Oklahoma Sooners football
National champion (BR, CFRA) Big 7 champion Sugar Bowl champion
Sugar Bowl, W 35–0 vs. LSU
Conference	Big Seven Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 2
Record	11–0 (5–0 Big 7)
Head coach	Bud Wilkinson (3rd season)
Captains	Jim Owens Stan West
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1948 1950 →

1949 Big Seven Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Oklahoma $	5	–	0	–	0			11	–	0	–	0
No. 20 Missouri	5	–	1	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Iowa State	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	3	–	1
Nebraska	3	–	3	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Kansas	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Colorado	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Kansas State	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Five Sooners received All-America honors in 1949: Jim Owens (end), Darrell Royal (quarterback), George Thomas (halfback), Wade Walker (tackle) and Stanley West (guard).^[3] The same five players also received all-conference honors.^[4]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 23	at Boston College*	No. 3	Braves Field Boston, MA	W 46–0	36,241
October 1	Texas A&M*	No. 3	Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	W 33–13	34,658
October 8	vs. No. 12 Texas*	No. 3	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (rivalry)	W 20–14	75,347	[5]
October 15	Kansas	No. 3	Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	W 48–26	37,660
October 22	at Nebraska	No. 4	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	W 48–0	39,000
October 29	Iowa State	No. 3	Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	W 34–7	38,149
November 5	at Kansas State	No. 3	Memorial Stadium Manhattan, KS	W 39–0	18,500
November 12	at Missouri	No. 3	Memorial Stadium Columbia, MO (rivalry)	W 27–7	37,152
November 19	vs. No. 19 Santa Clara*	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	W 28–21	60,145
November 26	Oklahoma A&M*	No. 3	Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (Bedlam)	W 41–0	47,937
January 1, 1950	No. 9 LSU*	No. 2	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	W 35–0	82,000
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

See also: 1949 college football rankings

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

	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Final
AP	3 (17)	3 (28)	4 (6)	3 (10)	3 (11)	3 (9)	2 (15)	3 (11)	2 (18)

Roster

• Claude Arnold
• QB Darrell Royal (#11)
• Gene Heape

NFL draft

Six Sooners were selected in the 1950 NFL draft, held in January.^[6]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL team
1	6	George Thomas	Back	Washington Redskins
1	12	Stan West	Guard	Los Angeles Rams
7	82	Leon Manley	Guard	Green Bay Packers
14	177	Dee Andros	Guard	Chicago Cardinals
20	250	Darrell Royal	Back	New York Yanks
21	265	George Brewer	Back	Detroit Lions

• End Jim Owens was selected in the 1949 NFL draft.

References

1. "Oklahoma Yearly Results (1945-1949)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
2. "1949 Oklahoma Sooners Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
3. "2014 Oklahoma Football Records Supplement" (PDF). University of Oklahoma. 2014. p. 90. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
4. "2014 Oklahoma Football Records Supplement" (PDF). University of Oklahoma. 2014. p. 95. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
5. "Oklahoma downs Texas 20–14". Okmulgee Daily Times. October 9, 1949. Retrieved April 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "1950 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.