1968 Oklahoma Sooners football team

1968 Oklahoma Sooners football
Big 8 co-champion
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, L 27–28 vs. SMU
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 10
AP	No. 11
Record	7–4 (6–1 Big 8)
Head coach	Chuck Fairbanks (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Barry Switzer (3rd season)
Captains	John Titsworth Bob Warmack
Home stadium	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium

1968 Big Eight Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 7 Kansas +	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
No. 11 Oklahoma +	6	–	1	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
No. 9 Missouri	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Nebraska	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Colorado	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Kansas State	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Oklahoma State	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Iowa State	1	–	6	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1968 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma during the 1968 NCAA University Division football season. They played their home games at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and competed as members of the Big Eight Conference. They were coached by head coach Chuck Fairbanks.

Although Oklahoma shared the Big Eight championship with Kansas and defeated the Jayhawks 27–23 on their home field, the Sooners were passed over by the Orange Bowl, which invited 9–1 Kansas.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 21	at No. 3 Notre Dame*	No. 5	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN		L 21–45	58,821
September 28	NC State*		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 28–14	53,349	[1]
October 12	vs. Texas*		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Red River Shootout)		L 20–26	71,837	[2]
October 19	Iowa State		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 42–7	46,960
October 26	at Colorado		Folsom Field Boulder, CO		L 27–41	45,804
November 2	Kansas State		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 35–20	43,782
November 9	at No. 3 Kansas		Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS		W 27–23	50,658
November 16	No. 6 Missouri		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry)		W 28–14	60,632
November 23	Nebraska	No. 14	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry)	ABC	W 47–0	46,011
November 30	at Oklahoma State	No. 11	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK (Bedlam Series)		W 41–7	38,515
December 31	vs. No. 20 SMU*	No. 10	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX (Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl)	ABC	L 27–28	53,453
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[3]

Rankings

See also: 1968 NCAA University Division football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
AP	4	5	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	14	11	10	11

Roster

1968 Oklahoma Sooners football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WB 33 Eddie Hinton Jr SE 88 Preshie Hodge So WB 37 Gary Jamar So TB 22 Marcellous Johnson So C 52 Joe Justice So WR 83 Joe Killingsworth Jr C 54 Bob Klitzman So C 50 Ken Mendenhall Jr RE 84 Jim Files Jr TB 36 Steve Owens Jr QB 11 Bob Warmack Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class RE 84 Jim Files Jr DHB 26 Jerry Hetherington So DT 69 Randy Little So DHB 32 Rick Hetherington Jr LB 82 Steve Zabel Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Chuck Fairbanks Coordinators/assistant coaches Galen Hall (WR) Warren Harper (LB) Pat James Bill Michael (DE) Carl Nystrom Barry Switzer (OC) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

NFL/AFL draft

Eddie Hinton was drafted into the National Football League following the season.^[4]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL team
1	25	Eddie Hinton	Wide receiver	Baltimore Colts

References

1. "How sweet it is! OU 28–14". The Daily Oklahoman. September 29, 1968. Retrieved January 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "It's black day at Big D; Texas, 26–20, in final minute". The Daily Oklahoman. October 13, 1968. Retrieved May 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "SoonerSports.com". Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
4. "1969 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.