1966 Oklahoma Sooners football team

1966 Oklahoma Sooners football
1966 Oklahoma Sooners football
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Record	6–4 (4–3 Big 8)
Head coach	Jim Mackenzie (1st season);
Offensive coordinator	Barry Switzer (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Chuck Fairbanks (1st season)
Captains	Ed Hall; Jim Riley;
Home stadium	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
	Seasons ← 1965 1967 →

1966 Big Eight Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 6 Nebraska $	6	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
Colorado	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Missouri	4	–	2	–	1	6	–	3	–	1
Oklahoma State	4	–	2	–	1	4	–	5	–	1
Oklahoma	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Iowa State	2	–	3	–	2	2	–	6	–	2
Kansas	0	–	6	–	1	2	–	7	–	1
Kansas State	0	–	6	–	1	0	–	9	–	1

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1966 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma during the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. Led by first-year head coach Jim Mackenzie, they played their home games at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and competed as members of the Big Eight Conference.

A longtime assistant at Arkansas, Mackenzie was hired in December 1965.^[1]

Following one of the worst seasons in program history, the Sooners improved to 6–4, defeated rival Texas for the first time in nine years,^[2] and upset undefeated rival Nebraska on Thanksgiving,^[3]^[4] Mackenzie was named the Coach of the Year in the Big Eight.^[5]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 17	Oregon*		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 17–0	48,590	^[6]^[7]
September 24	at Iowa State		Clyde Williams Field Ames, IA		W 33–11	21,467
October 8	vs. Texas*		Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Red River Shootout)		W 18–9	75,504	^[8]
October 15	at Kansas		Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS		W 35–0	37,252
October 22	No. 1 Notre Dame*	No. 10	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		L 0–38	62,626
October 29	at Colorado		Folsom Field Boulder, CO		L 21–24	35,738
November 5	Kansas State		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		W 37–6	44,792
November 12	Missouri		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry)		L 7–10	55,585
November 24	No. 4 Nebraska		Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry)	ABC	W 10–9	42,884
December 3	at Oklahoma State		Lewis Field Stillwater, OK (Bedlam Series)		L 14–15	36,581
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[9]

Game summaries

Oregon

	1	2	3	4	Total
Oregon	0	0	0	0	0
• Oklahoma	0	0	17	0	17

Date: September 17
Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Game attendance: 48,590

Iowa State

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Oklahoma	14	3	9	7	33
Iowa St	2	9	0	0	11

Date: September 24
Location: Clyde Williams Field
Game attendance: 21,467

Texas

	1	2	3	4	Total
Texas	3	0	0	6	9
• Oklahoma	6	3	3	6	18

Date: October 8
Location: Cotton Bowl
Game attendance: 75,504

Source:^[2]^[10]

Kansas

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Oklahoma	7	7	14	7	35
Kansas	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 15
Location: Memorial Stadium
Game attendance: 37,252

Notre Dame

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Notre Dame	0	17	21	0	38
Oklahoma	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 22
Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Game attendance: 62,626

Colorado

	1	2	3	4	Total
Oklahoma	7	0	14	0	21
• Colorado	7	0	10	7	24

Date: October 29
Location: Folsom Field
Game attendance: 35,738

Kansas State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kansas St	0	0	0	6	6
• Oklahoma	0	10	13	14	37

Date: November 5
Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Game attendance: 44,792

Missouri

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Missouri	0	0	10	0	10
Oklahoma	0	0	0	7	7

Date: November 12
Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Game attendance: 55,585

Nebraska

	1	2	3	4	Total
Nebraska	0	3	6	0	9
• Oklahoma	0	7	0	3	10

Date: November 24
Location: Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
TV announcers (ABC): Chris Schenkel, Bud Wilkinson

Oklahoma State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Oklahoma	0	0	8	6	14
• Oklahoma St	0	8	0	7	15

Date: December 3
Location: Lewis Field

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	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	10	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

NFL/AFL draft

The following players were drafted into the National Football League or American Football League following the season.^[11]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL team
2	29	Jim Riley	Tackle	Miami Dolphins
3	80	Ben Hart	Running back	New Orleans Saints
4	96	James Roy Jackson	Wide receiver	Oakland Raiders
9	236	Eugene Ross	Defensive back	New Orleans Saints
13	292	Tom Stidham	Kicker	New York Giants

References

^ "Mackenzie faces two big problems". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. December 23, 1965. p. 10.
^ ^a ^b "Field goals boost OU past Texas". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. October 9, 1966. p. 11A.
^ "Sooners upset Nebraska, 10-9". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. November 25, 1966. p. 13.
^ "Nebraska loses bid for college crown". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. November 25, 1967. p. 10.
^ Van Valkenberg, Jim (December 1, 1966). "Nebraskans lead All-Big 8 team". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. p. 15.
^ Uhrhammer, Jerry (September 18, 1966). "Oregon collegians blanked in openers". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
^ "Sooners shut out Oregon". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. September 18, 1966. p. 6, sports.
^ "Texas races by Texas Tech". The Daily Oklahoman. September 25, 1966. Retrieved April 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "SoonerSports.com". Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
^ "Field Goals Stop Texas." Palm Beach Post. October 9, 1966
^ "1967 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.

This article related to sports in Oklahoma is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This college football 1960s season article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[mckftp-1] "Mackenzie faces two big problems". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. December 23, 1965. p. 10.

[boosttx-2] "Field goals boost OU past Texas". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. October 9, 1966. p. 11A.

[upnebr-3] "Sooners upset Nebraska, 10-9". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. November 25, 1966. p. 13.

[neblbd-4] "Nebraska loses bid for college crown". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. November 25, 1967. p. 10.

[brskns-5] Van Valkenberg, Jim (December 1, 1966). "Nebraskans lead All-Big 8 team". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. p. 15.

[ocbio-6] Uhrhammer, Jerry (September 18, 1966). "Oregon collegians blanked in openers". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.

[sooshoo-7] "Sooners shut out Oregon". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. September 18, 1966. p. 6, sports.

[8] "Texas races by Texas Tech". The Daily Oklahoman. September 25, 1966. Retrieved April 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

[9] "SoonerSports.com". Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2012.

[10] "Field Goals Stop Texas." Palm Beach Post. October 9, 1966

[11] "1967 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.

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v t e Oklahoma Sooners football
Venues	Boyd Field (1905–1923) Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (1923–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Missouri Nebraska Oklahoma State: Bedlam Series Texas: Red River Rivalry
Culture & lore	T formation Wishbone formation 1971 Nebraska game 2008 Big 12 South 3-way tie controversy 2016 Texas Tech game Oklahoma drill Sooner Schooner RUF/NEKS Black 41 Flash Reverse Pass Boomer and Sooner "Boomer Sooner" Marching band The Kick Play Like a Champion Today
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National championship seasons in bold