Old School: Highlights From Oklahoma's 1950 National Championship

"Old School" is the College Football FanHouse's irregular look back at the rich history of college football, usually through the medium of embeddable flash video. Check out the Old School archive for more famous plays and infamous hair.



I have to admit, I'm a sucker for these newsreel type highlights of the best of college football's storied past. This video highlights the best of Oklahoma's 1950 national championship season. The 1950 season began with Notre Dame riding a 38–game unbeaten streak. However, the Irish struggled to beat North Carolina in their opener, and then lost for the first time in five years to visiting Purdue 28–14. Notre Dame would go on to lose three more times before the end of the season, finishing at 4–4–1 and failing to make the final Top 20 for the first time in 10 years.

Oklahoma, on the other hand, swept through the regular season with 10 wins on the way to its own unbeaten string of 31 victories. They were led by Billy Vessels (who would win the Heisman in 1952) and All-Americans Jim Weatherall and Leon Heath. Following their undefeated regular season, Oklahoma met 7th ranked Kentucky (then coached by Bear Bryant) in the Sugar Bowl. The Wildcats took a 13–0 halftime lead and eventually held on for a 13–7 upset. However, because the final polls were released before the bowl games at this point in history, the AP voted Oklahoma as national champions.