TUPATALK: 50 years since remarkable OU season
The 1970s don’t seem so long ago to many of us.
Count long-time University of Oklahoma football fans near the front of that group.
How about this?
This year marks 50 years since Greg Pruitt toted the ball for the final time in a Sooner uniform, and also since
Chuck Fairbanks left as head coach, opening the door for Barry Switzer to take charge the next season.The year was 1972.
It was an odd odyssey for the Sooners, The ostensibly finished at 11-1 overall (landing in the No. 2 spot in the AP Poll) and 6-1-0 in the Big Eight Conference.
But, in what seemed almost a comedy of vacillating verdicts, the Sooners were tagged by the NCAA and Big Eight for having used an ineligible player.
Oklahoma self-reported the violation, and voluntarily forfeited eight games overall.
But, the NCAA didn’t include the forfeits in its sanctions.
However, the Big Eight enforced them.
After the dust settled, Oklahoma listed its record at 11-1 and 3-4 at the time.However, Oklahoma now adheres to its original record of 11-1 and 6-1.
Regardless of all that, the Sooners proved dominating between the chalk lines.
They dropped every opponent on the field except for Colorado — which was ranked No. 9 in the nation.The Buffs knocked off Oklahoma, 20-14, in one of four Sooner games shown by ABC.
But, OU mostly turned its opponents into spaghetti, like a giant pasta-making machine.
Some of the scores included: 49-0 vs. Utah State, 68-3 vs. Oregon, 52-3 vs. Clemson, 27-0 vs. Texas, 52-0 vs. Kansas State, 31-7 vs. Kansas, 38-15 vs. Oklahoma State and 14-0 vs. Penn State (Sugar Bowl).1972 was significant in other ways, as well, for the Sooners.
Pruitt wrapped up an amazing college career, that led to him being the 30th pick overall (Cleveland Browns) in the 1973 NFL draft.
During his three years on the Sooner team (freshmen weren’t allowed to play varsity back then), he rushed for 3,122 yards, racked up 491 receiving yards and scored 41 career touchdowns.
Pruitt’s NFL success might be undervalued for some people.
He was one of the NFL’s rushing stars in the 1970s, running for more than 1,000 yards three times. He would continue to be an NFL star into the 1980s as a return man, helping the Oklahoma Raiders win a Super Bowl Championship.
But, what 1972 also special was the arrival as a freshman of Oklahoma’s next mega-star ballcarrier Joe Washington. When he arrived, freshmen were allowed to play on varsity.
Washington ran for 4,071 yards as a Sooner.An injury early in his NFL career got him off to a slow career start.
But, he would lead the NFL in receptions (82) in 1979, while with the Baltimore Colts. In one game, the passed for a touchdown, caught a touchdown and made a “walk-off” kickoff return for touchdown in a 34-27 victory.Washington went on to win a Super Bowl while in a Washington uniform.
During that 1972 Sooner season — in which the careers of greats Pruitt and Washington intersected — Pruitt wan for 948 yards and 13 touchdowns, while the freshman Washington broke loose for 630 yards rushing and seven touchdowns.What a season.
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: TUPATALK: A look back at Oklahoma's 1972 football season
