Trivia Time

(DISCLAIMER: This post...OU football...blah blah blah.)

I need something to get my mind off of Tuesday. I love trivia, especially historical trivia about Oklahoma and/or the Sooners. So how about some great Sooner trivia? Get your game on with these:

Q: When was OU's first undefeated season in which more than two games were played?
A: 1911. The Sooners went 8-0 in their 6th season under Bennie Owen. They tallied wins against Texas, Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State), Missouri, and Kansas, who was something of a powerhouse at the time.

Q: What is the highest single-game point total ever scored by OU?
A: 179, in Norman against Kingfisher College on September 29, 1917. Final score: 179-0.

(HISTORICAL NOTE: Kingfisher was apparently OU's whipping boy every year for its first 23 years of football. The two teams played 22 times, and though it managed three scoreless ties, in 1900, 1903, and 1904, Kingfisher never beat OU. The total points in all games: 1161-31, for an average of 52.7-1.4. OU won the last 10 meetings by a combined score of 850-0. After the above 179-0 game in 1917, OU won again 157-0 in 1919. It seems that the Kingfisher boys finally wised up, because OU and Kingfisher College never played again. Kingfisher College closed its doors in 1922, having never recovered from the enrollment drop that came with World War I, which I suspect also contributed to the lopsided scores during the last few games.)

Q: What is the highest point total ever scored by OU against a team that is NOT Kingfisher College?
A: 140, in a 140-0 win in Norman against Southwest Oklahoma State on October 7, 1916.

Q: What is Oklahoma's highest point total ever scored against what would be considered a "name" team?
A: 103, in a 103-0 win against Arkansas in Fayetteville, on November 16, 1918. (I bet they had to sneak out of town that day.)

Q: Everyone knows OU holds the record for longest win streak in NCAA, winning 47 games from 1953 through 1957. Who is in second place, and how many games did they win?
A: The University of Washington, with a 39-game streak from 1908-1914. Interestingly, the 2nd-longest-streak-since-1920 is Toledo, with a 35-game streak from 1969-1971. This is #5 on the all-time list.

Q: Who is OU's greatest traditional nemesis, in terms of winning percentage (more than one game played)?
A: That would be Notre Dame. OU has played the Irish nine times since 1952 and has lost all but one of those. They got their money's worth in that one victory, though; that 40-0 pasting in 1956 is the most lopsided score in the entire series.

Q: You know 19 is my number. Who is OU's best player to wear it?
A: Though JC Watts wore it in 1976 (and changed to #1 afterward), and Joe Jon Finley wore it the past two years as a great tight end, the best might be Keith Stanberry, who did it the honor it is due as a defensive back from 1981-84. I hope that perhaps someday, someone will come along to make that number a great one.

All stats courtesy of SoonerSports.com and the nice folks at SoonerStats.com.

That's enough for tonight. BOOMER SOONER!