University of Oklahoma Athletics
OU Crushes Notre Dame, 40-0
October 19, 2012 | Athletics
Oct. 27, 1956
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
| 40 | Box Score | Play-by-Play | 1956 National Champions |
0 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Oklahoma sure likes being No. 1.
The second-ranked Sooners steamrolled Notre Dame for the worst home defeat in the program's exemplary history to stake a claim for who is the best team in college football this year.
Bud Wilkinson's Split-T firepower battered the Fighting Irish to the score of 40-0 for the Big Red's 35th consecutive victory. Touchdown twins Tommy McDonald and Clendon Thomas punched left and right for a combined 195 yards of rushing and receiving and then whitewashed the Irish offense by corraling three of the Sooners' four interceptions.
Sooner Sports TV | Schedule | Channel Listings |
By the end of the game, it was clear that Oklahoma was making a statement to the pollsters, who had relegated OU from the top spot earlier in the week. If there was any doubt by halftime, it was removed by the end of the game by the public address announcer. When the score was read -- Illinois 20, Michigan State 13 -- Wilkinson threw up his arms and rejoiced on the sidelines.
Upwards of 7,500 Sooner fans were singing the tune of Oklahoma! as a record crowd of 60,128 enjoyed a fine 64-degree day. At least until the kickoff.
Oklahoma scored on its initial drive as McDonald and Thomas marched down the field with the only misfire a pass attempt between the duo caught out of bounds. After a very deliberate huddle, Jimmy Harris found John Bell on a forward pass from the 14-yard line for the first six points.
Golden boy Paul Hornung was rattled at the start when OU's All-American center Jerry Tubbs leveled the quarterback on his first offensive play. The passer's bad luck would turn worse as he finished the day with three interceptions thrown.
The Irish
ran out of steam as the Sooners platooned their second string defense and stopped their drive at the 18.
Notre Dame's second possession stumbled inside their own territory as halfback Dean Studer was unable to gain positive yards on two straight rushes. OU's sophomore end Steve Jennings blocked Studer's punt and senior end Bob Timberlake came from the opposite end to catch it in the air at the three-yard line. Two plays later, Jay O'Neal snuck in behind center to give Oklahoma a 13-0 advantage.
In the second quarter, Thomas rushed from 11 yards out untouched for OU's third touchdown. Another score was wiped out as O'Neal's 49-yard strike to Carl Dodd was waved off due to a motion penalty.
Closing on halftime, McDonald picked Jim Morse's pass out of the air and weaved across the gridiron 55 yards for a 26-0 difference at the intermission.
Harris scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter, leading to a 33-0 blowout. Following a fourth-quarter fumble by McDonald, it appeared Oklahoma might get sloppy enough to allow Notre Dame to light its own scoreboard. Instead, Thomas intercepted Hornung
at the 36-yard line and seized the final touchdown of the afternoon.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
After their one-week hiatus, the drubbing of Notre Dame and loss by Michigan State on Oct. 27 returned the Sooners to the top of the polls.
The Sooners nearly hiccupped the next week by playing closely with Colorado, but ran the table for OU's 11th straight conference title.
After entering the locker room at halftime trailing Colorado 19-6, Wilkinson again lit a fire under his team. And again they responded, erasing the deficit by the end of the third quarter while shutting out the Buffaloes over the final 30 minutes. The 27-19 victory was OU's closest margin of the season.
Oklahoma dominated every facet of the game the following week at Iowa State, scoring five touchdowns in the first half while holding the Cyclones to just four first downs and 35 total yards for the game. The 44-0 victory locked up another Big Seven Conference title for the Sooners.
OU was again replaced at the top of the rankings, however, this time by a Tennessee team which defeated No. 2 Georgia the same week.
That was all the motivation Oklahoma needed, and a 67-14 waxing of Missouri sent a resounding statement about who was the best team in the land. The victory was also special for Wilkinson, who never lost a game to Missouri head coach Don Faurot, his mentor who was retiring at the end of the season.
The Sooners pounded Nebraska 54-6 the next week for their 39th consecutive victory, which tied the all-time record set by the Washington Huskies from 1908-1914.
OU then broke the record with a 53-0 victory over Oklahoma State. Thomas ran for two touchdowns to become the nation's leading scorer with 108 points. With all seniors on the field for the final drive and the ball at the two-yard line, guard Ed Gray told quarterback Jimmy Harris in the huddle that he wanted to score a touchdown. On the next play, Gray and McDonald switched places, and Gray ran it in for his only touchdown as a Sooner.
When the final AP poll was released, there was no surprise at the top, as Oklahoma became the fourth team to win back-to-back championships.
For the second straight year, OU led the nation in rushing offense with 391 yards per game, total offense with 481.7 yards per game, and scoring offense with 46.6 points per game. To illustrate how dominant they were, the Sooners outscored their opponents 466-51 en route to a perfect 10-0 season.
Wilkinson cemented himself as one of the best coaches ever and became the only person in NCAA history to win three national championships as a player (1934-36 with Minnesota) and three as a coach (1950, '55-56 with Oklahoma). He is still the only person in history to accomplish that feat.
