University of Oklahoma Athletics

47-Game Winning Streak

OU Football History & Tradition | Updated Sept. 18, 2024

Oklahoma holds the NCAA record for most consecutive wins by a major college program at 47-straight. The streak spanned five seasons from 1953-57. OU lost to Notre Dame, 28-21, in the 1953 season opener and tied Pittsburgh, 7-7, the next week. The streak began with a 19-14 win against archrival Texas in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on Oct. 10, 1953.

Oklahoma rolled through the rest of the 1953 season and capped a 9-1-1 campaign with a 7-0 shutout of Maryland in the Orange Bowl in Miami. The Sooners went 10-0 in 1954 and 11-0 in 1955. The 30th-straight win came against Maryland, again in the Orange Bowl, on January 1, 1956, and the Sooners claimed their second National Championship. a

OU won its 35th consecutive game with a 40-0 rout of Notre Dame in South Bend on Oct. 27, 1956. Oklahoma finished the season a perfect 10-0 with the streak at 40 games. The Sooners were again voted National Champions.

On Nov. 9, 1957, in Columbia, Mo., Oklahoma won its 47th-consecutive game with a 39-14 victory against the Missouri Tigers. The streak came to an end on Nov. 16, 1957, when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish claimed a 7-0 victory at Owen Field in Norman. The Sooners won the remainder of their games in 1957 and finished with a 48-21 victory against Duke in the Orange Bowl to post a 10-1 record.

NCAA Modern Era Win Streaks
School Wins Seasons Coach(es)
1. Oklahoma 47 1953-1957 Bud Wilkinson
2. Toledo 35 1969-1971 Frank Lauterbur, John A. Murphy
3. Miami (Fla.) 34 2000-2003 Butch Davis, Larry Coker
4. Oklahoma 31 1948-1950 Bud Wilkinson
5. Texas 30 1968-1970 Darrell Royal
6. Georgia 29 2021-2023 Kirby Smart
    Clemson 29 2018-2019 Dabo Swinney
    Florida State 29 2012-2014 Jimbo Fisher
    Miami (Fla.) 29 1990-1993 Dennis Erickson
10. Oklahoma 28 1973-1975 Barry Switzer
      Alabama 28 1978-1980 Paul "Bear" Bryant
     Michigan State 28 1950-1953 Clarence Munn

The Streak

Oklahoma's 47-game winning streak is considered one of the greatest feats in major college football history. Amazingly, OU has three of the top nine winning streaks in NCAA history during the modern era of college football. The Sooners won 31-straight under Coach Wilkinson from 1948-1950 and 28-straight under Barry Switzer from 1973-1975.

1953 Season
Win # Date Score Location
1 Oct. 10 Oklahoma 19, Texas 14 Dallas, Texas
2 Oct. 17 Oklahoma 45, Kansas 0 Norman
3 Oct. 24 Oklahoma 27, Colorado 20 Norman
4 Oct. 31 Oklahoma 34, Kansas State 0 Norman
5 Nov. 7 Oklahoma 14, Missouri 0 Columbia, Mo.
6 Nov. 14 Oklahoma 47, Iowa State 0 Norman
7 Nov. 21 Oklahoma 30, Nebraska 7 Lincoln, Neb.
8 Nov. 28 Oklahoma 42, Oklahoma State 7 Norman
9 Jan. 1 Oklahoma 7, Maryland 0 Orange Bowl
1954 Season
Win # Date Score Location
10 Sept. 18 Oklahoma 27, California 13 Berkeley, Calif.
11 Sept. 25 Oklahoma 21, TCU 16 Norman
12 Oct. 9 Oklahoma 14, Texas 7 Dallas, Texas
13 Oct. 16 Oklahoma 65, Kansas 0 Lawrence, Kan.
14 Oct. 23 Oklahoma 21, Kansas State 0 Norman
15 Oct. 30 Oklahoma 13, Colorado 6 Boulder, Colo.
16 Nov. 6 Oklahoma 40, Iowa State 0 Ames, Iowa
17 Nov. 13 Oklahoma 34, Missouri 13 Norman
18 Nov. 20 Oklahoma 55, Nebraska 7 Norman
19 Nov. 27 Oklahoma 14, Oklahoma State 0 Stillwater, Okla.
1955 Season
Win # Date Score Location
20 Sept. 24 Oklahoma 13, North Carolina 6 Chapel Hill, N.C.
21 Oct. 1 Oklahoma 26, Pittsburgh 14 Norman
22 Oct. 8 Oklahoma 20, Texas 0 Dallas, Texas
23 Oct. 15 Oklahoma 44, Kansas 6 Norman
24 Oct. 22 Oklahoma 56, Colorado 21 Norman
25 Oct. 29 Oklahoma 40, Kansas State 7 Manhattan, Kan.
26 Nov. 5 Oklahoma 20, Missouri 0 Columbia, Mo.
27 Nov. 12 Oklahoma 52, Iowa State 0 Ames, Iowa
28 Nov. 19 Oklahoma 41, Nebraska 0 Lincoln, Neb.
29 Nov. 26 Oklahoma 53, Oklahoma State 0 Norman
30 Jan. 2 Oklahoma 20, Maryland 6 Orange Bowl
1956 Season
Win # Date Score Location
31 Sept. 29 Oklahoma 36, North Carolina 0 Norman
32 Oct. 6 Oklahoma 66, Kansas State 0 Norman
33 Oct. 13 Oklahoma 45, Texas 0 Dallas, Texas
34 Oct. 20 Oklahoma 34, Kansas 12 Lawrence, Kan.
35 Oct. 27 Oklahoma 40, Notre Dame 0 South Bend, Ind.
36 Nov. 3 Oklahoma 27, Colorado 19 Boulder, Colo.
37 Nov. 10 Oklahoma 44, Iowa State 0 Ames, Iowa
38 Nov. 17 Oklahoma 67, Missouri 14 Norman
39 Nov. 24 Oklahoma 54, Nebraska 6 Norman
40 Dec. 1 Oklahoma 53, Oklahoma State 0 Stillwater, Okla.
1957 Season
Win # Date Score Location
41 Sept. 21 Oklahoma 26, Pittsburgh 0 Pittsburgh, Pa.
42 Oct. 5 Oklahoma 40, Iowa State 14 Norman
43 Oct. 12 Oklahoma 21, Texas 7 Dallas, Texas
44 Oct. 19 Oklahoma 47, Kansas 0 Norman
45 Oct. 26 Oklahoma 14, Colorado 13 Norman
46 Nov. 2 Oklahoma 13, Kansas State 0 Manhattan, Kan.
47 Nov. 9 Oklahoma 39, Missouri 14 Columbia, Mo.