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Scoreless games on offense almost an oxymoron in Oklahoma football history

Related Topics: Bud Wilkinson

Shutouts, both for and against, were much more prevalent in the first half-century of Oklahoma football than in the last 75 years.

In the early years, it was not unusual to win 50-0 one week and play to a scoreless tie the following week. In fact, the Sooners were shut out in their first varsity game, 34-0 by an Oklahoma City town team in 1895. From that time until Bud Wilkinson became head coach in 1947, Oklahoma shut out its opponents twice as many times as the Sooners were held scoreless (153-70).

That’s 223 games in 52 seasons (1895-1946) in which one or both teams in an Oklahoma football game were held scoreless.