College Football: The Mount Rushmore for the 30 best programs of all time
By Brad Weiss
Oklahoma Sooners: Lee Roy Selmon, Keith Jackson, Bud Wilkinson, Billy Sims
Over the last 70 years, no school has been more successful when it comes to winning percentage than the Oklahoma Sooners. An all-time program in the history of college football, Oklahoma has won nearly 900 games, seven national titles, and 50 conference championships to date.
Lee Roy Selmon
Nicknamed “The Gentle Giant,” Lee Roy Selmon was an absolute monster once he stepped on the football field. Racking up 18 sacks during the 1974 NCAA season, Selmon would take home a ton of awards the following year, including the Outland and Lombardi Trophies. A member of the College Football Hall of Fame, Selmon led one of the best defenses in school history.
Keith Jackson
When comes to the tight end position, nobody did it better for the Sooners than Keith Jackson, who was affectionately known as “Boomer Sooner.” Jackson was a two-time All-American for the Sooners, helping them to a national title in 1985 while being named the school’s Offensive Player of the Century. He is a College Football Hall of Famer and ended up being a first-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Bud Wilkinson
The head coach of the Sooners from 1947 through 1963, Bud Wilkinson brought a winning brand of football that was not rivaled in the history of the program. Wilkinson won three national titles, 14 Big East titles and at one point, led his Sooners to a 47-game winning streak. His teams went 12 straight seasons without a conference loss, putting together the kind of runs that will never be matched.
Billy Sims
An incredibly gifted running back, Billy Sims saw his NFL career cut down due to injury, but that was after a standout career for Oklahoma. Sims was a two-time All-American for the Sooners, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1978, during a year that saw him average 7.6 yards per carry for head coach Barry Switzer. During a two-year span, Sims found the end zone 46 times.