Oklahoma (13-0)
* SEPT. 2 d. TEXAS EL PASO, 55-14
The 19th-ranked Sooners turned five of UTEP’s seven turnovers into touchdowns in an easy win.
* SEPT. 9 d. ARKANSAS STATE, 45-7
Josh Heupel threw three touchdown passes, J.T. Thatcher returned a punt 66 yards for a score and Renaldo Works ran for 109 yards for the 20th-ranked Sooners.
* SEPT. 23 d. RICE, 42-14
The 17th-ranked Sooners had 532 yards of offense as Josh Heupel completed 27 of 35 passes for 324 yards and two touchdowns.
* SEPT. 30 d. KANSAS, 34-16
Kansas came into the game giving up a nation-best 84 yards passing per game, but Heupel threw for 346 yards and a touchdown for the 14th-ranked Sooners, who rallied from a 16-10 deficit to win.
* OCT. 7 d. TEXAS, 63-14
The 10th-ranked Sooners took a 42-0 lead in the second quarter and held Longhorns to minus-seven yards.
* OCT. 14 d. KANSAS STATE, 41-31
The eighth-ranked Sooners, with Heupel completing 29 of 37 passes for 374 yards and two touchdowns, took a 17-point halftime lead.
* OCT. 28 d. NEBRASKA, 31-14
The third-ranked Sooners beat the top-ranked Cornhuskers as Heupel passed for 300 yards and a touchdown. Derrick Strait returned an interception 32 yards for a score and the Cornhuskers went scoreless over the final 51:49.
* NOV. 4 d. BAYLOR, 56-7
Top-ranked Sooners easily won as J.T. Thatcher returned Baylor’s first punt for a touchdown, and Curtis Fagan had three touchdown catches as the Sooners rolled to a 42-0 halftime lead.
* NOV. 11 d. TEXAS A&M;, 35-31
Torrance Marshall kept the Sooners’ national championship drive alive when he scored on a 41-yard interception return in the fourth quarter to rally Oklahoma.
* NOV. 18 d. TEXAS TECH, 27-13
The Sooners drove 71 yards in 12 plays and chewed up more than five minutes of the clock to score the clinching touchdown in fourth quarter.
* NOV. 25 d. OKLAHOMA STATE, 12-7
Heupel was only 19 of 36 for 154 yards--his lowest total in 23 games as a Sooner--with two interceptions and Oklahoma’s point total was its lowest in 26 games.
* DEC. 2 d. KANSAS STATE, 27-24
A surprise option pitch on fourth and inches turned into a 22-yard gain by Quentin Griffin and set up Heupel’s 17-yard go-ahead touchdown pass in the Big 12 title game.
JAN. 3 d. FLORIDA STATE, 13-2
A smothering defense shut down Florida State and Heupel generated enough offense to give Oklahoma the win and its first national title in 15 years.
Past Champions
YEAR SCHOOL
2000: Oklahoma
1999: Florida State
1998: Tennessee
1997: Michigan (AP)
Nebraska (USA/ESPN)
1996: Florida
1995: Nebraska
1994: Nebraska
1993: Florida St.
1992: Alabama
1991: Washington (USA/CNN)
Miami (AP)
1990: Colorado (USA/CNN, AP)
Georgia Tech (UPI)
1989: Miami
1988: Notre Dame
1987: Miami
1986: Penn St.
1985: Oklahoma
1984: Brigham Young
1983: Miami
1982: Penn St.
1981: Clemson
1980: Georgia
1979: Alabama
1978: Alabama (AP), USC (UPI)
1977: Notre Dame
1976: Pittsburgh
1975: Oklahoma
1974: USC (UPI), Oklahoma (AP)
1973: Notre Dame (AP), Alabama (UPI)
1972: USC
1971: Nebraska
1970: Nebraska (AP), Texas (UPI)
1969: Texas
1968: Ohio St.
1967: USC
1966: Notre Dame
1965: Michigan St. (UPI), Alabama (AP)
1964: Alabama
1963: Texas
1962: USC
1961: Alabama
1960: Minnesota
1959: Syracuse
1958: LSU
1957: Ohio St. (UPI), Auburn (AP)
1956: Oklahoma
1955: Oklahoma
1954: UCLA (UPI), Ohio St. (AP)
1953: Maryland
1952: Michigan St.
1951: Tennessee
1950: Oklahoma
1949: Notre Dame
1948: Michigan
1947: Notre Dame
1946: Notre Dame
1945: Army
1944: Army
1943: Notre Dame
1942: Ohio St.
1941: Minnesota
1940: Minnesota
1939: Texas A&M;
1938: Texas Christian
1937: Pittsburgh
1936: Minnesota
More to Read
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.