Rank and file
Calculating how Oklahoma football coaches Bob Stoops, Barry Switzer and Bud Wilkinson performed against ranked opponents is not an exact science. But as was pointed out in Monday’s column, it’s a solid gauge of determining how they did in big games.
The Associated Press poll has varied throughout time, from when they were released to how many teams were ranked.
- From 1936 through 1949, there was no AP preseason poll and the first poll was not taken until early October.
- Polls were not taken after bowl games until 1968.
- In 1989, the AP Top 20 was expanded to the Top 25.
Obviously, the overall records against ranked opponents for Stoops (33-15; .688), Switzer (43-21-4; .662) and Wilkinson (28-18-1; .606) remain the same.
The AP poll consisted of 20 teams throughout the college coaching careers of Switzer and Wilkinson.
Against teams ranked No. 21-25, Stoops has a record of 6-2 (.750).
As for Wilkinson, there was no preseason poll for his first three seasons at OU, but during that time none of his early season opponents likely would have been ranked.
There were advantages and disadvantages for each coach.
- Switzer had to face an elite Nebraska team every season, and still went 12-5 against Tom Osborne and the Cornhuskers.
- Stoops has had to play Texas Tech and Texas A&M on seven occasions when they have been ranked. Kansas State, a program Stoops helped build as an assistant, has been ranked four times in six head-to-head meetings. The Wildcats were never ranked in 33 meetings against Switzer and Wilkinson.
- Wilkinson went 1-5 against Notre Dame, but the Fighting Irish were ranked only twice.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
I remember in the ’50’s that the polls, and I think it was the AP and UPI, only rated the top ten teams. If that is true, Wilkinson had to play much tougher ranked teams.