Many believe that the 1956 OU football team may have been the greatest ever assembled.

Led by All-Americans Tommy McDonald and Jerry Tubbs, the Sooners ripped through their opponents on their way to an undefeated season and undisputed repeat as the national champion.

In the midst of an unprecedented 47-game win streak, OU shutout six of its opponents, in 1956 including Texas and Notre Dame.

"It wasn't hard to get motivated that year," McDonald said. "Everyone was trying to knock us off the top."

McDonald, a two-time All-American and third place finisher in the Heisman Trophy voting in '56, was just one of the many stars on the Sooner squad.

"I don't think you could call us superstars," McDonald said. "We just loved to play football and we loved to win."

The Sooners opened up that successful season at home against the North Carolina Tar Heels.

In front of a sellout crowd at Memorial Stadium, OU rolled to a 36-0 win.

The Big Red machine then tore through the Kansas State Wildcats 66-0, behind halfback Clendon Thomas' three touchdown runs.

"Our offense got all the publicity for breaking the records and such, but our defense was incredible," McDonald said.

"I used to love to play defense."

OU traveled to the Cotton Bowl next for the annual Red River War with the Texas Longhorns.

The 'Horns proved to be no match, however, as the Sooners rolled to a 45-0 spanking behind McDonald's three touchdowns on the ground.

OU faced Kansas the following week. Despite winning the ball game 34-12, many described it as an "off game" for the Big Red.

"I can remember when they scored," McDonald said. "It was the first time anyone had scored on us, and you would have thought that they won the national championship.

"The crowd stood up and cheered for five minutes straight."

The following week, Head Coach Bud Wilkinson led the troops into South Bend, Ind., for one of the most impressive showings in Sooner football history.

Facing Notre Dame and eventual Heisman Trophy winner Paul Hornung, the Sooners sent a message to the rest of the nation, smothering the Fighting Irish 40-0.

Next came Colorado and the Sooners may have been suffering from an emotional letdown.

Trailing 19-6 at halftime, OU's 35-game winning streak was in serious jeopardy.

"Colorado always gave us a tough time for some reason." McDonald said.

"Coach Wilkinson's talk at halftime really got us pumped up though, that's what I remember most about that game.

"I felt like they didn't even have to open the door to let us back out on the field. We would just run through the wall."

Whatever Wilkinson said, it worked.

The Sooners came out and rattled off 21 unanswered points and won the game 27-19.

The next two weeks proved to be cake walks for OU as they shut out the Cyclones of Iowa State, 44-0, and beat Missouri 67-14.

McDonald and Clendon Thomas scored two touchdowns apiece, in each game, for the Sooners.

The victory over the Tigers extended their winning streak to 38 games.

The historic OU-Nebraska game was next on the schedule for the Sooners, but this game proved to be anything but memorable.

Just as most of the other games that season, OU blew this one wide open, posting a 54-6 triumph over the Cornhuskers.

"We blew so many people out that year," McDonald said. "In every game, except Colorado, the starters were out by halftime."

The final game of the season came against intrastate rival Oklahoma A&M.

Finishing the season in fitting fashion, the Big Red machine rolled through the Aggies 53-0.

Clendon Thomas scored twice, bringing his season total to a team-high 18 touchdowns.

Due to an unusual NCAA rule, the Sooners were not allowed to partake in two consecutive Orange Bowls.

It didn't, however, keep the press from perching OU atop the polls for the second straight year.

Besides winning 40 straight games, OU set a new record of having scored in 116 consecutive games, and raised its total rushing average to 391 yards per game.

They had two players up for the Heisman Trophy, in McDonald and Tubbs.

McDonald eventually was named the Maxwell trophy winner, the Sporting News Player of the Year and the Big Eight's MVP.

Tubbs finished fourth in the Heisman voting, just one spot behind McDonald.

However, one question still remains.

Are the 1956 Sooners the greatest college football team ever?

"A lot of people think the '71 Cornhuskers are the greatest team ever," he said. "Well I guarantee you that if we got them on the football field, we would hang their ass." Saturday, September 23, 1995
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