| Coachrank: | 3 |
| Aprank: | 5 |
| Year: | 2016 |
| Team: | Oklahoma Sooners |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Big 12 Conference |
| Short Conf: | Big 12 |
| Record: | 11–2 |
| Conf Record: | 9–0 |
| Hc Year: | 18th |
| Oc Year: | 2nd |
| Dc Year: | 10th |
| Conf Champ: | Big 12 champion Sugar Bowl champion |
The 2016 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season, the 122nd season of Sooner football. The team was led by head coach Bob Stoops, offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley, and defensive coordinator Mike Stoops, as well as such players as Mark Andrews, Orlando Brown, Jordan Evans, Baker Mayfield, Joe Mixon, Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, Samaje Perine, and Dede Westbrook.
OU was ranked third in the 2016 preseason AP and Coaches' polls. The Sooners lost two of its first three games to non-conference foes (#15 Houston and #3 Ohio State), and neither game was especially close. By the end of September, OU had dropped completely out of the top 25 of both polls. At that time in late September, four of its Big 12 rivals were ranked above them.
Conference play began on October 1 with a 52–46 win at AP #21 TCU and ended with a 38–20 home win against #11 Oklahoma State. Oklahoma finished conference play with a 9–0 record, winning their eleventh Big 12 Championship and second consecutive championship in a row. The conference championship was Stoops’ 10th championship in his 18 years as OU head coach.
Despite the 9 consecutive wins and the conference championship, OU missed out on a return to the 4-team national championship playoff.
Oklahoma did play in the 2017 Sugar Bowl against the Auburn Tigers, winning handily, 35–19. Oklahoma finished the season ranked 5th in the AP poll and 3rd in the Coaches poll, with an 11–2 record.
On June 7, 2017, Stoops announced his retirement after 18 seasons as head coach.[1] Offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley was promoted to head coach.
| Head coach | Iowa (1983) | 1999 | ||
| Defensive Coordinator / Outside Linebackers / Associate head coach | Iowa (1986) | 1999/2012 | ||
| Inside Wide Receivers Coach / assistant head coach / Director of Recruiting | Oklahoma (1994) | 1999 | ||
| Special Team Coordinator / running backs coach / fullbacks coach | Texas (1996) | 2013 | ||
| Offensive Coordinator / quarterbacks coach | Texas Tech (2006) | 2015 | ||
| Inside Linebackers Coach | Otterbein (1976) | 2012 | ||
| Assistant offensive coordinator/offensive line coach | Iowa Wesleyan (1995) | 2013 | ||
| Assistant defensive coordinator/defensive backs coach | Iowa (1993) | 2015 | ||
| Dennis Simmons | Outside Wide Receivers Coach | BYU (1997) | 2015 | |
| Calvin Thibodeaux | Defensive line coach | Oklahoma (2006) | 2016 | |
| Director of Operations | Missouri (1953) | 1979 | ||
| Director of Sports Enhancement | Nebraska (1986) | 1999 | ||
| Matt McMillen | Assistant A.D. Football Operations | Kansas State (1985) | 1999 | |
| Graduate assistant | Oklahoma (2013) | 2016 |
Oklahoma announced their 2016 football schedule on November 24, 2015. The 2016 schedule consists of 6 home games, 4 away games and 2 neutral-site games in the regular season. The Sooners will host two non-conference games against Louisiana–Monroe and Ohio State and travel to Houston, Texas to play Houston in NRG Stadium, a non-conference game at a neutral site. Oklahoma will host Kansas State, Kansas, Baylor and Oklahoma State, and travel to TCU, Texas Tech, Iowa State and West Virginia in regular conference play. Oklahoma will play the Texas Longhorns in Dallas, Texas at the Cotton Bowl stadium on October 8 for the Red River Showdown, the 111th game played of the series.[2]
See also: 2016 Houston Cougars football team.
See also: 2016 Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks football team.
See also: 2016 Ohio State Buckeyes football team. Kickoff was delayed from the original start time of 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. due to lightning and thunderstorms in the vicinity of the University of Oklahoma.
See also: 2016 TCU Horned Frogs football team.
See also: 2016 Texas Longhorns football team.
See also: 2016 Kansas State Wildcats football team.
See main article: 2016 Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech football game.
See also: 2016 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team.
See also: 2016 Kansas Jayhawks football team.
See also: 2016 Baylor Bears football team.
See also: 2016 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team.
See main article: 2017 Sugar Bowl.
See also: 2016 Auburn Tigers football team.
The 2017 NFL draft was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia on April 27–29, 2017. The following Oklahoma players were either selected or signed as free agents following the draft.
| Player | Position | Round | Overall Pick | NFL team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Mixon | RB | 2nd | 48 | Cincinnati Bengals | |
| Dede Westbrook | WR | 4th | 110 | Jacksonville Jaguars | |
| Samaje Perine | RB | 4th | 114 | Washington Redskins | |
| Jordan Evans | LB | 6th | 193 | Cincinnati Bengals | |
| Ahmad Thomas | S | Undrafted | Oakland Raiders | ||
| Jordan Wade | DT | Undrafted | Oakland Raiders | ||
| Charles Walker | DT | Undrafted | New Orleans Saints | ||
| Geno Lewis | WR | Undrafted | Cincinnati Bengals |