Kentucky vs. Oklahoma: Who Really Owns the 1950 Title?

Oklahoma week just got a history lesson. Kentucky and Oklahoma both claim the 1950 national championship, and the Lexington Herald-Leader laid out both cases.

The short version: Oklahoma finished the regular season 10-0 and No. 1 in both the AP and UPI polls, and back then the polls at the end of the regular season crowned the champion. Then Bear Bryant's Wildcats beat the No. 1 Sooners 13-7 in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 1951, snapping Oklahoma's 31-game winning streak, per the Herald-Leader's original game story. Kentucky finished 11-1 and has claimed the title since the early 2000s on the strength of a retroactive computer ranking, as UK Athletics explained back in 2002.

Our take? You beat the No. 1 team in the last game anybody played. That's a pretty good argument in any era. Sooners fans will say the polls were the polls, and that's fair too. Good thing the 2026 version gets settled on the field.

Kentucky (5-1, 3-1 SEC) plays at Oklahoma on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 7:30 PM ET on SEC Network. Everything you need for the week is on our what's next page.

So who owns 1950, BBN? Go Cats.