Led by Jim Tatum in his first and only season as head coach, the Sooners compiled an overall record of 8–3 with a mark of 4–1 in conference play, sharing the Big 6 title with Kansas.
[6][7] Tatum launched an intensive recruiting drive, largely focused at veterans returning from the Second World War.
The recruiting effort targeted returning servicemen who had been athletes at other colleges before the war, rival universities, and graduating high school seniors.
[21] Tatum's recruiting paid dividends, and nine of his players would earn All-American honors at Oklahoma: Plato Andros, Buddy Burris, Jack Mitchell, Jim Owens, John Rapacz, Darrell Royal, George Thomas, Wade Walker, and Stan West.
[23] In 1945, head coach Dewey Luster missed part of the season due to illness,[24] and had struggled to recruit quality players during the Second World War when many University of Oklahoma athletes were serving overseas.
[22] Athletic director Jap Haskell recommended Jim Tatum to University of Oklahoma president George Cross, and other applicants considered by the Board of Regents included Bear Bryant and Harold Drew.
[27] Tatum and Wilkinson installed the split-T, the innovative new offensive system they had learned under Don Faurot during the war.
In the third quarter, Army blocked an Oklahoma punt on the Sooners' 15-yard line and scored four plays later.
On fourth down at the Cadets' nine-yard line, Dave Wallace, about to be sacked, threw a lateral, but the ball was deflected, and Arnold Tucker returned it 85 yards for Army's final touchdown.
The Cadets won, 21–7,[27] and went on to finish the season ranked number-two, with no losses and one tie in a legendary game against first-ranked Notre Dame.
In the first quarter against Texas A&M, the Sooners drove 84-yards to the Aggies' one-yard line, including a 42-yard pass from Wallace to end Warren Giese, but the A&M defense held.
The Aggies then attempted to punt, but Norman McNabb blocked the kick and it was recovered on the A&M six-yard line.
The Sooners blocked an Aggie field goal attempted in the fourth quarter, and then mounted a drive to the A&M seven-yard line.
After being stalled by the Aggie defense and incurring a delay of game penalty, Wallace made good a short field goal attempt for the go-ahead score, 10–7.
In the fourth quarter, Joe Golding intercepted a pass and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown that tied the school record set the previous year.
TCU blocked a fourth quarter punt from the Oklahoma 25-yard line, and Doug Brightwell ran it in for the game's final score.
In the final 1:15, the Jayhawks' kicker made good his career first field goal attempt, and Kansas won, 16–13.
The Sooners then executed a halfback option, with Mitchell lateraling to Wallace who passed to Giese for a touchdown.
[31] Oklahoma, with a final ranking of number-14, accepted an invitation to the second annual Gator Bowl to play 18th-ranked North Carolina State on January 1, 1947.
[33] Individual honors were bestowed upon several Oklahoma players, and at the time, the 1946 team included the most all-conference honorees to date.
First-team All-American honors were granted to guards Plato Andros and Buddy Burris, and center John Rapacz.
The All-Big Six first team included those three as well as end Warren Giese, back Joe Golding, and tackles Homer Paine and Wade Walker.