Oklahoma: 2021 Alamo Bowl Champions

SAN ANTONIO — About an hour before the Alamo Bowl kicked off, Bob Stoops came strolling out of the tunnel and the ovation rose.

The cheers quickly evolved into a long, drawn-out “Stoooooooops” chant, and OU’s legendary coach acknowledged the ovation with a wave to all sides of the stadium.

The cheering from the Sooners’ side kept right on going through much of the first half before things tightened up after the break, as OU beat a depleted Ducks squad 47-32 in the Alamodome on Wednesday night.

Here are five takeaways from the Sooners’ win.

Father-son moment

The “Stoooooooops” chant returned in the second quarter, but this time it was for Bob’s son, redshirt junior receiver Drake Stoops.

On third-and-goal from the 6, Caleb Williams found Drake Stoops on a fade route, and he went up and hauled in the touchdown pass over Oregon cornerback Trikweze Bridges.

As Drake came off the field, he was met by his father, who gave him a bear hug and several pats on the helmet.

The touchdown, the first of three by the Sooners in the second quarter, put OU ahead 16-3.

It was Stoops’ second touchdown catch of the season. He also had one against Texas Tech on Oct. 30.

Defense: The good and the bad

The Sooners struggled to contain Oregon’s 5-foot-10 running back Travis Dye much in the first quarter.

Dye’s speed helped him gain 66 yards in the first quarter alone.

In the second quarter, though, OU’s defense bowed up. In the second quarter. Oregon had 102 yards — just one fewer than it had in the first quarter — but only 17 of those came on the ground. The Ducks didn’t have a drive longer than 39 yards in the second.

But Oregon opened things up, especially through the air, in the second half, scoring touchdowns on each of its first four second-half drives. 

Those included touchdown passes of 66, 34 and 30 yards.

Oregon finished with 497 yards, 306 through the air.

Dye finished with 153 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Brooks and done

It’s no surprise the Sooners leaned heavily on running back Kennedy Brooks in the Alamo Bowl.

Brooks has been the Sooners’ offensive workhorse and was again Wednesday, with 14 carries for 142 yards and three touchdowns.

At one point early in the game, Brooks touched the ball on six consecutive plays.

During that stretch, he picked up seven yards on a third-and-6 after Caleb Williams checked down to find his running back open. Then he had a 10-yard run on the next play, followed by a 16-yard touchdown run.

In the second quarter, Brooks had a 40-yard carry to set up Drake Stoops’ touchdown catch three plays later.

Brooks rushed for 127 yards in the first half, setting a first-half bowl record for the Sooners, breaking Rodney Anderson’s 125 yards in the first half against Georgia in the 2017 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl.

Brooks moved into ninth place on OU’s career rushing list, passing Stanley Wilson.

Williams’ TD wiped out 

Mario Williams broke free and the crowd roared.

Just moments after Jeremiah Hall converted a third-and-1 on a direct snap on the first play of the second quarter, Caleb Williams hit Williams for an apparent 51-yard touchdown.

But Ducks’ cornerback Avante Dickerson, trying to bring Williams down, instead ripped Williams’ helmet off his head with a facemask, immediately drawing a flag.

But it also drew a whistle.

The rules call for a stoppage of play once the ball carrier’s helmet comes off, regardless of the other circumstances of the play.

Williams wound up with an 18-yard gain and the Sooners ultimately settled for a 40-yard field goal by Gabe Brkic.

Turk comes up just short

Michael Turk had the record sealed up, it appeared.

But when OU’s fourth-quarter drive stalled, Turk was forced into action once again and his record chances came up just short.

Before the fourth-quarter punt, Turk’s season average was 51.29 yards, which would’ve broken an NCAA record set just recently when San Diego State’s Matt Araiza finished his season with a 51.19-yard average.

Turk needed a 48-yard punt to stay ahead of Araiza for the record, but his final punt went 47, pinning the Ducks at their own 7 but coming up just one yard short — not just on that punt but any this season — of breaking the mark.

Oklahoma: 2020 Cotton Bowl Champions

Three months ago, Oklahoma was 1-2 with its streak of five straight Big 12 championships appearing to be in jeopardy. Fast forward to the 2020 Cotton Bowl, and the now-No. 6 Sooners have won eight straight games after blowing the doors off of No. 7 Florida 55-20. With the victory, there's a good possibility that Oklahoma will end the year as a top-five team, if not a top-four team as it has been playing its best football at the right time.  

From the start, this was Oklahoma's night. The Sooners defense picked off Gators star quarterback Kyle Trask three times in the first quarter, helping them jump out to a 17-0 lead thanks to a pick six. Of course, Florida was without its top four receiving targets -- Kyle Pitts, Kadarius Toney, Trevon Grimes and Jacob Copeland -- and Trask, try as he might, never quite got into a rhythm with his new-look receiving corps, many of whom spent the season on the scout team. In his defense, that was going to be near-impossible. Florida had three practices after Christmas to get ready for the game, and it showed. 

Despite the obstacles, Florida actually responded well to the early deficit and at one point rallied with 13 unanswered points of its own to make it 17-13 in the second quarter. But then Oklahoma answered with two quick touchdowns in the final five minutes of the first half to go up 31-13 and never looked back. 

The second half is when the overall depth started to show. Oklahoma's running game, anchored by Rhamondre Stevenson, put up a whopping 435 yards -- a Cotton Bowl record. Stevenson led the way with 186 yards rushing, while Marcus Majors and Seth McGowan had big moments as well. The result was a school record for points by the Sooners in a bowl game. 

The Gators were never able to catch up. Oklahoma's defense took over in the second half and kept Florida's normal big-play offense from getting loose. After starting 4 of 5 on third downs, the Gators went 0 for their next 8. And while the offense did put up 521 yards, it was at 6.4 yards per play after garbage time. For most of the second half, the Gators hovered around 5.5 yards per play. 

This was Florida's worst bowl loss since the 1996 Fiesta Bowl and the most points allowed by any Florida team since that game. Even though Dan Mullen's team won the SEC East and gave Alabama a run in the SEC Championship Game, it will finish 8-4 and likely outside the top 10. 

Here's what else we learned from this year's Cotton Bowl.

1. Oklahoma would make a fun eight-team playoff case

The College Football Playoff Selection Committee had a harder job than normal this year justifying two of the four teams that made the field. The amount of discontent with the current format indicates that, at some point, the field is going to expand -- likely to eight teams. One thing that allows for is the hot-hand team to make an end-of-season run. Oklahoma would be that team this year. 

After starting 1-2, a lot of people counted out the Sooners. And to be fair, that's easy to do in this format. Picking the four best teams leaves some but not a lot of room for error. But after winning seven straight games coming into the Cotton Bowl, Oklahoma was playing like a top-five team even if it wasn't ranked there. 

How would Oklahoma perform against, for example, No. 3 Ohio State in an eight-team playoff? It's a fun thought exercise. It's not one we'll get to see play out any time soon, but if/when it does happen, it could give credence that teams peaking at the right time are every bit as capable of winning a national championship as the top-ranked team. 

2. Florida was previewing its future

One of the most exhausting #embracedebate takes from this game will be Florida's position of playing the Cotton Bowl so shorthanded. As mentioned above, a lot of key players on both sides of the ball either opted out or weren't able to play due to COVID-19. That's the story of college football in 2020. Rarely have we seen teams at their full strength for good stretches of time. In fact, Mullen said the Gators were so short-handed at certain positions they could have simply not played the game but chose to forge on, using numerous players who were on the scout team this season.

"That wasn't the 2020 football team you saw. There were about 25 guys missing from the 2020 football team out there tonight,

 he said after the Cotton Bowl. "That was kind of a kick-start for us [to 2021]." 

Mullen did a good job of giving other players opportunities out of necessity. QB Emory Jones got a lot more playing time than he has in any game this season and showed off some nice moments running and throwing. In fact, finished tied for first on the team with 60 yards on 10 rushing attempts and a touchdown while throwing for 86 yards. And with Pitts, Grimes, Toney and Copeland out, Florida had a new-look wide receiver group. In all, 12 different players caught at least a pass for 271 total yards. 

The results were a mixed bag -- there were a lot of drops -- but Mullen knew what he was up against and chose to lean into preparing guys for next year. That's not to excuse the Gators' performance or to say that they didn't care about being there or to diminish what Oklahoma did. That's just the reality of the situation. 

3. Oklahoma's defense lived up to the hype

For most of the second half of the season, there's been chatter about how improved Oklahoma's defense has been under coordinator Alex Grinch. That showed up in this game. Yes, Florida was depleted of its best players. Yes, the Gators still racked up more than 500 yards of offense by the time the final whistle blew. But you have to look deeper. The Sooners started hot with three takeaways and then were lights out in the second half. Florida was unable to convert a first down after getting four of its first five. Four of its six second-half drives went for 22 yards or fewer. 

Oklahoma's defensive front played a huge role in its success. Defensive end Ronnie Perkins and linebackers David Ugwoegbu and Nik Bonitto were everywhere in the trenches, stopping plays before they started. That disruption was key in making Florida's normally potent offense far less efficient. 

This was never a shut down defense and the season-long numbers were inflated a bit because of some poor Big 12 offenses, but this group was playing well together down the stretch. That strong defense effort helped the Sooners pull away in the second half. 

Kyler Murray: 2018 Heisman Trophy Winner

Kyler Murray of the University of Oklahoma was selected on Saturday (Dec. 8) as the 84th winner of the Heisman Memorial Trophy, an award presented annually by the Heisman Trophy Trust to the most outstanding player in college football.

The junior quarterback was announced as the 2018 winner of the prestigious honor at the end of ESPN’s live broadcast of the Heisman ceremony from Manhattan’s PlayStation Theater.

“This is crazy. This is an honor,” said Murray from the podium after being announced as the winner. “It’s something I’ll never forget. Something I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.”

Murray, who followed Baker Mayfield as quarterback at Oklahoma, is the first player to win the Heisman the year after taking over for another Heisman winner. His victory also marks just the fourth time a school has won consecutive Heismans.

He’s the seventh Sooner to win the Heisman, joining Billy Vessels (’52), Steve Owens (’69), Billy Sims (’78), Jason White (’03), Sam Bradford (’08) and Mayfield (’17).  That total ties Notre Dame and Ohio State for most Heisman wins.

The 5-10, 195-pounder from Allen, Texas, threw for 4,054 yards and 40 touchdowns, with another 892 yards and 11 scores on the ground while leading the Sooners to a 12-1 record, the Big 12 title and a berth in the College Football Playoff. His passer rating of 205.72 is the best in Heisman history, eclipsing the mark of 203.76 set by Mayfield in 2017.

Ballots were emailed to 870 media personnel across the nation plus 58 Heisman winners and one fan ballot, for a total of 929 electors. The ballots were received and tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP. Murray polled 2,167 points to capture the award over Tua Tagovailoa of Alabama (1,871 points), and Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins (783 points). The point total is reached by a system of three points for a first place vote, two for a second and one for a third.

Murray will be officially inducted into the Heisman family at the 84th annual Heisman Memorial Trophy Dinner Gala on Sunday evening, December 9, 2017, at the Marriott Marquis in New York.

Full stats for Kyler Murray

2018 Heisman Voting Results

Place Name School Pos Class 1st 2nd 3rd Total Pts
1. Kyler Murray Oklahoma QB JR 517 278 60 2,167
2. Tua Tagovailoa Alabama QB SO 299 431 112 1,871
3. Dwayne Haskins Ohio State QB JR 46 111 423 783
4. Will Grier West Virginia QB SR 4 17 80 126
5. Gardner Minshew Washington St. QB SR 6 15 74 122
6. Mckenzie Milton UCF QB JR 4 4 19 39
7. Travis Etienne Clemson RB SO 0 6 17 29
8. Quinnen William Alabama NT SO 1 4 16 27
9. Jonathan Taylor Wisconson RB SO 1 2 19 26
10. Darrell Henderson Memphis RB JR 0 3 15 21

Baker Mayfield: 2017 Heisman Trophy Winner

Baker Mayfield of the University of Oklahoma was selected on Saturday (Dec. 9) as the 83rd winner of the Heisman Memorial Trophy, an award presented annually by the Heisman Trophy Trust to the most outstanding player in college football.  

The senior quarterback was announced as the 2017 winner of the prestigious honor at the end of ESPN's live broadcast of the Heisman ceremony from Manhattan's PlayStation Theater.  

"It's such an honor," said Mayfield upon winning the award. "It's unbelievable." 

Mayfield is the sixth Sooner Heisman winner, joining Billy Vessels ('52), Steve Owens ('69), Billy Sims('78), Jason White ('03) and Sam Bradford ('08), putting Oklahoma in a tie with USC for the second-most Heismans (Notre Dame and Ohio State each have seven). He's also the first Heisman Trophy winner to start his career as a "walk-on" (non-scholarship) player since athletic scholarships were inaugurated in the 1950s and the first senior to win since Troy Smith in 2006. 

Further adding to his accomplishment, Mayfield--who finished fourth in the Heisman vote in 2015 and third in 2016--is the fifth player to log three top 4 Heisman finishes in his career, joining Heisman legends Glenn Davis and Doc Blanchard of Army, Doak Walker of SMU and Herschel Walker of Georgia. 

The 6-1, 222-pounder from Austin, Texas, threw for 4,340 yards and 41 touchdowns, with another 310 yards and five scores on the ground while leading the Sooners to a 12-1 record, the Big 12 title and a berth in the College Football Playoff. His passer rating of 203.76 is the best in Heisman history, shattering the mark of 192.31 set by Robert Griffin III in 2011. 

Ballots were emailed to 870 media personnel across the nation plus 58 Heisman winners and one fan ballot, for a total of 929 electors. The ballots were received and tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP. Mayfield polled 2,398 points to capture the award over Bryce Love of Stanford (1,300 points), and 2016 Heisman winner Lamar Jackson of Louisville (793 points). The point total is reached by a system of three points for a first place vote, two for a second and one for a third. 

Mayfield will be officially inducted into the Heisman family at the 83rd annual Heisman Memorial Trophy Dinner Gala on Sunday evening, December 10, 2017, at the Marriott Marquis in New York. 

2017 Heisman Voting Results 
 

Place	Name	School	Pos	Class	1st	2nd	3rd	Total Pts
1.	Baker Mayfield	Oklahoma	QB	SR	732	87	28	2,350
2.	Bryce Love	Stanford	RB	JR	75	421	233	1,300
3.	Lamar Jackson	Louisville	QB	JR	47	197	258	793
4.	Saquon Barkley	Penn State	RB	JR	15	73	113	304
5.	Rashaad Penny	San Diego St.	RB	SR	7	37	80	175
6.	Jonathan Taylor	Wisconsin	RB	FR	2	7	38	58
7.	Mason Rudolph	Oklahoma St.	QB	SR	2	14	22	56
8.	McKenzie Milton	UCF	QB	SO	4	11	20	54
9.	Kerryon Johnson	Auburn	RB	JR	0	14	17	45
10.	Roquan Smith	Georgia	LB	JR	3	11	7	38

For more details on the 2017 Heisman Trophy vote, visit HeismanCentral.com

Oklahoma: 2017 Sugar Bowl Champions

NEW ORLEANS -- Baker Mayfield passed for 296 yards and two touchdowns, including one scoring pass to fellow Heisman Trophy finalist Dede Westbrook, and seventh-ranked Oklahoma ended its season on a 10-game winning streak, defeating No. 17 Auburn 35-19 in the Sugar Bowl on Monday night.

Sooners running back Joe Mixon heard repeated boos from Auburn fans who also shouted derisive comments regarding a recently publicized video of Mixon punching a woman in the face in 2014. Mixon, who has apologized for the assault, also drew cheers from crimson-clad Oklahoma fans with his play. His two short touchdown runs were among the highlights of a performance in which he gained 180 yards from scrimmage -- 91 rushing on 19 carries and 89 receiving on five catches.

Auburn (8-5), which wound up in the Sugar Bowl despite dropping its last two Southeastern Conference games to Georgia and Alabama, entered the game hopeful that it would be buoyed by the return of quarterback Sean White, who'd missed the Tigers' final two games with a throwing shoulder injury. White led Auburn to a touchdown on its first series -- Chandler Cox's 3-yard run on fourth down -- but the quarterback left the game for good in the first half with a right arm injury.

With John Franklin and Jeremy Johnson taking the remainder of the snaps, the Tigers' offense was less consistent, increasing pressure on Auburn's 20th-ranked defense to keep the Sooners' fast-paced, high-powered attack in check.

That was bound to be a struggle.

Mixon broke loose for a 35-yard run in the third quarter that set up his second TD, which he scored from 4 yards out by diving for the pylon. Early in the fourth quarter, Samaje Perine took a direct snap for a 2-yard TD that made it 35-13.

With the Sooners (11-2) pulling away for their second Sugar Bowl triumph in four years, Auburn fans started filing out.

RUSHING RECORD

With back-to-back fourth-quarter runs of 16 and 15 yards, Perine reached the 83-yard mark, giving him the Oklahoma record for career yards rushing with 4,119. He added 3 more yards afterward to reach 4,122. The previous record of 4,118 was set by Billy Sims back in 1979. When Perine set the mark, Mixon quickly trotted toward him for a congratulatory embrace on the field.

THE TAKEAWAY

Auburn: The Tigers had the talent to beat some good teams, but a lack of depth hurt them against elite competition. Oklahoma, winner of the Big 12, was the third conference champ Auburn faced this season, along with Clemson of the ACC and Alabama of the SEC. The Tigers lost all three.


Oklahoma: The Sooners continued to make a case that they've been playing well enough at the end of the season to be worthy of a College Football Playoff bid, which only makes their early season stumbles, including a lopsided loss to Ohio State, seem all the more costly.

UP NEXT

Auburn: The Tigers head into next season with some questions at quarterback. White hoped to solidify his position as starter, but his injury could affect his spring. Meanwhile, Jarrett Stidham, a transfer from Baylor, eagerly awaits his chance to compete for first-team snaps.

Oklahoma: Mayfield is coming back after throwing for 3,965 yards this season, but the Sooners will be looking for a new starter at receiver as Westbrook, a senior, departs. Oklahoma also could lose both Mixon, a red-shirt sophomore, and Perine, a junior, to the NFL draft.

Oklahoma: 2014 Sugar Bowl Champions

There were some that had the Oklahoma Sooners pegged in the preseason as a potential national championship contender. Things didn’t work out that way as they finished the year at 10-2, but they certainly looked the part on Thursday night in their shocking win over the third-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, 45-31.

Freshman quarterback Trevor Knight played the absolute game of his life against one of the best teams in the country in this one, tossing for 348 yards and four touchdowns. After an up-and-down season for the youngster after being named the starter over Blake Bell back in August, he gave Sooners fans exactly what they’ve been looking for all year.

A lot of credit as well has to go to the Oklahoma defense, who was astounding throughout the evening, constantly getting pressure on Alabama’s senior QB–and Heisman finalist–AJ McCarron. The worst damage came with under a minute to go when McCarron was sacked as he was trying to lead a comeback with his team down seven, a sack which caused a fumble that was scooped up by Oklahoma’s Geneo Grissom and run in for a touchdown and put the dagger in the Tide.

Yes, considering who they defeated on this night, the Oklahoma Sooners did look like one of the elite in the nation, as we all expected they would prior to the beginning of the season.

Also, now, maybe a little bit of the “Big Game Bobby” heat will be taken off of Sooner’s head coach Bob Stoops, because he deserves it after this.

Woe-klahoma! Chokelahoma! The Great Depression returns to Okie-land again, and the Cowboys are smiling wide.

Hello, Bad News Bears.

Oh, what a drag for Oklahoma’s football team. The NCAA, that bunch of scumbags who make Congress look like forensic rejects prostrating toward Phoenix Wright, decided to stiff the Sooners even more. After some self-imposed penalties thanks to former QB Rhett Bomar and OL J.D. Quinn, the NCAA imposed:

*clears throat*

• All eight wins in the 2005 season vacated
• Two less scholarships for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons
• One less coach that can recruit on campus

And that is just a few of what the NCAA decided to do. Naturally, Oklahoma president David Boren said, “Okay, if you want to lay the heavy artillery on one of the Big XII powerhouses, it’s on!” In other words…Boren decided to appeal. Baron de Montesquieu, you should be smiling in heaven, for once again, checks and balances are ruling American bureaucracy just as much as it is giving both sides headaches in a lose-lose situation the media papers love to feast on. It seems to actually give them something to write about, although the articles are nothing more than clichéd, unoriginal crap in attempt to get a paycheck boost.

Sigh. Such are American sportswriters. Disgrace to the journalism concept for what its worth. They're as bad as they come, though the British do it better.

Rammstein send help!