ATLANTA – No team in the College Football Playoff has claimed more national titles than Oklahoma.
History, though, doesn’t carry much weight in this year’s field. The Sooners are the obvious outsiders.
No. 1 LSU, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Clemson have established themselves as the nation’s best teams over the course of the long season. All three have 13-0 records. All three have sampled the top spot in either the CFP or The Associated Press rankings.
Then there’s fourth-ranked Oklahoma (12-1), which had to overcome a shocking loss to Kansas State and get a lot of help just to nab the last spot in the four-team field.
Oklahoma wide receiver Nick Basquine (83) celebrates a touchdown reception over Baylor safety JT Woods (22) during the second half of an NCAA college football game for the Big 12 Conference championship, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019, in Arlington, Texas. Oklahoma won 30-23 in overtime. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)The Sooners are whopping 13 1/2-point underdogs heading into Saturday’s 4 p.m. Peach Bowl semifinal against LSU that will be televised by ESPN. That’s one of the widest betting lines in the history of the playoff that debuted in 2014.
And, yes, it stings a bit.
“It’s crazy, man, how they’re dogging and looking over us like this,” Oklahoma cornerback Parnell Motley said Thursday. “It is so disrespectful, like we’re not a national contender team.”
That’s certainly not the case. Oklahoma is the school of Bud Wilkinson and Barry Switzer, of Billy Sims and the Selmons, of Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray – one of the most storied programs in college football history, with a record-tying seven Heisman Trophy winners highlighting its pages of all-time lettermen.
While the Sooners do have the longest national championship drought of this playoff’s four teams – their last consensus title came during the 2000 season – they have finished No. 1 in the AP poll seven times, a tally topped only by Alabama (11) and Notre Dame (8), which shares that Heisman record with Oklahoma and Ohio State.
In recent years, Oklahoma has maintained its place among the nation’s elite programs. This will be the third straight year (and fourth time in CFP history) the Sooners have earned an invitation. Of course, they have yet to clear the next big hurdle by winning a semifinal.
In 2015, the Sooners were blown out by Clemson 37-17 in the Orange Bowl. Two seasons ago, there was a heartbreaking 54-48 double-overtime loss to Georgia in the Rose Bowl. Last season, Alabama built a four-touchdown lead by early in the second quarter on the way to a 45-34 triumph in the Orange Bowl.
Those postseason flops are another reason to dismiss the Sooners as nothing more than an interloper.
“They kind of just forget us,” Motley said. “It’s going to inspire us. We’re going to sit in this corner over here and just work on ourselves and do our job. Y’all don’t need to worry about us.
“Just know,” he added, pausing to parse his words, “Well, I don’t want to talk too much, but we’re coming.”
Oklahoma’s season was on the brink after that 48-41 loss at Kansas State in late October.
The Sooners bounced back to win their next five games, though it was tenuous all the way. They held off a furious comeback to edge Iowa State 42-41. They pulled off the biggest comeback in school history, overcoming a 25-point deficit to stun Baylor 34-31. They barely got by TCU, 28-24. They beat Baylor again in the Big 12 championship game, surviving a 30-23 overtime thriller.
Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley during an NCAA college football game between Iowa State and Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)Even then, Oklahoma still needed some help to get into the playoff. But everything fell into place when Alabama lost at Auburn on a missed field goal in the closing minutes, Utah fell to Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game and Georgia was blown out by LSU for the Southeastern Conference title.
At least the Sooners have some playoff experience. This is the first time LSU has made the field.
Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley, looking for any edge he can get, said the playoff games “have a little bit different vibe around them, a lot more hype, a lot more buildup. It doesn’t make the difference by itself, but it’s certainly an advantage for us, and we’ve got to handle it like it is.”
Then again, the Tigers have reigning Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow and perhaps the most impressive victory of any team this season, going into Tuscaloosa to knock off Alabama 46-41 – a game that signaled a shift of power in the mighty Southeastern Conference and helped keep the Crimson Tide out of the playoff for the first time.