Welcome back to the Odyssey. As always, you can click here to read all parts of the journey covered so far. Last time, we took a look at the first of our game breakdowns at the end of the season, using a new (easier to read) format. The first game we talked about was Colorado stunning Nebraska in their blowout win in Boulder. The win clinched the Buffs a spot in the Big 12 Championship. Today’s trip takes a look at their potential opponent, Oklahoma.
Introduction: Win and In
Before the Nebraska Colorado matchup, Texas took on their rival Texas A&M in College Station. If Texas lost, then Oklahoma would be the Big 12 South representative the following weekend in Dallas. In a defensive battle, Texas leaned on its rushing attack late to knock off the Aggies 21-7. The Longhorns now had to wait and see if they had plans for the next weekend in Dallas, or if they were going to prepare for whatever bowl selected them.
That set the stage for the defending National Champions. Due to the Nebraska loss, their spot in a potential National Championship was now in their hands. If they win out, they are assuredly going to the Rose Bowl for a chance to repeat. There hadn’t been a repeat champion in the BCS era, with the Sooners ending Florida State’s chance to repeat the previous season. Just as their Red River opponents, Oklahoma had their rival standing in their way, looking to spoil the Sooners’ season, just like last year.
The Bedlam Series had not been close for the Cowboys for decades now. The Sooners had two separate winning streaks of 15+ games in the series. Even in Barry Sanders’ Heisman year in 1988, the Cowboys came up short. Things turned around in the mid 90s, with Oklahoma State winning three of four contests before Bob Stoops arrived in Norman. Oklahoma rallied in 1999, winning 44-7. During the 2000 season, Oklahoma survived a late scare by the Cowboys, knocking a pass away on a fourth and goal attempt, to win 12-7, en route to their National Championship.
This year, the game was in Norman, the stakes essentially the same for both teams. First year coach Les Miles was looking for a signature win for his new program, as his first year in Stillwater ended with a disappointing 3-7 campaign thus far. Oklahoma now had its sights set once again on repeating with a win over their rival and a win over Colorado in Dallas.
Game Recap: Battle of Norman
The first quarter was defined by the defenses. No drive went longer than six plays (Oklahoma State had two different six plays drives), and three of the drives ended with interceptions. Cowboys starting QB Aso Pogi was pulled after throwing two of the interceptions in his team’s first three possessions. Oklahoma, much like in the game against Nebraska, struggled to get their offense going. This was despite starting multiple drives in Cowboy territory.
The second quarter saw the Sooners continue to struggle. Nate Hybl threw his first pick, putting the Cowboys in scoring position. However, new Oklahoma State QB Josh Fields was unable to get the offense moving and they were forced to punt back. Fields, a true freshman who saw relief work in Oklahoma State’s previous win over Baylor, continued to struggle. Deep in his own territory, he threw an interception to Matt McCoy, putting the Sooner offense into position to break the scoreless tie. The Sooners would soon do so after a Quentin Griffin 9 yard rush.
The Cowboys responded with the longest drive thus far. Fields settled in, focusing on hitting receivers John Lewis and Rashaun Woods. The second catch to Woods got the Cowboys down to the Oklahoma one yard line. (A better throw by Fields and Woods would have walked in for a TD). However, Tatum Bell could not punch the ball into the end zone and a disastrous third down attempt for Oklahoma State to kick a FG.
With the first half coming to a close, Hybl finally unlocked the passing game, moving the Sooners down the field with less than 2 minutes remaining. The Cowboys defense stiffened before Oklahoma hit a FG to maintain their touchdown lead. However, at the end of the half Tatum Bell rushed for 15 yards to make Miles consider going for a last second FG at the end of the half. A Field pass to backup TE Mark Milosevich get Oklahoma State into range for a long FG. Luke Phillips obliged his team by hitting a season high 53 yard FG. The Sooners led 10-6.
The third quarter saw both teams play the field position game. The next big moment came after the Cowboys offense was starting to drive down the field. Bell had rushed for 21 yards in the previous two plays and went out for a rest. Backup Richard Schwarz then proceeded to fumble on the next play, recovered by Roy Williams. Oklahoma leaned on the rushing attack on the ensuing drive, getting down to the Oklahoma State 5. However, the Cowboy secondary continued to give Hybl trouble and OU hit a FG, extending their lead back to a TD.
Fields, looking to continue the momentum they had with the Bell running game, opened up to find Lewis and Woods again on short passes. The drive stalled when Fields looked to throw the ball downfield. Oklahoma State turned once again to Phillips and he once again hit a 52 yarder to cut into the Sooner lead. Both teams traded punts as the time left remaining kept ticking down, the chances of the upset slowly slipping through Oklahoma State’s fingers for the second year in a row.
Turning Point: From TD to Touchdown
Fields had three minutes to go 65 yards in Norman to give the Cowboys a exclamation point to their disappointing season. Fields leaned, once again, on the running of Tatum Bell and short to intermediate passes to Woods. This time he added passes to Terrance Davis-Bryant, or TD Bryant as his jersey would proudly state.
On a third down and 3, just inside Sooner territory, and after a timeout, Fields throws the ball deep down the middle to Bryant. Bryant steps in front of Roy Williams, takes the ball right as it is about to hit Williams’ hands and hauls it in at the Oklahoma 14. The very next play Fields makes the best throw of the evening. He looks for Woods on a back shoulder throw (a throw Woods doesn’t initially see) and Woods toe taps in the endzone. Oklahoma State has the lead with 1:37 remaining in the game.
The Oklahoma offense, only needing a FG to force overtime. However, the Cowboy front seven continued to cause chaos. On fourth down, a Hybl pass was knocked down at the line of scrimmage. However, in order to avoid turning the ball over on a potential blocked kick or botched snap, Oklahoma State essentially kneeled on the ball four times to run out clock. They got the clock down to 16 seconds left for a last gasp Oklahoma effort. The first play, however, was intercepted and the Cowboys had sealed the upset, sent Texas to Dallas for the Big 12 Championship, and dashed their rivals’ chances at repeating as National Champions.
Player of the Game: Rashaun Woods, WR Oklahoma State
I was incredibly tempted to put Phillips into this spot, since he hit field goals of 27, 53, and 52 to keep Oklahoma State in the game for the penultimate drive that gave them the lead for good. Ultimately, I decided on Woods. Not only did he give the Cowboys their only TD of the night with his fantastic footwork, he was an integral cog in the Cowboys offense. Woods caught eight balls for 129 yards and the aforementioned touchdown. All eight of his catches moved the chains for the Cowboys. Even with the QB change Woods found his way to get open and spark the Oklahoma State offense and his TD put an exclamation point on his most high profile day in his career.
Look Ahead: Rematch in Dallas
The weekend’s results set the stage for next Saturday. The Big 12 had a rematch in its hands for its Championship, just not the one they expected. The presumed Nebraska-Oklahoma rematch fell way to Colorado vs Texas. As we touched on earlier in the series, the Texas offense, and some fumble luck, put Texas ahead early and often. However, that Colorado team did not look like the team who went into Austin in October. Also, the Longhorns were now among the group of one loss teams that now had a chance to compete for the National Championship.
Florida, Tennessee, Oregon, and Texas jumped back into the National Championship picture with Miami going into the penultimate Saturday of the season. All of these teams had final tests to pass before they would be ultimately considered for the National Championship. Next time, we’ll take a look at the most straightforward path to a National Championship; the undefeated Miami Hurricanes. Until then, sound off below on your thoughts and memories on the Oklahoma State upset in Norman!
