Sep 12, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) hands off to running back Samaje Perine (32) during the second half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. Oklahoma won 31-24. Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Bob Stoops’ 16th season as head coach of Oklahoma was probably his worst, and his subsequent offseason shakeup of his coaching staff had a whiff of desperation.
Smells like inspiration now.
In one of the best games of the young college football season, in a win that Stoops said “may be my favorite of all of them” — let that sink in — these Sooners began to look like the anti-Sooners. Which is to say they might actually have started off the season underrated for a change.
Not to get all googly-eyed after one super comeback that resulted in a 31-24 double-overtime win at Tennessee on Saturday, but the victory did conjure awakenings of “Sooner Magic” and “Big Game Bob.”
Down 17-0 early in the second quarter and 17-3 into the fourth quarter, Oklahoma rallied to tie the game in the final minute of regulation and at the end of the first overtime before subduing the up-and-coming Vols in the second extra period.
“They had the mental toughness and discipline to keep playing hard and had the faith that things would work,” Stoops said of his players.
“That is what you appreciate as a coach — your players’ mental attitude, toughness and character, especially when you are coming into the season where there has not been a lot glowing about us as there was last year. For them to hang in there in that environment in that situation and to come through like they did, it was pretty special.”
Oklahoma has been habitually overrated. Twice since 2009, including last season, the Sooners went from preseason No. 3 to unranked at the end of the season. In four of the past six seasons, they have suffered double-digit plunges from their preseason rankings perch.
After last season’s 8-5 record — “really unacceptable,” Stoops said — the coach fired offensive assistants Josh Heupel and Jay Norvell and did such a reworking of the staff that only one 2014 assistant is coaching the same position group this year.
It’s not as if Oklahoma’s talent has been down. This isn’t the University of Texas, after all. But the shine was off the Sooners, as Baylor and TCU supplanted OU last season as the Big 12’s leading national championship contenders.
With Stoops going back to his Mike Leach roots by hiring Lincoln Riley as coordinator, and installing Texas Tech transfer Baker Mayfield as his new quarterback, the Sooners have a new car smell and a revved-up engine.
Starting 19th in this year’s AP poll might have been too low.
Stoops said the win over Tennessee brought back memories of a game from his undefeated national championship season — a 35-31 triumph at Texas A&M in which the Sooners scored 22 fourth-quarter points.
“It reminded me of Texas A&M back in 2000 where we made some plays to win the game that you feel fortunate and blessed to make, and I felt that way tonight,” he said. “Defense, far and away, in the second half was as good as we have played in I can’t remember when. That kept us in the game.”
OU should have staying power. The schedule isn’t much threatening for several weeks. The Sooners will be favored to be 9-0 before a crazy finish — at Baylor, vs. TCU, at Oklahoma State.
Until then, these anti-Sooners will be rising in the polls, not falling.
Five things we think we learned in week 2
1. Auburn has real trouble. New starting quarterback Jeremy Johnson has thrown five interceptions in two games, the kind of passes into coverage that suggest he doesn’t understand that coverage. The Tigers only barely avoided infamy Saturday, rallying as a 41-point favorite to beat lower-division Jacksonville State in overtime. Johnson looks the part of a big-time, modern quarterback, but he can’t navigate the SEC West with all those turnovers.
2. #MACtion is alive and well. Toledo stunned 18th-ranked Arkansas 16-12. Bowling Green rolled at Maryland 48-27. Ohio took down Marshall, last season’s Conference USA champ, 21-10. You know the MAC is good for a few upsets a year … and here they are.
3. Don’t be fooled by Texas’ victory. The Longhorns beat Rice 42-28, but a mid-week change of play-callers and a new starting quarterback (Jerrod Heard) yielded modest results at best. Two non-offensive touchdowns padded the point total for Texas, which managed only 11 first downs, while it allowed 30 to the Owls.
4. Underdogs need to go for it. Jacksonville State got the ball at its 35 with 39 seconds left, and took a knee instead of charging forward to see if it could break a 20-20 tie at the end of regulation. JSU lost in overtime. Cal Poly, trailing Arizona State by seven with about four minutes left, punted on fourth-and-6 from the Sun Devils 44. ASU promptly scored again to put the game out of reach. Message to underdogs with nothing to lose: Play like you have nothing to lose.
5. Temple is legit. The Owls followed up on its win at Penn State by winning at Cincinnati 34-26 in an early, key game in the American Athletic Conference. With a big-play defense and a ground-eater at running back (Jahad Thomas), Temple is indeed becoming what Bearcats coach Tommy Tuberville called it — “the nation’s darling.”
Five players to watch
1. DeShone Kizer, QB, Notre Dame. The Irish’s push for the College Football Playoff might have been blown off course when quarterback Malik Zaire suffered a season-ending ankle injury at Virginia, but Kizer will have much to say about that. Already has, in fact. The sophomore connected on a 40-yard strike to Will Fuller with 12 seconds left to beat Virginia.
2. Peyton Barber, RB, Auburn. The sophomore, who saved Auburn with his hard running late in the game against Jacksonville State, has become the unlikely workhorse for the Tigers, with 47 carries for 240 yards.
3. Tanner Mangum, QB, BYU. Two career games, two Hail Mary victories. Has anybody ever done that? Do Mangum Miracles come in threes? After vanquishing Nebraska and Boise State, the true freshman takes on UCLA this week.
4. Cody Kessler, QB, USC. The Trojans’ competition has been substandard, but Kessler’s efficiency can’t be overlooked. He’s completed 45 of 57 passes for 650 yards, with seven touchdowns and no interceptions.
5. Riley Bullough, LB, Michigan State. The junior, carrying on the Bullough family tradition of running the Spartans defense, is doing just fine in his first year at middle linebacker. He had 14 stops against Oregon, including a stuff of running back Royce Freeman on third-and-goal from the 1.
Five big-time sophomore running backs
1. Leonard Fournette, LSU. The Tigers are going to ride him all season. He smashed Mississippi State for 159 yards and three scores in a 21-19 win.
2. Dalvin Cook, Florida State. The centerpiece of the Seminoles’ offense in the post-Jameis world, the speedster has flashed for 422 yards and five touchdowns in two games.
3. Nick Chubb, Georgia. He needed only 19 carries to get to 189 yards against Vanderbilt. Chubb is averaging 8.8 yards on his 35 carries.
4. Nick Wilson, Arizona. Could have gone well past 200 yards against Nevada, but coaches shut him down at 194 a couple of snaps into the fourth quarter.
5. Royce Freeman, Oregon. He got his 100-plus yards against a Michigan State front four that offensive coordinator Scott Frost said was the best he’s seen while with the Ducks.
Five best week 3 games
1. Ole Miss at Alabama (Saturday, 9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN). The sorting of the SEC West begins Saturday. The Rebels won last season in Oxford when “Good Bo” Wallace threw for three touchdowns. His replacement, Chad Kelly, leads the nation in passing efficiency after two games.
2. Auburn at LSU (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS). Auburn crushed LSU last season, 41-7, but that was before the Bayou Bengals came to rely on running back Leonard Fournette.
3. BYU at UCLA (Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1). UCLA’s Josh Rosen vs. BYU’s Tanner Mangum. This battle of talented rookie quarterbacks is great way to cap a Saturday.
4. Georgia Tech at Notre Dame (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, NBC). Tech’s triple-option whiz Justin Thomas leads a relentless ground attack into the teeth of a nasty Notre Dame defensive front.
5. Stanford at USC (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, ABC). The last five meetings have been decided by no more than eight points, with the Trojans winning the past two on late, long field goals.
