BRYAN TERRY-USA TODAY NETWORK
Big 12 Memories, Pt. 1: Oklahoma vs. Everybody
ARLINGTON, TX — With Oklahoma attending its 27th and final Big 12 Media Days this week at AT&T Stadium, AllSooners presents a two-part series on the Sooners’ best memories against the eight remaining conference members during the Big 12 era (since 1996).
Today’s attendees are TCU, Kansas, Baylor, and Oklahoma State. Tomorrow, the list consists of Kansas State, Texas Tech, West Virginia and Iowa State.
TCU
The Setting
No. 11 TCU (9-1, 6-1) at No. 7 Oklahoma (9-1, 6-1)
Nov. 21, 2015, Norman
The Memorable Game
Gary Patterson’s Horned Frogs seemed to always play the Sooners close — but not this close.
Steven Parker batted away Bram Kohlhausen’s game-winning 2-point pass with 51 seconds to play and the Sooners survived a Big 12 showdown and eventually advanced to their first College Football Playoff.
Parker’s leaping swat tipped the scales to OU in what became a battle of attrition. First-year starter Baker Mayfield took a shot to the helmet (he returned, but then was held out of the second half) and was subbed by the guy he had replaced: Trevor Knight.
Steven Parker saves the day.
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
OU led 30-13 midway through the third quarter after Samaje Perine’s 72-yard touchdown run, but in the fourth quarter, KaVontae Turpin got behind the OU defense on an 86-yard TD pass.
The Sooner offense went nowhere under Knight, and the Frogs added a field goal to make it 30-23 before their final possession. Emanuel Porter’s 14-yard TD catch cut it to a one-point game in the final minute, but Parker sealed it by rushing the scrambling Kohlhausen, then springing up to knock down the throw.
Perine finished with 188 yards and a score on 26 rushes, and Sterling Shepard caught eight passes for 111 yards and a TD.
Final Score
OU 30, TCU 29
Honorable Mention
2016: Oklahoma 52, TCU 46
The No. 21-ranked Frogs (3-1, 1-0) raced to a 21-7 lead in Fort Worth, but unranked OU (1-2, 0-0) roared back to take a 49-24 lead heading into the fourth quarter. TCU then scored 22 unanswered points before Ogbo Okoronkwo sacked Kenny Hill twice in the final drive.
Forgettable
2022: TCU 55, OU 24
No. 18-ranked Oklahoma (3-1) probably wasn’t going to win in Fort Worth against the playoff-bound Frogs (3-0) anyway, but Dillon Gabriel’s concussion guaranteed the Sooner offense was hopeless without their quarterback. The real punishment, of course, came a week later in Dallas, when Gabriel didn’t play and OU lost 49-0 to Texas.
Big 12 Series History
OU leads 10-2
Kansas
The Setting
Kansas (3-7, 1-6) at No. 21 Oklahoma (7-3, 4-3)
Nov. 22, 2014, Norman
The Memorable Game
The season was already a washout for Oklahoma. But Samaje Perine kept the Sooners afloat with a record-smashing performance.
With close losses to TCU and Kansas State and a blowout at the hands of Baylor, Sooner Nation went into its penultimate contest of 2014 expecting nothing more than yet another beatdown of the Jayhawks — and they got it.
But what they really got was a monsoon that became a history-making 427 rushing yards and five touchdowns from their bruising freshman.
Samaje Perine goes for 427.
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Just one week after Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon set the all-time single-game NCAA record with 408 yards against Nebraska, Perine surpassed that with 34 carries — the final one a thunderous 42-yard run in the driving rainstorm as the remaining drenched fans chanted his name.
Injuries to QB Trevor Knight and wideout Sterling Shepard necessitated a big day on the ground. Perine went 49 yards for a touchdown on his first carry, scored on runs of 33 and 34 yards in the second quarter, then opened the third quarter with a 66-yard TD burst.
With a big lead in the third quarter, coach Bob Stoops had appropriately relieved Perine. But running backs coach Cale Gundy caught wind of his total — he needed 35 yards to break Gordon’s new mark — and Stoops put Perine back in the game. He set the record on the next play, and settled for a big piece of history on a wet day.
Final Score
OU 44, Kansas 7
Honorable Mention
2005: Oklahoma 19, Kansas 3
A rebuilding year in Norman and Mark Mangino’s coming surge in Lawrence meant their October meeting at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City would be memorable. It was, as OU’s young defense held KU to 97 yards and got three interceptions (one returned 65 yards by D.J. Wolfe). With Adrian Peterson out with an ankle injury, OU needed Rhett Bomar to hit freshman Malcolm Kelly on a 40-yard completion and a 25-yard TD to give OU a 16-3 lead with 10 minutes to play.
Forgettable
1996: Kansas 52, Oklahoma 24
The John Blake era was off to a miserable 0-3 start when the Jayhawks came into Norman and stomped the mistake-riddled Sooners. Coming off a 5-5-1 record in Howard Schnellenberger’s only season, Blake was supposed to fix things. But it quickly got worse as the Sooners were blown out three times — including their very first Big 12 Conference game, in which KU scored the most points of any opponent in Norman. In a dark preview of the next 2 1/2 seasons, OU committed 16 penalties, gave away three turnovers, allowed a 100-yard kickoff return, a 94-yard punt return (both school records) and had a field goal blocked and returned for a touchdown. It was OU’s first 0-4 start in school history.
Big 12 Series History
OU leads 17-2
Baylor
The Setting
No. 12 Baylor (9-0, 6-0) vs. No. 10 Oklahoma (8-1, 5-1)
Nov. 16, 2019, Waco, TX
The Memorable Game
With all apologies to their overtime classic later that season in the Big 12 Championship Game, and to Baker Mayfield’s two riveting victories in Waco, there is one OU-Baylor game that stands above the others.
The Comeback.
Jalen Hurts played awful in the first half as the Sooners crumbled to a 28-3 deficit to the mighty Bears, and how much worse could it get with CeeDee Lamb out with an injury?
Jalen Hurts (1) and friends celebrate an impossible victory.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Instead, Hurts rallied the Sooners to an unbelievable win, achieved when Gabe Brkic kicked a 31-yard field goal with 1:45 to play and sealed when Nik Bonitto intercepted Charlie Brewer with 29 seconds to play.
After Hurts committed three turnovers, No. 12 Baylor was cruising to a laugher — the Bears had a 94.6 percent win probability at one point, per ESPN Analytics — and led 31-10 at halftime. But Hurts turned things around for himself and for the team with 114 yards rushing and 297 yards passing.
Hurts hit Austin Stogner for a 5-yard TD in the second quarter, then found Stogner again in the third quarter to cut it to 31-17. In the fourth quarter, he connected with Theo Wease, who spun out of a tackle and dodged another on a 19-yard TD that made it 31-24. Hurts then threw to Brayden Willis for the game-tying TD.
The 25-point hole was the largest deficit ever in an OU victory, and it pushed the Sooners into the Big 12 title game rematch with the Bears — and ultimately helped get OU back to the CFP.
Final Score
OU 34, Baylor 31
Honorable Mention
2019: Oklahoma 30, Baylor 23, OT
No. 6-ranked OU (12-1) got another big day from Hurts (287 yards passing, 38 rushing) to deny Baylor (11-2) a title. But it was cornerback Tre Brown who saved the day by chasing down speedster Chris Platt at the end of a 78-yard pass to force a game-tying field goal with 3:25 left instead of a go-ahead touchdown. That sent the game to overtime, where Rhamondre Stevenson scored on a 5-yard run and the Sooner defense sacked and harassed Jacob Zeno, Baylor’s third QB of the day, to win OU’s 13th Big 12 title.
Forgettable
2014: Baylor 48, Oklahoma 14
After beating Baylor 20 times in a row, the Sooners’ first ever loss in Waco in 2011 — one that put the Heisman Trophy in Robert Griffin III’s grasp — was a tough pill to swallow. But the indignation of a blowout loss to the No. 12-ranked Bears (8-1, 5-1) in Norman three years later was far worse, and reached a crescendo when Bryce Petty and his received turned a college football game into a game of keepaway — short throws against a soft Mike Stoops secondary that resulted in one easy first down after another and ultimately produced a cacophony of frustrated boos from Sooner Nation. For No. 15 OU (6-3, 3-3), it was the largest margin of defeat at home in program history.
Big 12 Series History
OU leads 23-5
Oklahoma State
The Setting
No. 2 Oklahoma (8-0, 5-0) at No. 20 Oklahoma State (6-2, 3-2)
Oct. 30, 2004, Stillwater
The Memorable Game
Picking one Bedlam win over all the rest is literally impossible. Ask 10 Sooner fans, you might get 10 different answers.
The 2000 game that sent OU to the Big 12 title game and national championship, sandwiched between the drama of 1999 and 2001, felt like avoiding a loss. The 2008 61-41 classic was awash with offense but zero defense. The 2018 one-point win in Norman was one bad throw away from defeat.
But the Sooners’ 2004 thriller in Stillwater was played at a high level throughout, featured some all-timers on both sides, and came down to a missed OSU field goal.
Adrian Peterson is gone.
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
The highlight was Adrian Peterson’s 80-yard touchdown on a toss sweep. He darted into traffic, spun off a 300-pound defensive tackle and burst away from Big 12 indoor 60-meter sprint champion Daniel McLemore. It was the true freshman’s eighth straight 100-yard game.
That put OU up 35-21, but despite that burst and Mark Bradley’s three touchdown catches from Jason White, the Cowboys weren’t done. Vernand Morency scored two TDs in the second half and caught a 17-yard pass from Donovan Woods to put OSU in position for Jason Ricks’ 49-yard field goal. But the kick sailed wide left with 11 seconds remaining.
Peterson ran for 249 yards, including 196 in the second half, while White threw for 221 yards and three TDs, Bradley went 72, 23 and 4 yards for scores and Mark Clayton ran back a punt 50 yards for a touchdown.
Final Score
OU 38, OSU 35
Honorable Mention
2012: Oklahoma 51, Oklahoma State 48, OT
Landry Jones threw for 500 yards and three touchdowns and Brennan Clay ended it with an 18-yard overtime touchdown run as No. 13 OU (9-2, 7-1) beat No. 21 OSU (7-4, 5-3) in a particularly wild one in Norman. The Sooners trailed by double digits in both the first half and the second, and needed a fourth-down, 4-yard touchdown run from Blake Bell — the Belldozer — with four seconds to play to send it to overtime. Jalen Saunders had an 81-yard punt return TD and caught 10 passes for 162 yards and a score, Justin Brown had 15 catches for 146 yards and Kenny Stills caught nine for 102 and a TD. Jones completed 46-of-71 passes and became the Big 12’s career passing leader in his final home game. The victory opened a path for OU to win its eighth Big 12 title.
Forgettable
2021: Oklahoma State 37, Oklahoma 33
There aren’t many OU Bedlam losses to chose from, so each one feels like a doozy. Two (2001 and 2002) kept OU from a national title game appearance. Another (2014) was one of the great coaching blunders in Bob Stoops’ reign. Another (2011) was just a combination of OSU’s best team ever and OU playing without its best player, Ryan Broyles. But bitter as those losses may have been, it was Lincoln Riley’s lack of attention and preparation and game planning for the Sooners’ season finale in 2021 that punched a hole in the hearts of Sooner Nation. Hours later, he bolted for USC under cover of night, and the program has been on the mend ever since. The game itself was sloppy but competitive, with No. 10 OU and No. 7 OSU staging another Bedlam classic. Caleb Williams threw three TDs in the first half and charged things up late with a 56-yard run in the final minute, but couldn’t break free and was sacked on the last play. If Oklahoma had won, it would have set up a Bedlam rematch for the Big 12 title the following week in Arlington. Instead, Riley left the Sooners in a lurch, and Brent Venables was hired eight days later.
Big 12 Series History
OU leads 20-7
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