Memories are short among fans of Oklahoma football. That’s why an 8-5 season spells near disaster within the Sooner Nation. But despite the disappointment of the 2014 season, head coach Bob Stoops, in his 16 seasons on the OU sidelines, has set a new standard for winning at Oklahoma.
Winning has become an expectation in Oklahoma football. And Stoops, the winningest coach in the school’s highly decorated gridiron history, is as much responsible for establishing that mindset as any head coach that went before him – perhaps even more so.
But with all the success the Sooners have had since Stoops took over as the 21st head coach in OU football history, it has been extraordinarily easy to forget how bad things had gotten in the mid-to-late 1990s, when winning football games had become the exception more so than the norm.
Nov 1, 2014; Ames, IA, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bob Stoops walks off the field after the game against the Iowa State Cyclones at Jack Trice Stadium. Oklahoma defeated Iowa State 59-14. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Lose five games in a single season and four games against conference opponents, and we are quick to jump on the doomsday wagon and start assembling a posse to run the head coach out of town. A .790 winning percentage and eight Big 12 championships in 16 seasons should count for something, and in my view it is more than enough equity to give the Sooners’ head coach some relief when he endures a single season in which his team wins just 62 percent of its games.
Let’s not ignore these telling statistics when we evaluate Bob Stoops’ record for winning:
- Under Stoops, the Sooners have registered two of the seven-best winning streaks in program history. The 2000 and 2001 teams combined to win 20 consecutive games, and the 2002 and 2003 teams ran off a streak of 14 straight wins.
- Oklahoma has double-digit wins in 134 of 212 games under Bob Stoops. When the Sooners score 40 or more points under Stoops, they are an incredible 87-1.
- If postseason bowl appearances are your measure of a coaches’ success record, Oklahoma has gone to a bowl game in all 16 of its seasons under Stoops. (The Sooners have been only half and half in those bowl appearances, however, winning eight and losing eight.)
- The Sooners have not lost back-to-back regular-season games since the second month in Stoops’ first season at OU (in 1999). Oklahoma is 34-0 following a loss over than time span.
- Oh, and by the way, Oklahoma has spent 30 weeks since Stoops arrived in Norman at the top spot in the AP poll and 20 weeks at No. 1 in the former BCS (Bowl Championship Subdivision) rankings.
- Finally, OU has sold out Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in every home game since Bob Stoops took over as head coach in 1999. That is 98 consecutive sellouts.
Doesn’t sound like the resume of someone who is accepting of lowering his standards for success. And you don’t hear the OU head coach offering any excuses, either.
Sooner fans should be thankful for the past and the high success the Sooners have enjoyed under Bob Stoops, and just as hopeful for the future.