Oklahoma football: Six signature Bob Stoops wins
By Chip Rouse
#3 – Jan. 2, 2014 – Oklahoma 45, Alabama 31
Oklahoma was a heavy underdog going into its Sugar Bowl battle with two-time defending national champion Alabama on the second day of the new year in 2014. Adding extra drama to this matchup, Sooner head coach Bob Stoops had been openly critical of the Southeastern Conference that season, calling talk about the SEC being the best conference in college football “propaganda.”
The Crimson Tide entered the game with an 11-1 record and ranked No. 3 in the nation. Alabama’s only loss that season came in its very last regular-season game with Auburn. That was the memorable game, some fans may recall, in which Auburn returned a missed Alabama field goal attempt in the closing seconds of the game into a 110-yard-plus touchdown to win the game.
Before the regular-season finale at Auburn, the Crimson Tide were the top-ranked team in the country. As a result of the stunning defeat, Alabama was slotted for the Sugar Bowl instead of going to the BCS Championship game in quest of a third straight national title.
Needless to say, the Alabama players did not believe they should be playing in New Orleans, nor did they want to be there, playing what they viewed as a non-worthy opponent in No. 11-ranked Oklahoma, a team that didn’t even win its conference that season. Never mind that the same could have been said about Alabama.
As it turned out, the Crimson Tide played the game like they didn’t want to be there, although it didn’t start out that way.
It took Alabama less than two minutes to put a touchdown on the board and take the early 7-0 lead, but the Sooners responded shortly thereafter with one of their own on a 45-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Trevor Knight to Lacolton Bester to draw even at a touchdown apiece.
Alabama added a field goal in the opening quarter to regain the lead, but the Sooners matched the Crimson Tide and raised them by four with a second first-quarter TD, completing a 78-yard drive against the vaunted Alabama defense, to take a surprising 14-10 lead after one quarter of play.
The score was tied at 17-all with less than three minutes left until halftime, when Oklahoma erupted for 14 unanswered points to send the country’s former No. 1 team and two-time defending national champions to the locker room in total shock and and trailing by two touchdowns to the Big 12’s second-best team that season.
It was utter joy for Sooner fans at the Sugar Bowl intermission but a totally unexpected development for the rest of the college football fandom.
Midway through the third quarter, Alabama freshman running back Derrick Henry (one in the same who would go on to win the 2015 Heisman Trophy) burst up the middle for a 43-yard touchdown run to cut the OU advantage to seven, at 31-24.
Early in the fourth quarter, however, Knight struck again with his throwing arm, completing an eight-yard scoring strike to Sterling Shepard to put the Sooners back up by seven.
The Sooners added insult to injury when linebacker Geneo Grissom scooped up a fumble by Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron with under a minute to go and returned it eight yards for a touchdown, capping off an improbable 45-31 victory over the so-called royalty out of the SEC.
Sooner Magic was clearly present in this contest. Trevor Knight played the game of his life (he would never have a game as good as this one the remainder of his time at OU), completing a Sugar Bowl-record 32 of 44 passes for 348 yards and four touchdowns.
The Sooner defense also played a major part in OU’s Sugar Bowl win, sacking the Crimson Tide quarterback McCarron seven times in the game.
All in all, an historic win for the Sooners and for the Big 12 over the SEC.