OU football: Sooners must be mindful Ohio State win counts just once
By Chip Rouse
The OU football win over mighty Ohio State last weekend was one for the ages and something for Sooner fans to savor for many years to come. But we also must keep it in perspective: it only counts as one win out of a 13- or 14-game season.
The Sooners must quickly put that momentous game behind them and keep their eyes and minds focused on the games and challenges that lie ahead of them over the course of the 2017 season.
While Lincoln Riley and the Sooners look ahead, however, let’s take one more quick look back at what seems like a mile-long list of milestones that came out of the Ohio State game.
Oklahoma broke open a 3-3 halftime deadlock, outscoring the Buckeyes 28-13 over the final 30 minutes to pull away for a 31-16 win and even the four-game series between the two college football powers.
The Sooners were named the National Team of the Week by the
Football Writers Association of America.
Oklahoma Sooners Football
Lincoln Riley became the first Oklahoma head coach to beat a top-five opponent in his first season since Chuck Fairbanks’ Sooners defeated Tennessee in the Orange Bowl in 1970.
Mayfield has yet to lose a road game as the Oklahoma starting quarterback (2015 to present). He is 10-0 in true road games in his OU career.
The Sooners are now 3-0 all-time as the No. 5 team playing a No. 2 team and have outscored its opponent 123-44 in those three games.
Oklahoma is the only team this century to defeat two Associated Press No. 2 teams on the road (Kansas State in 2000 and Ohio State in 2017).
The Sooners’ win over Ohio State was their 12th consecutive victory, dating back to last season. That is the longest active win streak among FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) teams and the longest by Oklahoma since 2004.
Oklahoma scored 21 points in less than eight minutes en route to its victory over Ohio State, handing Buckeye head coach Urban Meyer only his third home loss in six seasons in Columbus.
The last time OU gave up fewer than 13 points to an AP top-five opponent was in 2004, a 12-0 whitewash of then-No. 5 Texas.
Oklahoma has won 12 straight true road games (not including games played on a neutral field). That matches the third longest such streak in program history.
The road team has won all four games in the Oklahoma-Ohio State all-time series (Ohio State has won twice at OU, and the Sooners have won in their two trips to Ohio State).