Oklahoma football: OU’s heritage is about playing for championships

For many college teams, winning a conference championship, or even producing a winning season, is the highest goal they can hope to attain, but that’s not the way it is with Oklahoma football.

And that’s not meant to be an arrogant statement. It’s just the way it is.

At programs like Oklahoma, if you aren’t a national title contender, you did not have a successful season. in the 20 years since 2000, the Sooners have finished the season outside of the top 25 just three times and in the top 10 14 times.

Since 1936, when the Associated Press introduced the AP Top 25 poll, Oklahoma has been ranked in the top five for 412 weeks. That’s more than any other team in college football.

The Sooners’ seven national championships, as recognized by the Associated Press, rank third all-time behind Alabama (11) and Notre Dame (8). Bud Wilkinson won three in the 1950s (1950, 1955 and 1956), Barry Switzer won three (1974, 1975 and 1985) and Bob Stoops won one in his second season as OU head coach (2000).

Only two college teams have been ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll more than Oklahoma (Alabama and Ohio State).

During the Bowl Championship Series era (1998 to 2013), Oklahoma made nine appearance, second to only Alabama’s 10, and compiled a 4-5 record. Four of those nine Sooner appearances were in BCS national championship games. Only Florida State appeared in as many BCS championship games as the Sooners.

The College Football Playoff replaced the BCS championship format in 2014 and just completed its sixth season. Oklahoma has been one of the four playoff teams contending for the national championship in four of the six seasons.

Only Alabama and Clemson have made more CFP appearances (5) than the Sooners. Unfortunately, OU has failed to make it past the first game in all four of its appearances.

In order to be a national title contender, however, you first have to be the best team in your conference, and that’s something Oklahoma has excelled at throughout its history.

In their illustrious history, the Sooners have won 48 conference championships, three more than the next closest FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) team (Nebraska with 46). In the 24-year history of the Big 12, Oklahoma has captured the conference title 13 times, including the last five. No other Big 12 team has more than three league championships.

The Sooners have not failed to win the Big 12 in all five season Lincoln Riley has been associated with the program (first as offensive coordinator in 2015 and ’16 and the last three seasons as head coach).

The notion of conference championships brings to mind a famous quote by former Sooner coach Barry Switzer. As the story goes, the Sooners were playing at Colorado in a game that would ultimately decide the Big Eight Conference champion.

Earlier that day, Texas A&M had won its first Southwest Conference championship in 15 or so years, as Switzer recalled, under head coach Jackie Sherrill, and the OU coach commented to his team that he didn’t know why everyone was making such a big deal about that when the Sooners had won eight or nine in a row. “Everybody thinks that’s a big deal (A&M finally winning a league title), but we invented it, d— it,” he said.

From that situation, emerged the enduring quote attributed to Switzer:

"“People don’t know what it means to be champions. Oklahoma invented it.”"

That prophetic declaration will go down alongside perhaps the most famous one in OU football history: When former university president Dr. George L. Cross proclaimed to an Oklahoma state senator, who had asked in the midst of a state budget hearing what kind of football team OU was going have in the coming season.

"“Were want to build a university our football team can be proud of,” Dr. Cross replied."

Spin it any way you want, but the facts don’t lie. Oklahoma does know what it is to be champions, and they have the banners to prove it.

Since Bud Wilkinson became OU head coach in the late 1940s, a sign with the inspirational words “Play Like a Champion Today” has been posted above the locker room door as the Sooners head into the tunnel that leads to Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

As the team enters the field, the same message appears on a crimson banner that the Sooner players run under, flanked by flags representing each of Oklahoma’s seven national championships.

Playing like champions is part of the Oklahoma DNA.