Oklahoma football has survived but not thrived from championship controversy

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 28: Head coach Lincoln Riley of the Oklahoma Sooners and quarterback Joe Burrow #9 of the LSU Tigers embrace after LSU Tigers wins the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl 28-63 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 28, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 28: Head coach Lincoln Riley of the Oklahoma Sooners and quarterback Joe Burrow #9 of the LSU Tigers embrace after LSU Tigers wins the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl 28-63 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 28, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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MIAMI, FL – DECEMBER 29: Tua Tagovailoa #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide stiff arms Tre Norwood #13 of the Oklahoma Sooners in the first half during the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL – DECEMBER 29: Tua Tagovailoa #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide stiff arms Tre Norwood #13 of the Oklahoma Sooners in the first half during the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

2018 College Football Playoff

After winning consecutive Big 12 titles in 2015, ’16 and ’17, a loss to Texas in the annual Red River rivalry game in 2018 appeared to deal a serious blow  to Oklahoma’s College Football Playoff hopes. The Sooners went from No. 5 to No. 11 in the Associated Press Poll after that loss, but rebounded with seven consecutive wins to earn a spot opposite the Longhorns in a rematch for the Big 12 championship.

OU quarterback Kyler Murray outperformed his Texas counterpart Sam Ehlinger in the Big 12 title game, and the Sooners avenged the earlier loss and captured a fourth straight Big 12 crown with a 39-27 victory.

Oklahoma had been slowly moving its way up in the CFP rankings after starting out at No. 7 the first week the 2018 Playoff rankings came out. But the Sooners were sitting at No. 5, right behind Georgia when the next-to-last rankings were issued. After defeated Texas for the Big 12 championship, the Sooners still had to wait out the outcome of the Alabama-Georgia game later that day in the SEC Championship.

Because Alabama was No. 1 and was probably in with or without a win over Georgia, and the Playoff spots for No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Notre Dame appeared fairly secure, Oklahoma’s chances of getting into the Playoff for a second straight season were dependent on an Alabama win, and that looked very iffy heading into the final quarter, with Georgia holding a 28-21 advantage.

Jalen Hurts, who would transfer to Oklahoma after the season, replaced the injured Tua Tagovailoa and led a fourth-quarter Bama comeback, resulting in a 35-28 victory for the Crimson Tide.

All the marbles seemed to be lining up in OU’s favor to slip into the fourth and final Playoff seeding, but there were still some experts that believed Georgia might get enough love from the CFP selection committee to hold on to the fourth spot. And there was also a case being built for 11-1 Ohio State, champions of the Big Ten and sitting at No. 6 in the penultimate CFP rankings.

We all know how it turned out. Oklahoma skirted controversy once again and was awarded the No. 4 Playoff spot, which matched the Sooners up with No. 1 Alabama. The Sooners fell behind 21-0 in the first quarter and 31-10 at the half. Despite a furious second-half comeback attempt led by Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Kyler Murray, the Crimson Tide prevailed.

Jalen Hurts finished the game at quarterback for Alabama and would start his next collegiate game for the Oklahoma Sooners.