Playing a team a second time in the same season can be both a blessing and a curse, and that's the challenge facing both Oklahoma and Alabama when those two iconic college football programs go against each other at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman on Friday, Dec. 19, in the opening round of the College Football Playoff.
By the time the No. 8 Sooners and No. 9 Crimson Tide kick off their CFP matchup, it will have been just 34 days since they last met on Nov. 15 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Oklahoma, ranked No. 12 at the time, shocked then-No. 4 Alabama with a 23-21 upset win, and in the process snapped the Crimson Tide's 17-game home winning streak.
"The challenge of playing someone you didn't play (that same season) is getting to know who they are, and you really don't have a great idea of how you match up in certain areas," Sooner head coach Brent Venables said in a video conference on Sunday after the playoff selections were announced. "This is one where there is familiarity with both teams."
How Sooners have fared in same-season rematches
This is actually the third time OU and Alabama have played each other in a little over a year. The two teams met in Norman during the 2024 regular season, with Venables and the Sooners prevailing 24-3.
"They have certain matchups they like. We have certain matchups we like," Venables said. "At the end of the day, you can throw all that out. It's time to start completely over. All that matters is what you do here moving forward."
It doesn't happen often in college football that teams face a team twice in the same season. In the early days of the college game, it was more common for teams to play each other more than once in a season because of the limited number of potential opponents. But it wasn't until conference championship games became more prevalent, along with the preponderance of postseason bowls, that the chances of teams facing each other twice in a season became a greater possibility.
Such an occurrence has happened to an Oklahoma football team just five times since the Big Eight Conference came into existence in 1957. The Sooners have been the winner the second time the teams met in the same season on all five occasions. Three of those Oklahoma rematch wins came under Bob Stoops, and one each with Barry Switzer and Lincoln Riley as head coach.
Venables also had a role in three of OU's same-season rematches as defensive coordinator for 13 seasons under Stoops. Like his OU coaching predecessors, Venables is unbeaten (4-0) in his second-chance rematch opportunities.
1978 Oklahoma vs. Nebraska
Longtime conference rivals Oklahoma and Nebraska met in mid-November 1978 in a regular-season showdown at Nebraska. The regular-season contest was close right to the end, with the Cornhuskers forcing a fumble by the legendary Billy Sims at the Nebraska three-yard line late in the game to preserve a 17-14 victory over the No. 1 Sooners. Oklahoma lost six fumbles in the game contributing to the Nebraska win.
Nebraska and OU tied for the Big Eight championship that season with identical 6-1 records, but the Huskers received the conference's automatic bid to the Orange Bowl. In an extremely rare occurrence, Oklahoma was awarded the at-large invitation as the Cornhuskers' opponent in the 1979 Orange Bowl despite having the same conference affiliation. The same-season rematch proved to be all Oklahoma, however, with Sims rushing for 134 yards and a couple of touchdowns, and quarterback Thomas Lott directing the Sooner offense. OU led 31-10 after three quarters and went on to win 31-24 and avenged the earlier loss. The Sooners' earlier loss to Nebraska was the only game they lost that season
2000 Oklahoma vs. Kansas State
In Bob Stoops' second season as Oklahoma head coach, in 2000, the Sooners traveled to Manhattan, Kansas, to take on No. 2 Kansas State. OU was ranked No. 8 in the country at the time and was coming off of 63-13 shellacking of archrival Texas.
Oklahoma jumped on K-State early and often, jumping out to a 31-14 halftime lead. Kansas State withstood the early blitzkrieg and fought back to within seven, 38-31, early in the fourth quarter. But the Sooners added a field goal to finish out the scoring and held on for a 41-31 victory, setting up a showdown with No. 1 Nebraska the following week. Josh Heupel completed 29 of 37 passes in the game for 374 yards and a couple of touchdowns as the Sooners recorded their sixth straight win to start the 2000 season.
The same two teams met in the Big 12 Championship that season. The rematch was a much closer affair than the earlier game. No. 1 OU and No. 8 K-State battled to a 10-10 tie after the first 30 minutes. The Sooners took a brief 17-10 lead at the beginning of the third quarter only to have the Wildcats draw even again a little more than two minutes later. Oklahoma finished off a scoring drive less than a minute into the fourth quarter to take a 24-17 advantage. With just 1:25 left in the game, Stoops made a critical call and had Tim Duncan attempt a risky 46-yard field goal on a very cold night. Davis successfully executed the kick, his longest of the season, and that proved to be the winning score in a 27-24 Oklahoma win.
The Sooners completed a perfect 13-0 season several weeks later with a 13-2 win over Florida State for the school's seventh national championship.
2002 Oklahoma vs. Colorado
Two seasons after winning the national championship, No. 2 Oklahoma defeated No. 11 Colorado 27-11 in Game 8 of the season. That loss was the Buffaloes' only conference loss that season. Colorado ended the regular season as champion of the Big 12 North Division with a 7-1 record. Oklahoma was the South Division champion with a 6-2 league record. That set up a rematch in the Big 12 Championship.
Nate Hybl threw two touchdown passes and running back Quentin Griffin ran for what then was a Big 12 Championship record 188 yards as the Sooners completed a two-game sweep over Colorado with a 29-7 victory for their second Big 12 title under Stoops.
2007 Oklahoma vs. Missouri
In mid-October of 2007, Oklahoma hosted a Missouri team that was ranked No. 11 in the country and looking to start the season 6-0 for the second straight year. The Sooners entered the game with a 5-1 record and ranked No. 6. Mizzou, with Chase Daniel at quarterback, outperformed the Sooners in practically every offensive category in the game except turnovers. Missouri lost a fumble and Daniel threw three costly interceptions. Sam Bradford completed 24 of 34 passes for 266 yards and a pair of touchdowns in leading Oklahoma to a 43-31 victory.
Following the regular-season loss to Oklahoma, Missouri went on to win its next six games and not only finish out the regular season 11-1 and as North Division champions, but ranked No. 1 in the country. That set up an OU-Missouri rematch in San Antonio for the 2007 Big 12 championship. The two teams battled to a 14-14 tie at halftime, but Oklahoma took control of the game in the second half with Bradford and the Sooners outscoring the Tigers 24-3 over the final 30 minutes, and not only knocking Missouri out of the No. 1 position in the national rankings, but also out of a spot in the BCS National Championship Game. Missouri finished the 2007 season with a bowl victory over Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl Classic and a 12-2 record, with the Tigers' only two losses coming at the hands of Oklahoma.
2018 Oklahoma vs. Texas
The 2018 Red River Rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas turned into a high-scoring shootout featuring quarterbacks Kyler Murray of the Sooners and Longhorns' signal caller Sam Ehlinger. Texas held a three-touchdown advantage in the fourth quarter over its chief rival, but it took a 40-yard field goal by freshman Texas kicker Cameron Dickey with nine seconds to go in the game to give the 19th-ranked Longhorns a 48-45 victory over the 7th-ranked Sooners.
The Sooners reeled off seven straight wins after the loss to Texas, earning a rare rematch and the opportunity not only to avenge the earlier loss, but, in the process, win the Big 12 championship. OU's Murray, who was awarded the Heisman Trophy that season, completed 25 of 34 passes for 379 yards and three touchdowns, and CeeDee Lamb had six receptions for 167 yards and a touchdown, and the 5th-ranked Sooners prevailed 37-29 in the rematch.