There aren’t many programs that have been as consistent in the 21st Century as the Oklahoma Sooners.
It has been one of the best teams in college football in nearly every season since it hired Bob Stoops in 1999, and that success continued when Lincoln Riley succeeded Stoops in 2019. Disregarding the first season under Stoops, Oklahoma has won fewer than 10 games in a season just four times in that time period.
But despite that success, you have to go back more than 20 years to find this program’s last national title. That came in 2000, the second season under Stoops. Led by quarterback Josh Heupel — now the head coach at Tennessee — the Sooners finished with a perfect 13-0 record and won the title by virtue of a 13-2 win over Florida State in the Orange Bowl.
It wasn’t a great game for Heupel and the offense, but the Sooners’ defense showed up. Florida State’s only points came on an intentional safety from the Oklahoma punter after a high snap in the fourth quarter.
The Sooners claim six other national titles (1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975 and 1985) and have an additional 10 unclaimed titles. Oklahoma has come close over the last couple of decades, appearing in three BCS National Championship Games since the last title.
The Sooners have also made the College Football Playoff four times, but they’re still searching for their first victory as they currently sit at 0-4 in CFP contests.
