The Oklahoma Sooners have had several disappointing seasons over the last couple of decades. They’ve had seasons where they lived up to the billing as national championship contenders and several seasons in which they struggled to get going out of the gate.
With the start of the 2021 college football season a week away, the Oklahoma Sooners have very high expectations being thrust upon them. Anything less than a national championship appearance would be viewed as underachieving.
Over at Bleacher Report, David Kenyon ranked the top 10 most disappointing seasons since the year 2000. The 2009 Sooners come in at No. 8 on the list.
Oklahoma fell to three ranked teams (BYU, Miami and Texas) in the first six games, and a loss to Nebraska pushed the Sooners out of the AP poll. Then Texas Tech pounded OU 41-13. The lone bright spot, perhaps, is the Sooners still smacked Oklahoma State for the seventh of eight straight wins in the rivalry.
After contending for the BCS Championship in 2008, a loss against Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators, expectations remained sky-high for Sam Bradford and the Sooners. Unfortunately, the season started with a whimper when Bradford was injured in the opener against BYU and played in two other games that season.
The defending Heisman Trophy winner was set to make another run at the title of most outstanding player and put the Sooners back in national title contention. The shoulder injury opened the door for freshman Landry Jones at quarterback, providing a glimpse of what was to come at the position.