Oklahoma football fans have been on the winning side of multiple bowl games in which the Sooners clearly cared about the event, even though the national championship was not up for grabs. That’s the mark of maturity and a healthy culture within the program.
Bob Stoops crushed Nick Saban when OU beat Alabama handily in the 2014 Sugar Bowl. That was the Trevor Knight game for the Sooners.
Stoops led Oklahoma to a win in the 2021 Alamo Bowl after Lincoln Riley left. The Sooners and Caleb Williams wanted to finish their season on the right note, and they did. They could have sulked. They could have complained. Nope. They treated the game seriously and earned a win.
Lincoln Riley was part of a culture win for Oklahoma in the bowl season as well. He coached Oklahoma in three College Football Playoff semifinals from 2017 through 2019, but in 2020, OU fell short of the playoff. Would the Sooners brush off the 2020 Cotton Bowl against Florida, or would they attack the game with passion and fire?
Oklahoma 55, Florida 20. Any questions?
Our friends at Sooners Wire looked back on this game. Relive Lincoln Riley’s previous Cotton Bowl coaching win: