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With two minutes left in Saturday’s crimson showdown in Tuscaloosa, the Alabama-Oklahoma recreation was nonetheless very a lot within the stability.
At the stoppage of play, the crew at Bryant-Denny Stadium reduce off the lights. A ribbon board lit up with an virtually iridescent crimson, bathing everybody in deep pink. And one of many hits from the outdated nation group Alabama started blaring “Dixieland Delight.”
After Oklahoma had damaged Bama’s 17-game residence subject profitable streak with a dramatic 23-21 upset, it was the Sooners who ran “Dixieland Delight” by means of the aux twine, setting off a postgame locker room celebration worthy of such a monumental triumph.
“That’s probably the most gratifying part for me, is they like to have fun,” head coach Brent Venables mentioned Monday evening on his weekly coach’s present, “Sooner Sports Talk With Brent Venables. “The fun’s in the winning. Y’all want to have fun? Let’s turn “Dixieland” up, and let’s go within the locker room after we win the sport. And so you bought to sort of create imaginative and prescient for that.”
There is likely to be extra enjoyable forward.
Coming off Saturday’s victory — their second straight win over the Crimson Tide — the Sooners are ranked No. 8 on this week’s Associated Press Top 25 ballot and the AFCA Coaches Poll. OU improved to 8-2 general and 4-2 in Southeastern Conference video games with two regular-season contests left — each at residence.
This week’s College Football Playoff rankings might be revealed Tuesday evening. The Sooners haven’t participated within the CFP since dropping to LSU in Atlanta within the Peach Bowl in 2019.
Looking forward to Oklahoma’s remaining two video games, further postgame celebrations received’t be simple.
But that’s precisely what makes them a lot enjoyable.
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On Saturday, Oklahoma hosts No. 23 Missouri (7-3) in an 11 a.m. kickoff at Owen Field, and subsequent week OU welcomes unranked LSU (6-4).
Players on this 12 months’s Sooner squad is likely to be feeling like a little bit of revenge is so as after their maiden voyage within the SEC in 2024 went sideways with these two opponents.
At Mizzou, OU rallied to take a late lead on Billy Bowman’s fumble return for a landing, however a disastrous fumble by quarterback Jackson Arnold handed the Tigers the 30-23 victory within the remaining seconds.
In Baton Rouge, the Sooners took a 14-10 lead halfway by means of the second quarter, then gave up a 100-yard kickoff return, then tied it with a late subject purpose, however instantly gave up an extended landing go earlier than halftime — earlier than being blown out within the second half and dropping 37-17.
Venables recapped the sport by applauding his workforce’s efforts on protection, particular groups and on offense — regardless of the Sooner offense managing simply 16 factors, 212 yards and 12 first downs and averaging simply 4.2 yards per play.
He loves the truth that Ben Arbuckle’s offense didn’t commit a turnover, that quarterback John Mateer confirmed energy, velocity, toughness, smarts and resilience on his 20-yard landing run, that Mateer accomplished an environment friendly 15-of-23 throws, and that OU scored on all three journeys contained in the pink zone — conserving them good (31-of-31) on pink zone scoring this season. Eastern Michigan (32-of-32) is the one different FBS workforce to attain on each pink zone likelihood.
Combined with a protection that made quarterback Ty Simpson uncomfortable all evening, stoned the Tide working recreation and turned in a handful of massive performs, and a particular groups unit that when once more delivered championship performs all through — OU’s particular groups rank No. 2 within the nation behind Penn State; Venables mentioned his workforce is No. 1 by the analytics he follows — the Sooners left Tuscaloosa with a 4-0 mark in opposition to the Tide in regular-season conferences.
“That’s how you beat good people,” Venables mentioned. “Every yard has magnitude. I think that’s a mindset. I think everything — the tone is always set through the mindset.”
Venables mentioned the workforce had week of follow and conferences and was centered on profitable the turnover margin, amongst different issues. But he mentioned the Alabama recreation wasn’t received simply on Saturday, and even final week.
“It’s really more than a week,” Venables mentioned. “It’s always starting back in January. And so every time — you only get 12 guaranteed games — and so you need to have perspective and kind of just some joy and gratitude in the moment.
“Because as soon as you get back — it’s like I told the boys; we got back maybe 12:30 (a.m.) — ‘All right, you boys got 25 minutes til curfew.’ They just kind of got quiet. Real quiet. Then I told them I’ll meet them at Logie’s or wherever. I’m kidding.”
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