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Channel: trickshotcharity
Date: 2013-12-25

he Oklahoma Sooners football program is a college football team that represents the University of Oklahoma (variously "Oklahoma" or "OU"). The team is currently a member of the Big 12 Conference, which is in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The program began in 1895 and is the most successful program of the modern era (post World War II) with 567 wins and a winning percentage of .763 since 1945.[2][3] The program has 7 national championships, 44 conference championships, 152 All-Americans (74 consensus),[4][5] and five Heisman Trophy winners. In addition, the school has had five coaches and 17 players inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame[6] and holds the record for the longest winning streak in Division I-FBS history with 47 straight victories. Oklahoma is also the only program that has had four coaches with 100+ wins, including current head coach Bob Stoops. They became the eighth NCAA FBS team to win 800 games when they defeated Utah State on Sept. 4th, 2010. Games are played at the Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma.
The university looked at many candidates to replace Blake. Many big-time college coaches were considered for the post. However, Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione decided to hire a 38-year-old defensive coordinator from Florida, Bob Stoops when Auburn University passed over Stoops to hire Tommy Tuberville . Mr. Stoops was a former defensive back at Iowa under coach Hayden Fry and was his team captain and MVP. Coach Stoops quickly began to build his new program with the promise to help the program regain its former position as a perennial college football powerhouse. On his arrival to campus he would find that for all his predecessor's failings as a head football coach, John Blake had been an excellent recruiter and many of his players were potential stars. Despite the obvious talent already on-campus, no quarterback suitable for the "spread" offense was on the team roster. Stoops would remedy this by signing a little-known junior college quarterback, Josh Heupel, to run his offense. In his first year as head coach, the Sooners showed marked improvement; starting the season with three wins over non-conference opponents amassing 132 points to their opponents' 31. They lost the next two games, which included a 34-30 loss against Notre Dame at South Bend and finished the season with an overall record of 7 wins and 5 losses. This success was a breath of fresh air for a program that had fallen from perennial powerhouse to league doormat and those surrounding the Sooner football program expected great things from their new head coach. They would not be disappointed.
In 2000, the Sooners opened the season ranked number 19,[37] the first time they opened the season ranked in five years. The Sooners opened 4--0, dominating their early season opponents by a combined score of 176--51. The annual Red River Shootout against arch-rival the University of Texas would prove to be the first signature victory of the Bob Stoops era. The Sooners dominated the Longhorns by a score of 63-14 in what was then the most lopsided upset in the history of the rivalry. Oklahoma running back Quentin Griffin smashed the Oklahoma record for most touchdowns in a game with six scores. The Sooners were now officially back in the hunt for a national title. In the following weeks the team narrowly beat the number two ranked Kansas State 41--31 in Manhattan and the following week went on to beat the number one ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers 31--14. ESPN's Brent Musburger said that, "The Sooners' October run of burying Texas, Kansas State and Nebraska is one of the greatest 30-day stretches in college football history."[38] The Sooners narrowly escaped a loss at the hands of Texas A&M in College Station but they pulled out a victory, winning 35--31 on an interception return for a touchdown by linebacker Torrence Marshall. The team defeated the Kansas State Wildcats for the second time that season in the Big 12 Championship, a victory which propelled the program to its first national title berth since 1985. The Sooners finished the season with a stunning 13-2 win over a heavily favored Florida State team in the 2001 Orange Bowl and claimed the Sears Trophy. At the end of the season, quarterback Josh Heupel had the top two spots on the list of Oklahoma's season passing records. The championship was the Sooners' 7th national title and their first since Barry Switzer's departure. The team had finally regained its status as a power in the college football world. The stoic coach from Ohio had resurrected a football giant, bringing the once great program back to the pinnacle of college athletics. The Sooners and their fans were hungry for more success and Coach Stoops would deliver.