Compiled by OU Athletics Communications
No. 6/8/7 Oklahoma (8-2, 6-2 Big 12) goes for its eighth consecutive win when it meets No. 7/10/10 Florida (8-3, 8-2 SEC) in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on Wednesday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. CT inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The game will be televised by ESPN with Joe Tessitore, Greg McElroy and Holly Rowe announcing.
This marks OU’s sixth straight New Year’s Six bowl appearance (2015 Orange, 2016 Sugar, 2017 Rose, 2018 Orange, 2019 Peach) and the first time since 2016 that it did not qualify for the College Football Playoff. The Sooners were CFP participants in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019. Only Alabama and Clemson have made more CFP appearances.
The only two times in the past six seasons that OU did not qualify for the College Football Playoff it finished sixth (2020) and seventh (2016) in the CFP rankings.
OU is 5-2 at AT&T Stadium and has won its last four contests there (Big 12 Championship games each of the last four years).
This marks Oklahoma’s 54th bowl appearance, tied for fourth most nationally. Thirty-nine of those 54 have come in bowls that comprise the current New Year’s Six (Orange [20], Sugar [8], Fiesta [5], Cotton [3], Rose [2] and Peach [1]). The 39 does not include OU’s BCS Championship Game appearance against Florida on Jan. 9, 2009.
OU is making its 22nd consecutive bowl appearance, by far the longest streak in school history (the previous record was eight from the 1975-82 seasons under Barry Switzer). Beginning in Bob Stoops’ 1999 debut season as head coach, it is the second-longest active streak in the nation (Georgia; 24) and the longest ever by a current Big 12 program.
The Sooners own a 29-23-1 (.557) bowl record. Their 29 bowl wins are tied for the sixth most nationally.
The Sooners own a 29-23-1 (.557) bowl record. Their 29 bowl wins are tied for the sixth most nationally.
Oklahoma is 58-35-2 (.621) in AP top-10 matchups, and 19-10 (.655) since the start of the 2000 season. It is 38-20 (.655) as the higher ranked team in such games.
Lincoln Riley is 44-8 with the Sooners, a program record for wins by a fourth-year head coach. Bob Stoops, who went 43-9 (.827) in his first four seasons (1999-2002) held the previous standard. Riley’s .846 career winning percentage is the best in OU history (College Football Hall of Famers Barry Switzer and Bud Wilkinson, and Stoops, a 2020 HOF nominee, finished with respective marks of .837, .826 and .798).
Riley owns the OU records for wins by a head coach in a debut season (12; previous record was 10 by Switzer and Chuck Fairbanks), first two seasons (24; previous record was 21 by Switzer), first three seasons (36; previous record was 32 by Switzer) and first four seasons (44; previous record was 43 by Stoops).
The Sooners have held their last four opponents (Kansas [9], Oklahoma State [13], Baylor [14] and Iowa State [21]) to a combined 57 points. The last time OU held Big 12 opponents to 57 or fewer points over a four-game stretch was in 2015 when it limited Kansas State (0), Texas Tech (27), Kansas (7) and Iowa State (16) to a total of 50. OU has also held its last four foes to an average of 303.8 yards per game.
In the seven games since their Oct. 3 loss at Iowa State, the Sooners rank fourth among Power Five teams with their 43.6 points per game.
OU has scored at least 27 points in a school-record 62 consecutive contests. The next longest streak nationally since at least 1980 is 31 by UCF (2017-19). The next longest active streak is 24 games by Alabama.
Oklahoma has won 41 of its last 52 games away from Norman (79%).
The only previous Oklahoma-Florida meeting was meaningful one, as the Gators topped the Sooners 24-14 in the BCS National Championship to cap the 2008 season. OU was No. 1 in the BCS rankings and No. 2 in the AP poll, while UF was No. 2 and No. 1, respectively.
The game was tied 7-7 at half and 14-14 with 12 minutes left in the fourth before Florida made a field goal with 10:45 remaining and scored a touchdown with 3:07 to go to capture its third national title (second in three years).
Twice in the second quarter the Sooners failed to score when they had the ball inside Florida’s 10-yard line. They were stopped on rushes on third- and fourth-and-goal from the 1 midway through the quarter and a Sam Bradford pass from the UF 6 in the final minute of the half deflected off receiver Manuel Johnson and was intercepted.
Bradford, who won OU’s fifth Heisman Trophy that season, completed 26 of 41 passes for 256 yards for two touchdowns (both to tight end Jermaine Gresham) and had two interceptions. Gresham finished with eight catches for 62 yards while running back Chris Brown carried 22 times for 110 yards.
Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, the 2007 Heisman winner, was 18 for 30 through the air for 231 yards and two scores. Percy Harvin rushed for 121 yards and a TD on nine carries.
Oklahoma defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and defensive back Nic Harris recorded interceptions.
OU set a modern era scoring record with its 716 points in 2008 and entered the contest by racking up more than 60 points in each of the five previous outings, but was held to 363 yards and a season low in points (previous low was 35).
Current Sooners running backs coach DeMarco Murray rushed for 1,002 yards (5.6 average) and 14 touchdowns in OU’s first 13 games that season (also caught 31 passes for 395 yards and four more scores) but had to miss the contest due to injury. Murray earned first-team All-Big 12 honors that season and went on to be named the 2014 NFL Offensive Player of the Year as a member of the Dallas Cowboys while playing inside AT&T Stadium (site of this year’s Cotton Bowl).
Current Florida head coach Dan Mullen served as the Gators’ offensive coordinator in the game. It was his last contest as a UF assistant coach, as he had been hired as Mississippi State head coach a month earlier.
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