Oklahoma's remarkable November made a statement to the rest of CFB

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The year was 2000. The Oklahoma Sooners were in their second season under head coach Bob Stoops, and they’d gotten off to a 4-0 start in the month of September, following a 7-5 record in Stoops’ first season in 1999. 

However, a daunting stretch lay ahead of OU in the month of October. The Sooners would have to face No. 10 Texas for the annual matchup of ancient rivals at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. They’d have to face No. 3 Kansas State in Manhattan, featuring one of Stoops’ key mentors, Bill Snyder. After a much-needed bye week, OU would come home to Norman and face No. 1 Nebraska in another high-stakes rivalry contest between the Big Reds. 

Oklahoma surely couldn’t escape through those three games in four weeks unscathed, and they’d be underdogs all month long. After all, this was the same program that had suffered through a very rough ten-year stretch between 1989 and 1998 after the legendary Barry Switzer resigned following his last season in 1988. The Gary Gibbs, Howard Schnellenberger and John Blake eras were unsuccessful, and there was finally some forward momentum under Stoops, but it was still early, and no one could have predicted what came next. 

The Sooners dismantled the Longhorns 63-14. They outlasted the Wildcats 41-31. They stunned Cornhuskers 31-14. It was an unheard-of stretch of wins like the program hadn’t seen in years. The month was dubbed “Red October”, after the movie “The Hunt for Red October”, starring Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin, that had been released ten years earlier. 

You know what happened next. Stoops’ Sooners built on that 7-0 record to go 13-0 in 2000. They were the consensus national champions of college football that year, and that success helped launch another highly successful era of OU Football in the 21st century. 

Let’s fast-forward 25 years and one month. The Sooners were in their fourth year under head coach Brent Venables, who was on Stoops’ staff for that remarkable run a quarter-century ago as a co-defensive coordinator, and they had clawed their way to a respectable 6-2 start through September and October, but two losses over the past three weeks to Texas and Ole Miss had dampened the early momentum that Oklahoma had gained. 

With a grueling stretch ahead of the Sooners in the month of November, the hopes of making the College Football Playoff looked grim. Oklahoma would have to travel to face No. 14 Tennessee in Knoxville, entering one of college football’s most hostile environments. After a bye week, they’d head to Tuscaloosa to take on No. 4 Alabama, a team that was playing better than just about anyone in the country. Next, a home game against an old foe loomed, as No. 22 Missouri would come to Norman. If that wasn’t enough, the Sooners would finish out the month with a visit from a talent-laden LSU squad that entered the year with playoff aspirations. 

After two 6-7 seasons in Venables’ first three years at the helm, surely the Sooners could make it through those four games in five weeks unbeaten. Surely, Oklahoma would end up in a non-CFP bowl. After all, the Sooners had shown nothing in their first season in the mighty SEC that made folks think they were capable of going on a run like that. 

What happened next may go down as Oklahoma’s “Red November”, an homage to the 2000 title team, and a stretch run that won’t soon be forgotten. 

The Sooners hung tough against the Volunteers, pulling away in the second half to silence the Neyland Stadium noise with a 33-27 win. They didn’t back down against the big, bad Crimson Tide, making just enough plays to spoil ‘Bama’s homecoming and earn perhaps the signature win of the Venables era so far, wining 23-21. OU shut down Mizzou in a truly sterling defensive performance with a 17-6 win, avenging a brutal loss from a year ago. Then, Oklahoma rallied to defeat the Bayou Bengals 17-13 in the final minutes, winning an ugly football game by the skin of their teeth. 

Now, Oklahoma is in the CFP. A rematch with the Tide awaits on December 19th, but that game will be in Norman this time around. Four straight hard-fought victories have put the Sooners back among the short list of college football’s contenders, even though no one saw it coming. Just 12 months ago, Venables’ Sooners were a six-win outfit. Now, they’re hosting a playoff game. 

Of course, this OU team isn’t that 2000 team in a lot of ways. Pulling off a run to the national title game this year and winning there would be perhaps this program’s greatest dose of “Sooner Magic” yet. In a way, that 2000 team is still a big part of the blueprint for where the Sooners under Venables’ leadership are trying to get to, and they aren’t there yet. Although, with this season’s success, and the foundation that Venables is starting to see fruit from, maybe some more of that consistent, high-end success is coming to an Owen Field near you faster than anyone thought it was a year ago. 

However, this month of “Red November” serves as a statement to the rest of the college football world, and to the rest of the nation. This is Oklahoma. This is a program that is literally built on winning championships, and it’s a program whose rightful place is at the very top of this incredible sport. Just like everyone else, OU isn’t immune to rough seasons or rocky stretches, but unlike just about everyone else, the Sooners have always fought their way back up to the top. That’s what this program does, and it’s what Oklahoma is all about. OU Football doesn’t stay down for long, and winning is ingrained in the DNA of this iconic, blue blood program. 

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: OU’s CFP reality wouldn’t have happened without “Red November”

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