What changed for Oklahoma football after Ole Miss loss to charge into College Football Playoff

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Fresh off a loss to Ole Miss at home, the Sooners were in need of a change.

With two losses already in the season, OU needed to power through the rest of the schedule to make the playoffs — and they did just that.

No. 8 Oklahoma football will open this year’s College Football Playoff with a home game Friday against No. 9 Alabama, which will kick off at 7 p.m. on ABC and ESPN, all thanks to a powerful reset to start November. After a reset, the Sooners rattled off four-straight wins to earn a spot in the playoffs.

The Sooners lost to then-No. 8 Ole Miss inside Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Oct. 25. The Sooners were 6-2 and in need of a spark to get their season back on track — in comes offensive analyst Kevin Wilson.

“That loss, I think, was the best thing that could have happened to this team,” said OU defensive back Peyton Bowen. “We didn’t play our standard. Coach Wilson came up to us right before Tennessee and talked to us about creating the standard. The standard was here, but you create our standard for Team 131. Asked us if we had been playing up to that? From that talk, I think that talk hit us way different more than that postgame Ole Miss talk.

“Ever since that talk, it’s been head down, foot on the gas and this team is amazing.”

Wilson is a longtime college coach with more than 40 years of experience. He’s been a head coach at Indiana (2011-16) and at Tulsa (2023-24). He was also the offensive coordinator at Ohio State from 2017-22.

Wilson, though, has spent the most time with the Oklahoma program. He spent 2002-05 as the co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, then promoted to full-time OC in 2006 and stayed in Norman until 2010, leaving for the Indiana job.

He’s back in Norman, this time as an offensive analyst, but his biggest contribution this season is a reality-check speech with the Sooners the week before the Tennessee game.

“He called out the BS in the air,” said OU offensive lineman Febechi Nwaiwu. “Everybody knew that we weren’t playing to the standard of the school that we all knew we could put more in and bring more out. I think him calling us out, and especially hearing it from a coach of his stature and history, coaching at Ohio State and being an old coach here, it really made us realize the standard that we weren’t holding and the standard we had to get back to.”

That speech sparked the Sooners into completing a win streak to end the season and get into the playoffs, and earn a home game, too.

As much as Wilson’s speech lit a fire under the Sooners, they needed to respond to that message, and they did, proving it on the field the past four games.

“We have our own players-only meeting Friday night before every game,” said OU quarterback John Mateer. “We really took advantage of it. Coach Kevin Wilson kind of called us all out. Told us to make a decision, and we did. He hit our hearts, what we really want. When a man doesn’t have a choice, have to do something, there’s another gear you can hit. We can all get to it, and I think we got to it.

“We had a conversation as players ahead of the game. Made a decision. It was really important. I thought we all did a really good job.”

The Sooners had plenty of motivation that week to get going, and it’s what OU coach Brent Venables used throughout that week.

Venables said he presented the team with a graphic that showed the Sooners had a 92% chance to make the playoffs if they were able to win-out, which they did.

“We talked about how five weeks ago in our team meeting after the Ole Miss game, and obviously it’s not a very positive mood initially. The guys come in, and it’s really quiet, and we kind of had a circle-the-wagon moment and tried to instill confidence in who we are… I just—I’m not really like that, like, ‘Let’s look up there,’ but I think our guys needed a shot in the arm and a vision for what is in front of us if we just put our head down and go have a great Monday practice.

“I know it was, at the moment, kind of unthinkable for a lot of people, but thankful that our players that day, they made a decision.”

After those upset road wins at Tennessee and Alabama, the Sooners were finding an identity — Hard to Kill.

It’s from the movie ‘Gladiator,’ which Mateer said the team watched before the Tennessee game. That movie, combined with the speeches from Venables and Wilson, sparked a mantra the Sooners have lived by since. ‘Hard To Kill’.

“It means a lot, just like I said overcoming adversity. It hit us — Texas, Ole Miss — and we knew that we’ve got to overcome,” said OU defensive lineman Gracen Halton. “We can’t just mope around and say our season’s over, we’ve got to keep it going, keep heads straight, keep the horse blinders on, and that’s what we did, just kept on working every week and just kept on working.”

Hard to kill

Owen Heinecke wears a 'Hard To Kill' shirt after OU's game against LSU Nov. 29.

That mantra has become the personality of the team.

The Sooners wear ‘Hard To Kill’ shirts and hoodies pregame and postgame, they use it in game speeches and preach by it in media interviews. OU sells official ‘Hard To Kill’ shirts and hoodies.

It’s a full-blown identity that has guided the Sooners to the playoffs and will continue to do so throughout their run in the CFP.

“I think there’s been evidence every week post the Ole Miss game. We’ve come in and tried to punch back every time we can,” said OU linebacker Owen Heinecke. “The games aren’t always pretty, but we come out on the winning side. Each game has been a playoff game for us. It doesn’t matter if it’s top-ranked Alabama or Mizzou, every game is a game we need to win to keep our season going and that’s kind of been the belief and the mindset for the whole team.”

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