In 2014, the Oklahoma Sooners had a record that qualifies as ugly in the Sooner Nation and with College Football betting fans – an 8-5 tally that kept them well out of any conference title possibilities, as well as any high marks in preseason polls. The media ranked OU third in the Big 12 behind Baylor and TCU.
Can Oklahoma Win the Big 12 NCAA Football Odds Title This Year?
It’s official. @OU_CoachStoops names starting quarterback for Sept. 5 opener: http://t.co/qVazZbBoVy pic.twitter.com/dd6P4dnKtt
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) August 24, 2015
However, center Ty Darlington was a confident interviewee at media days. He said, “We knew were capable of playing with any team in the nation last year. But we didn’t play to the best of our ability at times.” If you look back at the record that OU turned in, in terms of wins and losses, that seems like a misguided statement. However, if you look closer, you’ll see that it’s not that far off the mark.
For example, three of those five losses came by four points or fewer. Many of those games came down to just one play that could have sent things the other direction for them. For example, OU lost to TCU (the ballyhooed #2 team in this year’s preseason polls) by the score of 37-33. However, the game was tied at 31 at the start of the fourth quarter, when OU quarterback Trevor Knight tossed a pick-six.
The TCU game wasn’t the only example of OU having just a play or two go the wrong way. OU lost to Kansas State by the score of 31-30. In that game, Sooners kicker Michael Hunnicutt, who was one of the best kickers in all of college football last year, yanked a 19-yard field goal wide with fewer than four minutes left in the game.