2008 Oklahoma Football: The Nation’s Most Explosive Offense
Since winning the national championship in 2000, Bob Stoops continued to keep Oklahoma football squarely in the national elite. Over the ensuing seven seasons, the Sooners added five more Top 10 finishes and had played for the title in both 2003 and 2004 before coming up short. The pursuit of Stoops’ second ring in 2008 took OU football all the way to another national championship game.
SAM BRADFORD LEADS AN OFFENSIVE MACHINE
The Sooners scored points by the bushel in 2008, their 51.1 ppg leading the nation. Sam Bradford was at the helm. The eventual #1 overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft, Bradford threw 50 touchdown passes against just seven interceptions for Oklahoma in 2008. He completed 68 percent of his passes at a healthy 9.8 yards-per-attempt.
Even in a year when Big 12 quarterbacks in general were lighting it up, Bradford stood out. He won the Heisman Trophy.
Juaquin Iglesias was Bradford’s primary target, catching 74 passes for 1,150 yards. And there was plenty of help. Ryan Broyles and Manuel Johnson each got 40-plus passes and averaged over 15 yards a catch. Tight end Jermaine Gresham posted 66 receptions and came in at just under 1,000 yards.
Moreover, Oklahoma was balanced. A potent running game had a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in Chris Brown and Demarco Murray. They ran behind a line that included All-American guard Duke Robinson and All-Big 12 tackle Phil Loadholt.
That offense covered for a defense that was more pedestrian, especially in the wide-open Big 12. There were some good individual players. Jermaine Beal up front and Travis Lewis at linebacker were each all-conference performers. Lendy Holmes intercepted five passes in the secondary and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy helped in the pass rush with 6 ½ sacks. But as a unit, Oklahoma’s defense ranked 58th nationally for points allowed.
AN UNSTOPPABLE SEPTEMBER
The Sooners were ranked #4 in the preseason polls and tuned up with a 57-2 rout of UT-Chattanooga. OU faced a key early test when Brian Kelly brought his Cincinnati team to Norman. The Bearcats would ultimately win the old Big East football conference and reach the Orange Bowl. Oklahoma sent them home with a 52-26 smackdown.
A road game to an awful Washington team that ended the season winless resulted in an easy 55-14 blowout. That was followed by a home date against a good TCU squad, one that would conclude the season ranked in the national top 10. The Sooners hung a 35-10 rout on the Horned Frogs.
Events elsewhere in the country fell in OU’s favor and they moved to the top of the polls. The first Big 12 game was a comfortable 49-17 win over a bad Baylor team. The Sooners were 5-0 and riding high as they went to Dallas for the annual Red River Rivalry game with fifth-ranked Texas.
THE FIRST CUT
Oklahoma got off to a fast start and took a 14-3 lead in the early second quarter and still led 35-30 in the fourth quarter. Bradford would finish 28/39 for 387 yards. But Bradford also threw two interceptions, while Longhorn counterpart Colt McCoy was mistake-free. That was ultimately the difference as Texas took over down the stretch and handed Oklahoma a 45-35 loss.
The Sooners fell to #5 in the polls. In the world of 2008, this was a big deal. There was no multi-round playoff format in place. When the regular season ended, the 1-2 finishers were chosen to play in the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) National Championship Game. Oklahoma not only had no room for error left, they also needed outside help.
OU hosted Kansas a week later and got back on track with a 45-31 win over an above-average team. That was followed by a 45-35 road win over mediocre Kansas State. They came back home to host Nebraska, who was bound for an eight-win season. The Sooners smoked the Cornhuskers 62-28.
When the following week’s polls came out, the Sooners were #6. But the same night they beat Nebraska, important help came. In a showdown of undefeated Big 12 teams, Texas Tech nipped Texas. With an impending game against the Red Raiders in November, Oklahoma could see the light.
THE PATH FORWARD
After destroying subpar Texas A&M 66-28, the Sooners took a week off and got ready to host second-ranked Texas Tech. The national focus was locking in on the Big 12. It was expected that one spot in the BCS National Championship Game would go to either Florida or Alabama out of the SEC. The Big 12 was very much in line to produce the second team.
But which team? If Oklahoma could beat Texas Tech, it would set up a three-way circular tie that included Texas. The Big 12 tiebreaker rules said that in such circumstances, whoever was ranked higher in the polls would get the nod.
Furthermore, this was an era when the Big 12 was split into North and South divisions. The power might have been on the Southern side in 2008, but there were still good teams in the North, headlined by Missouri. Winning the tiebreaker didn’t automatically get you into the BCS National Championship Game—it got you to the Big 12 Championship Game, where you could play your way in. And from Oklahoma’s perspective, Texas Tech wasn’t even the last tough game—in-state rival Oklahoma State was having a strong year and awaited in the season finale.
All of which is to say that Oklahoma had a path—but they needed to not only beat Texas Tech on the field, they needed to beat both the Red Raiders and the Longhorns at the ballot box, then go beat Oklahoma State and the eventual North champ on the field.
TAKING CONTROL
ESPN Gameday did its morning show from the campus in Norman. And in prime-time, the Sooner offense put on a show for the nation. Murray ran for an early touchdown, and it was 7-0 going into the second quarter. Then Oklahoma unloaded.
Brown’s short TD run made it 14-0. Bradford then hit Gresham with a 19-yard touchdown pass and found Iglesias from 28 yards out. The Red Raiders scored to make it 28-7. In spite of OU’s early dominance, no one was going to rest easy with the way Big 12 offenses, the South’s Power Trio in particular, had scored points all year long. Oklahoma didn’t let up—in the final two minutes, they scored twice and had a 42-7 lead at halftime.
Bradford only had to throw 19 times, completing 14 of them and turning them into astonishing 364 yards. And Oklahoma pummeled Texas Tech up front. Murray, with 125 yards and Brown with 108, both outrushed Tech as a team.
The final was 65-21. The three-way tie scenario was set up. And when the votes came down, Oklahoma had the lead.
SURVIVING BEDLAM
It was on to Stillwater for another prime-time battle, again with ESPN Gameday on hand. Murray again set an early tone, rumbling 20 yards for a touchdown to make it 7-0 after the first quarter.
Oklahoma’s offense again picked up in the second quarter, although this one didn’t turn into a rout. Oklahoma State scored the next ten points to take the lead. Brown’s touchdown run put OU back up 14-10. After a Cowboy field goal, Bradford flipped a short TD pass to Gresham and made it 21-13 at the half.
Okie State got the first touchdown of the third quarter and lined up for a two-point conversion that could tie the game. Instead, Sooner defensive tackle Frank Alexander scooped up a fumble and raced 98 yards the other way. Oklahoma got the two points and had a 23-19 lead.
They were also getting the football, and Bradford wasted no time hitting Gresham for a 73-yard touchdown strike. The Cowboys answered with a touchdown. Bradford led another drive that he finished himself with a two-yard scoring run. It was 37-26 Sooners going into the final quarter.
The joust continued. Oklahoma State scored. Bradford answered with a short TD pass. The Cowboys returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown. It was 44-41 and it was still anybody’s game.
Oklahoma wasn’t dominating the ground the way they had a week earlier, although they still got 90 yards from Brown. Bradford, needing to throw more frequently, was razor-sharp. He completed 30/40 for 370 yards and no mistakes. Gresham had a huge night, with nine catches for 158 yards, while Iglesias added eight for 80 yards. And this multi-pronged attack finally broke Oklahoma State late.
Bradford threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Iglesias to open up breathing room again. A field goal made it 54-41. And with 0:25 on the clock, Brown ran 28 yards for one final score to end the 61-41 shootout.
It was the fourth straight game, three of them against good teams, that Oklahoma had dropped 60-plus points. There was a lot of fierce debate about how the final vote should go—with no one seriously considering Texas Tech, the advocates for Texas were pointing to the head-to-head result back in October.
But the Sooner offensive surge wasn’t going to be ignored by the voters. OU came in at #3, trailing only the two SEC powers who were about to play head-to-head. If Oklahoma took care of business against Missouri next week, they would play for the national championship.
ONE MORE ROUT
Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City was the venue for the Big 12 Championship Game and the night started poorly for the Sooners. Murray, who doubled as a return man, tore a hamstring on the opening kickoff. He was gone for the rest of the season.
Mossis Madu was the next man up, joining Brown in the backfield. They both cleared the 100-yard threshold and Oklahoma enjoyed a decisive 243-60 edge in rush yardage against Mizzou.
The second quarter was once again where the offense heated up. Leading 10-7, Bradford led drives that each ended with scoring passes to Iglesias. Madu ran in from 12 yards out. Brown added a six-yard touchdown run. The rout was on. It was 38-7 by halftime.
Bradford completed his Heisman campaign by going 39/49 for 384 yards and no mistakes. Iglesias caught nine balls for 125 yards, with Broyles and Gresham adding 80-plus receiving yards apiece.
For the fifth straight game, Oklahoma blew past the 60-point threshold. They won 62-21. Florida, who had beaten Alabama earlier in the day, was the last hurdle for the national championship in Miami.
A QUARTER SHORT
Florida quarterback Tim Tebow had won the Heisman Trophy in 2007, thus setting up a battle with Bradford of the last two winners of the award. One couldn’t be blamed for expecting a shootout. But it turned into a more physical game. Bradford and Tebow were held in the 200s for passing yards and each threw a pair of interceptions. The game was tied 14-14 early in the fourth quarter.
The difference is that Florida was getting a running game, between Percy Harvin and the dual-threat Tebow. Oklahoma was on the wrong side of the rush yardage gap, losing 249-107. That was the difference, as the Gators scored the last ten points and ended the Sooner dream, 24-14.
AFTERMATH
Stoops coached Oklahoma through the 2016 season and continued to enjoy success, adding four more top 10 finishes. He was there for the early years of the four-team College Football Playoff and got the Sooners there in 2015. The only missing piece of his Hall of Fame resume was being a multi-time national championship winner. 2008 was the last time he got this close.