Top Five Favorite Bowl Games in Oklahoma Sooners History

The college bowl season has produced many classic games over the years despite the controversy of never having a sanctioned champion or playoff system.

My favorite team, the Oklahoma Sooners, have been one of college football's storied programs. They have played in their share of bowl games, and have been fortunate enough to be successful in many of them.

This is not a list of what I think are the best bowl games in Oklahoma Sooners history. I was born in the 1970s, so this is a list of my five personal favorites beginning with No. 5:

5. 1981 Orange Bowl
Oklahoma Sooners vs Florida State Seminoles

These two teams met for the second year in a row, and this one went down to the last two minutes of the game. Quarterback J.C. Watts capped his collegiate career with a defining last drive as it took him less than a minute to go 78 yards ending with a 11-yard touchdown pass to Steve Rhodes to cut the Seminoles lead to 17-16. The Sooners chose to go for the two-point conversion which worked as Watts connected with Forrest Valora to give Oklahoma the lead and win 18-17. This was after Florida State took the lead on a bad punt that the Seminoles recovered in the end zone. Watts, who later would serve in the House of Representatives, won his second straight Orange Bowl MVP. This was a great finish that Oklahoma fans haven't forgotten.

4. 2002 Cotton Bowl
Oklahoma Sooners vs Arkansas Razorbacks

This game was by far the most hard-hitting, defensive struggle I've seen. Oklahoma's defense of a national title came up short after losses to Nebraska and Oklahoma State at the end the season as they lost a shot at another Big 12 Championship, too. Arkansas had finished the regular season with a 7-4 record. The Sooners held the Razorbacks quarterbacks to only two complete passes and 50 total yards of offense. Arkansas only crossed midfield once in the last half of the game, and Oklahoma had nine sacks in the contest. Despite that, the Arkansas defense did keep them in the game before quarterback Matt Jones fumbled away the ball to secure a Sooners victory. There were big hits galore by both teams, and I was really proud of the Sooners effort on defense in this game. It was a very inspiring way to the end the season this way after inconsistencies on offense all year.

3. 2003 Rose Bowl
Oklahoma Sooners vs Washington State Cougars

In their first ever Rose Bowl appearance, the Oklahoma Sooners made the most of it against Pac-10 Champion Washington State. The Cougars hadn't won the Rose Bowl since 1916, and lost a memorable game to Michigan in 1998 in the last year before the BCS took place. Oklahoma's defense took advantage of quarterback Jason Guesser, who was playing the game with a brace on his left knee and ankle. The game was close until the Sooners scored two touchdowns in the 2nd quarter including a 51-yard punt return touchdown from Antonio Perkins for a 17-0 lead. Oklahoma had a 27-0 lead before the Cougars scored on a Guesser touchdown pass. Quentin Griffin scored the last touchdown of his career as he rushed for over 100 yards in his 10th straight game before the Cougars got a kickoff return touchdown from Sammy Moore making the final score 34-14. Nate Hybl threw for 240 yards and two touchdowns to win Rose Bowl MVP. I was happy Oklahoma won in their first Rose Bowl appearance

2. 1986 National Championship: Orange Bowl
Oklahoma Sooners vs Penn State Nittany Lions

Thanks to Tennessee beating No. 2 ranked Miami Hurricanes in the Sugar Bowl, Oklahoma had suddenly been given the opportunity to win the national championship. Earlier in the year, Miami beat Oklahoma 27-14 as Sooners quarterback Troy Aikman suffered a season-ending injury(which led to him later transferring to UCLA) and giving way to Jamelle Holieway as they went back to the wishbone offense. Penn State was ranked No. 1 and were undefeated before this Orange Bowl match-up. So after the Sugar Bowl result, this Orange Bowl was for the national title. As an 11-year old kid, I vividly remember the play that defined the game as tight end Keith Jackson caught a 71-yard touchdown from Holieway on a play action when the Sooners were faced with a 3rd down-and-24 in the second quarter. The Nittany Lions were up 7-3 before the big play, but Oklahoma was up for good after that. Linebacker Brian Bosworth was all over the place making tackles as he made 13 of them in the game, and was the MVP of the Orange Bowl. The Oklahoma defense forced five turnovers including safety Sonny Brown's second interception of the game at their own 1-yard line in the second half. Barry Switzer won his third national title and it would be the last for him in his career and for the program until Bob Stoops came along.

1. 2001 BCS National Championship at the Orange Bowl:
Oklahoma Sooners vs Florida State Seminoles

It had been over a decade since the Sooners were last in the national title picture. After the program spun out of control in the late 1980s with the subsequent resigning of Barry Switzer, they were put on probation(this happened to be about the time I moved from Oklahoma, too). They reached a low point by going 12-22 between 1996-98. But new head coach Bob Stoops brought the confidence and winning attitude as the team improved in 1999 in his first year. The Sooners made it to the BCS National Championship in his second year despite a schedule that included Texas, Kansas State, and Nebraska that were all at one time ranked in the top ten. Florida State had won the BCS national championship in 1999, and were favored to win this game with their high-powered offense led by Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke. But Oklahoma defense, led by game MVP linebacker Torrence Marshall, kept the Seminoles offense from scoring, and a late touchdown run by Quentin Griffin sealed a 13-2 win for the Sooners(Oklahoma only allowed a safety after a bad snap of a punt). This secured Oklahoma's seventh national title, and they have been a contender nearly every year since this game. For me, this game brought back many childhood memories of my days living in Midwest City pulling for the Sooners and when they were a powerhouse program. This day proved that Oklahoma Sooners football was back for good!

Sources:
USA Today College Football Encyclopedia
wikipedia.org