Sooners and Cowboys Headed To Bowl Games

by John Mitchell

A new head coach, a whole lot of new players, and the unknown. That is how the Oklahoma Sooners started the 2022 college football season. The Sooners jumped to a 3-0 start after beating UTEP 45-13 and Kent State 33-3. Then in week 3, the Sooners traveled to Lincoln and absolutely demolished old-time foe Nebraska 49-14. It appeared as if the Sooners’ defensive struggles of recent years had been cured by new Head Coach Brent Venables, a defensive genius who came to Norman from Clemson, where he was the defensive coordinator for the Tigers. Then in week four, the Kansas State Wildcats rolled into Norman and beat the Sooners 41-34. There was still no need for panic, as the Wildcats have caused the Sooners problems for years. Then the Sooners were beaten like a rented mule by TCU 55-24 and embarrassed by Texas 49-0 in back-to-back games. Now was the time for panic, and I even wrote what many were thinking and starting to say out loud. Would the Sooners win another game? The Sooners traveled to an upstart Kansas and came away with a 52-42 win. Then the Sooners were able to knock off a struggling Iowa State team 27-13. Signs of hope were dashed when the Sooners lost the next 2, 38-35 to Baylor and then 23-20 at West Virginia. The Sooners were setting one win shy of even making a bowl game with Oklahoma State and Texas Tech left on the schedule. Somehow, the struggling Sooners were able to beat OSU, 28-13. Those 28 points all came in the first quarter of the game. At last, the Sooners were bowl eligible for the 24th straight season. The Sooners ended the regular season with a 51-48 loss at Texas Tech to finish the season 6-6, their worst record since 1998, John Blake’s last season in charge. The Sooners will face #13 Florida State on December 29th in the Cheez-It Bowl in Orlando Florida.
Mike Gundy and The Oklahoma State Cowboys started the 2022 season in a completely different mindset than the Sooners. A returning star quarterback in Spencer Sanders, an excellent line, a set of skilled wide receivers and running backs, and a stout defense. This was supposed to be the year the Cowboys owned the Big 12 and made a run for the College Football Playoff. The Cowboys started out red hot with wins over Central Michigan 58-44, Arizona State 34-17, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 63-7, #16 Baylor 36-25, and Texas Tech 41-31. The Cowboys were rolling. Then along came TCU, which handed the Cowboys a respectable 43-40 loss in double overtime. The Cowboys rebounded by beating Texas 41-34 the following game securing their 6th win and a bowl game at the end of the year. The rocket the cowboys were riding to space sputtered and fell back to earth with back-to-back losses to Kansas State 48-0 and Kansas 37-16. The Cowboys were able to beat Iowa State 20-14, before dropping their last 2 games to OU 28-13 and West Virginia 24-19. The Cowboys finish the year 7-5 after losing 5 of their last 7 games. The Cowboys will end the season on December 27th, when they will face Wisconsin in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix, AZ. Sanders and Wide Receiver Braylin Pressley have both entered the transfer portal and will most likely not play in the game.