Path to the Peach Bowl: Oklahoma Sooners

A season of what could have been turned out to be a very good year. They started the season with a 35-3 victory against FCS Playoff semifinalist Illinois State. They followed that up with an impressive victory against Michigan, where the Sooner defense really stood out. Outside of the 75-yard rushing touchdown by Justice Haynes, the Michigan offense could not get going. They followed up that performance with a dominating victory against Temple. Then, the issues began.

Auburn comes to town, and at the beginning of the game, quarterback John Mateer injures his thumb, which would require surgery. That said, he finished that game out, and while Auburn was pesky and would not go away, Oklahoma was able to secure the victory. Mateer underwent surgery, while Michael Hawkins Jr started their game against Kent State. Oklahoma then had the Red River rivalry against Texas in a game that essentially saw John Mateer return a bit too early.

In the game, he was able to have over 200 yards passing, but also threw three interceptions. It was clear that he was not 100% just yet, and this game was the beginning of a tough road to make the College Football Playoff.

The next game they handle South Carolina, and then must prepare to welcome Ole Miss at home. It was a weird game. It felt as if Oklahoma was not fully prepared, or simply that Ole Miss capitalized early. Either way, this was the third game in a row that showed a flaw in Oklahoma’s offense. At this moment, many began to write off the season for Oklahoma. Against Tennessee, another bad moment happened. Early in the game, Oklahoma gets a sack, Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar fumbled and defensive lineman R. Mason Thomas recovers and runs it back 71-yards for the touchdown. During the return, he suffered a quad injury that would hold him out for the remainder of the season. The good news is that he is cleared to return for the upcoming game against Alabama.

Speaking of Alabama, after the Tennessee game, Oklahoma travelled to Tuscaloosa to take on the Crimson Tide. Oklahoma did everything right. They took care of the ball, executed on Alabama’s errors, and the defense played tough. Offensively, it was not the performance that you would like to see, but it didn’t matter as Oklahoma handed Kalen DeBoer his first home loss as the head coach at Alabama.

Following that game, Oklahoma was in the driver’s seat for the College Football Playoff. They took on Missouri, and the defensive battle turned out to be low scoring, but Oklahoma won impressively by two scores. All that was left was LSU.

Oklahoma’s game against LSU was weird. Both defenses really stepped things up. LSU had a chance early after an interception, where they ended up being on the Oklahoma four-yard line. LSU threw an interception on the first play. After that, it was really back and forth, and ultimately quarterback John Mateer was able to find wide receiver Isaiah Sategna, III for the 58-yard touchdown pass, giving Oklahoma the 17-13 lead with four minutes left to play. This was able to give Oklahoma not only a 10-2 season, but also a spot in the College Football Playoff.