2017 Oklahoma Sooners Football Countdown To Kickoff | 51 Days!

With 51 days remaining until kickoff of the Oklahoma Sooners’ 2017 season, we thought we’d look back today at Bob Stoops’ first career win against a ranked opponent — a 51-6 victory against the Texas A&M Aggies on Oct. 23, 1999.

Check out the full game here

Beginning the season 3-0 but coming off back-to-back losses at Notre Dame and against Texas, OU faced off against a 13th-ranked Aggies squad that had no idea what was in store that afternoon in Norman. From the opening kickoff, OU dominated all facets of the game and made a big statement to the nation that the program was finally on the rise.

Josh Heupel opened the scoring with a keeper into the end zone and the flood gates opened soon after. As OU had blown big leads in South Bend and Dallas, this time the Sooners played a full game from start to finish, scoring on their first six possessions and not allowing a potent Aggies team coached by R.C. Slocum back into the game at any point.

OU was up 14-0 and started to show the country just how dominant its defense under Stoops could be as the suffocating Sooners blocked field goals, forced fumbles and caused havoc all day. The Sooners led 34-6 at halftime and never looked back.

With Heupel at the helm of a revolutionary attack, offensive coordinator Mike Leach’s scheme dismantled and demoralized the overwhelmed Aggies. The Sooners confused their opponents all afternoon with a variety of formations and a relentless aerial display, which included a hook and lateral (or hook and ladder) along with an array of Heupel’s signature shovel passes that gutted the Aggies time and time again.

Heupel scored a total of six touchdowns on the afternoon — three on the ground and three through the air — and went 31-of-50 for 372 yards. The Sooners compiled 552 yards of offense and held A&M to 230 total yards, allowing just 64 against a potent rushing attack that was all but muted in Norman.

This win marked the Sooners’ first over a ranked opponent since a 30-27 victory over No. 25 Texas in 1996, and the 51 points were the most scored by OU in a Big 12 game at that time. The season could’ve been slipping away with a third-straight loss but instead, in true form, Bob Stoops had his resilient team prepared and ready to rebound. On this afternoon against the Aggies, he announced to the college football world that his batch of Sooners were reborn and weren’t going away any time soon.

Enjoy the highlights!