Welcome back, everyone! I’ve got another good one for you all as we move along in our 2020 Countdown to Kickoff series. As of today, there are 60 days remaining until the Oklahoma Sooners are scheduled re-take Owen Field to open the college football season. Whether this particularly game will be played at all is a separate discussion, but for now let’s proceed is if it’s going down as scheduled.

Speaking of 60, I want to use this opportunity to look back on one of the most dominant stretches ever seen in the history of the game. En route to capturing the 2008 Big 12 title and earning a berth in the BCS National Championship Game, OU surpassed the 60-point mark in five straight contests.

Quickly, before I run through each of these massive score totals that saw Oklahoma set an FBS record that stands alone to this day, I think the Sooners’ 58-35 win at Kansas State one week prior to the start of this streak should at the very least be honorably mentioned. No, OU didn’t reach 60 points in this game, but 58 is just about as close as it gets, and a school record actually was set in this game, as 55 of those points were scored before halftime. Now without further ado, let’s dig into this historic scoring fest!

Nebraska Cornhuskers at Oklahoma

Oklahoma was great at many things in 2008, including starting fast. There was no better example of this than when the Huskers came to town. Five-and-a-half minutes into the first quarter, the Sooners had already raced out to a 28-0 lead and would be up by 35 before the second quarter. Not even Ndamukong Suh could slow down Sam Bradford and company. By then it was all over but the shouting, as OU went on to celebrate a 62-28 victory over a major rival.

Oklahoma at Texas A&M Aggies

Similarly to the week before against Nebraska, Oklahoma stepped onto Kyle Field and quickly disposed of A&M, jumping out to a 28-0 lead before the Aggies could blink. In fact, this was the highest-scoring game of the season for the Sooners, and could have been even higher had OU logged any points at all in the fourth quarter. In the end, a 66-28 win was enough of a final margin to prove which team was superior.

Texas Tech Red Raiders at Oklahoma

The famous ‘Jump Around’ game. The Sooners could force a crucial three-way tie between themselves, Tech and the Texas Longhorns with a win, but beating the No. 2 team in the nation was no small task. Well, that’s what logical thinking should have led you to believe. Almost as soon as this one kicked off, Oklahoma went to work on the field, and the crowd came through as ferociously as the Palace on the Prairie has ever seen. The atmosphere was beyond electric, and one 65-21 annihilation later, OU was back in a position to run the table for a chance at all the marbles.

Oklahoma at Oklahoma State Cowboys

Of course, it wouldn’t be a historic end-of-season run without a pulse-pounding Bedlam matchup standing as a roadblock. In their own right, OSU also ran a high-powered offensive machine with the trio of QB Zac Robinson, WR Dez Bryant and RB Kendall Hunter serving as a lethal three-headed monster. Unfortunately for the Pokes, not even the hostile environment of T. Boone Pickens Stadium was enough to stifle the firepower Oklahoma was rolling with. Narrowly, the Sooners escaped with a 61-41 win in Stillwater, and claimed the Big 12 South Division title while doing so.

Oklahoma vs. Missouri Tigers (Big 12 Championship Game)

Finally, OU was within striking distance of not only reaching the national championship game, but also rewriting the history books. Chase Daniel and his No. 20 Mizzou team were supposed to meet the Sooners in Kansas City, but apparently they never made it off the bus. Meanwhile, Oklahoma continued to do what it had done all season — score. Norman native RB Mossis Madu sealed the deal and made it official with a 38-yard rushing TD late in the fourth to give the Crimson & Cream a 62-21 conference title win and claim to being the only team in the Football Bowl Subdivision to score 60+ points in five consecutive games.

By the Numbers

OU’s offense in 2008 was not only prolific from a program perspective, it’ll forever be regarded as one of the most high-powered units in college football history. Here’s a quick numerical rundown of just how incredible those Sooners were.

• 716 total points scored on the season, which was an FBS record at the time. Now is third behind ‘19 LSU Tigers (726) and ‘13 Florida State Seminoles (723)
• School record 51.1 average points scored per game
• School record 99 total touchdowns scored in a season
• Fewest turnovers lost (11) in a season in school history
• Second-most total offensive plays in school history (1,106)
• Third-most total offense in a season in school history (7,670 yards)
• Most first downs in a season in school history (386)
• Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford sets school record with 4,720 passing yards and 50 touchdown passes in a single season
• Two 1,000+ yard rushers in RB Chris Brown (1,220) and RB DeMarco Murray (1,002)
• One 1,000+ yard receiver in WR Juaquin Iglesias (1,150) and nearly another in TE Jermaine Gresham (950)

A Truly Pro Offense

Oklahoma’s 2008 offense featured a total of nine players who would eventually go on to become NFL Draft selections. First off the board in 2009 were OT Phil Loadholt, WR Juaquin Iglesias, OG Duke Robinson and WR Manuel Johnson. The following year saw QB Sam Bradford, OT Trent Williams and TE Jermaine Gresham all picked in the first round. RB DeMarco Murray was a second round selection in 2011, and the final contributor from that all-time great Sooner O’ was WR Ryan Broyles, who heard his name called in the second round in 2012.

It’s too bad these ‘08 Sooners weren’t able to finish the deal and win the crystal ball, but they’ll always be remembered for setting the standard for all dynamic, versatile scoring machines that have come down the pipe since, as well as for the ones that will inevitably rise in the years to follow.

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