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Sometimes, College Football Playoff runs are birthed in February. The hype builds slowly as the offseason sludges forward, and it picks up steam as the positive results eventually pour in. In these instances, while rare, the blueprint plays out as planned.
And, sometimes, they develop quickly and without notice. They materialize in a single month or week. The results become so overwhelming that they become difficult to ignore.
In the instance of Oklahoma, however, a CFP run was constructed in a single drive. In one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports, the Sooners beat the Longhorns 34-30 in epic fashion.
Given the sheer volume of respect and hate between these two teams, a victory can often be enough. But this year is different, and the outcome is likely to serve as one of the most significant results of the college football season.
Winning a rivalry is spectacular; keeping an unbeaten season alive with an eye on much, much more makes this that much better.
But back to the drive. It lasted only one minute and two seconds, and it required only five plays. With Texas having just kicked a go-ahead field goal in a wild (and oftentimes weird) football game, the Oklahoma offense took the field.
From there, quarterback Dillon Gabriel took over. Of the five plays, four were Gabriel completions. Texas also committed defensive pass interference, which resulted in another first down.
The drive started with a little more than a minute remaining; it ended with a passing touchdown to Nic Anderson with 15 seconds left. It was both suspenseful and surgical, a thrilling way to end a beautiful, imperfect football game between two very talented and balanced teams.
More than that, though, it was an official announcement that Oklahoma is here.
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For much of the season and even the lead-up to the Red River Rivalry, Texas has been the story. Its victory over Alabama on the road early in the year only elevated the hype. This felt like the year when the Longhorns were truly back.
All the while, Oklahoma has been brilliant and overwhelming. The Sooners entered Saturday with the nation’s No. 3 scoring defense and the No. 4 scoring offense. They have scored at least 50 points in three of five football games. No contest had been won by less than two touchdowns.
Saturday was not a fluke. It was evidence that what we have seen all along was real. It was confirmation more than anything else.
But we doubted them. Or, at the very least, we never truly acknowledged the possibility that Oklahoma might be worthy of a College Football Playoff spot until the culmination of that drive on Saturday.
Early on, this was understandable. Brent Venables’ first season in Norman was one to forget in 2022. Oklahoma finished with a 6-7 record, losing seven of its final 10 games. The defense, which has been so good this year, ranked No. 99 in scoring last year.
In this very rivalry game last year, with Gabriel sidelined due to injury, Oklahoma lost to Texas 49-0. In that game, the Sooners threw for 39 yards. Gabriel’s prolonged absence last fall certainly mattered.
On Saturday, we saw just how present he was. And a year removed from one of the lowest points in program history, the upside feels tremendous. It’s hard to overstate just how fabulous Venables has been after such a rocky start.
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Oklahoma didn’t just beat Texas. It set itself brilliantly to win the Big 12 with a slew of winnable games remaining. It catapulted itself upward firmly into the College Football Playoff conversation with a victory that should age considerably well by the time the field is finally constructed.
And all the ingredients are in place. In a year seemingly absent of a truly dominant team, Oklahoma has superb balance. As long as Gabriel stays healthy, the offense will continue to thrive. Because of its pace and its pieces, the Sooners feel capable of scoring on anyone.
If the defense can continue to hold up its end of the bargain, and it certainly did on Saturday when it provided relentless pressure on QB Quinn Ewers, then anything is possible.
It took us months to truly acknowledge Oklahoma as a threat, and some might not yet be convinced. But after conquering Texas in such thrilling fashion, with a pathway to the playoff very much taking shape, the best kept secret in college football is no longer secret.
Oklahoma is back, and the rest of the country is on notice.
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