Stoops revels in final win
Back on an interim basis, former coach watched son haul in touchdown
SAN ANTONIO — As Oklahoma was lining up for a third-and-goal play from Oregon’s 6-yard line, interim coach Bob Stoops heard acting offensive coordinator Cale Gundy highlight a familiar name on the headset.
“Drake has to run a great route and win,” Gundy said.
Stoops had watched his son Drake execute plenty of routes before, but never from the sidelines as an active coach.
With his father’s eyes trained on his every move, Drake Stoops stutterstepped like he was running a slant pattern, then cut toward the corner of the end zone and jumped to haul in a touchdown pass with an Oregon defender draped on his back.
As Drake walked off the field to a swarm of helmet slaps from his teammates, his father pulled him in for a hug, providing an emotional highlight as No. 16 Oklahoma built a 27-point halftime lead and held on for a 47-32 win against No. 14 Oregon in the Valero Alamo Bowl on Wednesday at the Alamodome.
“It was awesome,” Drake Stoops said. “It’s definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and getting to play one game under my dad, just one game out of my whole career, is something I’ll remember forever. And I’m sure he’ll cherish it as well.”
Making his return to the Oklahoma sideline for the first time since his retirement in June 2017, Bob was showered with yells of “Stoops” from the crowd of 59,121 mostly Oklahoma supporters whenever he appeared on the Alamodome’s video board.
Those same shouts echoed through the building when Drake, the Sooners’ fourth-year wideout, hauled in his fourth career touchdown during the second quarter.
His first catch in a Sooners uniform came in his debut game as a true freshman walk-on in September 2018 — 15 months after his father announced his retirement from the position he held for 18 years. In that span, Bob Stoops became the winningest coach in Oklahoma history, claiming a national championship in 2000 and earning induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Bob Stoops’ successor, Lincoln Riley, left the program last month after five seasons to become the coach at USC. Stoops agreed to make a one-game comeback on an interim basis before turning the program over to new coach Brent Venables next season.
Stoops said Wednesday that he missed the energy and anxiety of the moments building toward kickoff, and the excitement of “fighting your way through” the game. With the outcome decided and less than two minutes remaining, Stoops was showered with an icy green Gatorade bath and joined the fans in waving the OU arm gesture above his head.
“It’s fun when you know it’s over, you can take your headset off and enjoy the moment,” Stoops said. “So, it was fun. It was exciting. I'm appreciative to the team and everybody for the opportunity.”
Sooners running back Kennedy Brooks rushed for 142 yards with three touchdowns, quarterback Caleb Williams hit 21 of 27 passes for 242 yards with three scores, and Oklahoma (11-2) racked up 564 yards, with Oregon (10-4) finishing just shy at 497.
The Sooners went threeand-out on their opening drive but scored on their next eight possessions, including six touchdowns, to hold off the Ducks’ secondhalf surge.
Williams, the freshman quarterback who took the reins of Oklahoma's offense in the sixth game of the season, finished the year with 1,912 passing yards and 21 touchdowns against four interceptions, plus 442 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.
Addressing the media for the first time this season, Williams described the past month as an “up-and-down roller coaster,” saying he wanted to focus only on his upcoming family vacation rather than address questions about his next steps and a possible transfer.
“We’ll see how Oklahoma does and how I decide,” Williams said.
Standing at the podium that had been wheeled to midfield for the Sooners’ postgame celebration, Bob Stoops answered a question about the future of the program with a question of his own: “Where is Coach Venables at?”
Stoops spotted Venables standing a few feet beyond the mass of players and supporters fanned out around the stage and waved him forward. After Venables weaved through the crowd and took a place on the podium, Stoops removed his signature white visor and pulled it down around Venables’ head — a symbolic changing of the guard for Oklahoma football.
Stoops promised the fans in the Alamodome that the program “isn’t going anywhere” and will “be competing for national championships for years to come” under Venables, an assistant on Stoops’ Oklahoma staffs from 1999-2011.
“It’s great to be back home, man,” Venables said to the crowd. “This is home. Can’t wait to start working with these guys here tonight and show them what the future is going to look like.”