The 2019 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season, the 125th season for the Oklahoma Sooners. The team was led by Lincoln Riley, in his third year as head coach. They played their home games at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. They were a charter member of the Big 12 Conference.
Oklahoma began the year ranked fourth in the AP Poll and were the overwhelming favorites to repeat as Big 12 Conference champions. The Sooners won their first seven games of the season before being upset on the road by Kansas State. On November 16, Oklahoma overcame a 25-point deficit to beat previously undefeated Baylor, 34–31. Oklahoma finished conference play tied with Baylor for the best record in the conference with an 8–1 record, earning them each a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game. There, they defeated Baylor a second time, this time by a score of 30–23 in overtime, to win Oklahoma's fifth consecutive and 13th overall Big 12 title. In the final College Football Playoff rankings of the season, Oklahoma was ranked fourth, earning them a spot in the 2019 Peach Bowl, in a national semi-final game against first-seeded LSU. This was Oklahoma's third consecutive and fourth overall CFP bid. The Sooners fell to the Tigers, 63–28, to end the season at 12–2, and were ranked seventh in the final AP Poll.
The Sooners were led on offense by quarterback Jalen Hurts, a graduate transfer from Alabama that had previously played in three separate College Football Playoffs with the Crimson Tide. Hurts finished in second in the conference in both passing yards and rushing yards, and led the conference with 53 total touchdowns. He finished in second in voting for the Heisman Trophy. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb was a consensus All-American. Hurts, Lamb, and center Creed Humphrey were named first-team all-conference. On defense, the team was led by first-team all-conference linebacker Kenneth Murray.
Preseason
Award watch lists Listed in the order that they were released
Lott TrophyKenneth MurrayLBJRMaxwell AwardJalen HurtsQBGSCeeDee LambWRJRBednarik AwardKenneth MurrayLBJR Fred Biletnikoff AwardGrant CalcaterraTEJRCeeDee LambWRJRJohn Mackey AwardGrant CalcaterraTEJRRimington TrophyCreed HumphreyCRS SOButkus AwardKenneth MurrayLBJROutland TrophyCreed HumphreyOLRS SONeville GallimoreDLRS SRBronko Nagurski TrophyKenneth MurrayLBJRDodd Trophy Lincoln Riley HC –Wuerffel TrophyKenneth MurrayLBJRWalter Camp AwardJalen Hurts QBGSEarl Campbell Tyler Rose AwardKennedy BrooksRBRS SOCeeDee LambWRJRJalen HurtsQBGSTanner MordecaiQBRS FRJohnny Unitas Golden Arm AwardJalen HurtsQBGS
Big 12 media days The 2019 Big 12 media days were held July 15–16, 2019 in Frisco, Texas. In the Big 12 preseason media poll, Oklahoma was predicted to finish atop the standings for the fourth consecutive year.
Preseason awards 2019 Preseason All-Big 12
Newcomer of the Year: Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma
+ All-Big 12 Offense Position Player Class Team RB Kennedy Brooks So.Oklahoma WR CeeDee Lamb Jr.Oklahoma TE Grant Calcaterra Jr.Oklahoma OL Creed Humphrey Rs. So.Oklahoma KR/PR CeeDee Lamb Jr.Oklahoma + All-Big 12 Defense Position Player Class Team LB Kenneth Murray Jr.Oklahoma
Schedule Oklahoma announced its 2019 football schedule on October 18, 2018. The 2019 schedule consisted of 6 home games, 5 away games and 1 neutral-site game in the regular season. The Sooners would host 2 non-conference games against Houston and South Dakota, and would travel to UCLA. Oklahoma would host Texas Tech, West Virginia, Iowa State, TCU and travel to Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, and Oklahoma State in regular season conference play. Oklahoma would play Texas in Dallas, Texas at the Cotton Bowl Stadium on October 12 in the Red River Showdown, the 114th game played in the series.
Personnel
Roster 2019 Oklahoma Sooners FootballQuarterback 1 Jalen Hurts – senior (6'2, 219) 3 Connor McGinnis – senior (6'4, 180) 7 Spencer Rattler – freshman (6'0, 197) 9 Tanner Schafer – junior (6'3, 209) 13 Colt Atkinson – junior (6'0, 176) 15 Tanner Mordecai – freshman (6'2, 212)
Running backs 4 Trey Sermon – junior (6'0, 224) 22 TJ Pledger – sophomore (5'9, 200) 23 Todd Hudson – freshman (5'5, 177) 24 Marcus Major – freshman (5'11, 207) 26 Kennedy Brooks – sophomore (5'11, 205) 27 Jeremiah Hall – sophomore (6'2, 252) (FB+) 29 Rhamondre Stevenson – junior (6’0, 236) 36 Isaiah Harris – freshman (5'9, 199) 41 Coby Tillman – freshman (5'11, 233) (FB+) 49 Dane Saltarelli – freshman (6'3, 231) (FB+) 81 Brayden Willis – sophomore (6'3, 221) (FB+)
Wide receiver 2 CeeDee Lamb – junior (6'2, 189) 3 Mykel Jones – junior (5'11, 188) 5 A.D. Miller – senior (6'3, 189) 8 Trejan Bridges – freshman (6'1, 187) 10 Theo Wease – freshman (6'3, 201) 11 Jadon Haselwood – freshman (6'2, 206) 12 Drake Stoops – freshman (5'9, 169) 14 Charleston Rambo – sophomore (6'1, 175) 83 Nick Basquine – senior (5'11, 192) 84 Lee Morris – junior (6'2, 207) 85 Devin Staton – freshman (6'2, 195) 86 Finn Corwin – freshman (5'8, 169) 87 Spencer Jones – junior (6'1, 196) 88 Jackson Webb – junior (5'11, 163) 89 Damon Smith – freshman (6'1, 179)
Tight ends 15 Austin Stogner – freshman (6'6, 241)
Long snappers 51 Kasey Kelleher – sophomore (5'10, 224) 57 Zach Edwards – freshman (5'10, 185)
Offensive lineman 52 Tyrese Robinson – OL – sophomore (6'3, 332) 54 Marquis Hayes – OG – sophomore (6'5, 351) 56 Creed Humphrey – C – sophomore (6'5, 325) 59 Adrian Ealy – OT – sophomore (6'6, 328) 61 Ian McIver – OL – sophomore (6'3, 324) 62 David Swaby – OT – sophomore (6'9, 320) 65 Finley Felix – OL – junior (6'5, 311) 69 Clayton Woods – OL – senior (6'2, 287) 70 Brey Walker – OT – freshman (6'6, 338) 72 Stacey Wilkins – freshman (6'6, 310) 73 R.J. Proctor – OL – senior (6'4, 328) 74 Marcus Alexander – OL – freshman (6'3, 308) 75 E.J. Ndoma–Ogar – OL – freshman (6'3, 341) 76 Dalton Bishop – C – sophomore (6'5, 289) 77 Erik Swenson – OT – junior (6'5, 311) 78 Bryce Roberts – OL – junior (6'4, 287) 79 Darrell Simpson – OT – freshman (6'5, 301)
Defensive lineman 7 Ronnie Perkins – DE – sophomore (6'3, 234) 31 Jalen Redmond – DL – sophomore (6'3, 266) 33 Marcus Stripling – DL – freshman (6'3, 247) 45 Joseph Wete – DE/LB – sophomore (6'4, 216) 55 Kenneth Mann – DE – senior (6'3, 255) 58 Caden Blanchard – DL – freshman (6'1, 275) 88 Jordan Kelley – DT – freshman (6'3, 297) 90 Neville Gallimore – DL – senior (6'3, 320) 91 Dillion Faamatau – DT – senior (6'3, 219) 92 Kori Roberson – DL – freshman (6'4, 272) 93 Reed Lindsey – DL – freshman (6'4, 245) 94 Troy James – DT – sophomore (6'1, 304) 95 Isaiah Thomas – DE – sophomore (6'5, 254) 96 LaRon Stokes – DL – junior (6'4, 256) 97 Marquise Overton – DT – senior (6'1, 315) 98 Zacchaeus McKinney – DT – sophomore (6'3, 306) 99 Marcus Hicks – DL – freshman (6'5, 261) Linebacker 9 Kenneth Murray – junior (6'2, 238) 19 Caleb Kelly – senior (6'3, 221) 21 Ryan Jones – sophomore (6'2, 236) 23 DaShaun White – sophomore (6'0, 221) 24 Brian Asamoah II – freshman (6'1, 219) 30 Levi Draper – freshman (6'1, 226) 34 David Ugwoegbu – freshman (6'4, 231) 35 Nik Bonitto – freshman (6'3, 225) 36 Josh Schenck – junior (5'11, 209) 37 Easton Reeves – freshman (6'1, 217) 38 Bryan Mead – junior (6'2, 230) 40 Jon-Michael Terry – junior (6'3, 241) 41 Jake McCoy – freshman (6'4, 216) 42 Mark Jackson Jr. – senior (6'3, 265) 57 Brock Prengler – freshman (6'1, 227)
Defensive backs 1 Jordan Parker – DB – junior (6'1, 190) 4 Jaden Davis – CB – freshman (5'10, 175) 5 Woodi Washington – CB – freshman (5'11, 183) 6 Tre Brown – CB – junior (5'10, 182) 10 Patrick Fields – S – sophomore (5'11, 193) 11 Parnell Motley – CB – senior (6'0, 177) 13 Tre Norwood – DB – junior (6'0, 179) 20 Robert Barnes – S – junior (6'2, 207) 22 Jeremiah Cridell – S – freshman (5'11, 194) 25 Justin Broiles – S – sophomore (5'10, 181) 26 Caleb Murphy – S – freshman (5'11, 207) 27 Ty Dearman – S – freshman (5'11, 188) 28 Chanse Sylvie – S – junior (5'11, 187) 32 Delarrin Turner-Yell – S – sophomore (5'10, 175) 34 Eric Gallegos – S – sophomore (5'9, 187) 43 Ryan Peoples – DB – freshman (5'11, 176) 44 Brendan Radley-Hiles – DB – sophomore (5'9, 186) 46 Robert Charlton II – DB – senior (5'10, 181) 48 Eric Windham – DB – freshman (5'10, 175)
Placekickers 30 Calum Sutherland – freshman (5'9, 191) 47 Gabe Brkic – freshman (6'2, 189) (+P) 48 Stephen Johnson – sophomore (6'1, 185)
Punter 46 Reeves Mundschau – freshman (5'11, 179)
Coaching staff + Lincoln RileyHead coach / quarterbacksTexas Tech (2006) 2015/2017Alex Grinch Defensive coordinator/ Safeties Mount Union (2002) 2019Ruffin McNeillAssistant head coach/outside linebackers East Carolina (1980)2017Shane BeamerAssistant head coach for offense / tight ends and H-BacksVirginia Tech (1999)2018 Cale Gundy Co-offensive Coordinator / recruiting coordinator / inside receivers Oklahoma (1994)1999Bill BedenbaughCo-offensive Coordinator / offensive line Iowa Wesleyan (1995)2013Roy Manning Cornerbacks Michigan (2004) 2019Jay BoulwareSpecial teams coordinator / running backs Texas (1996)2013 Brian Odom Inside Linebackers SE Oklahoma State (2004)2019Dennis Simmons Outside receivers BYU (1997)2015 Calvin Thibodeaux Defensive line Oklahoma (2006)2016Bennie WylieDirector of Sports PerformanceSam Houston State (1999)2018Clarke StroudDirector of football operations Oklahoma (1990)2018
Depth chart
Game summaries
Houston
South Dakota
At UCLA
Texas Tech
At Kansas
Kickoff was delayed from the original start time of 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. due to lightning and thunderstorms in the vicinity of the University of Kansas.
After the delay, it was called an "easy victory" for the Sooners even though Kansas "outplayed" the Sooners for the bulk of the first quarter. Kansas even scored first with a touchdown after forcing Oklahoma to punt. Kansas then gained 98 yards for their touchdown and led 7–0 in the first quarter. Oklahoma then took control and led 21–7 at halftime.
Oklahoma managed 29 first downs and converted 6 of 9 times on third down, with 545 total yards of offense. Oklahoma also threw an interception for the only turnover of the game. Kansas only managed 18 first downs with 6–14 on third down. They also attempted 2 fourth-down conversions but both were unsuccessful, with a total of 360 yards of offense. Kansas did manage a little more clock time of offense with 30:29 time of possession compared to Oklahoma's 29:31. The final score was Oklahoma 45, Kansas 20.
Oklahoma completed their 22nd straight true road win, which was the second longest streak since at least World War II in major college football when Coach Bud Wilkinson led the sooners to 25 wins from 1953 to 1958.
vs Texas
West Virginia
At Kansas State
Oklahoma traveled to Manhattan expecting a relatively easy road win but instead were pushed to what experts expected to be a critical loss for the Sooners in their hunt for the national title. The loss ended what was at the time the nation's longest road win streak.
Oklahoma's cornerback Parnell Motley was ejected from the game for unsportsmanlike conduct after kicking a Kansas State player. Kansas State's Eric Gallon forced a key fumble on a kick return but in process suffered a severe knee injury and he missed the rest of the game.
K-State's Skylar Thompson threw for 213 yards and ran for four touchdowns. Oklahoma nearly came back in the fourth quarter but the game concluded after an on-side kick for a 48–41 final score and Kansas State win.
Iowa State