OUr place

I was listening to the Paul Finebaum show a few days ago and I couldn't help but lock into a conversation about how the Oklahoma Sooners fanbase needs to know their place when coming into the SEC. The call's tone was pretty funny at first but I started to realize this guy was... serious? "If the Oklahoma and Texas fanbases' know what's good for them, they'll keep their mouths shut and know their place," said the Finebaum-call-in expert. "You gotta earn the right to talk around here because this is big boy football, and those teams don't know what success looks like."

As I pondered what this guy said, I realized some things. One, what is 'our place' in the new conference? Two, how does Oklahoma's history compare with the other programs in the SEC? And three, how do I go about explaining this in a respectful yet accurate way? Since the 'beauty is in the banter' here at SECU, there would be no better place to present 'our place' than at SEC Unfiltered. So, let's look at where the history of the Oklahoma Sooners program stacks up with the storied history of the SEC's programs.

Trigger warning - Every time I start talking stats and numbers on college football message boards (which I love to do), I get called a 'wannabe statistician.' Well, this article will contain a number or two, so if you're easily triggered by numbers, stats, and facts, especially if they contradict your previously held beliefs about how great your squad is, it might hit a little differently for you. Okay, so with that fair warning out of the way, let's look at where the Sooners program sits from a historical perspective, with the SEC's history.

Wins

The winningest college football program of all time is the Michigan Wolverines, with 1,004 wins. SEC-wise, the winning team is the Alabama Crimson Tide, which has 965. However, the next two SEC teams on the all-time win list are Texas (948) and Oklahoma (944). Interestingly enough, Oklahoma only trails the Horns by 4 wins, but the Sooners have a better win percentage (.726 to .702), and they've played in 36 fewer games than the Horns. Also, compared with the Tide, the Sooners trailed their win total by 21 games, having played 8 fewer games.

Following Oklahoma at #3, the next SEC program to pop up on the all-time wins list is Georgia at #11. The Bulldogs have won 63 fewer games than the Sooners (881) and played 27 more. The argument really trails off as we scroll down the list to hit the following 3 SEC teams: #14 Tennessee (865), #17 LSU (806), and #18 Auburn (799). So, other than Alabama, the new guy's place is at the top so far. (this may be a common theme).

Since the 1999-2000 season, the Sooners have won 267 games, only once again being topped by Alabama (292).

National Championships

Alabama also tops this. The Crimson Tide have won 18 national championships in their storied program's history. Speaking specifically SEC-wise, the Sooners come in second with 7 national championships. Next is Tennessee with 6, Texas, Georgia, and Florida, all with 4.

Heisman Trophies

The Sooners are tied with Notre Dame and USC for the all-time #1 spot on the Heisman winners list, having 7. The next closest in the SEC are Alabama (4), then Florida, Auburn, and LSU, all of whom have 3. Alabama didn't have its first Heisman winner until 2009, when Mark Ingram won the award in a contest that, in my opinion, Ndamukong Suh should've won.

Alabama and Oklahoma are two of only six programs to have a Heisman winner from the same program in back-to-back seasons. Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray (2018 & 2019) for the Sooners - DeVonta Smith and Bryce Young (2020 & 2021).

National Player Awards

These include the multitude of national positional awards handed out at the end of each season, such as the Maxwell, Biletnikoff, and Butkus awards. Once again, Alabama tops this list with 52 national award winners. Oklahoma is second with 48, Texas is third with 34, and LSU is fourth with 26.

Oklahoma leads the SEC in number of winners who've received the Heisman (7), Walter Camp (4), Davey O'Brien (5), Lombardi (3), Butkus (4), Thorpe (3), Bough (2), Manning (2), and AP Player of the Year (5).

The Sooners have also had 5 players selected 1st overall in the NFL Draft, which ties them for first in the SEC with Georgia and second of any program in college football history behind USC with six.

Consensus All-Americans

Alabama has the top spot in the number of players named a consensus All-American, having 79 players selected. The Sooners come in second with 68 players selected. Texas (55), Tennessee (36), Georgia, and LSU (35 each) round out the top 5. By the way, a 'consensus All-American" is a player listed as a first-team All-American by at least half of the recognized lists.

Bowl Game Victories

Once again, Alabama holds the top spot with 45 bowl game wins. Georgia comes in second with 38. Oklahoma and Texas are tied for third with 31 bowl-game wins. Ole Miss and Florida tie for fourth with 25 wins each.

So... other than Bama...

Alabama is the gold standard of college football—well, at least the Nick Saban version of Alabama is. There's no question about Alabama's dominance in almost every category of college football history. Other than Alabama, though, I consistently run into Oklahoma's name a whole hell of a lot at the top of these lists. The numbers are trying to tell me where 'or place' is. Excluding Texas, who is coming with Oklahoma to the Big 12, Oklahoma has a 120-49-3 record against the SEC.

So, let's give Alabama its due. They're the best, and Tuscaloosa is the Mecca of college football. Other than Bama, though, Oklahoma has more wins, national titles, Heisman trophies, major awards, and consensus All-Americans than the rest of the existing SEC. And, for you 'they played with leather helmets back then'- type people, they've also been more successful than the rest of the existing SEC since the 1999-2000 season.

Georgia is the top Dawg right now, Bama is the GOAT, and Texas is kind of baaack. The Sooners' know their place well, however. Do you?