NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — As No. 17 Florida State travels to face No. 10 Oklahoma this week, the Sooners are firmly entrenched as a national powerhouse.
It wasn’t that way a decade ago when the programs last met.
The Sooners had averaged only six wins per season in the decade before the 2000 season and need to beat the defending champion Seminoles to prove that they were once again one of the country’s top programs. Despite going undefeated through the regular season and beating top-ranked Nebraska, Oklahoma came into the 2001 Orange Bowl as a double-digit underdog to Florida State.
But since that 13-2 victory, the Sooners have remained near the top. They’ve averaged nearly 11 wins per season since then and never started a season outside the top 10.
