OKLAHOMA IS CHEEZ-IT NATIONAL TEAM OF THE WEEK

OKLAHOMA IS CHEEZ-IT NATIONAL TEAM OF THE WEEKDALLAS (FWAA) – The Oklahoma Sooners used an overpowering running attack and some timely takeaways to upset No. 7 Alabama, 24-3, on Senior Night at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Fans rushed the field not once but twice as the Sooners won their first Southeastern Conference game at home and became bowl eligible for a 26th consecutive season to earned the Cheez-It National Team of the Week for games the weekend of Nov. 23, as selected by the All-America Committee of the Football Writers Association of America.

This is the eighth time for Oklahoma to win the weekly award and the first since Nov. 16, 2019, when it won at then-No. 12 Baylor, 34-31.

Oklahoma (6-5) outgained Alabama 325-234 with a ground game that couldn’t be stopped. The Sooners’ 257 rushing yards was a season-best against an FBS opponent (also 381 vs. Maine) as well as the most the Crimson Tide has given up this season.

Oklahoma’s run game was so dominant with quarterback Jackson Arnold (131 yards) and running back Xavier Robinson (107) posting career-high totals that the Sooners didn’t need to lean on their pass game. Arnold was quite proficient through the air, connecting on 9 of 11 passes, but for just 68 yards. The last time the Sooners passed for fewer than 100 yards and won was in this same week of 2021 (won 28-21 vs. Iowa State).

The rest came from the Sooners’ defense, which yielded its lowest yardage total against an SEC opponent this season (234) that was also Alabama’s lowest output since 2014 (227 vs. Arkansas). Alabama did not score a touchdown for the first time since 2011 (a 9-6 loss to LSU) and rushed for 70 yards, its season low, in suffering its largest loss to an unranked foe since 1998.

Oklahoma took control in the second quarter when it held the ball for 11 of the 15 clock minutes and rolled up a 118-15 yardage advantage in the quarter. The first of Robinson’s two touchdown carries, an 18-yarder with 37 seconds left before halftime, gave the Sooners a 10-3 lead.

The defense then responded with two critical takeaways. Alabama received the kickoff to start the second half, but on its third play Oklahoma’s Eli Bowen intercepted Jalen Milroe and returned it 25 yards to the Alabama 14. Robinson’s one-yard touchdown run soon after increased the lead to 17-3.

On the next possession, Oklahoma linebacker Kip Lewis intercepted Milroe with a 49-yard pick-six to put the Sooners up 24-3 with 8:05 left in the third quarter. The Sooners’ three interceptions were their first picks in five games since Oct. 12. Alabama had no response from there.

“It’s huge,” Arnold said. “I’ll say this would be a signature win in my playing career. You don’t have many like this. I don’t know if I’ll ever have the field rushed again when I play. But it’s special, especially on Senior Night with all the seniors and all the other dudes I look up to.”

Oklahoma’s 26th straight season of bowl-eligibility is the second longest bowl streak, trailing only Georgia (27).

An additional historic note: Oklahoma led 24-3 after the third quarter, improving to 394-0 since 1937 when leading by at least 17 points entering the fourth quarter.

Oklahoma travels to LSU (7-4) to close the regular season. ESPN will broadcast the game at 7 p.m. ET.

Since 2002, the FWAA has named a National Team of the Week. Coming into the 2024 season, 284 teams have been honored, including 101 different Division I programs. Each honored team will receive a custom Cheez-It “care package” along with a hand-crafted game ball made in America by Dallas-based Big Game USA, the nation’s leading manufacturer of custom footballs.

The other National Team of the Week nominees for the weekend of Nov. 23 were:

• Auburn (5-6): The Tigers outlasted No. 15 Texas A&M, 43-41, after four overtime possessions as Jarquez Hunter (28 carries, 130 yards) scored three touchdowns and their defense forced a game-winning incompletion at sold-out Jordan-Hare Stadium. Trailing 31-28 with 2:33 to play in regulation, Auburn drove 74 yards in 15 plays and tied the score at 31-31 with 5 seconds left on Ian Vachon’s 29-yard field goal. Payton Thorne hit KeAndre Lambert-Smith for the go-ahead 2-point conversion on the fourth overtime possession.
• Florida (6-5): The Gators held No. 9 Ole Miss scoreless in its three red-zone opportunities and 23 points below its season scoring average in a 24-17 upset at The Swamp, earning their second win in as many weeks against a ranked opponent (last week vs. No. 21 LSU) while securing bowl eligibility. Florida’s defense, 98th overall and 80th in scoring defense, won the day against the FBS’ No. 2 yardage and No. 4 scoring offense, holding it to three second-half points. Senior tailback Montrell Johnson Jr. scored on a 5-yard run out of the wildcat formation with 7:41 remaining for the game-winner.

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ABOUT FLORIDA CITRUS SPORTS
Florida Citrus Sports is a not-for-profit event management organization dedicated to positively impacting the Orlando region while enhancing the quality of life in Central Florida through world-class events, including the Camping World Kickoff, the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, the Pop-Tarts Bowl, the Florida Blue Florida Classic and the Florida Cup & FC Series. For more information, visit FloridaCitrusSports.com.

Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of 1,100 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.

For more information, follow @CheezIt and @CitrusBowl on your favorite social media platform, and stay tuned to see what absurdly satisfying antics Cheez-It has in store this season.

2024 FWAA All-America Committee
Kirk Bohls, Houston Chronicle (Chair)
Frank Bonner, Daily Memphian
Travis Brown, KBTX.com
Ken Capps, Freelance
Angelique Chengelis, Detroit News
Brett Ciancia, Pick Six Previews
Scott Dochterman, The Athletic
Bryan Fischer, Sports Illustrated
Scott Hamilton, Charleston Post & Courier
John Hoover, All Sooners
Mike Huguenin, Freelance
Shehan Jeyarajah, CBS Sports
Ben Portnoy, Sports Business Journal
Sean Reider, Albuquerque Journal
Tony Siracusa, Last Word on College Football
Phil Steele, Phil Steele Magazine
Dusty Thibodeaux, Rivals: Warhawk Report
John Wagner, Country News Review (Minn.)
Jon Wilner, Bay Area News Group