ATLANTA — Oklahoma went to halftime of its 2015 College Football Playoff semifinal with a lead over Clemson, then failed to score another point. Two years later, Baker Mayfield and the Sooners blew a 17-point lead in a double-overtime loss to Georgia, marking the largest collapse in the Rose Bowl’s 105-year history. Then, Kyler Murray and the nation’s highest-scoring offense watched Alabama put up the first 28 points in last year’s semifinal.
It has been 11 years since Oklahoma last played for a national championship. It has been 19 years since the Sooners stood atop the sport.
Even if Lincoln Riley, 36, coaches another three decades, he can’t be certain how many more chances he’ll get at the elusive win.
“No matter who you are, they’re not going to come every year,” Riley said. “We’ve had a historic run of being able to get here four out of five years, but the numbers are against you doing that, so I think at some point, it will be important. … Any time you’ve got a chance to win a national championship, you want to take advantage of the opportunities.
“It’s not overcoming history. It’s a different team, different staff, different year. You’ve got to go play your best.”
This time, even the Sooners’ best may not be enough.
In a matchup of the top two teams in the nation in total offense, No. 4 Oklahoma (12-1) will attempt to pull off the biggest upset in the playoff era, when it faces No. 1 LSU (13-0) in Saturday’s Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Despite entering their first-ever playoff game as two-touchdown favorites, the Tigers acknowledge Oklahoma holds at least one edge.
“I’m sure they know to how to handle the situation, handle the hype,” LSU coach Ed Orgeron said. “Probably gives them a little advantage of being here before.”
But Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow provides the greatest advantage of all.
In a brilliant and unforeseen final season, which vaulted the seemingly mediocre Ohio State transfer to the top of every NFL mock draft, Burrow set college football’s all-time record for completion percentage (77.9), led the nation in touchdown passes (48) and finished second in passing yards (4,715).
In one of the biggest regular-season games of all time, Burrow ended Alabama’s 31-game home winning streak by throwing for 393 yards and three touchdowns. To claim the Tigers’ first SEC title in eight years, he torched Georgia for 349 yards and four touchdowns.
Still, the 23-year-old feels unfulfilled.
“I want to win a national title. That’s always been my drive since I was a sophomore in high school,” Burrow said. “When I envisioned myself growing up, being a football player, it wasn’t in the NFL. It was playing on January 13 in a dome somewhere for the national title.”
Jalen Hurts has already done that. The Oklahoma quarterback returns to his fourth and final playoff in the building where he was benched at halftime of the national championship, then came back one season later and emerged off the bench to lead Alabama to another SEC championship.
Hurts replaced back-to-back Heisman winners at Oklahoma and finished as runner-up for the trophy, leading the Sooners in rushing, while posting the third-most efficient season by a passer in the sport’s history.
“He can throw it, he can run it and he’s also the heart and soul of that team,” LSU defensive lineman Rashard Lawrence said. “We’ve got to hit him often because if he gets a feel for the game, it could be a long night. We’ve got to hit him hard. He’s going to pop right back up, though. That’s what a champion does. We’ll be up for it.”
Hurts is up for history.
“It’s not the same Oklahoma team,” Hurts said. “Nothing is the same. It’s all different.”