No. 1 Sooners face early test

Associated Press

NORMAN, Okla.

To win his first national championship at Oklahoma, Bob Stoops had to get past defending champion Florida State in the Orange Bowl.

Just over a decade later, his top-ranked Sooners (1-0) are chasing another title and the No. 5 Seminoles (2-0) are once again standing in the way — only it’s much earlier in the season this time.

Oklahoma meets Florida State in Tallahassee on Saturday night in the second game of the season featuring two top-five teams.

“It’s a test, but all of us that have come to OU, we want to play in those big games, and this is just a steppingstone to the national championships, where every team in the country wants to get to,” safety Aaron Colvin said Tuesday.

“So, we have to win games like this in order to play the best.”

Stoops said it’s hard for him to quantify how big the game will be with so much of the season left to play. It’s the first time since 1988 that the Sooners will go on the road to face a non-conference opponent ranked in the top five.

The last time third-ranked Oklahoma lost 23-7 to No. 5 Southern California.

“It’s going to be a challenge. It’s going to show what kind of team we are early,” offensive tackle Lane Johnson said.

“Florida State’s a great team, and it’s going to show our true colors.”