No Father's Son

[redsox907]

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2031 College Football Playoff National Championship Preview - #2 USC (14-1) Vs. #1 Oklahoma (14-1)

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Boone Tillman // Sooner Born • Published: January 15th, 2032

Armando Leon has been in Norman for three seasons, and the Oklahoma Sooners have found themselves in the National Championship Game in all three of those seasons.

For the first two years, a familiar foe was trampled during their march to the National Championship: former Sooner coach Lincoln Riley. Now, he awaits as the final challenge. The only person standing between the Oklahoma Sooners becoming only the second team in history to secure the three-peat is the same man who could never deliver a championship himself.

We'll find out how Coach Leon is handling the weight of history, how offensive coordinator Garrett Riley feels about facing his brother, and how Leon expects to contain the historic season of Chauncey Tangelo in the final "Schooner Scoop" of the season.


•••

#1 Oklahoma Sooners (14-1)             | Description                   | #2 USC Trojans (14-1)
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97 Overall // 96 Offense // 99 Defense | Team Rating                   | 92 Overall // 91 Offense // 96 Defense
Armando Leon (56-5)                    | Head Coach                    | Lincoln Riley (103-36)
Air Raid                               | Offensive Scheme              | Air Raid
3-3-5                                  | Defensive Scheme              | 3-4 Multiple
46.1 (2nd)                             | Offensive Points Per Game     | 46.1 (2nd)
22.5 (11th)                            | Defensive Points Per Game     | 13.4 (1st)
467.7 (14th)                           | Offensive Yards Per Game      | 501.4 (3rd)
334.3 (6th)                            | Defensive Yards Per Game      | 284.7 (1st)

Oklahoma Sooners                  | Description     | USC Trojans
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137-77                            | Combined Record | 113-83
@ Miami (11-3) W 31-26            | Week One        | FCS W 51-0
Nebraska (7-6) W 81-14            | Week Two        | BYE
South Carolina (2-10) W 44-10     | Week Three      | Ball State (3-9) W 48-3
Oregon (10-3) L 38-35             | Week Four       | Michigan State (6-6) W 36-7
BYE                               | Week Five       | Northwestern (2-10) W 48-3
Auburn (10-3) W 59-7              | Week Six        | @ Illinois (7-5) W 31-21
Texas (10-3) W 49-24              | Week Seven      | @ Purdue (1-11) W 79-3
@ Vanderbilt (2-10) W 45-17       | Week Eight      | @ Notre Dame (5-7) W 52-10
Oklahoma State (10-4) W 37-7      | Week Nine       | Michigan (11-2) W 59-17
@ Texas A&M (5-7) W 23-16         | Week Ten        | BYE
Kentucky (6-7) W 38-17            | Week Eleven     | Iowa (4-8) W 52-17
BYE                               | Week Twelve     | @ Oregon (10-3) L 42-24
@ Tennessee (11-3) W 52-48        | Week Thirteen   | @ Nebraska (7-6) W 38-10
@ LSU (6-7) W 49-30               | Week Fourteen   | UCLA (5-7) W 45-5
Florida (11-3) W 44-32            | Conf. Champ     | Ohio State (12-3) W 38-6
BYE                               | First Round     | BYE
Georgia (10-4) W 55-24            | Quarterfinal    | Ohio State (12-3) W 38-6
Duke (12-3) W 52-28               | Semifinal       | Arizona State (14-2) W 56-27

Oklahoma Sooners                               USC Trojans
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N/A                          | Injuries      | N/A

 
Oklahoma Sooners                                          2031 Stats   USC Trojans
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SO Markelle Nickey (88) 314/429 (73%), 3,392 Yds, 45 TD, 14 INT| QB  | SR(RS) Chauney Taneglo (99) 469/693 (67%), 5,495 Yds, 49 TD, 4 INT
SO(RS) Dillon Slye (94) 123 Att, 816 Yds, 6 TD                 | HB  | SR(RS) Caleb Shurmur (94) 252 Att, 1,564 Yds, 29 TD
JR(RS) Johnny Chubb (91) 58 Rec, 780 Yds, 7 TD                 | WR  | JR(RS) LaMont Barnes (92) 121 Rec, 1,547 Yds, 7 TD
JR Maurice Lucky (81) 78 Rec, 1,022 Yds, 23 TD                 | WR  | JR(RS) Isaiah Devoe (91) 118 Rec, 1,288 Yds, 14 TD
FR SS Quincy Enagbare (80) 100 Tkl, 15 TFL, 4.5 Sack, 4 INT    | DEF | SR LB Brendan Hardee (92) 72 Tkl, 23 TFL, 10 Sacks
SR MLB Gordon Paul (92) 91 Tkl, 27 TFL, 8 Sacks, INT           | DEF | SR DT Rahim Tonges (93) 48 Tkl, 17 TFL, 9.5 Sacks
JR DT Cole Leo (93) 32 Tkl, 25 TFL, 10 Sacks                   | DEF | SR LB Devin Kugbila (94) 43 Tkl, 13 TFL, 9.5 Sacks
JR(RS) CB Antwan Phung (88) 67 Tkl, 6 TFL, 7 INT               | DEF | SR(RS) CB Mario Magnifico (88) 64 Tkl, 6 INT

•••


Schooner Scoop

BT: "How fitting is it that the last person you have to topple to put yourself and the Sooners in the record books, is perhaps the most hated man for Sooners fans everywhere?"

AL: "I thought it was fitting when we met him in the first year. Sort of like exorcising the demon getting that first playoff win over the man that they thought would do it. Then we beat him last year on the way to our repeat. And now, again to claim history. I'm less caught up in the matchup with Lincoln, however, and just happy we aren't facing the Hurricanes a third time. You saw it with the Warriors and Cavs in the Finals 10 years ago, when the winning is one-sided the rivalry losses its glamour."

BT: "You might not be caught up in facing Lincoln Riley, but how is offensive coordinator Garrett Riley handling squaring off against his brother on the national stage?"

AL: "Talking with him, he's excited to have the opportunity to finally one up his brother. Lincoln may be a head coach, a role I think Garrett is going to nab eventually, but if Garrett can get that first National Championship ring? He'll have bragging rights for the rest of his life. Since they aren't facing off directly, both being offensive-minded coaches, Pat and myself have got to make sure we don't let Garrett down."

BT: "That figures to be a tall task with the Heisman runner-up, whom many felt should have won, in Chauncey Tangelo bringing his historic campaign into the National Championship. He's got a real shot at breaking the Big Ten single-season passing touchdown record, having already claimed the passing yards records, and with a historic game, could even claim the all-time mark from Bailey Zappe. To add to the challenge, Caleb Shurmur was third in the Heisman voting and leads the country in rushing yards and touchdowns. How do you game plan against such a historic one-two punch?"

AL: "You've got to stay disciplined, period. If you start chasing big plays, they've got the talent to make you pay. Cover your assignment, keep everything in front of you, and make them earn it. If we can get a few big sacks, put them in some long-yardage situations, that'll go a long way to helping us keep them corralled.


•••


It doesn't get any bigger than this. One more game stands between the Sooners and history.

USC has dogwalked everyone they've played this season, except one. Oregon. And what does Oregon have? A fast, physical defense that plays tough man coverage.

Sound familiar?

If we win this game, it'll be because of the defensive mastery of Leon and Surtain Sr.

28 USC, 35 Oklahoma

[redsox907]

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Calm Before the Storm

In the lull between our win over the Florida Gators in the SEC Championship Game and our Sugar Bowl showdown with the Georgia Bulldogs, Raul officially made the move to Norman.

Sophie and Raul had indeed hit it off, with Jessica lauding her skills as matchmaker, and everything else had gone alarmingly smooth with Raul’s transfer to Norman. He’d found a nice rental over in Alameda Park, had started working as a mechanic at one of the local repair shops, and by all accounts was fully committed to turning over a new leaf.

We brought Raul over for Christmas to meet the kids for the first time, who were over the moon to have a new uncle. Both of Jessica’s brothers were still stationed across the country, meaning the amount of family interactions they had growing up was always limited to our own parents.

Raul spent more time playing with the kids—or to be exact, running from the kids who insisted on chasing him in the backyard—than he did inside on Christmas Day, finally settling down next to me at the dining room table after the kids were put to bed looking as exhausted as my team after two-a-days in the summer.

The few weeks leading up to Christmas had been spent hanging out with Raul—or quietly checking up on him to make sure none of his bad habits were resurfacing—but once the holiday was over, it was back to the grind of college football.

We easily marched through the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl then the Duke Blue Devils in the Peach Bowl, setting up another National Championship.

This time against the most hated man in Norman, Oklahoma: Lincoln Riley.

“Are you nervous, Mano?”

Raul and Sophie had come over for dinner the Friday before we prepared to leave for Glendale—Jessica and the kids coming with me for the National Championship Game—and while Sophie and Jessica cleaned up after dinner over a glass of wine, Raul and I sat up in my office watching game film one more time on the USC Trojans.

Raul, who had revealed to me he never played sports in High School—‘too busy making money, Mano’ he told me—had shown a great interest in football since coming to Norman. Jessica thought he was trying to angle his way into a job with the University, but I was just happy to have someone else to talk shop with outside of the facility.

And to be honest, sitting there and breaking down game film with someone who knew next to nothing helped you catch the little details. Details like how Chauncey Tangelo, USC’s quarterback, never looked at the safety while throwing the RPO bubble screens the Trojans’ lived by.

“See here,” I said to Raul, pausing the tape and pointing out the route the wide receiver would take, “This is a bubble screen.”

“Because the route looks like half a bubble,” I half-laughed as Raul’s confusion was written all over his face at the name of the route.

“The QB reads the outside defender. If he drops, he hands the ball off, if he crashed, he throws the screen. But if we bring this safety down in the box to double the slot receiver, then we can stop both. The end crashes on the run, the safety covers the screen. As long as he doesn’t get caught over pursing, we shut that shit down before it starts.”

Raul was nodding, still at least partially confused, but at least understanding the concept of having someone cover both options.

As I switched to the next highlight—a play-action pass where Caleb Shurmur never fully committed to the run fake—Raul’s phone cut through the noise.

He jumped at the sudden noise interrupting his train of thought, sliding the phone out of his pocket a moment later. He glanced at the screen, then quickly muted it with his brows furrowed.

It rang again. Then a third time after he sent it to voicemail before he finally turned it off.

When Raul put his phone away, I was staring at him questioningly. ‘Spam calls rarely triple up, and normal people don’t turn their phone off to avoid them,” I puzzled. ‘Then again, Raul isn’t a normal person,’ I rationalized to myself.

“Who was it?”

“Spam,” he said with a wave of his hand.

“Spam calls usually don’t triple-up,” I remarked, still eyeing him curiously.

“I’ve been getting them non-stop since Sophie convinced me to register to vote.”

I’d put the controller for the screen down and had turned fully towards Raul, shoulders square, eyebrows climbed high.

“What?!” He said defensively, “I ain’t never registered before, but Sophie said we all gotta do our part to make sure that Vance guy doesn’t get in.”

“That’s not what shocked me, Raul.”

“¿Y entonces qué?” Then after I clearly didn’t understand, Raul added with a sigh, “Then what the hell are you so shocked about?”

“That you can vote,” I deadpanned, cracking half a smile as I turned back to the monitor for the next USC highlight.

Raul’s jaw dropped as he slapped my arm, murmuring something in Spanish I knew was a curse and didn’t care.

That night, laying in bed with Jessica, I couldn’t shake the suspicion from earlier.

“Raul’s phone was ringing earlier,” I sighed, deciding to share my thoughts with Jessica instead of stewing on them all night. She’d probably rationalize it and tell me I was being paranoid, jumping at shadows.

“That’s what phones do, Armando,” she sighed back, sleep heavy on her voice. She’d probably just started to close her eyes, I realized, but it was too late to turn back now. I’d already started to talk about it, if I didn’t press forward I would wrestle with it all night.

“Three times in a row, and I’m pretty sure I heard it ringing twice before at dinner.”

“He said it was just spam calls since he registered to vote, but I don’t know. It felt off.”

Jessica turned towards me, sliding her arm onto my chest as she settled against me.

“What do you mean he registered to vote?”

“I don’t know what else that could mean, hun. He said Sophie made him do it.”

“Sophie told me she tried to convince him, but he got turned down because he had a felony. She was pretty upset about it. I’m surprised they’re still together, honestly.”

“Upset he has a felony? She knew he was a little rough around the edges.”

“No, not that. The way she made it seem, he tried to skirt around it. Told her he was leaving to go register, but wanted to do it alone. She insisted on going, he made a big deal out of it.”

“She convinced him to let her go with—I’m not going into the details cause then you’ll expect me to do it every time I want something,” she laughed, slapping my hand when I put them up in protest.

“Anyways. They went together, he got denied for a felony. She asked him about it and he just said he forgot he had one.”

“How do you forget you have a felony?” I asked to no one in particular, staring up at the ceiling.

“That’s what she said. He just tried to play it off, but she thinks he was never really going down and was going to lie to her. Then the random phone calls started.”

“The ones he claimed were because he registered to vote.”

Jessica just nodded against my shoulder, having repositioned herself under my arm.

“I think she’s going to dump him. She gets he’s still adjusting to normal life, but the amount of subtle lying is turning her off quickly.”

Perhaps sensing where my thoughts immediately went, Jessica quickly added: “But she said she isn’t going to do anything until we get back from Glendale. She knows that could be bad for everyone.”

When I didn’t respond immediately, Jessica turned her body, swinging her legs over mine until she was sitting on top of me.

“Don’t worry about it right now, okay?” She said, planting a kiss on my forehead.

“You’ve got enough with USC in a few days. Sophie is smart enough to keep an eye on him and not let him get out of hand until we get back.”

She leaned forward again, kissing my lips, before adding: “But when we get back, I think you need to talk with him.”

“Mano y Mano,” she laughed against my lips, imitating my brother’s saying with a terrible accent.

I kissed her back, deeper this time. “You’re right. Raul can wait until we get back from Glendale.”

“Now I’m not one to break tradition, so we’ve got to make sure you go into Glendale with the right attitude,” she whispered with a smirk, lifting her tank top over her head as my hands moved up her thighs.

[Captain Canada]

Fuck Reggie Bush. Fuck Pete Carroll. Fuck Matt Leinart. Fuck Caine Guerra.

Need that trophy brought home, brother.

[redsox907]

Fuck Reggie Bush. Fuck Pete Carroll. Fuck Matt Leinart. Fuck Caine Guerra.

Need that trophy brought home, brother.

We ain't letting some pussy boys from California keep us from history

[redsox907]

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Make Room, Minnesota. You've Got Company As Sooners Win Historic Third Consecutive National Championship

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Boone Tillman // Sooner Born • Published: January 16th, 2032

The Oklahoma Sooners have officially entrenched themselves into the history of College Football, becoming only the second team in the history of the sport to succeed in capturing three consecutive National Championships after the Sooners defense left the Trojans dazed and confused in the 28-10 victory.

The USC Trojans may have struck first, marching their first offensive possession 75-yards in just 10 plays before Tangelo found Isaiah Devoe for a 16-yard touchdown, but while they struck pay dirt first, it would end up being their only touchdown of the day.

The Sooners defense seemed to take offense to the ease in which Tangelo marched the Trojans down the field, battering him for eight sacks throughout the game and nabbing two interceptions to keep Tangelo from finishing his impressive season with the sports ultimate prize.

While Markelle Nickey didn't dazzle; he was efficient, deliberate, and most of all, mistake-free. The sophomore quarterback may have only accumulated 173 total yards, but key third-down conversions and a pair of touchdown passes was more than enough for the quarterback to nab his second National Championship in as many years.

The real stars of the show, however, were a pair of freshman: Quincy Enagbare and Tyler Ryder. With the game tied 7 apiece late in the second quarter and Tangelo driving for a go-ahead score, the Thorpe award winner made his mark, outleaping Jake Bloom for the deep pass and plucking it out of the air for his fifth interception on the season.

Nickey rallied the Sooners down the field, hitting Johnny Chubb and a crisp out route with under a minute remaining for the Sooners to take a slim 14-7 lead into the break.

After Isaac Adcock sliced through the Trojans' special teams unit for another touchdown, pushing the lead to 21-7, the Sooners leaned on Tyler Ryder to take them home. The true freshman running back tallied 88 yards in the second half and his lone touchdown, making sure the Trojans had little hope of a comeback.

While the freshmen phenoms were the stars, former Maryland middle linebacker Gordon Paul, was the undisputed MVP of the contest. Paul followed Leon to Norman one year after playing for him in College Park and the former four-star made an immediate impact. On the biggest stage of the season, he stepped up tallying four TFLs and three sacks to keep the hottest offense in college football grounded when it mattered most.

In an era of college football defined by high-octane offenses, it was the stalwart defense of Leon that ultimately put the Oklahoma Sooners in the record books.


•••


Rece Davis: "Ladies and gentlemen, an historic moment here in New Orleans. Joining us is Sooners head coach Armando Leon, who is now a three-time National Champion—only the second head coach in college football history to achieve that feat. Coach, congratulations. The magnitude of what you've accomplished tonight—how much does that reality sink in as you stand here?"

Armando Leon: "I don't think that part will hit me until it actually happens, Rece. Or any of it really. Right now it feels like just another championship, not that winning a championship is diminished by winning so many. I just mean, I don't think the gravity is going to hit until a few days later."

Nick Saban: "Coach, I've been fortunate to win seven national championships, and I went four straight, but never won three in a row. That's a tremendous feat. The thing about losing that Oregon game—and I've always believed this—sometimes you need that wake-up call. You get humbled, you refocus on what matters, and you realize you can still win. Did that loss, in a strange way, free up your team mentally?"

Armando Leon: "I don't think that was a conscious thing anyone though, or even spoke, but in hindsight I really think it did. Before that, we had this belief that we were going to rip through another regular season, march our way to another title, then start talking about beating the wins record. Then, Oregon happened. We woke up on Sunday morning feeling like we'd lost the National Championship, only to find out we were still in the AP Top-10. That was when we realized; we can have fun with this, enjoy the ride, and be confident we'll still have a shot at getting this third trophy."

Kirk Herbstreit: "Coach, your defense was relentless tonight. Tangelo put up 311 yards, yeah, but he took eight sacks. Eight! You were hitting him consistently—five more hits on top of that. How much of your game plan going in was just saying, 'We're going to attack this guy, make him uncomfortable in the pocket, and let our coverage do the rest'?"

Armando Leon: "It was the whole game-plan, Kirk. You know as well as I do, if you want to make a QB uncomfortable, you've got to hit him. Pat and I worked tirelessly to try and vary our stunts, shift our coverages, and really disguise what we were doing. Tangelo has a quick release; we needed every extra second we could get. Them basically abandoning the run game, something I know Sooners' fans know a lot about, really helped, cause then we could just pin our ears back and race to the QB. Once we got home a few times, we had the momentum on our side."

Pat McAfee: "Coach, WHAT. A. PERFORMANCE. I gotta ask you something though—Gordon Paul, Maryland transfer, one year without your direct coaching, and he just—he DOMINATED tonight. Four tackles for loss, three sacks in a championship game. People have questioned whether you can build with your own guys or if you're always just reloading with transfers. Did Gordon Paul answer that tonight?"

Armando Leon: "Nah, you know as well as I do, Pat, once they give you a label it sticks, for better or worse. But, we know what we can do here in Norman. Just look at Q. Look at Ty. We took true freshman and won, dominated even, against every other school. Those are guys we pulled in while the rest of the nation was looking through the portal. You can try and slow us down, but you ain't gonna stop us."

Rece Davis: "I see your itching to add something, Pat, but we've got to cut to commercial. Coach Leon, we hope to continue this tradition and see you again on this stage next year for what would truly be a historic achievement, if it happens."


•••


To quote Jayson Tatum, who quoted Kanye West:

Everybody wanted to know what we would do if we didn't win...

BUT I GUESS WE'LL NEVER KNOW!

I know, cliche, but it's all I've got. I'm out of words to describe Coach Leon, this defense, or even our explosive group of skill position players.

I know some will talk about Nickey not 'getting it done,' but that's the point. He didn't need to. Our defense was determined to win this, period. All Nick needed to do was not get in the way.

It's fitting, as I said before, that in an era that's been defined by offense, a dominant defense is still what wins championships.

#BOOMERSOONER

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
USC	7	0	0	3	10
Oklahoma	0	14	7	7	28

Q	Team	Time	Play	USC	Oklahoma
1st	USC	4:15	Isaiah Devoe, 26 Yd Pass From Chauncey Tangelo	7	0
2nd	Oklahoma	9:57	Maurice Lucky, 2 Yd Pass From Markelle Nickey	7	7
2nd	Oklahoma	0:54	Johnny Chubb, 5 Yd Pass From Markelle Nickey	7	14
3rd	Oklahoma	4:59	Isaac Adcock, Returned Punt 88 Yds	7	21
4th	USC	9:56	Caleb Cutting, 49 Yd FG	10	21
4th	Oklahoma	2:00	Tyler Ryder, 1 Yd Run	10	28

USC                                                              Oklahoma

Passing               | Stats                                    Passing            | Stats
----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
Chauncey Tangelo      | 28/42, 331 Yds, TD, 2 INT                Markelle Nickey    | 26/37, 173 Yds, 2 TD

Rushing               | Stats                                    Rushing            | Stats
----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
Caleb Shurmur         | 5 Att, 8 Yds                             Tyler Ryder        | 19 Att, 127 Yds, TD
Chauncey Tangelo      | 9 Att, -37 Yds                           Isaac Adcock       | 5 Att, 25 Yds

Receiving             | Stats                                    Receiving          | Stats
----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
Cornell Ellington     | 10 Rec, 147 Yds                          Dillon Slye        | 8 Rec, 55 Yds
Jake Bloom            | 4 Rec, 56 Yds                            Johnny Chubb       | 5 Rec, 27 Yds, TD
Isaiah Devoe          | 3 Rec, 55 Yds, TD                        Maurice Lucky      | 3 Rec, 29 Yds, TD

Defensive             | Stats                                    Defensive          | Stats
----------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------
LB Sterling Kennedy   | 13 Tkl, TFL                              MLB Gordon Paul    | 13 Tkl, 4 TFL, 3 Sacks
MLB Shaquille Thomas  | 8 Tkl, 2 TFL                             DT Mailau Pool     | 3 Tkl, 3 TFL, 2 Sacks
DT Rahim Tonges       | 4 Tkl, TFL                               DT Cole Leo        | 3 Tkl, 3 TFL, 2 Sacks

Additional Media

[djp73]

Storybook ending!

[Captain Canada]

Goddamn right

[Caesar]

Had Nickey game managing to wrap it up.