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I still get chills thinking about that 2017 Oklahoma football season - what an absolute rollercoaster from start to finish. You know, when people talk about legendary college football campaigns, this one deserves its own wing in the hall of fame. I was covering the team that year, attending nearly every practice and game, and even now I find myself rewatching those classic moments that defined Baker Mayfield's Heisman campaign and Lincoln Riley's debut masterpiece.

The season opener against UTEP set the tone in ways nobody could have predicted. We all expected a comfortable win, but 56-7? That was Mayfield announcing he wasn't just back - he was on a mission. I remember sitting in the press box watching him complete his first 16 passes, thinking "this is different." His connection with Mark Andrews became something special right from that game - that 19-yard touchdown where Andrews basically boxed out two defenders showed the kind of chemistry that would terrorize defenses all season. What people forget is that the defense actually looked shaky even in that blowout, giving up 6.1 yards per play to a UTEP team that would finish 0-12. We should have seen the warning signs right there.

Then came the Ohio State game in Columbus - my goodness, what an atmosphere. I've been to plenty of road games, but the Horseshoe at night is something else entirely. When Baker planted that OU flag at midfield after the 31-16 victory, the entire dynamic of the season shifted. That wasn't just a win - it was a statement heard across college football. The numbers still amaze me: Mayfield went 27 of 35 for 386 yards and three touchdowns against what was supposed to be an elite secondary. But what I remember most is the fourth-down stop early in the fourth quarter when Ohio State was driving - Ogbonnia Okoronkwo coming off the edge to force that incomplete pass. That play felt like the defense saying "we're here too."

The Texas game in the Cotton Bowl - that 29-24 comeback victory - might be my personal favorite memory of the season. Down 24-23 with time running out, watching Mayfield engineer that final drive was like watching an artist at work. That third-and-13 completion to Andrews for 21 yards? Absolute magic. The stadium was shaking, half burnt orange, half crimson, and you could feel the tension in every single play. I've never seen a quarterback so in control of a moment. When he found Andrews again for the game-winning 59-yard touchdown, the roar from the Oklahoma side was deafening. That play alone should have earned Mayfield the Heisman right there.

What made this team special was their ability to crack codes, much like that reference to taking down Cignal during qualifying rounds. They faced multiple situations where conventional wisdom said they should lose, but they kept finding ways to win. The road game at Kansas State comes to mind - down 21-10 at half, coming back to win 42-35. The offense put up 619 total yards that day, but it was the defense making critical stops in the fourth quarter that sealed it. They needed to prove they could win in different ways, and that game showed they could.

The Bedlam showdown against Oklahoma State was another classic - 62-52 doesn't even do justice to how wild that game was. Both teams combined for over 1,400 yards of offense, which is just ridiculous when you think about it. Mayfield threw for 598 yards and five touchdowns - numbers that still seem like they're from a video game. But the play I'll always remember is Rodney Anderson's game-clinching run with just over a minute left. The offensive line created a hole you could drive a truck through, and Anderson went 22 yards untouched. That was Lincoln Riley's play-calling at its absolute best.

Looking back, what strikes me is how this team kept adding chapters to what felt like a Cinderella run, even as favorites. They weren't supposed to be this dominant in Riley's first year, not after losing so much talent from 2016. Yet they kept delivering these memorable moments week after week. The way they handled adversity in the Iowa State game - losing 38-31 then bouncing back to win out - showed the character of that squad. Sometimes I think about what might have been if they'd gotten past Georgia in that Rose Bowl classic, but honestly, the entire season was a masterpiece regardless of how it ended.

That Rose Bowl against Georgia, by the way, might be the greatest game I've ever covered. 54-48 in double overtime? Are you kidding me? When Mayfield hit Andrews for that 46-yard strike to tie it at 38 with just over a minute left, I thought they had it. The back-and-forth in those overtimes was like something from a Hollywood script. Ultimately coming up short was heartbreaking, but what a way to go down fighting. That team left everything on that field in Pasadena, and as disappointing as the loss was, the season itself remains one of the most thrilling rides in Oklahoma football history. The numbers speak for themselves - 12 wins, a Heisman winner, an offense that averaged over 45 points per game - but the memories are what really endure. Five years later, I still find myself watching highlights from that season and marveling at what that team accomplished week after week.