NORMAN, Okla. -- Lincoln Riley celebrated his four-month anniversary as the Oklahoma head football coach Saturday. By mid-afternoon Oct. 7, the honeymoon was over.
Hired on June 7 to succeed Bob Stoops as master of the Sooners universe, Riley, a 34-year-old Texan, and his team were cruising along at 4-0 and ranked No. 3 in the nation when the Iowa State Cyclones, 31-point underdogs, pulled a stunning 38-31 upset on Oklahoma's home field.
Suddenly, Oklahoma's 31-16 road victory over then second-ranked Ohio State a month earlier was indeed old news.
Consider this: Oklahoma went into the Iowa State game leading the series between the long-time conference opponents 74-5-2.