CFP Again: OU to Face LSU in Peach Bowl

NORMAN — Reigning five-time Big 12 champion Oklahoma will make its fourth College Football Playoff appearance in the last five years (third under third-year head coach Lincoln Riley) when it faces LSU in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 28. The game, to be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, will kick off at 3 p.m. CT and be televised by ESPN.

The Sooners are the No. 4 seed in the College Football Playoff while LSU is the No. 1 seed. The other semifinals game will pit No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Clemson at the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., also on Dec. 28.

The Oklahoma-LSU winner will meet the Ohio State-Clemson winner in the College Football National Championship on Monday, Jan. 13, at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

OU, which has never played in the Peach Bowl, will meet LSU for the third time. The teams each own a Sugar Bowl win in the series, with the Sooners posting a 35-0 victory in the 1949 season and the Tigers prevailing 21-14 in the BCS title game to cap the 2003 season.

The Sooners are 12-1 on the year and are coming off a 30-23 overtime win over No. 7/8/8 Baylor in the Big 12 Championship on Saturday. It marked OU's fifth straight Big 12 title and 13th overall (all in the last 20 years).

LSU is 13-0 overall and finished 8-0 in the SEC to win the West Division. The Tigers, who beat Georgia 37-10 on Saturday in the SEC Championship, rank first nationally in total offense (554.4 ypg) and 32nd in total defense (341.3 ypg).

Oklahoma, which is still the only Big 12 program to qualify for the College Football Playoff, leads the conference in both total offense and total defense. The Sooners pace the country by averaging 8.2 offensive yards per play and rank second by averaging 554.2 yards per contest. OU ranks 24th defensively by permitting just 330.6 yards per game after last year giving up 453.8 yards per outing (ranked 114th).

The Sooners are led by Heisman Trophy hopeful Jalen Hurts. The senior quarterback leads the nation in yards per pass attempt (11.8; FBS record is 11.6), yards per completion (16.4) and touchdowns accounted for (51; tied). A finalist for the Maxwell, Davey O'Brien, Manning and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm awards, Hurts has completed 222 of 309 passes this year for 3,634 yards and 32 touchdowns to just seven interceptions while rushing for 1,255 yards and another 18 scores. He is one of just two players nationally since 1996 to record at least 32 passing TDs and at least 18 rushing TDs in a season (Florida's Tim Tebow [32 and 23; includes bowl game] did it in 2007 when he won the Heisman Trophy).

The Sooners are making their 21st straight bowl appearance. Heading into this season, only two schools owned longer active consecutive streaks of bowl appearances recognized by the NCAA: Virginia Tech (26) and Georgia (22). Oklahoma owns a 29-22-1 all-time bowl record.

OU's four appearances are the third most in the six-year history of the College Football Playoff. Only Alabama and Clemson (five each) have more appearances. Ohio State is making its third CFP appearance and LSU its first.

Ticket Information

OU season ticket holders will be notified via email within 24 hours of the bowl announcement regarding the number of tickets they have qualified to receive, with a deadline of 2 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Dec. 10, to cancel orders.

OU student football season ticket holders will be notified via email and social media regarding the process for student bowl ticket purchases within 72 hours of the bowl announcement.