WACO, Texas -- With his team trailing by 25 points, a record McLane Stadium crowd bursting with jubilation and his most explosive offensive player sidelined, Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley pulled together every member of his travel roster for an impassioned speech.
As more than 60 crimson-and-cream-clad players bunched in between the 30- and 35-yard lines and circled him on Saturday, Riley was demonstrative, full-throated. After a disastrous start, he wanted them to refocus and to remind them of what they're capable of.
"I told them, 'If we don't believe, we have no shot,'" Riley said.