Remembering the time UC football nearly upset Oklahoma when they last met in 2010

As Saturday approaches, the University of Cincinnati is looking for its first and only Big 12 win against the visiting Oklahoma Sooners. While they'll go down as UC's first-ever Big 12 opponent, the Sooners are off to the SEC with Texas next season.

In both previous meetings, UC was a member of the Big East. Their initial game in 2008 was close for a while, but the 2010 game played at then-Paul Brown Stadium will go down as a missed opportunity.

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Sept. 25, 2010, No. 8 Oklahoma visits Cincinnati

Just as the Bearcats did in 2002 to accommodate the Ohio State crowd, UC hosted the Bob Stoops' Sooners at Paycor Stadium. The attendance was 58,253. It was less than capacity, but far more than they would have drawn at Nippert Stadium, which then topped out at 35,000.

It was the first season for Butch Jones, who lost his debut at Fresno State, 28-14, then beat Indiana State soundly at Nippert 40-7. They then lost at North Carolina State whose quarterback threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns. Perhaps you had heard of Russell Wilson before he transferred to Wisconsin and then went on to the NFL?

Oklahoma came in 3-0 behind another future NFL quarterback, Landry Jones. Jones would throw for 370 yards and two scores in this game as Oklahoma led 14-3 after a quarter, 17-9 at the half and 24-12 after three quarters. However, in the fourth quarter, Zach Collaros pulled the Bearcats to 24-22 with a 36-yard scoring strike to D.J. Woods.

Woods though had a difficult game despite his 171 yards in receptions. He had a potential touchdown punched out of his grasp, then after pulling within two points, fumbled a punt on the 7-yard line giving Oklahoma an easy score and a 31-22 lead.

Collaros would hit tight end Adrien Robinson for a touchdown with under a minute to go, but the ensuing onside kick by Jacob Rogers was collected by the Sooners who escaped unblemished with a 31-29 victory.

Collaros threw for 305 yards and three scores but also had a pick in the end zone and a fumble. The Bearcats had four costly turnovers and the Sooners made them pay.

"It was a closer game than you would have thought," Collaros said. "The game was there for us to take. Football usually comes down to six or seven plays in a game, unless you're really outclassed. We didn't take advantage of our opportunities."

DeMarco Murray was Oklahoma's top rusher and was held to 67 yards on 28 carries. UC's Isaiah Pead led all rushers with 169 yards, more than double what Oklahoma rushed for as a team. Collaros calls Pead the most underrated guy he's played with.

"I think there's still some yards left out on that field," Pead said. "Turnovers were a thing and missed opportunities. We had some dropped touchdowns. I think knocking off Oklahoma would have definitely given us a spark of confidence at a time that was much needed."

UC dropped to 1-3 with that loss. They did defeat Miami University and Louisville in the following weeks but only had one win in six tries over the rest of the season. The first season under Butch Jones ended at 4-8. He would rebound with back-to-back Big East championships before bolting for Tennessee.

Sept. 6, 2008, Cincinnati visits No. 4 Oklahoma

In front of 84, 476 fans in Norman, Oklahoma, Brian Kelly's second Bearcat team had wiped out Eastern Kentucky 40-7 to begin the season. Next up was a sizable task: the fourth-ranked Sooners.

The Bearcats twice picked off quarterback Sam Bradford, who threw for a career-high 395 yards and five touchdowns as Oklahoma soundly defeated UC 52-26. The Bearcats got down 14-0 after a quarter but cut the deficit to 21-13 by halftime on a touchdown from Dustin Grutza to Dominick Goodman. Grutza was 19-for-29 for 218 yards on the day with Mardy Gilyard catching seven passes for 119 yards.

Gilyard would run a third-quarter kickoff back 97 yards to get UC within eight at 28-20 in the third quarter. The Sooners would just be too much. Early in the fourth quarter, with Oklahoma leading 45-20, Grutza was hurt and carried off the field. Tony Pike would finish the game.

Kelly that season would win with four different quarterbacks: Grutza, Pike, Collaros and Chazz Anderson. Collaros in his freshman season actually played in the first Oklahoma game as well.

"I played special teams, on punt returns, but they only punted the ball one time," Collaros said. "It was that kind of a day for us. Their offensive line was outstanding. I don't think Bradford showered after the game."

Post-Oklahoma in 2008, Kelly's 'Cats would only lose at Connecticut, then in the Orange Bowl to No. 19 Virginia Tech to finish the season 11-3. They followed up in 2009 going 12-0 until the loss to No. 5 Florida in the Sugar Bowl Jan. 1, 2010.

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables took in both UC games

For the previous meetings with UC, current Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables was associate head coach/defensive coordinator.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati Bearcats vs Oklahoma Sooners Big 12 history