As I drove home from a friends house where I watched the BCS National Championship Game last night I was listening to some national sports talk radio. What suprised me was the shock that the show hosts were exhibiting about OU losing last night. As shown in the picture above, that's just what Oklahoma does. "Big Game Bob" has now firmly cemented his legacy as "Choke Job Bob." A win last night would have erased everything in the past few years and everyone would say he's one of the greatest coaches he's ever seen. I can't gloat all the way, because last night I texted a friend who's an OU fan and told him "I can't raz you too bad because being a Bills fan I know how it feels." That said I expected this from OU the day it was announced they would play in the national championship game. I don't want to take anything away from Florida, because they deserve it and they won the game, but that said Florida was in control of this game. Geoff Ketchum of Orangebloods.com had a nice write up today about the game.
This is going to be one that haunts Oklahoma fans for a long, long, long time.
Unlike in 2003 and 2004 when I really came away thinking that LSU and USC were just better than Oklahoma, that's not the feeling that I had last night.
Call me crazy, but I thought for three quarters that OU was the team in control of the game, even if they didn't have control of the scoreboard.
If they play this game ten times, I think OU wins 7 times, but this was one of those 30% nights and it'll haunt that fan base for the rest of their lives.
Don't get me wrong, it was a close game and evenly played, but OKlahoma had so many oppurtunities to seperate themselves in the first half and I think their confidence started to trickle away.
I had felt like if this was a one touchdown game going into the fourth quarter, Florida would win and that's exactly what happened. That's the thing we really learned about OU as a team last night. They really cannot play 60 minutes of elite football against an elite program/team.
Texas forced them to tap out in Dallas by taking complete physical control of that game. There was no doubt at the end of the game, which team was better than the other.
Florida did the same thing to OU last night and that fan base learned that the team they thought was a national champion really can't close the deal against big-boy teams.
This 2008 OU team could push around the little sisters of the poor, but in the two big boy games they played this season, they folded up like tents in the face of a four quarter game.
Like a man that's good for 10 minutes and no more than 10 minutes with his old lady, this Sooners team was good for 45 minutes against elite competition and only 45 minutes.
In the 46th minute, their true character was shown. Can't close the deal.
This will make the pain of this game stick forever. To have watched your team move the ball up and down the field, only to waste scoring oppurtunity after scoring oppurtunity.
It reveals the worst about your team to see them crack so many times.
As far as individual players are concerned:
I thought Sam Bradford has some terrible luck and some scared receivers, but he played well enough to win and I think his draft stock is pretty secure. He ws one of the best things they had going last night.
I guess the ACC calls holding because OU's offensive line finally had to play a little honest football and it didn't always go well. Their line played a little like Texas' line played against the Buckeyes.
Gerald McCoy was OU's best player last night. He's a Top 10 NFL Draft pick.
OU's receivers turned in an rotten egg of a performance. Their lack of elite athleticism was really exposed last night and they couldn't get open to save their lives and if they did by chance happen to sneak free for a sliver of open space, they were looking for the nearest Florida safety when the ball was coming to them. They were totally spooked last night by Major Wright's roaming the field.
Overall, the OU defense can feel good about their game. I thought a lot of their guys played really well. Still, they cannot be unhappy with the offense because when the team needed a stop in the fourth, they folded up like a tent, the same as the offense.
Geoff Ketchum
Publisher
Mack vs. Stoops
I was thinking last night as a Texas fan, is the perception that Stoops is light years ahead of Mack Brown true anymore? I've never thought so but what about the national perception? Let's take a look
Bob Stoops 2002 Season
12-2 record
6-2 in conference
Big XII Conference Title
Rose Bowl victory over Washington State
#4 ranked recruiting class in the nation
Mack Brown's 2002 Season
11-2 Record
6-2 in conference
Cotton Bowl win over LSU
#15 ranked recruiting class in the nation
Bob Stoops 2003 Season
12-2 overall
8-o in conference
Big XII Title game loss to Kansas State
BCS National Title loss to LSU
#8 ranked recruiting class in the nation
Mack Brown's 2003 season
10-3 overall
7-1 in conference
Holiday Bowl Loss to Washington State
#10 Ranked recruiting class in the nation.
Bob Stoops 2004 Season
12-1 Overall
8-0 in conference
Big XII Title
National Title Game Loss to USC
#3 ranked recruiting class in the nation
Mack Brown's 2004 Season
11-1 overall
7-1 in conference
BCS Rose Bowl Win over Michigan
#20 ranked recruiting class in the nation
Bob Stoops 2005 Season
8-4 overall
6-2 in conference
Holiday Bowl Win over Oregon
#9 ranked recruiting class in the nation
Mack Brown's 2005 Season
13-0 overall
8-0 in conference
Big XII Title
National Championship win over USC
#5 ranked recruiting class in the nation
Bob Stoops 2006 Season
11-3 overall
7-1 in conference
Big XII Title
Fiesta Bowl Loss to Boise State
#14 ranked recruiting class in the nation
Mack Brown's 2006 Season
10-3 overall
6-2 in conference
Alamo Bowl Win Over Iowa
#5 ranked recruiting class in the nation
Bob Stoops 2007 Season
11-3 overall
6-2 in conference
Big XII Title
Fiesta Bowl Loss to West Virginia
#6 ranked recruiting class in the nation
Mack Brown's 2007 Season
10-3 overall
5-3 in conference
Holiday Bowl Win over Arizona State
#14 ranked recruiting class in the nation
Bob Stoops 2008 Season
12-2 overall
7-1 in conference
Big XII Title
National Championship loss to Florida
#10 ranked recruiting class in the nation
Mack Brown's 2008 Season
12-1 overall
7-1 in conference
Fiesta Bowl Win over Ohio State
#3 ranked recruiting class in the nation
Things have defnitely been back and forth between the 2 coaches but does Bob Stoops really look like he holds the advantage overwhelmingly? The only thing I can stay for Stoops is that he has closed the deal on Big XII titles which Mack has not. This year Mack certainly deserved to play for the Big XII title, but the last few years Mack's teams have folded a bit down the stretch only to finish strong. Texas has 5 straight bowl wins 3 of which are of the BCS variety. Bob Stoops has won 1 bowl game in the past 6 years including 5 BCS losses, 3 of which were shots at the national championship. In that time period Mack has closed the gap head to head with OU and they are 4-3 in the last 7 games including Texas taking 3 of the last 4. Things are swining once again, and if Sam Bradford is to go pro this could really cripple the Sooner program who doesn't have much in the way of QB's. And for all the talk of "Big Game"Bob Stoops, and "Coach February" Mack Brown, The Longhorns have certainly delivered on the big stage recently while OU continues to lay eggs. Just something to think about. I'll leave you with one lasting image from last night's game.
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