From the Denver Post this morning, no UTerus bias here [Archive]

DenverSooner751

11/30/2008, 11:13 AM

Meh....

STILLWATER, Okla. — You can land the plane now, Tex. Pick up the banner you flew overhead here reading "45-35 SETTLED ON A NEUTRAL FIELD" and use it for one giant crying towel.

Texas' win over Oklahoma seven weeks ago won't do any good today.

At least it shouldn't. Who knows? The way the Bowl Championship Series has worked in past years, voters may determine the Big 12 South champion today with a dartboard and a shot glass.

Oklahoma took care of business Saturday with the world watching again. The No. 3 Sooners went on the road and beat a good 11th-ranked Oklahoma State team 61-41 in one of the day's few emotionally charged rivalry games that went true to form.

And Oklahoma (11-1, 7-1 Big 12) is in good form. If you want to find the true champion in the three-way tie that is the Big 12 South, ask yourself this question: What national championship game do you want to see? In my mind, the answer is as obvious as Sam Bradford's talent.

It's Florida-Oklahoma.

I want to see Florida's magnificent, lightning-fast defense try to stop the nation's highest-scoring offense, which just topped 50 points for the eighth time and 60 points for the fourth straight time. This would be a championship game of the ages. Averaging 53.3 points a game, Oklahoma is 60 points from becoming the first team since the 1904 Minnesota Gophers to top 700 points on the season.

In 71 trips to the red zone, the Sooners have scored 61 touchdowns. Video games aren't that prolific. You can find a better offensive challenge for Florida? The South winner will play a distraught Missouri team for the Big 12 title Saturday in Kansas City. Today's BCS rankings, with polls comprising two-thirds of the formula, will put the highest-ranked South team in Kansas City, one step from the BCS title game.

"We came here and won on the road," Bradford said. "It does nothing but up our place, and there's no reason we shouldn't be in Kansas City. But it's out of our hands now. All we can do is hope."

Bradford and the posse of Oklahoma weapons were unstoppable. The sophomore probably inched ahead of Texas quarterback Colt McCoy in the Heisman race, hitting 30-of-44 passes for 370 yards and four touchdowns. This is not Florida Atlantic he did this against. Zac Robinson, the Chatfield High grad, led a gutsy Oklahoma State offense that wouldn't get blown out as Texas Tech did last week.

Robinson hit 17-of-26 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns, but every time the Cowboys (9-3, 5-3) came close to putting the BCS on its ear, Oklahoma struck back. From the second quarter on, Oklahoma had eight possessions. It scored seven touchdowns and a field goal.

"We did a great job responding," Bradford said. "Coach (offensive coordinator Kevin) Wilson challenged us before the game that when things aren't going good, great teams fight back."

However, Florida or Alabama — even Missouri — won't fear Oklahoma's defense. OSU gained 452 yards. The Sooners' secondary is feeble. Its pass rush could not catch up to Robinson, who continually danced around fire and threw bullets to Cowboys.

In a game of 102 points, however, the key play may have been a two-pointer. Robinson hit Dez Bryant with a 6-yard TD pass to cut Oklahoma's lead to 21-19 with 11:12 left in the third quarter. Going against the book, which says don't go for two until the fourth quarter, OSU coach Mike Gundy tried Robinson to score a two-point conversion.

Robinson fumbled and Oklahoma's Fran Alexander returned it 93 yards for a two-point play and a 23-19 lead. Suddenly, Oklahoma had the momentum and Bradford responded when his pass deflected off Manuel Johnson's hands to Jermaine Gresham behind the secondary. He raced untouched for a 73-yard scoring pass to make it 30-19.

Oklahoma State never stopped Oklahoma again.

The only team that can stop Oklahoma is the voters. Texas began the day second in the BCS rankings, but Oklahoma led in the Harris poll by 21 points and in the USA Today coaches poll by 42. Oklahoma trailed Texas in the computers, .960-.900. The only way Oklahoma cannot pass Texas is if the computers don't respond to this road win over a ranked team or the voters give Texas too much credit for its win over Oklahoma.

Here's a tip, folks: This is not between Oklahoma and Texas. It's between Oklahoma, which beat Texas Tech, which beat Texas, which beat Oklahoma. Texas Tech's win over Texas cannot be discounted. If I'm a voter, I look at Oklahoma's destruction of two ranked teams the last two weeks and its nonconference wins over Cincinnati, the Big East champion, and Texas Christian, 14th in the BCS. I also look at Texas toasting four nonconference marshmallows.

The BCS rankings come out today at 2 p.m. At that time, another banner should be flying over Oklahoma. It should read Big 12 South champion.

soonermeteor

11/30/2008, 11:31 AM

Best part:

If I'm a voter, I look at Oklahoma's destruction of two ranked teams the last two weeks and its nonconference wins over Cincinnati, the Big East champion, and Texas Christian, 14th in the BCS. I also look at Texas toasting four nonconference marshmallows.

I'm also tired of this last second win crap. I need more than my two hands to count the times I've seen my teams lose the way that Texas did. Yes, Texas had the lead with about a minute and a half to go. Guess what though: they let Tech drive over 60 yards in that final minute! We all remember the Boise State game. We had them on 4th and long and they got a touchdown. But but but it was at the last second we should have won! No one cares. When you let yourself have an epic defensive FAIL, you lose! Period! Also, on the "dropped" interception: If rankings came down to ifs and buts on dropped passes, interceptions, missed field goals, and blah blah blah we'd have no reason to even bother playing the game because that conversation would go on forever. To borrow a line from Don Meredith on KOTH: "If ifs and buts were candy and nuts we'd all have a merry christmas!"