Non-Emotional Response to the Game

[OUSKINS]

Well, you all saw the game, so no need to rehash what happened out there.....I guess the question to ask is WHY did it happen? My thoughts:

--OU fans are being a bit TOO simplistic in their analysis. Saying that the coaches "blew" the game infers that OU is clearly the better team and that the game was simply won or lost from the sidelines. While I have issues with the coaching (more on that in a minute) it can certainly be argued that Florida is more or at least equally talented to the Sooners. They definitely have more overall team speed.

--Sometimes, it hurts to admit you were wrong, but myself and many others around here WERE wrong. First of all, I guess I owe some apologies to Tebow....he wasn't overwhelming last night, but he did make several key plays in the second half and it's hard to deny his leadership and overall impact on the team. I keep arguing with Adam that he is NOT one of the all-time great college football players, but honestly, he very well may be...what else can a guy do? He's been on two national title teams, he's won a Heisman, and he has great numbers. Some of the "romance" surrounding him is absurd-- I really think Thom Brenneman was sexually aroused by Tebow last night and I'm definitely sick of hearing about him doing brain surgery on Ethiopian orphans in the off-season, but the guy is a great, great player.

--Speaking of being wrong, it looks like the naysayers were right about the Big 12. The Bowl games don't give us a huge sample size and motivations may be different for different teams, but it's the only way we can compare in this awful system. And the top teams from the Big 12 south laid some major eggs. Texas Tech got steamrolled by Ole Miss, OSU got run over by Oregon, OU was handed a solid defeat by Florida, and Texas needed a great finish to beat what many people consider to be a so-so Ohio St. team. Obviously, going in to Stillwater and winning that game wasn't as impressive as we originally thought. Looks like the Big 12 defenses DO have some catching up to do.

--Mildly disappointed in Bradford last night. I don't think he was a main "cause" of the loss, but he could have been a hero. I think the coaches should have put the game more in his hands, but I also think he could have done a TAD more than he did. Again, overall, he was solid, but the fact is that Tebow made many crucial first downs ON HIS OWN in the second half of that game and Bradford was a bit limited by not being nearly as mobile. It mattered last night.

--Can't complain too much about Venebles or the defense last night. They didn't do a great job of getting Tebow off the field consistently as Florida had SEVERAL long drives, but they did keep them off the scoreboard and they did
force two turnovers, neither of which OU capitalized on. OU's defense wasn't "great" last night, because they aren't a "great" defense, but they did enough to win the game.

--Now, the coaching. Florida's coaches didn't "destroy" OU's coaches last night, but there were definitely a bunch of subtle things that added up to make a difference. All in all, Florida seemed to control the pace and flow of the game and they appeared to be the slightly more physical, aggressive, and creative team. They seemed a tad more confident offensively than OU did.

--I said this two years ago, reiterated it before this year, and feel even more strongly about it now: Stoops has lost a certain edge. He's lost his cojones. OU played that game VERY conservatively last night. I LIKED going for it on 4th down near the goal line, but the third and fourth down calls were incredibly stale. Why not put the ball in the hands of the guy who just won the Heisman? If you are going to run it, do something a bit more creative-- OU has NOT been an "up the gut" all team all season, but that's what they choose to do in crunchtime? I realize Stoops doesn't call the plays, but ultimately, the head coach is responsible for the general philosophy in those situations.

--The decision to attempt the 49 yard field goal was moronic. With OU's special teams woes, it was a low percentage attempt. But even more than that, I thought Stoops displayed a lack of "feel" for the game there. Even if he makes it, it's still 14-10 Florida to start the 4th quarter. The risk-reward just isn't there. Again, on 4th and 6 from that spot on the field, I think you give Sam a chance. And has Stoops not WATCHED the kicking game this year? In years past, Stoops either goes for that or has some REAL trickery up his sleeve. Terrible, terrible decision there.

--Obviously, the two missed opportunities on the goal line will haunt memories of OU fans from this game, but I really don't think those instances determined the game. Twice OU got the ball on potentially momentum-shifting interceptions, and they failed to even score 3 points either time.

--Florida is the better team, period. It might sting to say it, but it's true. They earned it. Overall, they were better.

--Of course, there will now be some questions about Stoops.... questions that probably aren't very fair. Here's what Stoops is: A fabulous recruiter and a very good delegator. As long as he's in Norman, OU fans can count on 10 win seasons and consistent Big 12 Titles. They will continue to be in the mix for National Titles. That's pretty good. But there is certainly some sort of drop off when OU is faced with playing an elite team from another conference. At this point, you either accept that's what we're getting from Stoops or you want him fired. I'd say the latter is a bit ridiculous.

--For me, it was once again a pretty hollow ending to the college football season. The layoff between games is a real drag, and the uncertainty revolving around Texas, Florida, USC, Utah, etc. is terrible for the sport. It's so dumb that Utah can win ALL of their games, including dismantling Alabama in a virtual road game and NOT be in the hunt for a title. What's the point then? I know I say it all the time, but college football is an inferior product to it's compeitors and that's why it remains 5th on my list of favortie sports.

--I think my position on this is pretty objective. I will freely admit that I have no "love" for OU football. It's not a passion for me. I felt no pain (mild frustration) during that game last night. I get much more fired up during a regular season basketball game against Texas Tech for whatever reason. My heart is in the basketball team, not the football team. But I do root for OU and I was pulling for them last night. The frustrating thing for me is that we may have to wait for a year or even years to get another shot at this....at this point 11-1 seasons and Big 12 Titles are a bit empty. Until OU beats an elite team on a national stage, doubt will linger.

[ARCO IRIS]

Outstanding analysis

Boomer Sooner

[auto]

Great analysis.

[TUSooner]

I may have a few minor disputes.
Bradford played well. His 2 picks were passes that he put right into the receivers' hands. The first INT was just bad luck, the last was the result of great, inspired defensive play. OUr receivers just plain did not measure up to the UF d-backs.

The non-scores in the 1st half were very crucial. A missed bock allowed penetration on 4th down, another great D play. Same on that big 3d and short later on. 2 TDs might have allowed Wilson to open things up.
We probably missed Murray. I can't see him going down so easily on those key short yardage plays.

I was impressed with OU's defense. Holding the opponent to 24 with OUr offense should get you a win every day.

Tebow was good, but not great; Harvin was great

All that said, the better team won. DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS and UF made the necessary key defensive plays to keep OU from getting ahead.

All in all, it's another huge disappointment for Sooner fans. But I got up and went to work today, just like every Friday.
Life goes on, by the Grace of God.

[Boomer Mooner]

I thought Bradford was great last night for the most part. He was able to move the ball very well most of the time...enough to probably have won the game if not for two interceptions that were right on the money.

We lost the game because we were stopped twice at the goal line. Props to Florida for their goal line defense. You can second guess the running play on 4th down all you want, but I want a coach who goes for that one, especially after the success we were having running the ball.

At the end of the 1st half was the first interception I talked about above. If we make that TD and go into the half ahead I think we win the game.

The other interception, right after their field goal in the 4th if I remember correctly, we are moving down the field well and get intercepted on a perfect pass.

We matched up with their speed pretty well. The game was waaay closer than the final score indicates. This game was not won by Florida's superior speed.

To say Stoops is just a good recruiter and not a good coach is idiotic. If you can't get past the Bowl games to see the accomplishments he HAS made I can't for the life of me see why you would even take the time to come to this site.

[BornandBred]

I agree with everything you said.

To go a bit further about the coaches, I felt like KW was rusty in play calling. I felt like he would get in some kind of a rhythm, and then make a predictable play call that would backfire. If we can completely out athlete a team that's fine, but Florida was AT LEAST equal to OU last night, athlete wise. On the goal line, where was Gresham? All hear long we've run TE drags and they've worked, I missed the play action on 3rd and goal from the 2. I understand putting the game on the shoulders of your massive O-line, but mix it up just a little, please.

You are completely right about the field goal, that was a terrible decision that belongs to Stoops, in my opinion. All night we seemed to be playing to hang on, not to pull away. It seems to be that we play scared now. But, that said, the first person I see face to face calling for Stoops' head gets throat punched. He's been and will continue to be a great coach.

I was impressed by the defense. BV has battled incredible adversity all year. Losing his first and second string MLB and STILL putting the quality performance for this game was impressive. It only further drives the point that he may be the best LB coach in the game. And his D-coordinator skills that I've questioned so often.. well I was impressed last night.

The point is, if you would have told me on Wednesday that would would hold Florida to 24 points I would have begun to celebrate our victory. Our O-line seemed to be largely unfocused, our O coordinator was rusty, and our QB had a good game, but not great. We just didn't ever seem to hit on all cylinders like we were doing towards the end of the season, but that's what a month off does to a team like ours. I would like our next years team to be based on great D, which looks likely to happen.

Overall I'm very proud of my Sooners. They were competitive and played relatively well. I saw nobody on the team, except maybe Chris Brown, have an exceptional game and it's extremely hard to beat a team like Florida when your team plays just OK.

[BoulderSooner79]

The INT at the end of the first half was a strange call. Johnson was at about the 1 with 2 defenders on him and if he catches the pass, it doesn't look like he scores. If that happens time expires anyway. The standard play in that situation is to make sure the pass is in the endzone or throw it away and take the FG.

Attempting a 50 was really weird since Steven's long for the year was 42. A real head scratcher.

I didn't mind the 2 running plays from the 1 and going for it on 4th down. But I hated the formation used on both plays. 2 tight ends and a fullback and nobody out wide. There was no threat of a pass and it attracted all 11 defenders. It also took away our best players - Bradford, unless you count the threat of a sneak.

[Cinco Ranch Cougar]

Very good analysis. However, I would like to differ slightly with your opening remark.
I believe it is very simple - The Sooners do not have the Leadership on the field to deny defeat at all costs. Tebow simply will not allow his teammates to falter and lose sight of the ultimate objective - WIN.
He is a throwback to Lombardi, Rockne, (all of those cliches) AND the Sooners under Bud.
They simply refused to let defeat enter into their minds and psyche.
Be it the kids, the coaches, whatever, until the Sooner Nation finds that person with that intangible quality of the expectation of winning every time they step on the field, we will continue to under-achieve at the highest level.
Further, I believe it starts with Stoops.
Sorry, but until the staff adopts this in-your-face attitude with these kids and expect nothing short of perfection and intensity we will only be a top 5, top 10 team. Winning the Big 12, and losing to teams that want it more than we do.
Oh by the way, I am an old timer Sooner grad, and ex-student athlete so I do have some background and history with my beloved Sooners. Not bashing, just trying to encourage them to greatness.

[BornandBred]

I think I would have been fine with a sneak on the 3rd down as well, at least we don't risk losing yards. I wonder if they didn't trust his hand or what? But with the way we'd been running the ball... ah man, hind sight is 20/20.

[jdsooner]

Oklahoma was the better team in the first half; Florida in the second half.
I don't think Stoops has lost anything.

[soonerlaw]

I agree with BoulderSooner79... the call right before the half... either throw it into the endzone and score or have enough time left for a field goal.

Second, the field goal... if it didn't get blocked, he was going to miss it.

overall, the stats were pretty close and while we could have played better, we did not play bad. The defense played above themselves in my mind and kept us in it. We still had a great season and you all have to admit, it was a great season to watch.

[homerSimpsonsBrain]

Skins, I think you're out of your mind about Bradford. He was pretty dang good last night. I recall one pass badly overthrown and all the others were pretty much right on the money. You can question his judgment on the first INT (Bradford said the same thing last night) but the pass was dead on. The 2nd INT was just GREAT defense.

The only glaring thing I questioned last night was not using a timeout on the first fourth and goal.

[1890MilesToNorman]

Oklahoma was the better team in the first half; Florida in the second half.
I don't think Stoops has lost anything.

Exactly -

I could't figure out why Wilson decided to call all run on this drive and all pass on that drive. I thought his play calling was unusual this game?

Florida's tackling was excellent, almost no YAC's.

Inglesias? Can't explain this unless he got rattled from that hit on the sideline early in the game.

Inside the 10 offense. Not much imagination there? Sam threw into the endzone what, twice?

Defense played very well!!

These are fan observations, I don't have an ounce of coach in me.

Nice season Sooners, disappointing ending.

Boomer Sooner

[footballfanatic]

Good analysis. I think that Bradford looked like he was intimidated in the second half. Compare his last drive with Colt McCoy's last drive against Ohio State. There was a sense of leadership and will to win from Colt that you didn't feel from Sam. He looked a little lost, and his short throws indicated a long ball taken from him, and his losing his gamblers instinct. it seems the offense gave up, while the defense continued to fight to the end. While I am Texas fan, I was very impressed with the spirit the defense showed--they wanted to win. And your tight end, while physically gifted, doesn't always appear to be giving it his all. I thought the playcalling was good. you moved the ball early, and maybe should have stayed with the run, but who knows? I think Texas would have given Florida a tougher game, but that is speculation that gets no one anywhere. Can't wait til next year.

[BoulderSooner79]

That sideline hit was on Johnson, not Inglesias. It should have been a penalty for pass interference, but it was a bang-bang play as they say. Overall, the refs did a good job and hit each team evenly.

[redmenace]

Sounds to me like people are satisfied being tOSU, Michigan, or PSU south. Congratulations on tossing the salad of mediocrity and liking it. Neither Bob or the team has been the same since Mike left. And the defense is getting a free pass. It was a pretty poor performance top to bottom for all those concerned. But then again that's the SOP for this current version of the Sooners. It's time for some turnover. The staff is getting as stale as the offense was last night. And for ****s sake, Wilson was "rusty" at play calling?

[1890MilesToNorman]

That sideline hit was on Johnson, not Inglesias. It should have been a penalty for pass interference, but it was a bang-bang play as they say. Overall, the refs did a good job and hit each team evenly.

May bad! thanks

[SoonerGrad2003]

The INT at the end of the first half was a strange call. Johnson was at about the 1 with 2 defenders on him and if he catches the pass, it doesn't look like he scores. If that happens time expires anyway. The standard play in that situation is to make sure the pass is in the endzone or throw it away and take the FG.

Attempting a 50 was really weird since Steven's long for the year was 42. A real head scratcher.

I didn't mind the 2 running plays from the 1 and going for it on 4th down. But I hated the formation used on both plays. 2 tight ends and a fullback and nobody out wide. There was no threat of a pass and it attracted all 11 defenders. It also took away our best players - Bradford, unless you count the threat of a sneak.

These are my gripes, almost verbatim. Good analysis of the analysis! The formations on the 3rd and goal and 4th and goal (or, as the FOX announcers had it, on the 4th and goal and 4th and goal) were moronic. The traps and the outside running plays were working at that point, not up the gut runs. At that point, Florida had begun to get some push up the middle, and OU had terrible play from the fullback position most of the night.

All year I defended Stoops. I'm running out of reasons....

[Vaevictis]

Overall, the refs did a good job and hit each team evenly.

Disagree. Perhaps the calls themselves were spread evenly, but in the first half or so, the way the refs managed the game negated the advantage our offense should have given us.

Reviews on calls that shouldn't have been reviewed, measurements that shouldn't have been measurements, a time out that supposedly was called by Florida, but was then called off, delay after delay after delay.

They also let Florida get away with delay after delay in terms of faking injuries, knocking a set ball around, etc.

I'm not saying the refs did a bad job, just that the way they called it was in UF's favor.

[meoveryouxinfinity]

I just wanted to add a couple things:

1. Matt Clapp blocking. He might be big, but the dude did not do well in those crucial situations.

2. DeMarco Murray is a MUCH better short yardage man than Chris Brown. This is always a misconception. That because Brown is bigger, he's better near the goal line. Chris Brown can spin (a la Big XII Championship game) but Murray will FIGHT to get the 7.

3. You tell me UF scores 24, I tell you OU scores 38. Props to the (OUr) defense.

4. Sam is not physically ready for the NFL. He doesn't have the body weight yet, and he might not ever have it. He would get destroyed behind the Lions offensive line. They will not take him. (Blessing in disguise)

[SoonerLB]

I'm with you guys on the play calling last night, that to me is the main reason for the loss. And all this staring at the sidelines waiting on plays is starting to bother me a little, sometimes I wish Sam could just call his own plays and get that tempo working. Our offensive sets tip off the defense as to what we are going to do for the most part, there are no surprises, just predictability. They watched the film, so they knew what was coming.

Defensively, they handled our defensive line and took advantage of our MLB situation, thus having some major openings to run to and through. Don't take me wrong, we had some shining defensive plays for sure, but they won the battle. But we knew they would score, and overall, our defense did a pretty good job, just not good enough to overcome our offensive woes.

[Pricetag]

Bradford played well. His 2 picks were passes that he put right into the receivers' hands. The first INT was just bad luck, the last was the result of great, inspired defensive play. OUr receivers just plain did not measure up to the UF d-backs.
They need to get Jeff Capel out to practice to teach the receivers how to go up for a ball like it was a rebound. When the ball is in the air, that's MY ball. If I happen to catch a bloody forearm stump along with it, so be it.

[BoulderSooner79]

Your spot-on about DM - he is the power back. Chris is mostly a finesse runner who is very patient and great at setting up his blocks. DM can pull a tackler for 5 yards and we certainly needed that a few times.

[hhsmiley]

I was worried about all of FL's "team speed" before the game and to be sure it was apparent in the game, especially Harvin. However, there was not this huge overall talent disparity between OU and FL.

Bottom line is after watching the game I come away still thinking that OU is as good as FL and capable of beating them, but they just didn't play well enough to get it done last night.

I'd like to say that it was just players not making plays, but unfortunately some of the poor decisions by the coaching staff definitely swayed momentum in FL's favor, and cost OU points, if not the game itself.

[lwg8tr01]

The game changed on the first defensive play when Major Wright had that huge hit on the sidelines. Youtube type stuff. All night your recievers played with their head on a swivel and on that second interception Gresham was flinching when he had the ball intercepted. Looked to us Gators you guys just got gassed in the second half when we started to pull away with 10 minutes left. Your WR routes were not as crisp and Bradford was'nt zipping the ball in there. I wonder what the thinking was that your OC didnt try more screens and draw plays. Seems like your whole play book was run off tackle, the TE breaking down the middle and that post down the sidelines. We just pinned our ears back and waited for those 3 plays.

[AgriGator]

First of all... Great game. Bradford is the most accurate QB I have seen when he has time to throw. Brown is a great runner and if Murray is better, then I am glad he was out. McCoy was a beast in the first half but kind of disappeared in the 2nd half.

Tim Tebow is just difficult to describe if you haven't watched him all year. His arm pumps and displays of emotion are designed to motivate the crowd, pump up his team and mostly himself. I can see how opposing fans might not like him, but to us he is just what this team needed. His sheer willpower and energy is what drives this team. I hope he comes back for his senior year.

Percy Harvin is a difference maker. He wasn't even close to 90%. More like 75%. The one pass that just grazed his fingertips would have been a touchdown caught in stride if he was 100%. We can only hope he returns for his senior year but I doubt it.

Oklahoma is an impressive team and deserved to be there. If one or two plays were made by OU, then you could be champs instead of us.

[GrapevineSooner]

--Sometimes, it hurts to admit you were wrong, but myself and many others around here WERE wrong. First of all, I guess I owe some apologies to Tebow....he wasn't overwhelming last night, but he did make several key plays in the second half and it's hard to deny his leadership and overall impact on the team.

Yep.

He made the necessary third conversions that Florida needed to get to stretch the lead from 17-14 to 24-14 in the fourth. Including that key 3rd and 12 conversion.

That having been said...


Some of the "romance" surrounding him is absurd-- I really think Thom Brenneman was sexually aroused by Tebow last night and I'm definitely sick of hearing about him doing brain surgery on Ethiopian orphans in the off-season, but the guy is a great, great player.

Brenneman's just another Joe Buck wannabe, in my book. He probably has an MP3 of Joe Buck speaking for hours on end and goes to sleep with his headphones on listening to it every weeknight. ;)


Looks like the Big 12 defenses DO have some catching up to do.

Definitely agree here, in spite of our defensive performance last night.


--Mildly disappointed in Bradford last night. I don't think he was a main "cause" of the loss, but he could have been a hero.

Somebody else pointed this out earlier in the thread, Ed, and I have to agree with them.

Part of the reason Bradford wasn't the hero was because his receivers didn't help him out. Especially on the two picks where both of the passes hit our receivers in the hands, bounced off, and were intercepted on the tip drill.

And you definitely can't fault him on the second pick. That was just a case where the Florida DB made a great play after our receiver couldn't catch the pass.

All in all, I was disappointed in our receivers last night. Gresham had those two key catches on the 2nd TD drive including the TD. Otherwise, he was a non-factor.

So to was Iglesias and Manny Johnson.


--Can't complain too much about Venebles or the defense last night. They didn't do a great job of getting Tebow off the field consistently as Florida had SEVERAL long drives, but they did keep them off the scoreboard and they did
force two turnovers, neither of which OU capitalized on. OU's defense wasn't "great" last night, because they aren't a "great" defense, but they did enough to win the game.

No complaints about Venables, either. If you have told me that Florida would be held to 24, I would have said, "Great! We'll win 41-24 now."


--Now, the coaching. Florida's coaches didn't "destroy" OU's coaches last night, but there were definitely a bunch of subtle things that added up to make a difference. All in all, Florida seemed to control the pace and flow of the game and they appeared to be the slightly more physical, aggressive, and creative team. They seemed a tad more confident offensively than OU did.

Part of the reason I bemoaned the missed opportunities in the 2nd half is because I knew that we wouldn't be able to gash Florida with the run they way we were able to in the 2nd. I knew Urban Meyer would make the necessary adjustments and we'd have to find another way to get the offense going.

Again, receiving corps, I'm looking at you.


--I said this two years ago, reiterated it before this year, and feel even more strongly about it now: Stoops has lost a certain edge. He's lost his cojones. OU played that game VERY conservatively last night. I LIKED going for it on 4th down near the goal line, but the third and fourth down calls were incredibly stale. Why not put the ball in the hands of the guy who just won the Heisman? If you are going to run it, do something a bit more creative-- OU has NOT been an "up the gut" all team all season, but that's what they choose to do in crunchtime? I realize Stoops doesn't call the plays, but ultimately, the head coach is responsible for the general philosophy in those situations.

If there's one thing that'll haunt me as a fan about this game, it's the calls on that first drive that took us down to the 1.

Again, Florida's selling out to stop the run. Why not run a play action pass to Gresham out in the flat and allow him to use his size against Florida's DB's?

I realize this coaching staff has gotten the Sooners into three straight BCS games and five in the last six including two National Title games. As such, I think it would be stupid to call for the firing of any of them.

But the play calling in that situation just made absolutely no sense.


--The decision to attempt the 49 yard field goal was moronic.

Agree here. Let the offense make a play at a key juncture of the game. 49 yards is just too long of a field goal to kick in the third quarter of a 7 point game.


--Obviously, the two missed opportunities on the goal line will haunt memories of OU fans from this game, but I really don't think those instances determined the game. Twice OU got the ball on potentially momentum-shifting interceptions, and they failed to even score 3 points either time.

Going back the adjustments that Florida made at halftime, I can't say for certainty those two missed opportunties determined the game.

But I would have liked to have seen what would have happened had we converted just one of those drives into a TD.


Until OU beats an elite team on a national stage, doubt will linger.

Yep. And I urge my fellow Sooner fans to get used to this.

Even though like 8times pointed out in another thread, it's really stupid for ESPN to put a side-by-side comparison of OU's bowl record next to Texas'.

In the last nine seasons, Oklahoma has won 6 Big 12 titles while Texas has only won once. And each has an MNC in that timeframe.

[meoveryouxinfinity]

Your spot-on about DM - he is the power back. Chris is mostly a finesse runner who is very patient and great at setting up his blocks. DM can pull a tackler for 5 yards and we certainly needed that a few times.

Thanks, people think I'm crazy when I say that.

[cvsooner]

I thought we missed Murray more than I imagined we would miss him. Keeps a fresh set of legs out there, for one thing, and he's got a knack for the goal line that is hard to coach. If Brown had just popped to the outside on that third and goal....I think he would've scored. You see all those bodies massed in there and why he doesn't freelance and go outside, I dunno.

I also don't know why a standard play call anytime you've got any down and goal from the three isn't a run-pass option. Really needed a better play called there. To his credit, KW mentioned that afterwards.

The two penalties on Duke on that first drive were KILLERS.

Great play by the Florida DB on the second interception. Good ball by Sammy. Iglesias has to make that catch.

Not such a good decision on the first oskie, though. Even if Manny catches it, he isn't going to score.

The uptempo offense seemed to work really well and yet we kept not using it. Officiating and the dumb BCS required commercial breaks don't help us at all. High octane offenses seem to really struggle after a layoff...you spend all season working on them and get them fine-tuned...and then they go on the shelf.

Tebow is a very good player. I can't help but wonder though if some of his fire up the crowd antics and what not shouldn't draw more delay of game or unsportsmanlike penalties, personally. Harvin is really good, no question. I do think you shut down either of them and you can beat Florida. Tebow did make some great throws in the second half.

Refs missed a PI call in the first quarter but not sure how big a factor that was. I just hate to see missed calls. Maybe we need to have fewer old, fat white guys trying to ref games.

I honestly figured the 49 yard field goal would be a fake, but...

Defense played well enough to win. Gave the offense opportunities but couldn't come up with one more stop in the fourth (the final TD drive was nearly seven minutes).

Gresham played well, mostly, and Brown was his usual dependable solid self. Sam played okay, I thought. He would've been a hero if WRs had caught a few more balls. The throws were there, mostly.

I figure we left at least 21 points on that field. I knew we weren't going to score 50 points, but I figured on 35.

Florida was successful in turning this into an SEC game and we needed to turn it into a Big 12 game. We almost did in the first half but came up short. I'm just thankful we weren't embarassed along the lines of the 2005 OB or the 2008 Fiesta. I can live with 2004 Sugar Bowl and even the 2007 Fiesta.

You go into any game at this level and you've got a 50 percent chance of coming out with a loss, so it's not unexpected. But a combination of bad coaching and player decisions did us in. I can't say Florida is necessarily a better team than OU. I'm not sure how Texas, or USC or Utah would've fared, either. It's a dumb system, and without a true playoff we'll never know.

Great season, some great records, a number of personal awards and honors, and a chance to play for a championship. There will be more. Having had four chances in nine years is nothing to sneeze at. I would like to have had more victories out of those rather than the 1-3 record we've got, but I'll take it.

[NorCaligator]

The uptempo offense seemed to work really well and yet we kept not using it. Officiating and the dumb BCS required commercial breaks don't help us at all. High octane offenses seem to really struggle after a layoff...you spend all season working on them and get them fine-tuned...and then they go on the shelf.

This is what scared me most going in, and I didn't understand why the O didn't just line it up and hammer. When OU moved the ball, it was because they had that "jail break" thing working. It seemed like the coaches tried too hard to adjust to the defensive alignments on every play, and as a result lost rhythm on O.

Props to your D line and linebackers. Lots of great plays up front.

[1890MilesToNorman]

There were more friggin commercials then plays in the game, by far! Not a benefit to the up tempo offense.

[Nof49 Sooner]

The redzone offense was terrible. Plain and simple. The coaches and the players were bad in the red zone. When it's 3rd and Goal from the 6 inch line, you run a QB sneak...touchdown. That's on KW, but you see it all the time were OCs try to get cute when they should just take the sure thing. That being said, the O-line was terrible. If you can't run the ball for 6 inches you don't deserve to win. Not to mention all of their holding penalties and false starts were total momentum killers.

I agree about Bob being far less aggressive in Bowl games than during the regular season. Not sure what has happened to him, but he's slowly morphing into John Cooper, the old Ohio St. coach who couldn't beat Michigan. Bob's not beating Texas consistently anymore and he's losing consistently in the Bowl games. I'm not saying we have to win every game every year, but it sure seems like the program has gone a bit stale. I want to seem some creativity and fire come back. The hurry-up offense is creative only if you actually run it...not act like you're running it and just stand there at the line for 30 secs looking for a play call!

Lastly, the Big 12 was overrated...we have to face this fact. The offenses were great, but clearly the defenses were only average. That Florida secondary was as good as I've ever seen in college football. We were still close to converting all those long pass plays and should've attacked more, but as we saw each throw and catch had to be perfect or they were going to break it up.

It was progress for sure, so let's hope we can give it another go on the 10th anniversary of our last title. Anyone else feel both greedy and pissed that it's been 10 years and we've lost 3 straight title games?

[kruss1971]

Non-Emotional Reaction to Your Response

Note: While I wish that I was using pre-bowl game rankings, I am only using what I have available. One game should not improve or demote a team's ranking so much as to make the case invalid.

Big 12 Defenses

Let's not draw such a forced conclusion. While it is obvious to the most casual observer that a handful of great offensive teams (Tech, OSU, Mizz) need to tighten up on defense, we've also just seen an amazing amount of production from Big 12 offenses across the board this season. This is going to skew rankings - which everyone uses for their arguments - quite a bit.

The game is changing and the Big 12 is ahead (whether that is a good thing or not) of the SEC in the adoption of the stats/points producing spread. Ask Bo Pelini. He'll tell you that the offenses of the Big 12 are not what he got used to in the SEC. Currently, there are only a handful of offenses in the Big 12 that do not heavily rely on the spread while there are only a handful of SEC teams that are heavily using the spread. But, this is changing and the SEC will, within 5 years, look a lot like the Big 12 does right now. Tennessee had been implementing the spread with Fulmer, but with Kiffin, we'll just have to see if he goes Raider or Trojan. LSU has been running more of it. Auburn had already begun to implement their version before Tuberville was ousted and Chizik is bringing Malzahn from Tulsa with him, so the spread will be the name of the game. Petrino is certainly working on adding it more and more.

As a Big 12 defense, I would say that aside from a few busts that led to big plays from Harvin, the Sooners played very well on defense and were doing what they needed to do to win the game. If Florida earned a #4 ranking in Scoring Offense and a #15 ranking in Total Offense against the statistically superior SEC defenses, then our holding them to 24 points and 60 yards (approx 30 rush and 30 pass) above their average yards against SEC defenses is okay by me from a defensive perspective. Take away 2 big Harvin runs and we hold them below their average. They did not dominate our defense in any way. Tebow did not "will" anything. Both teams had big plays last night...Florida just had more. They found a way to capitalize on those big plays and we didn't...but not for lack of effort.

Sam Bradford

I'm not disappointed in Sam at all. We really can't hang the interceptions on him. Was he trying to force a throw to Manny? Sure. Was that pass any different than some of the other needle eyes he's threaded? Nope. Is the first throw to Manny (where he was clobbered) a potential TD if the DB doesn't get there for a great (but too close not to call for me) play? You are absolutely right...he could have been the hero...if some dropped balls were caught...if some holds didn't occur...etc, etc, etc.

Regarding Tebow: We're not dealing with a zero-sum game where one quarterback's mobility makes the other's "immobility" a hinderance to victory. These are two different QBs who play two different styles of games. Tebow's gains were, for the most part, designed plays for Tebow...not the result of his having to scramble for yardage. That's Florida. They are not on the field at the same time like your favorite sport basketball.

You played your heart out, Sam!

Stoops

Your assessment of Stoops is just crazy talk. Basing his career and gusto on a few games and plays is not very fair for a coach that has put his team in position to play for 4 national championships in 9 years. A coach that has somehow managed serious personnel changes in such a way as to keep his team very competitive and maintained a sold-out home stadium for nearly all of his watch. That's not easy and it definitely takes cojones. We think it's all as easy as "if he would just - fill in the blank - then what I say will happen." It's not that easy.

The 4th down play in question would have been a TD had Davis not blown it up with a remarkable play. Watch the tape. Watch it over and over. The hole is created and CB has relatively easy access to the goal-line if not for Davis. The odds were with us on that play. From my angle, it looks like CB would have been running off guard with a chance, if needed, to bounce off tackle. If that is "up the gut," we've had plenty of success with it all year long. Our 1000 yard rushers haven't exactly been confined to sweeps. "Up the gut" is part of our playbook. Could we have run another play? Called a timeout? Sure, but that doesn't negate the fact that we score on that play nearly every time we run it.

Stoops' philosophy, as far as I can tell, is to put your team in the best position to win. He does it consistently and I don't have any plans on getting rid of my season tickets.

Field Goal Attempt

Jimmy has improved throughout the season, so I can't agree that the call was "moronic". Coaches never win in situations like that. If you go for it and don't make it, you're stupid. If you punt, you're a pansy with no cojones and should have gone for it. If you attempt an FG, you should have punted and pinned them in their own territory. Stoops was chasing points. From my angle, it may have been a good kick. Again, another great defensive play by Florida.

By the way, I like this: http://www.sportsquant.com/fourth.pdf

Stoops...again

What drop off? Sure, we've had some bad games...USC and WV. But, don't discount good play by an opponent...LSU, BSU, and Florida. Some games just aren't your games. Just because WE THINK we're supposed to win, doesn't mean that everything will go our way or that our guys aren't playing their butts off or that our coaches aren't doing the same. You win some and you lose some. The other team is on the field as well...they make plays, too.

What does "elite" mean, anyway? Is Alabama elite? They're supposed to be, but they weren't against Utah. It happens. That's why we love the game...it just doesn't always turn out the way we want. The Red Sox lifted a curse that was with them for years. Do you think the curse enters their mind now? We are Sooners and we will be successful and we will win some. But, we will not win every one.

Overall, you were pretty objective...just plain wrong on some things...but objective.

[OUSKINS]

kruss-

The way college football is set up, we are FORCED to rely on small sample sizes and individual games.

And I do find it interesting that OU has more or less dominated the Big 12 in recent years, but has lost 5 straight BCS. That doesn't really seem to jive. In no, way, shape, or form should anyone even be CONSIDERING getting rid of Stoops. That would be incredibly stupid. He's worth every penny he's ever made at OU and will continue to be worth it.

Having said that, I find it hard to believe you don't notice a difference in the way OU has played in those BCS games versus their normal Big 12 schedule.

The 2000 team was incredibly PHYSICAL. That team punished people. And Stoops gained a rep as somewhat of a riverboat gambler and wild card. But as the years have progressed, while OU's offensive production has gone through the roof, they have certainly been a less physically imposing team. And Stoops has begun to call games a bit more conventionally.

[mjhurani]

Knowing how avg our D has been all season I went in expecting the worst but hoping for the best.....but when I saw how well our D was playing I felt like we could win......to see our O let us down is just so surprising, but it is what it is. I follow every conference in CFB very closely so I knew Florida was fast and would be the best D we've faced all yr. Anyone who saw them play 7 full games this season like I did could not have been superconfident going in that we would win. Putting the fanaticism aside, I knew it would be tough, but the game played out much differently than I thought it would. We played much better on D than I thought we would, and much worse on O.

But the Gators were favored for a reason.

[Dan Thompson]

Maybe we should get ready for these bowl games the same way we get ready for our other important games, like the CCG.

Maybe the coachs put too much into the bowl games and try to get smart, when we could just use the same thing that got us there in the first place.

[76soonergrad]

I'm with you guys on the play calling last night, that to me is the main reason for the loss. And all this staring at the sidelines waiting on plays is starting to bother me a little, sometimes I wish Sam could just call his own plays and get that tempo working. Our offensive sets tip off the defense as to what we are going to do for the most part, there are no surprises, just predictability. They watched the film, so they knew what was coming.

Defensively, they handled our defensive line and took advantage of our MLB situation, thus having some major openings to run to and through. Don't take me wrong, we had some shining defensive plays for sure, but they won the battle. But we knew they would score, and overall, our defense did a pretty good job, just not good enough to overcome our offensive woes.



Seemed like neither Tebow or Harvin could be stopped up the middle. If defense wins games, this is where OUr weakness was.

The line played great. How many sacks did we put on Tebow?

I didn't think Florida was all that fast. (okay their secondary wasn't too shabby on yards after catch). Just Harvin. MLB was exploited.

And, there is always the possibility that Tebow was not going to be denied. Guy got hammered & kept coming back.


_____________________________________
Stay, Sam

[PLaw]

Well, you all saw the game, so no need to rehash what happened out there.....I guess the question to ask is WHY did it happen? My thoughts:

--OU fans are being a bit TOO simplistic in their analysis. Saying that the coaches "blew" the game infers that OU is clearly the better team and that the game was simply won or lost from the sidelines. While I have issues with the coaching (more on that in a minute) it can certainly be argued that Florida is more or at least equally talented to the Sooners. They definitely have more overall team speed.

--Sometimes, it hurts to admit you were wrong, but myself and many others around here WERE wrong. First of all, I guess I owe some apologies to Tebow....he wasn't overwhelming last night, but he did make several key plays in the second half and it's hard to deny his leadership and overall impact on the team. I keep arguing with Adam that he is NOT one of the all-time great college football players, but honestly, he very well may be...what else can a guy do? He's been on two national title teams, he's won a Heisman, and he has great numbers. Some of the "romance" surrounding him is absurd-- I really think Thom Brenneman was sexually aroused by Tebow last night and I'm definitely sick of hearing about him doing brain surgery on Ethiopian orphans in the off-season, but the guy is a great, great player.

--Speaking of being wrong, it looks like the naysayers were right about the Big 12. The Bowl games don't give us a huge sample size and motivations may be different for different teams, but it's the only way we can compare in this awful system. And the top teams from the Big 12 south laid some major eggs. Texas Tech got steamrolled by Ole Miss, OSU got run over by Oregon, OU was handed a solid defeat by Florida, and Texas needed a great finish to beat what many people consider to be a so-so Ohio St. team. Obviously, going in to Stillwater and winning that game wasn't as impressive as we originally thought. Looks like the Big 12 defenses DO have some catching up to do.

--Mildly disappointed in Bradford last night. I don't think he was a main "cause" of the loss, but he could have been a hero. I think the coaches should have put the game more in his hands, but I also think he could have done a TAD more than he did. Again, overall, he was solid, but the fact is that Tebow made many crucial first downs ON HIS OWN in the second half of that game and Bradford was a bit limited by not being nearly as mobile. It mattered last night.

--Can't complain too much about Venebles or the defense last night. They didn't do a great job of getting Tebow off the field consistently as Florida had SEVERAL long drives, but they did keep them off the scoreboard and they did
force two turnovers, neither of which OU capitalized on. OU's defense wasn't "great" last night, because they aren't a "great" defense, but they did enough to win the game.

--Now, the coaching. Florida's coaches didn't "destroy" OU's coaches last night, but there were definitely a bunch of subtle things that added up to make a difference. All in all, Florida seemed to control the pace and flow of the game and they appeared to be the slightly more physical, aggressive, and creative team. They seemed a tad more confident offensively than OU did.

--I said this two years ago, reiterated it before this year, and feel even more strongly about it now: Stoops has lost a certain edge. He's lost his cojones. OU played that game VERY conservatively last night. I LIKED going for it on 4th down near the goal line, but the third and fourth down calls were incredibly stale. Why not put the ball in the hands of the guy who just won the Heisman? If you are going to run it, do something a bit more creative-- OU has NOT been an "up the gut" all team all season, but that's what they choose to do in crunchtime? I realize Stoops doesn't call the plays, but ultimately, the head coach is responsible for the general philosophy in those situations.

--The decision to attempt the 49 yard field goal was moronic. With OU's special teams woes, it was a low percentage attempt. But even more than that, I thought Stoops displayed a lack of "feel" for the game there. Even if he makes it, it's still 14-10 Florida to start the 4th quarter. The risk-reward just isn't there. Again, on 4th and 6 from that spot on the field, I think you give Sam a chance. And has Stoops not WATCHED the kicking game this year? In years past, Stoops either goes for that or has some REAL trickery up his sleeve. Terrible, terrible decision there.

--Obviously, the two missed opportunities on the goal line will haunt memories of OU fans from this game, but I really don't think those instances determined the game. Twice OU got the ball on potentially momentum-shifting interceptions, and they failed to even score 3 points either time.

--Florida is the better team, period. It might sting to say it, but it's true. They earned it. Overall, they were better.

--Of course, there will now be some questions about Stoops.... questions that probably aren't very fair. Here's what Stoops is: A fabulous recruiter and a very good delegator. As long as he's in Norman, OU fans can count on 10 win seasons and consistent Big 12 Titles. They will continue to be in the mix for National Titles. That's pretty good. But there is certainly some sort of drop off when OU is faced with playing an elite team from another conference. At this point, you either accept that's what we're getting from Stoops or you want him fired. I'd say the latter is a bit ridiculous.

--For me, it was once again a pretty hollow ending to the college football season. The layoff between games is a real drag, and the uncertainty revolving around Texas, Florida, USC, Utah, etc. is terrible for the sport. It's so dumb that Utah can win ALL of their games, including dismantling Alabama in a virtual road game and NOT be in the hunt for a title. What's the point then? I know I say it all the time, but college football is an inferior product to it's compeitors and that's why it remains 5th on my list of favortie sports.

--I think my position on this is pretty objective. I will freely admit that I have no "love" for OU football. It's not a passion for me. I felt no pain (mild frustration) during that game last night. I get much more fired up during a regular season basketball game against Texas Tech for whatever reason. My heart is in the basketball team, not the football team. But I do root for OU and I was pulling for them last night. The frustrating thing for me is that we may have to wait for a year or even years to get another shot at this....at this point 11-1 seasons and Big 12 Titles are a bit empty. Until OU beats an elite team on a national stage, doubt will linger.

I'll be more to the point:

1) Officiating was highly suspect. Examples: 1) Booth reviews of non-reviewable plays? 2) No interference when the UF players helmet is between the receiver and the ball??

2) Could not get UF off of the field on 3rd downs, 8 for 12.

3) Did not convert on red zone opportunities in the first half.

OU could have been up 21-7 at the half and had the potential to blow out UF. UF was not, I repeat NOT, a superior team.


BOOMER