JLEW1818
7/28/2009, 02:37 PM
July 28, 2009 3:16 PM
Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin
IRVING, Texas -- Oklahoma has made history by becoming the first Big 12 program in history to claim three straight championships.
But Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and Sooner defensive tackle Gerald McCoy mentioned that the Sooners' recent BCS bowl game struggles have diminished some of the acclaim for the accomplishments of that historic run through the conference.
"They are discounting the fact that to be in the BCS bowl, you usually have to win the Big 12 championship," Stoops said. "We've won three in a row now and that's pretty special. You can consider and compare it to everybody else."
Stoops mentioned the Sooners winning the Big 12 championship in 2007 with a victory over then-No. 1 Missouri as an indication of the accomplishments.
"In the end, we played the No. 1 team in the country for the Big 12 championship, we won by 21 points and that game is no big deal," Stoops said. "Is that a bigger game than a BCS game? I'm asking you?
"That's a pretty special game when you have to beat the No. 1 team in the country and you win a trophy. To me, that's a big game."
The Sooners have lost five straight BCS bowl games, including shots at the national championship game against LSU in the 2004 Sugar Bowl, USC in the 2005 Orange Bowl and Florida in the BCS national championship game earlier this year.
Stoops has made history by winning six Big 12 titles during his 10-season coaching tenure at Oklahoma. No other Big 12 coach has won more than one title among the seven other championships in league history.
"Do you want to win a BCS game, yeah, we do. But when you are discounting Big 12 championship games, it's pretty foolish," Stoops said. "In the end, you tell me what's a bigger game. It isn't bigger than the national championship game, but it's a pretty darn special game. If you start putting that one in back of the other one, you aren't in that game without that first one."
McCoy grew up in Oklahoma City and is familiar with the expectations of Oklahoma fans. He said that some Sooners fans are discounting what the team has recently accomplished.
"Some fans say we haven't won a BCS bowl game or done anything," McCoy said. "But winning the Big 12 isn't easy. Everybody making a big deal about OU-Texas. But if you know Texas is so good, how come us not winning the Big 12 championship three years in a row isn't important?
"Texas is a great team and it's not easy to do [win the championship] when you have a team like that to compete against. But we're doing it. The only thing left is that we have to finish and complete the cycle. We win during the season, but we have to finish up and win at the end."
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/big12/0-11-114/Winning-the-Big-12-diminished-by-Sooners--recent-BCS-losses.html
Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin
IRVING, Texas -- Oklahoma has made history by becoming the first Big 12 program in history to claim three straight championships.
But Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and Sooner defensive tackle Gerald McCoy mentioned that the Sooners' recent BCS bowl game struggles have diminished some of the acclaim for the accomplishments of that historic run through the conference.
"They are discounting the fact that to be in the BCS bowl, you usually have to win the Big 12 championship," Stoops said. "We've won three in a row now and that's pretty special. You can consider and compare it to everybody else."
Stoops mentioned the Sooners winning the Big 12 championship in 2007 with a victory over then-No. 1 Missouri as an indication of the accomplishments.
"In the end, we played the No. 1 team in the country for the Big 12 championship, we won by 21 points and that game is no big deal," Stoops said. "Is that a bigger game than a BCS game? I'm asking you?
"That's a pretty special game when you have to beat the No. 1 team in the country and you win a trophy. To me, that's a big game."
The Sooners have lost five straight BCS bowl games, including shots at the national championship game against LSU in the 2004 Sugar Bowl, USC in the 2005 Orange Bowl and Florida in the BCS national championship game earlier this year.
Stoops has made history by winning six Big 12 titles during his 10-season coaching tenure at Oklahoma. No other Big 12 coach has won more than one title among the seven other championships in league history.
"Do you want to win a BCS game, yeah, we do. But when you are discounting Big 12 championship games, it's pretty foolish," Stoops said. "In the end, you tell me what's a bigger game. It isn't bigger than the national championship game, but it's a pretty darn special game. If you start putting that one in back of the other one, you aren't in that game without that first one."
McCoy grew up in Oklahoma City and is familiar with the expectations of Oklahoma fans. He said that some Sooners fans are discounting what the team has recently accomplished.
"Some fans say we haven't won a BCS bowl game or done anything," McCoy said. "But winning the Big 12 isn't easy. Everybody making a big deal about OU-Texas. But if you know Texas is so good, how come us not winning the Big 12 championship three years in a row isn't important?
"Texas is a great team and it's not easy to do [win the championship] when you have a team like that to compete against. But we're doing it. The only thing left is that we have to finish and complete the cycle. We win during the season, but we have to finish up and win at the end."
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/big12/0-11-114/Winning-the-Big-12-diminished-by-Sooners--recent-BCS-losses.html