If OU ever wanted to run off a string of great seasons...

[The Maestro]

...and I mean more than just 12-2 type stuff, but a few national titles over a few years...now is the time.

We are completely loaded, stock-piled, the cupboards are full and recruiting is off to a great start. If we land Kiel and this receiver from Missouri, we are even more loaded for the future.

USC is reeling...Ohio State not far behind...Florida is breaking in new coaches...Texas is coming off a 5-7 season and breaking in new coordinators...and we no longer have a conference championship game to deal with. Mid-majors like TCU and Boise are finding their way into BCS games because the balance of power is shifting.

If Bob were ever to win something like 2 or 3 titles over a five year period, NOW is certainly the time to get it done.

[yermom]

i'm with you except for the mid-majors

they are in the BCS by design now

[Mad Dog Madsen]

As long as the SEC is still around I don't see it happening. :D :rolleyes:

[rekamrettuB]

As long as the SEC is still around I don't see it happening. :D :rolleyes:

Well before too long the NFL will absorb the SEC. They already pay comparable salaries.

[JLEW1818]

FIRE VENABLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[The Maestro]

i'm with you except for the mid-majors

they are in the BCS by design now

I should have worded that part better. I realize there by design, but that should make things easier on us. Pound for pound and man for man they should not be able to compete. I think we all know Boise picked the best OU team they could have for that game...and it still took every play in the book and some drawn up in dirt.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

I should have worded that part better. I realize there by design, but that should make things easier on us. Pound for pound and man for man they should not be able to compete. I think we all know Boise picked the best OU team they could have for that game...and it still took every play in the book and some drawn up in dirt.

The funniest part is that Bob's lone national title came in a year where the top 25 may have been the strongest I've ever seen -> FSU, Miami, KState, Washington, Nebraska, etc were incredibly strong teams.

[NormanPride]

Iron sharpens iron.

[SoonerMarkVA]

The funniest part is that Bob's lone national title came in a year where the top 25 may have been the strongest I've ever seen -> FSU, Miami, KState, Washington, Nebraska, etc were incredibly strong teams.

Yes they were. I have always given credit to KSU and NU that year to help hone us to a razor-sharp edge. Those two teams were very talented, and playing them 3 times really tested our mettle.

[tcrb]

I'd be happy to get #8. A string of two or three would prepare me for the afterlife.

[SoonerNomad]

...and I mean more than just 12-2 type stuff, but a few national titles over a few years...now is the time.

We are completely loaded, stock-piled, the cupboards are full and recruiting is off to a great start. If we land Kiel and this receiver from Missouri, we are even more loaded for the future.

USC is reeling...Ohio State not far behind...Florida is breaking in new coaches...Texas is coming off a 5-7 season and breaking in new coordinators...and we no longer have a conference championship game to deal with. Mid-majors like TCU and Boise are finding their way into BCS games because the balance of power is shifting.

If Bob were ever to win something like 2 or 3 titles over a five year period, NOW is certainly the time to get it done.



I am not sure I get this post. Isn't Alabama on the precipice of having a great run of success? Won't they be a national factor as long as Saban stays? How about Oregon? They seem to have taken advantage of USC's fall from grace. You cannot discount Florida State climbing back into the national picture. Texas and Florida will be contenders year in and year out. Nebraska seems to be making a comeback as well.

If OU goes on a run over the next few years it will be because of talent and being able to make it through a seadon without significant injuries and by being able to take advantages of breaks that come their way and then finish the season with a win. But it won't be easier because Ohio State and USC aren't as good as they once were. It

[The Maestro]

I am not sure I get this post. Isn't Alabama on the precipice of having a great run of success? Won't they be a national factor as long as Saban stays? How about Oregon? They seem to have taken advantage of USC's fall from grace. You cannot discount Florida State climbing back into the national picture. Texas and Florida will be contenders year in and year out. Nebraska seems to be making a comeback as well.

If OU goes on a run over the next few years it will be because of talent and being able to make it through a seadon without significant injuries and by being able to take advantages of breaks that come their way and then finish the season with a win. But it won't be easier because Ohio State and USC aren't as good as they once were. It

You couldn't be more wrong. Ohio State, USC, Texas and Florida are four of the top 10 programs over the last decade...and they are headed in the wrong direction. Nebraska ain't competing for titles...FSU has A LOT to prove...yes, Oregon and Alabama are going up, but with four of the top 10 programs either declining or with big questions, now is the time to move for OU. Of course it will take talent and effort...that's always the case. But the powerhouse herd is thinner now than it has been over the last decade.

[tcrb]

You couldn't be more wrong. Ohio State, USC, Texas and Florida are four of the top 10 programs over the last decade...and they are headed in the wrong direction. Nebraska ain't competing for titles...FSU has A LOT to prove...yes, Oregon and Alabama are going up, but with four of the top 10 programs either declining or with big questions, now is the time to move for OU. Of course it will take talent and effort...that's always the case. But the powerhouse herd is thinner now than it has been over the last decade.

The same amount of talent is still out there, it will just shift elsewhere. Granted, the four teams you mention are rich in tradition, but with their decline, the void will be quickly filled by other talented teams and other talented coaches. This type of event has happened numerous times over the decades....powerhouse teams rise and fall and then rise again. Even OUr Sooners have been up and down many times. We are no more or less likely to win an NC now than at any other time, other than the fact that we DO currently have a great coach, and we DO currently have a loaded stable of talent.

[jkm, the stolen pifwafwi]

You couldn't be more wrong. Ohio State, USC, Texas and Florida are four of the top 10 programs over the last decade...and they are headed in the wrong direction. Nebraska ain't competing for titles...FSU has A LOT to prove...yes, Oregon and Alabama are going up, but with four of the top 10 programs either declining or with big questions, now is the time to move for OU. Of course it will take talent and effort...that's always the case. But the powerhouse herd is thinner now than it has been over the last decade.

i think you are discounting texas and florida more than you should. all it takes is 1 QB and you can turn it around.

[Osama Bin Laden]

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lis9k8bz8w1qd5tiuo1_500.gif

[Cornfed]

It allways seems so easy on paper , and then the games start.

[The Maestro]

i think you are discounting texas and florida more than you should. all it takes is 1 QB and you can turn it around.

I realize that...but we seem stocked at the position...and while Texas has another McCoy on campus, for every Eli Manning there is a Frank Stallone or Billy Carter. Plus, I am not sold on Chaz Weiss as a guy who can coach college kids or who college kids would want to play for and the whorns new OC I still need to know he wasn't just a figurehead OC at Boise behind Peterson and what he does when he isn't playing Idaho Tech 7 weeks out of the season.

[3rdgensooner]

I hope OU always wants to run off a string of great seasons.

I know I want them to. And that should be all that matters really.

[meoveryouxinfinity]

I thought that's what we've been doing the last 10 years?
4 NC appearances in 10 years ain't bad...

[The Maestro]

I thought that's what we've been doing the last 10 years?
4 NC appearances in 10 years ain't bad...

Apparently my idea of great and your idea is different.

National titles are great seasons...everything else is good or worse.

[meoveryouxinfinity]

I have to agree with Nomad, in general. OU won't benefit greatly from OSU, USC, etc being "down". First of all, Texas and UF aren't in the same universe as USC and OSU. UT and UF had one bad season due to losing players, etc. They will be back to winning at least 8-9 this year and more in future years, IMO. The schools that WILL benefit from NCAA transgression are the up and commers. These schools will be our new competition in BCS bowls and national championships.

What's more telling about this whole situation is that OU is still winning at such an amazing rate. Our time at the top is like a ticking time bomb, but I think we're safe as long as Bob is our coach. As someone said, the traditional powerhouses rise & fall all the time.

[meoveryouxinfinity]

Apparently my idea of great and your idea is different.

National titles are great seasons...everything else is good or worse.

great... but completely unrealistic in the BCS era.

1998 Tenn-FSU
1999 FSU-VT
2000 OU- FSU
2001 Miami- Neb
2002 OSU- Miami
2003 LSU- OU
2004 GTNH, NS (Game That Never Happened, No Seriously)
2005 Texas- USC
2006 UF- OSU
2007 LSU- OSU
2008 UF- OU
2009 Bama- UT
2010 Aub- UO

So exactly TWO schools have won more than one title within the past 10 years. LSU in 2007 had two losses which is very very rare.
Also, those schools have only attended two NCs each. I wouldn't consider either of them "dynasties".

[BoulderSooner79]

My idea of a great season is relative to expectations given the players on the team. I thought '05 was a great rebuilding season. The team was so green at the start, they barely knew which direction to line-up in. By the end of the season, they were a pretty tough squad that beat a legit 10-game winner in a bowl game.

But I agree the next few years could line-up like '00-'04 where our teams were in the hunt for a BCS title berth every year. In the '05-'10 seasons since, we were only legit in '07 and '08 to take it all. Obviously, many things have to go right for us and not just the current woes of the traditional powerhouses.

[The Maestro]

Fine. My point is that if OU was ever going to win like 2 over a 5 year period, this is a great time to do. I don't see what is so hard about that to understand with the likes of USC and Ohio State crucifying themselves and major changes at places like Texas and Florida.

Only 14 teams were listed in the above contrast of teams that played for the BCS title. Tennessee is in turmoil, Florida has major changes, Texas has major changes and should not be able to beat us, regardless of the rivalry, Ohio State and USC are plummeting, Miami, VT, and FSU are all in a league that has LOTS to prove to be considered a national power. Nebraska is not competing for national titles.

That leaves LSU, OU, Oregon, Auburn, Alabama...Auburn lost a guy that had arguably the best season ever. LSU, OU, Oregon and Alabama are probably your top four, but I can point out ways we are better than any of those teams.

Doesn't mean we are GOING to do it...it means this would be a SWELL time to!

[meoveryouxinfinity]

Fine. My point is that if OU was ever going to win like 2 over a 5 year period, this is a great time to do. I don't see what is so hard about that to understand with the likes of USC and Ohio State crucifying themselves and major changes at places like Texas and Florida.

Only 14 teams were listed in the above contrast of teams that played for the BCS title. Tennessee is in turmoil, Florida has major changes, Texas has major changes and should not be able to beat us, regardless of the rivalry, Ohio State and USC are plummeting, Miami, VT, and FSU are all in a league that has LOTS to prove to be considered a national power. Nebraska is not competing for national titles.

That leaves LSU, OU, Oregon, Auburn, Alabama...Auburn lost a guy that had arguably the best season ever. LSU, OU, Oregon and Alabama are probably your top four, but I can point out ways we are better than any of those teams.

Doesn't mean we are GOING to do it...it means this would be a SWELL time to!
When you put it that way, I fully agree with you.

Except that the ACC as a league has anything to do with those particular teams' strength. I would put VT in the same category as Penn State or a Bobby Bowden-led FSU. They aren't striking fear into any of the truly elite teams. Miami isn't getting recruits like they used to..or at least their recruits aren't performing like they used to.. and I expect UF to continue to stay on top of them. FSU will have a few very important seasons coming up. They have a second-year coach (sound familiar?) and a great opportunity to win a lot of games. If they do well this year, I could see them possibly staying on top of UF...it will surely help them win some recruiting battles.

Now where USC, OSU, UF, UT, etc. being "down" will help OU is with perception. Human polls have major weight in the BCS formula. Where a 1-loss Ohio State might be perceptually even to a 1-loss Oklahoma, a 1-loss Virginia Tech team is not perceptually even to a 1-loss Oklahoma, regardless of strength of schedule, etc. Voters think that because Oklahoma has been better for longer, we are better this season as well. It does help.

[BillyBall]

for every Eli Manning there is a Frank Stallone

I love this quote.

[yermom]

indeed.

[SoonerinSouthlake]

Iron sharpens iron.

this