Judge Smails
10/11/2015, 08:26 PM
http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/jon-solomon/25334428/charlie-strong-gets-texas-sized-win-bob-stoops-falls-flat----again
The image of Charlie Strong with his team was remarkable. Texas players raised their coach in the air as Strong pumped his fists each time he bobbed up and down, the huge grin on his face never wavering.
“I guess they didn't want to see me get fired,” Strong told the media at his postgame news conference.
Guess not. If beating 10th-ranked Oklahoma becomes the real start of the Strong era at Texas, what a signature moment.
Just when it looked like the Longhorns were falling apart in Strong's second season, Texas 24, Oklahoma 17 happened. Just when the vultures from the outside were circling around Strong, Texas smashed Oklahoma for 313 rushing yards and sacked the Sooners six times (one fewer sack than Texas had all of this season before Saturday). Just when Texas players were ripping each other in the media, they defiantly carried their coach off the field.
Don't mistake this for meaning Texas is back; there's a lot more work to do. But Strong showed tangible evidence that the Longhorns are making progress, something he badly needed one week after a 50-7 loss to TCU in which one of his players retweeted at halftime a suggestion he should transfer to Texas A&M.
College football at its best was on display Saturday in Dallas. A divided team off to its worst start in 59 years sucked it up and came together. On the flip side, Oklahoma's Bob Stoops suffered another one of those head-scratching defeats that now define his career of late. He has lost six times as a favorite in his past 14 games.
The score says it was a one-touchdown game. But Texas dominated the Red River Rivalry. This one feels like a program-changer for Strong. This one feels like the end of the line for Stoops as a national championship contender.
The return of Big Game Bob? Um, no.
Big Game Bob? Stoops is 6-6 in his past 12 games against Power Five opponents. Big Game Bob? Stoops has lost 11 games since 2012 and nine of those defeats were at home or a neutral site. Big Game Bob? This is the second time in three seasons Oklahoma's national championship hopes have vanished by losing as a double-digit favorite to a Texas program in disarray.
The Big 12 race is now what we thought it would be before the season: Baylor vs. TCU. The league's best hopes for a team in the College Football Playoff are back in the hands of the two teams that got left out last year. The Sooners may still have a say in who wins the Big 12, but they're not going to the playoff. Not after this loss.
Texas outrushed Oklahoma 313-67. Why offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley ignored Samaje Perine and the Sooners' running game will get second-guessed for a while. Oklahoma has become a one-dimensional offense and that doesn't fly against a quality defensive coach like Strong.
Then again, Perine only averaged 3.6 yards a carry on his 10 rushes. Texas' defensive line played like grown men against the Sooners' overmatched offensive line. Texas won despite only throwing for 55 yards. Fifty-eight of the Longhorns' 70 plays were rush attempts, producing two 100-yard rushers in a game against Oklahoma for the second time in three seasons.
“They kicked us and won the game,” Stoops told reporters.
Truer words have never been spoken. That's a major problem for Stoops. That's a major win for Strong.
We may eventually look back at today's Red River Rivalry as the day Texas and Oklahoma passed each other in the night. If nothing else, don't ever doubt how strongly Texas' players feel about their coach.
The image of Charlie Strong with his team was remarkable. Texas players raised their coach in the air as Strong pumped his fists each time he bobbed up and down, the huge grin on his face never wavering.
“I guess they didn't want to see me get fired,” Strong told the media at his postgame news conference.
Guess not. If beating 10th-ranked Oklahoma becomes the real start of the Strong era at Texas, what a signature moment.
Just when it looked like the Longhorns were falling apart in Strong's second season, Texas 24, Oklahoma 17 happened. Just when the vultures from the outside were circling around Strong, Texas smashed Oklahoma for 313 rushing yards and sacked the Sooners six times (one fewer sack than Texas had all of this season before Saturday). Just when Texas players were ripping each other in the media, they defiantly carried their coach off the field.
Don't mistake this for meaning Texas is back; there's a lot more work to do. But Strong showed tangible evidence that the Longhorns are making progress, something he badly needed one week after a 50-7 loss to TCU in which one of his players retweeted at halftime a suggestion he should transfer to Texas A&M.
College football at its best was on display Saturday in Dallas. A divided team off to its worst start in 59 years sucked it up and came together. On the flip side, Oklahoma's Bob Stoops suffered another one of those head-scratching defeats that now define his career of late. He has lost six times as a favorite in his past 14 games.
The score says it was a one-touchdown game. But Texas dominated the Red River Rivalry. This one feels like a program-changer for Strong. This one feels like the end of the line for Stoops as a national championship contender.
The return of Big Game Bob? Um, no.
Big Game Bob? Stoops is 6-6 in his past 12 games against Power Five opponents. Big Game Bob? Stoops has lost 11 games since 2012 and nine of those defeats were at home or a neutral site. Big Game Bob? This is the second time in three seasons Oklahoma's national championship hopes have vanished by losing as a double-digit favorite to a Texas program in disarray.
The Big 12 race is now what we thought it would be before the season: Baylor vs. TCU. The league's best hopes for a team in the College Football Playoff are back in the hands of the two teams that got left out last year. The Sooners may still have a say in who wins the Big 12, but they're not going to the playoff. Not after this loss.
Texas outrushed Oklahoma 313-67. Why offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley ignored Samaje Perine and the Sooners' running game will get second-guessed for a while. Oklahoma has become a one-dimensional offense and that doesn't fly against a quality defensive coach like Strong.
Then again, Perine only averaged 3.6 yards a carry on his 10 rushes. Texas' defensive line played like grown men against the Sooners' overmatched offensive line. Texas won despite only throwing for 55 yards. Fifty-eight of the Longhorns' 70 plays were rush attempts, producing two 100-yard rushers in a game against Oklahoma for the second time in three seasons.
“They kicked us and won the game,” Stoops told reporters.
Truer words have never been spoken. That's a major problem for Stoops. That's a major win for Strong.
We may eventually look back at today's Red River Rivalry as the day Texas and Oklahoma passed each other in the night. If nothing else, don't ever doubt how strongly Texas' players feel about their coach.