Rogue
8/3/2006, 06:15 PM
http://collegefootballnews.com/default.htm
Included:
- What will OU do now?
- Stoops does the right thing
- Revised OU Preview
- Revised Big 12 Preview
- Revised CFN Top Ten
Rhett Bomar Dismissed from OU
What will the Sooners do next?
By Pete Fiutak
Oklahoma star quarterback Rhett Bomar and offensive guard J.D. Quinn were dismissed from the team for violating NCAA rules by taking too much money for too little work at a Norman, Oklahoma car dealership.
So what does Oklahoma do now?
Considered the favorite to win the Big 12 title by many, or at least the front-runner along with Texas, OU has to scramble to find someone ready to take over the offense. Bomar was just starting to come into his own and was expected to take a big leap up in production and leadership this season when he got nailed for his transgressions. The backup situation was sketchy at best, but the hope was for all the inexperienced talent to get time to work in the system behind Bomar. Now several unknowns have to be ready for prime time, the young receiving corps has to be sharp from day one, and the biggest unknown before the Bomar incident, the offensive line, won’t have time to learn how to pass block.
If Oklahoma has any hope of playing for the national title, it either needs to find another year of eligibility for Jason White, Josh Heupel, or J.C. Watts, or it has to hope someone can do more than just hand off to star running back Adrian Peterson.
Option 1: Joey Halzle, Sophomore
The JUCO transfer enrolled early and looked good enough to be a solid number two man, and now he'll get a crash as the starter. He struggled this spring once the OU defense turned the heat up and still could use more time in the system to be even close to strong enough to be an adequate fill-in for Bomar. He’s tall and very fast.
Option 2: Paul Thompson, Senior
The starter going into the 2005 season, Thompson will forever be known as the quarterback who lost the home opener against TCU. He moved to receiver with the emergence of Bomar and caught 11 passes for 106 yards, but he's back in the mix at quarterback with good size and tremendous speed.
Option 3: Sam Bradford, Freshman
With good speed and great size at 6-5 and 200 pounds, Bradford is an athletic recruit who'll get a crash course in the offense once he gets in the practice mix. He threw for 2,422 yards and 19 touchdowns last year as an Oklahoma high school all-star.
What does this mean for Oklahoma and the national landscape: It might change everything in the Big 12 race. Oklahoma and Texas are each good enough to win the national title with the winner in the Red River Rivalry to potentially be in great shape if the Longhorns can get by Ohio State in the second week of the season. Besides Adrian Peterson, the one area OU had a big advantage over Texas was at quarterback thanks to the experience of Bomar. That’s gone. Now, not only does Texas appear to be the favorite to win the Big 12 title, Oklahoma’s September 16th date at Oregon looks even more dangerous.
Rhett Bomar Fallout
OU Doesn't Stoop to a Lower Level
By Matthew Zemek
Rhett Butler told Scarlett O’Hara, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”
Throughout the past months, as it turns out, Rhett Bomar evidently told the University of Oklahoma football team the very same thing.
The now ex-OU quarterback, dismissed earlier today for taking home substantially more pay than his actual work hours indicated, obviously cared more about a few dead presidents than about winning or, much more importantly, personal integrity.
A quarterback is supposed to be a leader both on and off the field. Bomar not only put his future in jeopardy, but he also potentially killed his team’s national title hopes. Just ask Marcus Vick what happens to can’t-miss NFL prospects who screw things up.
So now we’re left to sift through the wreckage of this most untimely incident, the latest blot on the college football world and a realm of life ostensibly devoted to academics and character formation first, and to athletics second.
USC, Auburn and even OU’s rival Texas (with the departure of Ramonce Taylor) have recently felt the strain that comes with players succumbing to various forms of temptation, and other programs are still enmeshed in long-term difficulties for one reason or another.
The positive out of all this was how decisively OU head coach Bob Stoops acted. Stoops, made a bold and lived-out statement in favor of personal accountability. In a statement on the decision to dismiss Bomar from the Oklahoma football team, Stoops said that "I firmly believe that our program is stronger than any individual player and that a championship program cannot compromise its values." That’s a welcome and cleansing statement which is so towering as a beacon of integrity that it exceeds the wrong done by Bomar.
A football team’s chances of beating Texas and winning the Big 12 might have been compromised, but a decorated national championship coach displayed first-class values. Stoops has his priorities very much in order, and he realized what was truly important in this situation… for himself, for the health and reputation of his school, and for the character development of the young men still on the OU football team.
How Bomar’s dismissal will affect the Red River Rivalry and the Big XII South. Simply put, the early verdict is that it hurts OU, but not as much as one might think.
To pretend this loss won’t affect OU is to be naïve, but to think it destroys the Sooners is also a reach. Bomar was not a slam-dunk to be a stud this year. Better than 2005? Yes. But not all-world. And the fact that this event occurs a full month before Opening Day gives Stoops and his staff a lot of time to develop the next starter, whoever it will be. Ultimately, the OU-Texas battle will be decided by two teams, who will both be trotting out untested quarterbacks. In fact, the biggest single key in the Red River Rivalry—for this columnist’s money—is if Texas will remain a psychologically transformed team after last year’s beatdown of the Sooners and subsequent national title. If Texas retains its swagger, the Horns likely defeat OU. But if the loss of Vince Young turns out to be greater than anyone expected, chances are the loss of Rhett Bomar won’t keep Bob Stoops from regaining dominance over and against Mack Brown
Included:
- What will OU do now?
- Stoops does the right thing
- Revised OU Preview
- Revised Big 12 Preview
- Revised CFN Top Ten
Rhett Bomar Dismissed from OU
What will the Sooners do next?
By Pete Fiutak
Oklahoma star quarterback Rhett Bomar and offensive guard J.D. Quinn were dismissed from the team for violating NCAA rules by taking too much money for too little work at a Norman, Oklahoma car dealership.
So what does Oklahoma do now?
Considered the favorite to win the Big 12 title by many, or at least the front-runner along with Texas, OU has to scramble to find someone ready to take over the offense. Bomar was just starting to come into his own and was expected to take a big leap up in production and leadership this season when he got nailed for his transgressions. The backup situation was sketchy at best, but the hope was for all the inexperienced talent to get time to work in the system behind Bomar. Now several unknowns have to be ready for prime time, the young receiving corps has to be sharp from day one, and the biggest unknown before the Bomar incident, the offensive line, won’t have time to learn how to pass block.
If Oklahoma has any hope of playing for the national title, it either needs to find another year of eligibility for Jason White, Josh Heupel, or J.C. Watts, or it has to hope someone can do more than just hand off to star running back Adrian Peterson.
Option 1: Joey Halzle, Sophomore
The JUCO transfer enrolled early and looked good enough to be a solid number two man, and now he'll get a crash as the starter. He struggled this spring once the OU defense turned the heat up and still could use more time in the system to be even close to strong enough to be an adequate fill-in for Bomar. He’s tall and very fast.
Option 2: Paul Thompson, Senior
The starter going into the 2005 season, Thompson will forever be known as the quarterback who lost the home opener against TCU. He moved to receiver with the emergence of Bomar and caught 11 passes for 106 yards, but he's back in the mix at quarterback with good size and tremendous speed.
Option 3: Sam Bradford, Freshman
With good speed and great size at 6-5 and 200 pounds, Bradford is an athletic recruit who'll get a crash course in the offense once he gets in the practice mix. He threw for 2,422 yards and 19 touchdowns last year as an Oklahoma high school all-star.
What does this mean for Oklahoma and the national landscape: It might change everything in the Big 12 race. Oklahoma and Texas are each good enough to win the national title with the winner in the Red River Rivalry to potentially be in great shape if the Longhorns can get by Ohio State in the second week of the season. Besides Adrian Peterson, the one area OU had a big advantage over Texas was at quarterback thanks to the experience of Bomar. That’s gone. Now, not only does Texas appear to be the favorite to win the Big 12 title, Oklahoma’s September 16th date at Oregon looks even more dangerous.
Rhett Bomar Fallout
OU Doesn't Stoop to a Lower Level
By Matthew Zemek
Rhett Butler told Scarlett O’Hara, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”
Throughout the past months, as it turns out, Rhett Bomar evidently told the University of Oklahoma football team the very same thing.
The now ex-OU quarterback, dismissed earlier today for taking home substantially more pay than his actual work hours indicated, obviously cared more about a few dead presidents than about winning or, much more importantly, personal integrity.
A quarterback is supposed to be a leader both on and off the field. Bomar not only put his future in jeopardy, but he also potentially killed his team’s national title hopes. Just ask Marcus Vick what happens to can’t-miss NFL prospects who screw things up.
So now we’re left to sift through the wreckage of this most untimely incident, the latest blot on the college football world and a realm of life ostensibly devoted to academics and character formation first, and to athletics second.
USC, Auburn and even OU’s rival Texas (with the departure of Ramonce Taylor) have recently felt the strain that comes with players succumbing to various forms of temptation, and other programs are still enmeshed in long-term difficulties for one reason or another.
The positive out of all this was how decisively OU head coach Bob Stoops acted. Stoops, made a bold and lived-out statement in favor of personal accountability. In a statement on the decision to dismiss Bomar from the Oklahoma football team, Stoops said that "I firmly believe that our program is stronger than any individual player and that a championship program cannot compromise its values." That’s a welcome and cleansing statement which is so towering as a beacon of integrity that it exceeds the wrong done by Bomar.
A football team’s chances of beating Texas and winning the Big 12 might have been compromised, but a decorated national championship coach displayed first-class values. Stoops has his priorities very much in order, and he realized what was truly important in this situation… for himself, for the health and reputation of his school, and for the character development of the young men still on the OU football team.
How Bomar’s dismissal will affect the Red River Rivalry and the Big XII South. Simply put, the early verdict is that it hurts OU, but not as much as one might think.
To pretend this loss won’t affect OU is to be naïve, but to think it destroys the Sooners is also a reach. Bomar was not a slam-dunk to be a stud this year. Better than 2005? Yes. But not all-world. And the fact that this event occurs a full month before Opening Day gives Stoops and his staff a lot of time to develop the next starter, whoever it will be. Ultimately, the OU-Texas battle will be decided by two teams, who will both be trotting out untested quarterbacks. In fact, the biggest single key in the Red River Rivalry—for this columnist’s money—is if Texas will remain a psychologically transformed team after last year’s beatdown of the Sooners and subsequent national title. If Texas retains its swagger, the Horns likely defeat OU. But if the loss of Vince Young turns out to be greater than anyone expected, chances are the loss of Rhett Bomar won’t keep Bob Stoops from regaining dominance over and against Mack Brown