Thank you Belotti for some motivation . . .

[KingDavid]

"Oklahoman barely escaped Oregon" in last year's Holiday Bowl.

- Mike Be(full of)lot(of shat)ti

[CapitolSooner]

Here was my initial reaction:


Re: Why is Oregon getting up for this game...
"Oklahoma recognizes they escaped last year"
-Mike Bellotti

Im sure this is a repost, but Im too upset right now! Where does this shmuck get the testicular fortitude to make an asonine statement like that.

Quote:
Oregon braces for Oklahoma visit
Posted 9/13/2006 12:27 AM ET
By Kelly Whiteside, USA TODAY
Oregon coach Mike Bellotti has joked that Oklahoma might soon be petitioning for entrance into the Pacific-10 given how frequently his team plays the Sooners. Saturday, No. 11 Oklahoma and No. 18 Oregon meet for the third time in three years.

"I feel like it's a league game almost," Bellotti said Tuesday. "We see too much of them, almost. ... It's one thing to play a team that's an average football team, but this is not an average football team. It's a team that's won national championships and been in the national championship game two of the last four years. It's something you go, 'OK, here we are. Let's go.' "

Much is at stake for both teams, but the Ducks have the chance to beat the Sooners for the first time in school history — Oklahoma is 6-0 in a series that dates to 1966. The two were scheduled to play in 2004 and 2006 but also met last season in the Holiday Bowl, a 17-14 Oklahoma win.

"Oklahoma recognizes they escaped last year," Bellotti said of the bowl, which the Ducks lost when they elected to go for a touchdown instead of a field goal that would have tied the score. "But at our level, finishing close doesn't make much difference. To beat a top-25 team, a program you never defeated, certainly there's a lot of hunger and a lot of opportunity."

The Sooners have a chance to win their first road game with quarterback Paul Thompson in one of the toughest stadiums in the country.

"I'm excited to see what this team is going to do. It's going to be a loud atmosphere," said Thompson, whose Sooners are wearing earplugs in practice to prepare for the noise level at Autzen Stadium. "This would be a big steppingstone to get over. It's definitely not just another game, but one that we feel that if we can close on this, it will be a big boost going into our last game out of conference."

One of the most compelling aspects of the game will be the matchup of No. 28s. Of the two standout running backs who wear that jersey number, Oklahoma junior Adrian Peterson certainly has the higher profile. He finished second in Heisman Trophy voting in his freshman year before an ankle injury set him back last year.

Though fans across the country don't know as much about him just yet, Oregon sophomore Jonathan Stewart might be just as talented as Peterson.

"I talked to him about the two No. 28s on the field and said to him that this is a tremendous opportunity to prove that you're the same kind of guy," Bellotti said. "He's excited."

Stewart, who is from Lacey, Wash., and is Washington's all-time high school rushing leader, was one of the top recruits in the nation when he signed with Oregon.

"He's was considered No. 1 or No. 2 in the entire nation, and I think he will live up to that," Bellotti said.

In his 12-game college career, Stewart has 12 touchdowns. As a reserve tailback last year, he scored a touchdown nearly every eight times he touched the ball. As a freshman, Stewart led the nation in kickoff returns (33.7 average) and became the school's first player to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same season.

Against Stanford, a 48-10 win in the Ducks' opener this year, Stewart ran for 168 yards before suffering an ankle injury in the third quarter. Last week against Fresno State, a 31-24 win, he was on the field for only two plays because of the injury; one of those was a 3-yard TD run. Stewart, 5-11, 230 pounds, is expected to be fully healthy Saturday.

"Jonathan's combination of speed, strength and power is unmatched on our team, and when healthy he's a difference-maker and a guy we need in order to compete with the top teams in the nation," Bellotti said. "He gives us a chance to do that."


And after having some time to think about it, I still think Bellotti is shmuck. I hope we "escape" this weekend with roast duck.

[KingDavid]

We are just a really lucky program in general. Luck, for that matter, has really established our program from day one. You could almost compare the Sooner nation to a lottery winner, for that matter.

Gosh, we should just count our lucky stars, I guess.

[Quack 10]

"Oklahoman barely escaped Oregon" in last year's Holiday Bowl.

- Mike Be(full of)lot(of shat)ti

Nice! Way to misquote. Do you work for Fox?

[sooner94]

So we barely escaped with a win last year, and Stewart is as good as Peterson. :confused:

[FlatheadSooner]

Although we had some opportunities in Holiday Bowl to take the game, the last series of play were..........hair-raising. :eek:

The better team won, but it was very close near the end. :rolleyes:

We need to be wary of these guys at their home and not take anything for granted. If we play near our best, I believe we will win convincingly. :cool:

[KingDavid]

Although we had some opportunities in Holiday Bowl to take the game, the last series of play were..........hair-raising. :eek:

The better team won, but it was very close near the end. :rolleyes:

We need to be wary of these guys at their home and not take anything for granted. If we play near our best, I believe we will win convincingly. :cool:

I'm just hoping that with a little luck we're able to slip by the juggernaut.;)

[KingDavid]

Nice! Way to misquote. Do you work for Fox?

No. Just lazy. I hope I'll be fortunate enough to escape any more of your criticism.

We are good at escaping Ducks, us sooners. I think I should be all right.

[Sooner in Tampa]

Nice! Way to misquote. Do you work for Fox?What the f*%k is the difference...your coach is full of $hit if he thinks we "escaped" with a win. :mad:

We shall see come Saturday afternoon!!!

[QuackAttack]

Whoa tiger! Even if you never saw the game and only were told the score (17-14) you'd know it was a close game.

But, if you actually did watch the game, you would remember that Oregon was in scoring position in the final moments of the game. Of course Oklahoma made a great play and intercepted Leaf's pass (shades of Ryan Leaf as a Charger). Escape with a win? Probably not the best use of words; to me, if Oklahoma were an escapee it would require they put up some last minute points.

Nevertheless, i think it was just a poor choice of words and not intended to be disrespect towards Oklahoma. Bellotti has routinely praised the Sooner program. How could he not?

[Quack 10]

“It kind of typifies our whole season,” said coach Bob Stoops, momentarily reliving the final quarter of what looked like an OU runaway at one point. “We’ve been fighting all year and was another game where we needed basically every play to decide the outcome. But the main thing is I’m proud of our kids and the way they held it together and finished.” - Stoops to Sooner Spectator after the Holiday Bowl.

[KingDavid]

Whoa tiger! Even if you never saw the game and only were told the score (17-14) you'd know it was a close game.

But, if you actually did watch the game, you would remember that Oregon was in scoring position in the final moments of the game. Of course Oklahoma made a great play and intercepted Leaf's pass (shades of Ryan Leaf as a Charger). Escape with a win? Probably not the best use of words; to me, if Oklahoma were an escapee it would require they put up some last minute points.

Nevertheless, i think it was just a poor choice of words and not intended to be disrespect towards Oklahoma. Bellotti has routinely praised the Sooner program. How could he not?

all intentions aside - your points are valid - i'm grateful for Belotti's poor wording. it's not like he dumped jet fuel on the fire or anything, but every little bit of motivational help is a nice plus . . .

[bweezie]

; to me, if Oklahoma were an escapee it would require they put up some last minute points.


if not for peterson's fumble on the 1 yardline, there would have been a few more points.

[soonerlaw]

Well, last year's Oregon team was a BCS caliber team who barely lost that nailbiter to USC, right. Whatever, we beat them convincingly all game long excpet their last drive... Belloti should be saying "Oregon knows they were lucky to lose by three last year."

[CapitolSooner]

Belloti should be saying "Oregon knows they were lucky to lose by three last year."

I couldn't agree more. Sure it was a close game, but we were sitting in the driver's seat for most of the game.

As for the two Oregonians posting on this thread, I think you should be more concerned with whether or not this will be the week Bellotti, and that mustache of his, follow their "hearts" and take some young children to an "amusement park." Look at this guy, he coulda been on that dateline special and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference:

http://www.afca.com/Graphics/0304BellottiMike.jpg

[stoopified]

Well, last year's Oregon team was a BCS caliber team who barely lost that nailbiter to USC, right. Whatever, we beat them convincingly all game long excpet their last drive... Belloti should be saying "Oregon knows they were lucky to lose by three last year."
Every I hear someone say if this happened we woulda beat you,I have a set responseand that is if you get 1 what if then I get one what if.Uo chooseswhat if they score a TD on the last serues and I choose what if AD scores instead of fumbling at the UO 1.Guess what?Ducks still lose only now it is 24-21.Can't wait for the game! Let the duck barbecue begin!

[CrimsonChampion]

We escaped the holiday bowl, we damn near tried to give it away.

It's all good though, it's a different season and we're like a mack truck, just gotta get going, then nobody will stop us.

[Quack 10]

As for the two Oregonians posting on this thread, I think you should be more concerned with whether or not this will be the week Bellotti, and that mustache of his, follow their "hearts" and take some young children to an "amusement park." Look at this guy, he coulda been on that dateline special and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference:

Hasn't had the 'stache for a long time, but classy post!

[CrimsonChampion]

Hasn't had the 'stache for a long time, but classy post!
shut ur hole wang chung:texan:

[CapitolSooner]

What can I say I'm a classy guy.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

I remember ESPN making a remark after the game about Oklahoma escaping with a win...

It was like we were the team in the top 5 and they were the unranked team

[r5TPsooner]

I couldn't agree more. Sure it was a close game, but we were sitting in the driver's seat for most of the game.

As for the two Oregonians posting on this thread, I think you should be more concerned with whether or not this will be the week Bellotti, and that mustache of his, follow their "hearts" and take some young children to an "amusement park." Look at this guy, he coulda been on that dateline special and I wouldn't be able to tell the difference:

http://www.afca.com/Graphics/0304BellottiMike.jpg


He could pass for a pimp IMO.

[stoops the eternal pimp]

or a late 70s porn star

[jwlynn64]

Escape artists: Oregon coach Mike Bellotti raised eyebrows Wednesday when he was quoted in a USA Today story as saying, "Oklahoma recognizes they escaped last year." The reference was to OU's 17-14 Holiday Bowl victory over the Ducks.

"Oh, I don't know," Stoops said. "It was a heck of a game. I think it's fair to see we had our other opportunities. We fumbled at the (Oregon) 1, and they had a fake field goal on us. . . . You can define it any way you want, but this is a new year and we've got to be ready to play."

This was in another thread. I would have loved to see Stoops face when he read that quote. I wonder how many times he's had to read "If only...." quotes from opposing coaches after a win.

[QuackAttack]

Well, last year's Oregon team was a BCS caliber team who barely lost that nailbiter to USC, right. Whatever, we beat them convincingly all game long excpet their last drive... Belloti should be saying "Oregon knows they were lucky to lose by three last year."

Last years team was a BCS team because of stellar QB play by Clemens, who was lost for the season after Game 8.

I am not one to say, "Only IF Oregon had or did such and such... we would have won." However, a fair argument could be made that Clemens was indeed the best Duck offensive player, and that his experience and talent were sorely missed in San Diego.

[TrophyCollector]

Last years team was a BCS team because of stellar QB play by Clemens, who was lost for the season after Game 8.



As opposed to our quality FR Sam Houston St. QB.

[msteudem]

Every I hear someone say if this happened we woulda beat you,I have a set responseand that is if you get 1 what if then I get one what if.Uo chooseswhat if they score a TD on the last serues and I choose what if AD scores instead of fumbling at the UO 1.Guess what?Ducks still lose only now it is 24-21.Can't wait for the game! Let the duck barbecue begin!


What if all of those fake field goals and fake punts had not been converted by the dux? What if the refs actually called a fair game for OU?

Dux would have still lost 31-3 :rolleyes: ;)

[OKC-SLC]

Is it too late to cancel the team's flight out there?

Without luck, we're dewmed.

[ouwasp]

When you lose, you lose. It should shatter one's football world.

Bragging about barely losing is pitiful. Aggie-esque.

Yes, that is redundant.