OU is in trouble

[batonrougesooner]

Just got back from Dallas a few hours ago. Forgive me if these points have been made or discussed. These are some of my thoughts, both during and after the game.

Bob Stoops is now just another football coach. He squandered the last of his "big game coach" personna Saturday. He is a good coach, but no better than 10-15 other coaches in major college football. The head coach is the ultimate leader/manager of the football team. He is resposible for playcalling, holding, laterals that are mishandled, and false starts. He is responsible for game week attitude and preparation. Who coached this team over the last two weeks? Why beat yourself when Texas would be happy to do it for you? There is a reason OU is paying him 2 million dollars per year. I'm still very happy he is our head coach but I don't believe he is the end all be all of college coaches like I used to. Sorry, it's just the truth.

OU/Texas is a big deal in regional recruiting. Just ask Adrian Peterson and Rhett Bomar. This loss has set the program back. Those two or three difference maker recruits we compete with Texas for year to year are much harder to come by after games like these. What does the OU coaching staff have to sell to potential recruits right now? Texas has all the momentum in both the rivalry and on a national stage. Our recruiting pitch shouldn't be "Come to OU, we are better than ATM." That is pathetic. If OU wants to play championship football they need more than that. It isn't "Come to OU, we've lost two of the last three MNC games", or "We won in 2000", or "We once beat Texas 65-13, come over and I'll show you the tape".

I'm not jumping off the bandwagon. I'm still a fan and I will still donate my money. I'm just saying this loss was much more than just one game. I'm afraid we may be in for a "dark age" in the form of a few down years. I wonder what we will look like on the other end.

Neg away if you want. I really don't care.

[tbl]

You might want to change your signature now.... ;)

[sanantoniosooner]

meh........

[batonrougesooner]

You might want to change your signature now.... ;)

No kidding. Good point.

[booomer]

I'm pretty sure the 2000 championship team wasn't stacked with big time recruits.....a return to that type of player would suit me fine.

[FaninAma]

The biggest asset of Stoops is also his biggest liability....the loyalty he shows to his coaches and players.

While Bob keeps and promotes his long time assistants that have been around for years, Mack runs the Horn program like a Fortune 500 company.....if you don't produce you're history. It doesn't matter how far back you go back with Mack. The only survivor has been Greg Davis and I really think his head was on the chopping block if UT had had another 2 or 3 loss season in either 2004 or 2005.

Last year bougt GD some extra time but the game yesterday was all the proof anybody needed to see he's still the same average, unimaginative coach he's always been.

Meanwhile, Stoops is loyal to a fault and even when he goes outside his own little circle of coaches he hires somebody he's known or been friends with(ie. Pellini). I don't ever see Stoops sacrificing any of his long time friends to the blood lust of the fanbase like Mack did at Texas. I think ultimately that will be his ndoing and the reason he leaves the college game.

[tbl]

Nailed it... So where does that leave us????

[Octavian]

Bob is still one of the best coaches in America. He's won more games than any coach in the '00 decade. If he stays through the '09 season...I bet that won't change.

What constitutes a "down cycle?" Not winning conference? Not playing for the national title? Today, at this very moment, there are over 100 fanbases that'd gladly switch shoes w/ us.

Switzer went 23-8-1 in a 3 year stretch (81-83) and won a NC two years later. It happens.

What did we expect? Two top programs like OU and Texas play every year and one team would win every time from now until the end of time? That's just not gonna happen.

As for recruiting...you've got a good point. But...in the end, OU and Texas are gonna be roughly equal in talent throughout the Stoops-Mack era. It'll comes down to players making plays and limiting mistakes.

And pure luck never hurts. The first half of the decade, we caught every break in the world against in Dallas. Yesterday, they did.

It happens.

Maybe I'm in the new minority but I think we'll be more than fine as long as Stoops is here.

[Pepper]

The argument is this- We have played for the Big 12 Championship in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. Everyone knows the real championship game is held in Dallas every year when OU plays Texas.
Many NFL players have come through the OU program. 3 Heisman trophy candidates/ 1 winner under Stoops.
Top 10 recruiting class last year. The rest of the Big 12 is still down. We will still be perceived as a bully in the Big 12 this year. OU should be OK if we finish the season strong again.

[batonrougesooner]

Bob is still one of the best coaches in America. He's won more games than any coach in the '00 decade. If he stays through the '09 season...I bet that won't change.

What constitutes a "down cycle?" Not winning conference? Not playing for the national title? Today, at this very moment, there are over 100 fanbases that'd gladly switch shoes w/ us.

Switzer went 23-8-1 in a 3 year stretch (81-83) and won a NC two years later. It happens.

What did we expect? Two top programs like OU and Texas play every year and one team would win every time from now until the end of time? That's just not gonna happen.

As for recruiting...you've got a good point. But...in the end, OU and Texas are gonna be roughly equal in talent throughout the Stoops-Mack era. It'll comes down to players making plays and limiting mistakes.

And pure luck never hurts. The first half of the decade, we caught every break in the world against in Dallas. Yesterday, they did.

It happens.

Maybe I'm in the new minority but I think we'll be more than fine as long as Stoops is here.

I don't mean to nit-pick, maybe that is what I'm doing, but my point isn't that OU lost, it's how they lost.

Big plays in big games. It used to be what a Stoops coached team was known for. Saturday they all went the other way. Fumbles, holds, false starts. At the worst times imaginable. During that scoring drive in the second quarter, OU looked unstopable. The offense was doing what they wanted. The defense was making plays. I was thinking to myself during most of that half that the defense looked like the defense of old. They were flying around, hitting people, disguising things well, just attacking the offense overall.

I honestly believed OU was going to come out of the half time and control the game. I thought they were going to continue what they started. Instead the entire team looked like they took a nap at intermission.

OU beat themselves. It wasn't the wind. They didn't run out of time. They just gave Texas an opportunity to beat them. It was coaching. Not just Saturday. It began in August or maybe before.

OU had the players to beat Texas. They didn't do it. They caved. Broke down in fundamentals. It was a sorry display.

I'm not at all saying Stoops should go. He is a good coach who has been there before and obviously has the coaching talent to get it done. That is what's frustrating.

The OU definition of a down year is a 3-4 loss season. It is not competing against Texas. It is not stepping up on the big stage when it counts. OU will most likely win the rest of their games (fingers crossed at Missouri).

I'm not saying OU sucks or that you should trade in your football tickets. Just understand that I'm afraid it is going to get worse before it get's better. Stoops need to find again that fire that got him here in the first place.

[batonrougesooner]

You might want to change your signature now.... ;)

fixed

[Octavian]

I don't mean to nit-pick, maybe that is what I'm doing, but my point isn't that OU lost, it's how they lost.

Big plays in big games. It used to be what a Stoops coached team was known for. Saturday they all went the other way. Fumbles, holds, false starts. At the worst times imaginable. During that scoring drive in the second quarter, OU looked unstopable. The offense was doing what they wanted. The defense was making plays. I was thinking to myself during most of that half that the defense looked like the defense of old. They were flying around, hitting people, disguising things well, just attacking the offense overall.

I honestly believed OU was going to come out of the half time and control the game. I thought they were going to continue what they started. Instead the entire team looked like they took a nap at intermission.

OU beat themselves. It wasn't the wind. They didn't run out of time. They just gave Texas an opportunity to beat them. It was coaching. Not just Saturday. It began in August or maybe before.

OU had the players to beat Texas. They didn't do it. They caved. Broke down in fundamentals. It was a sorry display.

I'm not at all saying Stoops should go. He is a good coach who has been there before and obviously has the coaching talent to get it done. That is what's frustrating.

The OU definition of a down year is a 3-4 loss season. It is not competing against Texas. It is not stepping up on the big stage when it counts. OU will most likely win the rest of their games (fingers crossed at Missouri).

I'm not saying OU sucks or that you should trade in your football tickets. Just understand that I'm afraid it is going to get worse before it get's better. Stoops need to find again that fire that got him here in the first place.

well, we'll see...the rest of the '06 season will show as a lot about this team and the direction of the program.

[horninokc]

The biggest asset of Stoops is also his biggest liability....the loyalty he shows to his coaches and players.

While Bob keeps and promotes his long time assistants that have been around for years, Mack runs the Horn program like a Fortune 500 company.....if you don't produce you're history. It doesn't matter how far back you go back with Mack. The only survivor has been Greg Davis and I really think his head was on the chopping block if UT had had another 2 or 3 loss season in either 2004 or 2005.

Last year bougt GD some extra time but the game yesterday was all the proof anybody needed to see he's still the same average, unimaginative coach he's always been.

Meanwhile, Stoops is loyal to a fault and even when he goes outside his own little circle of coaches he hires somebody he's known or been friends with(ie. Pellini). I don't ever see Stoops sacrificing any of his long time friends to the blood lust of the fanbase like Mack did at Texas. I think ultimately that will be his ndoing and the reason he leaves the college game.

Last year GD and Mack learned to let Vince be Vince. They have been protective of Colt this year. After our dismal 2nd quarter yesterday they decided to let him go. Thank God they did becaue we would have lost with another quarter like the 2nd. Both touchdown passes in the third were play changes at the line based on what he saw of your defense. He showed what he could do up until we went into a run out the clock mode. Mack and GD showed they learned from their experience with Vince. The second half offense was brilliant.

And Mack has been the one accused yearly of having too much loyalty to his assistants. I am surprised you put Stoops in that category.

But as always, FaninAma, thanks for playing.

[setem]

So if this game killed our recruiting how did Texas pull those monster classes the years we stomped them into the ground?

Who else can we get to coach this team?

I do not think it is all Bob's fault. If the players refuse to play like everyone knows they can, nothing Bob does is going to help.

I had kids on my legion team this summer who were some of the better players in Oklahoma City. Everyone one of them had an agenda and there was not one damn thing I could do to get those kids to gel.

I dont know...my Sooner heart has been broken. I want the Sooners back in the Cotton Bowl.

[horninokc]

So if this game killed our recruiting how did Texas pull those monster classes the years we stomped them into the ground?

Who else can we get to coach this team?

I do not think it is all Bob's fault. If the players refuse to play like everyone knows they can, nothing Bob does is going to help.

I had kid's on my legion team this summer who were some of the better players in Oklahoma City. Everyone one of them had an agenda and there was not one damn thing I could do to get those kids to gel.

I dont know...my Sooner heart has been broken. I want the Sooners back in the Cotton Bowl.

Bob Stoops is a hell of a coach and I think years from now people will talk about the Stoops vs Brown games as the legend they are becoming. OU will always be better with Stoops than you would be without him. I will ALWAYS worry about the OU game as long as he is coach, no matter what the teams have done prior to that.

[footballfanatic]

Be careful what you wish for. So mnay times in sports, players or coaches are run out of town, the fan base gets rejuvinated, and then...the team does even worse. Just ask the Aggies about it. When I lived in New York, Patrick Ewing was vilified on a daily basis. He was the reason we couldn't win. So they got rid of him. Now the prgram has been at the very bottom, and he is understood to have been the best thing that ever happened to it.

[StoopTroup]

You guys act like the Whorns crushed us yesterday...

Far from it.

Buck up campers...

We had to buck up before the season even started.

[OU_Sooners75]

What does the OU coaching staff have to sell to potential recruits right now?


The same thing we have had the past decade....The need for big time players.

Texas only bet us because we put the gun to our own foot.

It is a fact, seldom do we actually pull out the #1 recruit from Texas...Texas is almost gawarnteed that...OU has beaten texas before and lost to them before....OU will be fine....It is not like OU lost to a bottom feeder last saturday...we lost to the defending conference and national champions....yet throughout that game OU could have easily won it....but youth and inexperience once again reared its ugly head.

[OU_Sooners75]

1. I don't mean to nit-pick, maybe that is what I'm doing, but my point isn't that OU lost, it's how they lost.

2. Big plays in big games. It used to be what a Stoops coached team was known for. Saturday they all went the other way. Fumbles, holds, false starts. At the worst times imaginable. During that scoring drive in the second quarter, OU looked unstopable. The offense was doing what they wanted. The defense was making plays. I was thinking to myself during most of that half that the defense looked like the defense of old. They were flying around, hitting people, disguising things well, just attacking the offense overall.

3. I honestly believed OU was going to come out of the half time and control the game. I thought they were going to continue what they started. Instead the entire team looked like they took a nap at intermission.

OU beat themselves. It wasn't the wind. They didn't run out of time. They just gave Texas an opportunity to beat them. It was coaching. Not just Saturday. It began in August or maybe before.

4. OU had the players to beat Texas. They didn't do it. They caved. Broke down in fundamentals. It was a sorry display.

5. I'm not at all saying Stoops should go. He is a good coach who has been there before and obviously has the coaching talent to get it done. That is what's frustrating.

6. The OU definition of a down year is a 3-4 loss season. It is not competing against Texas. It is not stepping up on the big stage when it counts. OU will most likely win the rest of their games (fingers crossed at Missouri).

7. I'm not saying OU sucks or that you should trade in your football tickets. Just understand that I'm afraid it is going to get worse before it get's better. Stoops need to find again that fire that got him here in the first place.


1. Ever think of how we lost was do to the fact that we are still one of the youngest teams in America?

2. Big Plays? Maybe if Paul Thompson can actually be consistent enough to be on target every play, we would have some. There have been some very good deep ball passers in the past...and Paul is not one of them.

3. Maybe OU was actually outcoached by Davis and Chezik?

4. Duh.

5. Stoops is still a top 5 or better coach....again, OU is still among the youngest teams in the U.S!

6. Before the season started, I had OU losing to Oregon and Texass. OU will be fine the rest of the year. Texas still has to go to Nebraska and Lubbutt. If they lose both, and OU wins out, we will be reserving tix to K.C.!

7. I was going to games in the Mid 1990s. Like I would trade in any of my tickets because we lose one or 2 games a season.

[AlbqSooner]

During the Gomer Jones years I wondered if OU would ever again recapture the glory of being unquestionably on top. Then came McKenzie, Fairbanks and Switzer.

During the '90s I wondered if OU would ever again recapture the glory of being unquestionably on top. Then came Stoops.

I scan the current college football horizon and do not see a single coach who makes me think we would be better off with him than Stoops.

I think of the experience aTm and Nebbish have had with going after the "better" coach.

I think back to August 3 and realize that my prediction was that we would lose 2, perhaps 3 games this year due to the unfortunate adversity created by some knuckleheaded major recruit who was more important than his team.

I look at the parity in college football and realize that being unquestionably at the top is no longer a decades deal. A few years at a time is all one can realistically count on.

I look at the talent we have among players, coaches and assorted other staff and realize what a great team we have at present.

I look at my den and realize I have been a Sooner die hard for 52 years and decide that one game, even if it was against Texas, in which we had 5 turnovers and 11 penalties and got beat, is not going to redecorate my den with some other teams memorabilia.

We will be just fine. We will perservere. We will be back in the position of being unquestionably on top. And when we get there, I will be a part of that we.

BOOMER SOONER!

[sooner n houston]

Defense wins championships. Until the Stoops style of defense returns we will be a 2 loss a year team. The defense just doesn't have the fire they once had. I certanly don't know how you get that back. Texas D looks like ours used to, people flying to the ball, bringing the big hits, that is what we are missing these days. JMHO.

[Eielson]

http://www.ennovative.net/storeit/albums/userpics/10010/EielsonLOFSig.png

[SoonerinSouthlake]

[QUOTE=batonrougesooner] OU/Texas is a big deal in regional recruiting. Just ask Adrian Peterson and Rhett Bomar. This loss has set the program back. Those two or three difference maker recruits we compete with Texas for year to year are much harder to come by after games like these. What does the OU coaching staff have to sell to potential recruits right now? Texas has all the momentum in both the rivalry and on a national stage. Our recruiting pitch shouldn't be "Come to OU, we are better than ATM." That is pathetic. If OU wants to play championship football they need more than that. It isn't "Come to OU, we've lost two of the last three MNC games", or "We won in 2000", or "We once beat Texas 65-13, come over and I'll show you the tape



OU/Texas is a big deal in regional recruiting. Just ask Adrian Peterson and Rhett Bomar. This loss has set the program back.

Not denying that has some affect on the recruiting....But how is it that we beat them 5 years in a row, play in 3 MNC games, and they still had "better" (higher ranked) recruiting classes than us most of the years.

Me thinks its not QUITE as big of a deal as we tend to make it in regards to recruiting.

[StoopTroup]

Our trouble seems to be at one corner for a few seasons now.

We need to recruit and develop deeper corner guys it would seem to me.

[snp]

Not denying that has some affect on the recruiting....But how is it that we beat them 5 years in a row, play in 3 MNC games, and they still had "better" (higher ranked) recruiting classes than us most of the years.

Me thinks its not QUITE as big of a deal as we tend to make it in regards to recruiting.

How is that this notion still exists?

Scout:
2006 - Texas 3 Oklahoma 7
2005 - Oklahoma 5 Texas 13
2004 - Oklahoma 7 Texas 10
2003 - Oklahoma 3 Texas 14
2002 - Texas 1 Oklahoma 2

Rivals:
2006 Texas 5 Oklahoma 9
2005 Oklahoma 3 Texas 20
2004 Oklahoma 8 Texas 10
2003 Oklahoma 3 Texas 15
2002 Texas 1 Oklahoma 7

[SoonerinSouthlake]

How is that this notion still exists?

Scout:
2006 - Texas 3 Oklahoma 7
2005 - Oklahoma 5 Texas 13
2004 - Oklahoma 7 Texas 10
2003 - Oklahoma 3 Texas 14
2002 - Texas 1 Oklahoma 2

Rivals:
2006 Texas 5 Oklahoma 9
2005 Oklahoma 3 Texas 20
2004 Oklahoma 8 Texas 10
2003 Oklahoma 3 Texas 15
2002 Texas 1 Oklahoma 7


is that the ranking? If so then I stand corrected on the Ranking. Thanks for setting me straight

However...my point still stands that despite the 5 years of Domination, they seemed to be able to drown themselves in top caliber recruits. No reason that one game per hear makes such an ENORMOUS difference.

[tbl]

fixed
Gag!!! Just delete it, dude!

[Tear Down This Wall]

Be careful what you wish for. So mnay times in sports, players or coaches are run out of town, the fan base gets rejuvinated, and then...the team does even worse. Just ask the Aggies about it. When I lived in New York, Patrick Ewing was vilified on a daily basis. He was the reason we couldn't win. So they got rid of him. Now the prgram has been at the very bottom, and he is understood to have been the best thing that ever happened to it.

Nobody wants to get rid of Stoops. We just his fire back. We want him to quit screwing around and do something about his assistants.

He can't just keep letting every guy who crosses the dadgum strength and conditioning coach's wire be kicked off the team. He can't go on pretending that BJW is a better DB coach than he was a DE coach - two seasons of inconsistent DE play and DB play prove that.

BJW turned walk-on Corey Heinecke into a firebreather and coached Dan Cody and Jonathan Jackson far beyond their potential. Chris Wilson isn't getting the DEs to do what BJW did. As a secondary coach, BJW is lost. He can't settle on who's playing where from game to game. Granted, lack of cornerback recruiting left things thin. But, he's got Reggie Smith now and Marcus Walker is healthy. having those two at corner should be a no-brainer, but apparently it isn't.

A DB coach needs to be hired. Chris Wilson needs to be sent packing and BJW needs to move back to coaching the DEs.

Also, we understand fully that we're working with inexperienced linemen again. But, come on, man...these guys are sophomores. In two years Kevin Wilson can't coach them up enough to not jump before the snap?

We're inside the Oregon three yard line twice and come away with only two field goals? With Adrian Peterson in the backfield? Against Texas the jumping linemen were constantly putting us into 1st and 2nd and 15 situations, essentially taking the run game away from us inthe second half.

Juaquin Iqlesias is averaging over 30 yard per kick return and yet we throw Adrian Peterson in there for Heisman hype? He had one nice return, but averaged less than 12 yards on the other three returns because he dances around too much. Juaquin and Reggie are better returners. Also, we don't need Adrian taking extra hits. He's already taking enough with the line he has in front of him. This is a poor coaching decision.

Stoops has been to the pinnacle twice - national title rings from Florida and Oklahoma. He knows what it takes to win. But, at 11-7 over the last 18 games, and no wins over a Top 10 program since 2004, he seriously needs overhaul the staff (or what it's currently doing) and get back to the basics that took him to the top before.

[snp]

is that the ranking? If so then I stand corrected on the Ranking. Thanks for setting me straight

However...my point still stands that despite the 5 years of Domination, they seemed to be able to drown themselves in top caliber recruits. No reason that one game per hear makes such an ENORMOUS difference.

Yes. But the tide has turned somewhat in recruiting. Mack has locked down the state of Texas and has been beating us for recruits lately. I can't think of a guy Texas really wanted that we inked. But the blue chip guys like Allen, Chiles, Brantley, Brown are all heading to Texas and not us.

But I guess there are extinguating circumstances that I don't feel like thinking about.

[SoFla Sooner]

Yawn. I think I will reserve judgement on Bob Stoops until at least the end of the season. So far I've been pretty darned pleased with his performance. I don't think I need to defend my stance.

[wishbonesooner]

Can a guy as competitive as Bob get a little complacent?

[usmc-sooner]

we were a badly coached team out there on Saturday. 11 penalties and 5 turnovers is something that takes me back to the Blake era.

D.J. Wolfe gets burnt on the same play for a touchdown every freakin game. Do we not have anyone that is better than him? I'd have more confidence in the Broyles kid from Norman High.

Bob quit yelling and screaming at the officials all damn game, it aint working, get back over there and rally the troops.

I can see getting out out done at halftime by Gene Chizik, he's a heckuva coach. But the play calling the second half was horrible. We tried one so called trick play and that was 9 yard reverse. What happened to breaking out something new or tricky for Texas. Does our OC understand the concept of a hurry up offense. When were down by 2 scores, midway through the 4th standing in the huddle until there's 7 seconds on the play clock is stupid.
Getting outcoached at halftime by Gred Davis at halftime is pathetic. Had they not starting just milking the clock on their second possesion of the 4th they could've scored more on us.

[snp]

D.J. Wolfe gets burnt on the same play for a touchdown every freakin game. Do we not have anyone that is better than him? I'd have more confidence in the Broyles kid from Norman High.


I thought there was talk of Brian Jackson getting his RS pulled last year? I don't think I've even heard his name mentioned all year.

I want DJ back at RB for next year. Sick of watching him get beat every game at CB.

[sozo]

Bob is still one of the best coaches in America. He's won more games than any coach in the '00 decade. If he stays through the '09 season...I bet that won't change.

What constitutes a "down cycle?" Not winning conference? Not playing for the national title? Today, at this very moment, there are over 100 fanbases that'd gladly switch shoes w/ us.

Switzer went 23-8-1 in a 3 year stretch (81-83) and won a NC two years later. It happens.

What did we expect? Two top programs like OU and Texas play every year and one team would win every time from now until the end of time? That's just not gonna happen.

As for recruiting...you've got a good point. But...in the end, OU and Texas are gonna be roughly equal in talent throughout the Stoops-Mack era. It'll comes down to players making plays and limiting mistakes.

And pure luck never hurts. The first half of the decade, we caught every break in the world against in Dallas. Yesterday, they did.

It happens.

Maybe I'm in the new minority but I think we'll be more than fine as long as Stoops is here.
Good post!

[TheGodfather889]

I think you need great assistants along with a great coach to be elite if you already have the talent. OU has talent. They always have and always will have good talent. We had elite teams because we not only had great talent but because we had great coaching. We need to clear out some of these assistants that are holding us back and find great assistants. That's what Texas and USC did.

[Texas Law Student]

Just got back from Dallas a few hours ago. Forgive me if these points have been made or discussed. These are some of my thoughts, both during and after the game.

Bob Stoops is now just another football coach. He squandered the last of his "big game coach" personna Saturday. He is a good coach, but no better than 10-15 other coaches in major college football. The head coach is the ultimate leader/manager of the football team. He is resposible for playcalling, holding, laterals that are mishandled, and false starts. He is responsible for game week attitude and preparation. Who coached this team over the last two weeks? Why beat yourself when Texas would be happy to do it for you? There is a reason OU is paying him 2 million dollars per year. I'm still very happy he is our head coach but I don't believe he is the end all be all of college coaches like I used to. Sorry, it's just the truth.

OU/Texas is a big deal in regional recruiting. Just ask Adrian Peterson and Rhett Bomar. This loss has set the program back. Those two or three difference maker recruits we compete with Texas for year to year are much harder to come by after games like these. What does the OU coaching staff have to sell to potential recruits right now? Texas has all the momentum in both the rivalry and on a national stage. Our recruiting pitch shouldn't be "Come to OU, we are better than ATM." That is pathetic. If OU wants to play championship football they need more than that. It isn't "Come to OU, we've lost two of the last three MNC games", or "We won in 2000", or "We once beat Texas 65-13, come over and I'll show you the tape".

I'm not jumping off the bandwagon. I'm still a fan and I will still donate my money. I'm just saying this loss was much more than just one game. I'm afraid we may be in for a "dark age" in the form of a few down years. I wonder what we will look like on the other end.

Neg away if you want. I really don't care.

You care, because you posted.

I hate to be a logic hound, but isn't it odd how the Texas players that beat you were recruited in the years of OU's incredible supremacy? How does that square with your logic that Texas will now gain all the great recruits while OU falls to second place mediocrity? Answer -- it doesn't. OU beat Texas five years in a row, and in that time frame, recruited the players that lead to a National Championship, inclduing the team that upended the "Best Team in History" USC Trojans?

[fwsooner22]

[/QUOTE]I'm not jumping off the bandwagon. I'm still a fan and I will still donate my money. I'm just saying this loss was much more than just one game. I'm afraid we may be in for a "dark age" in the form of a few down years. I wonder what we will look like on the other end.
[/QUOTE]


I will go out on a limb and say that you were never really on the bandwagon...That was a tough day, sure.....Now is when we unite and kick everyone elses butt.....the same way Texas did for five years.

UT has lost 6 games in the BigXII in the 00's 5 were to us.......the sky is not falling

[batonrougesooner]

You care, because you posted.

I hate to be a logic hound, but isn't it odd how the Texas players that beat you were recruited in the years of OU's incredible supremacy? How does that square with your logic that Texas will now gain all the great recruits while OU falls to second place mediocrity? Answer -- it doesn't. OU beat Texas five years in a row, and in that time frame, recruited the players that lead to a National Championship, inclduing the team that upended the "Best Team in History" USC Trojans?

Oh good. A lesson in logic from a law student.

First off, I stated in my post I didn't care if people gave me a negative respect rating based upon my post. That seems logical right?

In order for OU to consistently take the best kids out of Texas from the University of of Texas to the University of Not Texas (Oklahoma) OU has to be better than Texas. OU is at a disadvantage from day one. Not a OSU or Baylor disadvantage obviously, but it isn't a level recruiting playing field either. See my logic?

There are obviously greater than 25 high caliber division one recruits in the state of Texas every year. Texas can't take all of them of course. But they can take the top 2-5 or so obvious difference makers and superstars in the making. When Texas is winning championships and beating OU, this is much easier for them to do. Following my logic on this one?

The OU program isn't falling apart. They aren't doomed. They are young and need a quarterback next year. Apparently they really want the one who has committed to Texas next year. How about that.

Stoops is still a good/great coach, but the perception of him is no longer of a giant slayer. Perception is everything. Both of the coach and the program. Again, ask Peterson and Bomar about perception. It's only logical.

[Scott D]

Stoops is still a good/great coach, but the perception of him is no longer of a giant slayer. Perception is everything. Both of the coach and the program. Again, ask Peterson and Bomar about perception. It's only logical.

and perception is that the latter wasn't so good of a risk.

[Rock Hard Corn Frog]

I think we are all disappointed in losing to our biggest rival in the biggest game of the year but I think a lot of people are overreacting...

First of all the loss sucks but it isn't like we were overmatched in the game. We had a chance to win, blew it and then the Whorns took command of the game.

I think I might have to take something to keep me from getting sick that I'm admitting this but look.. Texas had an O-line with 3 seniors that are NFL caliber. Add to that 5-6 senior starters on defense. They looked overmatched against Ohio St but they are still a strong upperclassmen dominated team.

While we do have several players that are seniors (as well as AD who might as well be considered one) the core of the team are Sophmores and some freshman. If you didn't come out of that game at least with an idea how good the offense can be in the future with an offensive line that should essentially remain the same for the next 2 years and with playmakers in Kelly, Johnson and Gresham then I don't think you were paying attention.

The media has moved on from worshiping Stoops which is fine. Remember a few years ago Larry Coker was a "great coach". Stoops is still one of the top coaches in the game, how many times ESPN or Fox wants to run a story about how OU "can't find their swagger" isn't a big priority with me.

Obviously QB next year is a HUGE question mark. Our starting QB next year is probably playing Juco ball somewhere. AD will be gone so no matter how good Patrick, Murray,etc do it will be at least some of a dropoff. We need help at corner too.

But we aren't starting at square one. This team is real close to being scary good for the next couple years. Panic if you want. I choose not to.

[crimson&cream]

Bob is still one of the best coaches in America. He's won more games than any coach in the '00 decade. If he stays through the '09 season...I bet that won't change.

What constitutes a "down cycle?" Not winning conference? Not playing for the national title? Today, at this very moment, there are over 100 fanbases that'd gladly switch shoes w/ us.

Switzer went 23-8-1 in a 3 year stretch (81-83) and won a NC two years later. It happens.

What did we expect? Two top programs like OU and Texas play every year and one team would win every time from now until the end of time? That's just not gonna happen.

As for recruiting...you've got a good point. But...in the end, OU and Texas are gonna be roughly equal in talent throughout the Stoops-Mack era. It'll comes down to players making plays and limiting mistakes.

And pure luck never hurts. The first half of the decade, we caught every break in the world against in Dallas. Yesterday, they did.

It happens.

Maybe I'm in the new minority but I think we'll be more than fine as long as Stoops is here.
I agree!

[Soonerviewer]

We got screwed again. the TW has video of the lateral that wasn't.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/oucall.asp

[Oldnslo]

I'll take my chances with Bob.

[The Maestro]

We got screwed again. the TW has video of the lateral that wasn't.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/oucall.asp

Thanks. I'm sick again. NOT cause it would have changed the outcome, but the game was certainly over at that point.

[tbl]

But, at 11-7 over the last 18 games, and no wins over a Top 10 program since 2004, he seriously needs overhaul the staff (or what it's currently doing) and get back to the basics that took him to the top before.

That doesn't look too good right there... 11-7, no top 10 wins since 04. Ouch.

I for one am glad that most Sooner fans have finally wisened up to see that Stoops isn't this infallible coach that will always take us to the gloryland. For a while, if anybody posted something negative about him it automatically equaled a neg spek fest.

I still like him as the head coach, but if he keeps up the trends he's been setting lately, I'm not too sure. He seriously needs to step back and look at things and make some changes. I'm not getting paid $2,000,000 a year to know exactly what those changes are, but TDTW hit some good points.

[budbarrybob]

[QUOTE=setem]So if this game killed our recruiting how did Texas pull those monster classes the years we stomped them into the ground?

Who else can we get to coach this team?

I do not think it is all Bob's fault.

[QUOTE]

AMEN brother

for every season... turn, turn, turn

[badger]

this just in: chicken little says the sky is falling.

[Texas Law Student]

Oh good. A lesson in logic from a law student.

First off, I stated in my post I didn't care if people gave me a negative respect rating based upon my post. That seems logical right?

In order for OU to consistently take the best kids out of Texas from the University of of Texas to the University of Not Texas (Oklahoma) OU has to be better than Texas. OU is at a disadvantage from day one. Not a OSU or Baylor disadvantage obviously, but it isn't a level recruiting playing field either. See my logic?

Not really, because OU *has been* better than Texas, for half a decade, and yet Texas managed to still recruit a winning squad. Texas has been OU's bitch since I started paying attention to college football. So no, I don't understand yuor defeatist logic in thinking that because OU lost to Texas this year, that necessarily indicates a downturn in OU recruiting.

The truth is, superstar players hurt the recruiting of up-and-coming stars more than, say, one team's inability to win against another. Texas could land a Vince Young because Vince wanted a place where he could actually play on a national stage. That's why OU was burned this year when Bomar had to be let go -- no up and coming great quarterback wanted to come to OU when the future of that position on the team was settled for the next three years, and so there was no depth at that position, leaving OU with its current back-up as the only option at QB.

We won't see the fruits of the post-Bomar QB recruitment until probably 2008, but make no mistake, OU will be in the hunt for a quality QB, and up and coming talent would be stupid to pass up the chance to play on the Big 12 stage.

But a roster full of amazing talent - denying newcomers the chance to shine - is a bigger detriment to recruiting than a W-L inter-conference rivalry.

Dat's the truth, Ruth.

[Husker In Oklahoma]

I'm sure you do not want a "Nebbish" fans point of view, but just looking at this years Sooners, the problems lie up front, on both sides of the ball. There is no Dvoracek, or Harris in the middle. Your D-line is being pushed back, and the backers are not able to make the plays they did in the past. You have some solid recruits in Granger and McCoy to shore that up, but it might be a year or two before they are ready to dominate. If the two down tackles can't hold up in the middle, it really creates problems for the defense. Trust me, at NU, we really haven't had a dominant tackle since 99', and it shows.
OU has as good of skill players as anyone, but you have to many liabilities in the interior line on both sides of the ball. To me, OU will win out (with the posible exception @Mizzou). To many defections and attrition on the OL have really hurt you guys. Nebraska is going to have big problems with Texas' lines in two weeks. Thankfully, the game is in Lincoln, but sice the Big 12 formed, Texas has owned us in Lincoln. We should be able to give them a game, but I think thier depth/talent wins out. Stoops is a very solid, capable coach whom you are lucky to have. Hang in there, I'm sure this will be just a minor bump in the road. If there is a silver lining, be happy your "down years" are 8-4's or 9-3's, most any other team would kill for that.:O

[oufan199]

1. Ever think of how we lost was do to the fact that we are still one of the youngest teams in America?

2. Big Plays? Maybe if Paul Thompson can actually be consistent enough to be on target every play, we would have some. There have been some very good deep ball passers in the past...and Paul is not one of them.

3. Maybe OU was actually outcoached by Davis and Chezik?

4. Duh.

5. Stoops is still a top 5 or better coach....again, OU is still among the youngest teams in the U.S!

6. Before the season started, I had OU losing to Oregon and Texass. OU will be fine the rest of the year. Texas still has to go to Nebraska and Lubbutt. If they lose both, and OU wins out, we will be reserving tix to K.C.!

7. I was going to games in the Mid 1990s. Like I would trade in any of my tickets because we lose one or 2 games a season.

As I recall, we were about the youngest team in America when we won the national championship in 2000, with something like 23 freshmen and sophomores on the two-deep roster. Jamelle Holieway was a freshman when he quarterbacked OU to a national title in 1985. What we need is better beef, not better seasoning.

[Tear Down This Wall]

As I recall, we were about the youngest team in America when we won the national championship in 2000, with something like 23 freshmen and sophomores on the two-deep roster. Jamelle Holieway was a freshman when he quarterbacked OU to a national title in 1985. What we need is better beef, not better seasoning.

It doesn't matter that Jamelle was a freshman. The guys around him were veterans. The defense was full of veteran upperclassmen.

He was also coached by Barry Switzer. The defense had coaches like Bobby Proctor and Gary Gibbs.

Again, comparing anything Bob has now to what Barry had in staff and players in 1985 is, outside of Adrian Peterson, absurd.

[oufan199]

It doesn't matter that Jamelle was a freshman. The guys around him were veterans. The defense was full of veteran upperclassmen.

He was also coached by Barry Switzer. The defense had coaches like Bobby Proctor and Gary Gibbs.

Again, comparing anything Bob has now to what Barry had in staff and players in 1985 is, outside of Adrian Peterson, absurd.
OK, Barry's regime aside, you failed to address the 2000 squad of majority freshmen and sophomores. I do believe Stoops coached that team. But remember, some of those underclassmen were Roy Williams, Derrick Strait, Rocky Calmus and Quentin Griffin. Athletically, Griffin was (is) no match for Peterson, but as a team player, Quentin may have been the best Stoops has ever had. Perhaps Stoops had some "beginner's luck" in the talent department then. I don't recall that Williams or Strait or Calmus were that highly sought as recruits.

[stoopified]

I think everyone needs to step back and take a DEEP breath.Bo is stiill doing a good job and OUr season is FAR from over.

[TexasBoomer]

Just got back from Dallas a few hours ago. Forgive me if these points have been made or discussed. These are some of my thoughts, both during and after the game.

Bob Stoops is now just another football coach. He squandered the last of his "big game coach" personna Saturday. He is a good coach, but no better than 10-15 other coaches in major college football. The head coach is the ultimate leader/manager of the football team. He is resposible for playcalling, holding, laterals that are mishandled, and false starts. He is responsible for game week attitude and preparation. Who coached this team over the last two weeks? Why beat yourself when Texas would be happy to do it for you? There is a reason OU is paying him 2 million dollars per year. I'm still very happy he is our head coach but I don't believe he is the end all be all of college coaches like I used to. Sorry, it's just the truth.

OU/Texas is a big deal in regional recruiting. Just ask Adrian Peterson and Rhett Bomar. This loss has set the program back. Those two or three difference maker recruits we compete with Texas for year to year are much harder to come by after games like these. What does the OU coaching staff have to sell to potential recruits right now? Texas has all the momentum in both the rivalry and on a national stage. Our recruiting pitch shouldn't be "Come to OU, we are better than ATM." That is pathetic. If OU wants to play championship football they need more than that. It isn't "Come to OU, we've lost two of the last three MNC games", or "We won in 2000", or "We once beat Texas 65-13, come over and I'll show you the tape".

I'm not jumping off the bandwagon. I'm still a fan and I will still donate my money. I'm just saying this loss was much more than just one game. I'm afraid we may be in for a "dark age" in the form of a few down years. I wonder what we will look like on the other end.

Neg away if you want. I really don't care.

How can you possibly believe that we have lost our recruiting edge. In our down years we out recruited Texas and even into Stoops' first years we out recruited Texas and in our best years we have out recruited Texas. So what's the big deal. We get the players we want! Who does Texas have that we would want. Don't tell me Colt M. we had Bomar, we have AD we have good players. Remember we are still a young team. the Bomar deal screwed us up and so we have to go get another QB, maybe. The other 2 on the bench may be good enough and we do have some good running backs to replace AD.

BS on that "dark age" stuff. I would say our glass is 3/4's full.

[BIG_IKE]

first off...the guy that said we out recruited Texas when we were beating them. According to who?? It seemed to me Texas had the best recruiting class in the nation a few years running, only to get smashed in the RRS.

Anywho..

QUOTE=budbarrybob]
So if this game killed our recruiting how did Texas pull those monster classes the years we stomped them into the ground?

Who else can we get to coach this team?

I do not think it is all Bob's fault.

[QUOTE]

AMEN brother

for every season... turn, turn, turn

People...

Texas is gonna get good guys from Texas, win or lose in the RRS...same for for us.
Do you people realize that when we were stomping Texas, nobody else really was??


Whorns Since our National Title Year

2000 9-3
2001 11-2
2002 11-2
2003 10-3
2004 12-1
2005 13-0
2006 ?

Even though we were killin em' they were killin everyone else they played. Those bastards have scoreboard on the Conference right now. So, they may lose to OU but it's not gonna scare all the kids away. Like I have said before...there are 3 decent programs close to home for Texas kids to choose....Texas, OU and LSU...the other schools are for second tier players.
Anyone notice this trend though...

Since we blew them out 65-13 they are 34-3.

Mack watched Stoops kick his tail, took notes, kept recruiting and flipped the script on him. They looked like we used to look on Saturday...but at least they didnt blow us out.

[batonrougesooner]

Just got back from Dallas a few hours ago. Forgive me if these points have been made or discussed. These are some of my thoughts, both during and after the game.

Bob Stoops is now just another football coach. He squandered the last of his "big game coach" personna Saturday. He is a good coach, but no better than 10-15 other coaches in major college football. The head coach is the ultimate leader/manager of the football team. He is resposible for playcalling, holding, laterals that are mishandled, and false starts. He is responsible for game week attitude and preparation. Who coached this team over the last two weeks? Why beat yourself when Texas would be happy to do it for you? There is a reason OU is paying him 2 million dollars per year. I'm still very happy he is our head coach but I don't believe he is the end all be all of college coaches like I used to. Sorry, it's just the truth.

OU/Texas is a big deal in regional recruiting. Just ask Adrian Peterson and Rhett Bomar. This loss has set the program back. Those two or three difference maker recruits we compete with Texas for year to year are much harder to come by after games like these. What does the OU coaching staff have to sell to potential recruits right now? Texas has all the momentum in both the rivalry and on a national stage. Our recruiting pitch shouldn't be "Come to OU, we are better than ATM." That is pathetic. If OU wants to play championship football they need more than that. It isn't "Come to OU, we've lost two of the last three MNC games", or "We won in 2000", or "We once beat Texas 65-13, come over and I'll show you the tape".

I'm not jumping off the bandwagon. I'm still a fan and I will still donate my money. I'm just saying this loss was much more than just one game. I'm afraid we may be in for a "dark age" in the form of a few down years. I wonder what we will look like on the other end.

Neg away if you want. I really don't care.

Mea Culpa

[GrapevineSooner]

I think Stoops proved a lot of people wrong this year after the Tejas game.

[jk the sooner fan]

yeah, good call...

[sooner94]

He did not have anything to prove. He just confirmed what everyone knew (or should have known).

[Okla-homey]

This year has been the most incrediblle year I recall. No anointing, no crowning by a fickle media. Just answering every question. Character gentlemen. That's what I'm talking about. Finding a way to win. I'm prOUd of our guys, and I'm prOUd of Bob Stoops.

When everyone counted us out for dead, Sooner Magic ruled the day.

Frankly, Bob is right up there with Barry and Bud in my book.

BTW, that texass phenom Colt McCoy is very talented, but he's proved he's made of glass. Don't you think everyone they play next year will know a couple good licks, and the kid will be horizontal? For good.

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Mediocre = Big 12 South champs!!!!!

[Newbomb Turk]

This year has been the most incrediblle year I recall.


I agree. Damn near more satisfying than 2000.

[Texas Golfer]

Mea Culpa

But you still haven't changed your signature.

[TUSooner]

This year has been the most incrediblle year I recall. No anointing, no crowning by a fickle media. Just answering every question. Character gentlemen. That's what I'm talking about. Finding a way to win. I'm prOUd of our guys, and I'm prOUd of Bob Stoops.

When everyone counted us out for dead, Sooner Magic ruled the day.

Frankly, Bob is right up there with Barry and Bud in my book.

BTW, that texass phenom Colt McCoy is very talented, but he's proved he's made of glass. Don't you think everyone they play next year will know a couple good licks, and the kid will be horizontal? For good.
Spot on, yer d00dness !
These guys have some nerve, even though they are wrecking mine.

[washington's fave]

Texas chokes!!!-more often than not!!! Bob Stoops looses one of his starting LB's in August; dismisses his starting QB & a starting O-lineman in August for their personal enrichment program; & looses ALL-WORLD AD midway through the season and he still coaches his players to the point that they have the chance to overcome all those obstacles to lead them to the Big 12 Championship Game!!! Other than the 2000 National Championship season this is STOOPS best coaching job!!! COACH OF THE YEAR!!! Recruits beware, but if you want to learn, grow, and have a chance at championships STOOPS is the MAN!!!

[soonermax]

Texas chokes!!!-more often than not!!! Bob Stoops looses one of his starting LB's in August; dismisses his starting QB & a starting O-lineman in August for their personal enrichment program; & looses ALL-WORLD AD midway through the season and he still coaches his players to the point that they have the chance to overcome all those obstacles to lead them to the Big 12 Championship Game!!! Other than the 2000 National Championship season this is STOOPS best coaching job!!! COACH OF THE YEAR!!! Recruits beware, but if you want to learn, grow, and have a chance at championships STOOPS is the MAN!!!


I guess everyone forgots that we kicked our punter off the team earlier this year and there were concerns about that. I guarnate that Mack Brown could not coach his team to this type of season. He uses talent (i.e. Vince Young) to overcome his coaching mediocity. but Stoops can use a "team" and not individual players to win for him.

[crimson&cream]

!!

[StoopTroup]

You guys act like the Whorns crushed us yesterday...

Far from it.

Buck up campers...

We had to buck up before the season even started.
I'm glad we decided to buck up. :D

Anyway...

ON TO KC!

BOOMER SOONER ! ! !

BEAT THE HUSKERS ! ! !