85Sooner
12/3/2006, 11:22 AM
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The bullies are back.
Oklahoma's 21-7 victory Saturday night over 19th-ranked Nebraska in frigid Arrowhead Stadium for its fourth Big 12 title in the last seven years should be sending chills through the rest of the conference.
Oklahoma endured a season of discipline (quarterback Rhett Bomar and offensive lineman J.D. Quinn kicked off the team). A season of disappointment (a loss that should have been a win at Oregon and running back Adrian Peterson going down with a broken collarbone). And a season of disrespect (no one thought OU had a chance for a title after all that tumult).
Colleges
And the Sooners still won it all.
"We had plenty of excuses to grab onto, but no one ever did," said OU's Bob Stoops, the Big 12 coach of the year.
The Sooners didn't intimidate opponents this season the way they did in winning Big 12 titles in 2000, 2002 and 2004. They simply willed themselves to win.
By the end of Saturday's game, almost all of the estimated 60,000 Nebraska fans in a crowd of 80,031 were gone. Their team had been harassed into five turnovers and lost any momentum during a 99-yard scoring drive by Oklahoma in the third quarter.
"It was the drive of the year," Stoops said.
Oklahoma (11-2) has won eight straight since losing to Texas because its players believed in the unwavering confidence and optimism of their coach, the heroic leadership of quarterback-turned-receiver-turned-quarterback Paul Thompson and each other.
On Saturday, Oklahoma ruined the feel-good story of Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor, who grew up in Norman, Okla., where his dad, Sherwood, played for OU under Barry Switzer.
The Sooners blitzed him into three interceptions and one failed third-down play after another. After the game, the Cornhuskers (9-4) accepted an invitation to the AT&T Cotton Bowl against either Arkansas or Auburn. It will be the Huskers' first trip to Dallas on New Year's since 1980.
"Our defense played good enough to win, but we squandered too many opportunities on offense," said Nebraska coach Bill Callahan, whose team held Oklahoma to 42 yards rushing on 28 carries. "Oklahoma was the better team today, no ifs ands or buts."
If the eighth-ranked Sooners had been rightfully awarded a victory at Oregon on Sept. 16, they might be jockeying with Florida and Michigan for a trip to Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 8 against Ohio State, instead of Jan. 1 against Boise State.
With everything that's happened, let that sink in for a moment.
"We can't do anything about it," Stoops said. "For us to sit here and make an issue of it is not going to come off the right way, so we're going to get ready to play the next game. We're looking forward to the Fiesta Bowl."
After Oklahoma suffered its second straight loss to Texas in early October, there was a sense that the Longhorns might be able to hold the Sooners down in the Big 12 for the near future.
The Longhorns had found their quarterback of the future in Colt McCoy. The Sooners have no idea who will play quarterback in 2007. It could be a kid from Lowell, Mich., named Keith Nichol, who committed to OU on Friday.
But whoever takes the snaps under center for the Sooners next season will do so as a member of the defending Big 12 champions.
The confidence and swagger dented by an 8-4 season last year is back. And Oklahoma is young. The Sooners have seven starters on offense who are freshmen or sophomores. Thompson and left tackle Chris Messner are the only starters who don't return.
The defense loses several playmakers in linebackers Rufus Alexander and Zach Latimer and defensive ends Larry Birdine, C.J. Ah You and Calvin Thibodeaux. But eight starters return.
Caught in a defensive struggle for most of three quarters Saturday, Thompson showed why he's the heart and soul of this team. Until a Big 12 title-game record 99-yard scoring drive in the third quarter, OU was 2-of-10 on third downs.
Thompson took Oklahoma coast-to-coast for a 21-7 lead by completing six of eight passes for 95 yards, none bigger than a 35-yard catch-and-run by tight end Jermaine Gresham on third-and-10 from the OU 1.
"It's a super competitive team, resilient and just has a great will and determination to it," Stoops said. "Maybe we're not blowing people out by 30. But there are a lot of ways to win, and our team has found that."
Oklahoma's 21-7 victory Saturday night over 19th-ranked Nebraska in frigid Arrowhead Stadium for its fourth Big 12 title in the last seven years should be sending chills through the rest of the conference.
Oklahoma endured a season of discipline (quarterback Rhett Bomar and offensive lineman J.D. Quinn kicked off the team). A season of disappointment (a loss that should have been a win at Oregon and running back Adrian Peterson going down with a broken collarbone). And a season of disrespect (no one thought OU had a chance for a title after all that tumult).
Colleges
And the Sooners still won it all.
"We had plenty of excuses to grab onto, but no one ever did," said OU's Bob Stoops, the Big 12 coach of the year.
The Sooners didn't intimidate opponents this season the way they did in winning Big 12 titles in 2000, 2002 and 2004. They simply willed themselves to win.
By the end of Saturday's game, almost all of the estimated 60,000 Nebraska fans in a crowd of 80,031 were gone. Their team had been harassed into five turnovers and lost any momentum during a 99-yard scoring drive by Oklahoma in the third quarter.
"It was the drive of the year," Stoops said.
Oklahoma (11-2) has won eight straight since losing to Texas because its players believed in the unwavering confidence and optimism of their coach, the heroic leadership of quarterback-turned-receiver-turned-quarterback Paul Thompson and each other.
On Saturday, Oklahoma ruined the feel-good story of Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor, who grew up in Norman, Okla., where his dad, Sherwood, played for OU under Barry Switzer.
The Sooners blitzed him into three interceptions and one failed third-down play after another. After the game, the Cornhuskers (9-4) accepted an invitation to the AT&T Cotton Bowl against either Arkansas or Auburn. It will be the Huskers' first trip to Dallas on New Year's since 1980.
"Our defense played good enough to win, but we squandered too many opportunities on offense," said Nebraska coach Bill Callahan, whose team held Oklahoma to 42 yards rushing on 28 carries. "Oklahoma was the better team today, no ifs ands or buts."
If the eighth-ranked Sooners had been rightfully awarded a victory at Oregon on Sept. 16, they might be jockeying with Florida and Michigan for a trip to Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 8 against Ohio State, instead of Jan. 1 against Boise State.
With everything that's happened, let that sink in for a moment.
"We can't do anything about it," Stoops said. "For us to sit here and make an issue of it is not going to come off the right way, so we're going to get ready to play the next game. We're looking forward to the Fiesta Bowl."
After Oklahoma suffered its second straight loss to Texas in early October, there was a sense that the Longhorns might be able to hold the Sooners down in the Big 12 for the near future.
The Longhorns had found their quarterback of the future in Colt McCoy. The Sooners have no idea who will play quarterback in 2007. It could be a kid from Lowell, Mich., named Keith Nichol, who committed to OU on Friday.
But whoever takes the snaps under center for the Sooners next season will do so as a member of the defending Big 12 champions.
The confidence and swagger dented by an 8-4 season last year is back. And Oklahoma is young. The Sooners have seven starters on offense who are freshmen or sophomores. Thompson and left tackle Chris Messner are the only starters who don't return.
The defense loses several playmakers in linebackers Rufus Alexander and Zach Latimer and defensive ends Larry Birdine, C.J. Ah You and Calvin Thibodeaux. But eight starters return.
Caught in a defensive struggle for most of three quarters Saturday, Thompson showed why he's the heart and soul of this team. Until a Big 12 title-game record 99-yard scoring drive in the third quarter, OU was 2-of-10 on third downs.
Thompson took Oklahoma coast-to-coast for a 21-7 lead by completing six of eight passes for 95 yards, none bigger than a 35-yard catch-and-run by tight end Jermaine Gresham on third-and-10 from the OU 1.
"It's a super competitive team, resilient and just has a great will and determination to it," Stoops said. "Maybe we're not blowing people out by 30. But there are a lot of ways to win, and our team has found that."