Best opponent for Buckeyes? OU
By RICHARD JUSTICE
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
KANSAS CITY, MO. — Some of you think this BCS stuff is complicated. Not me, brother.
In fact, I've come up with a formula that will help all of you understand how college football picks a champion. Hear me out.
Take Florida's strength of schedule, divide it by Michigan's average margin of victory and subtract LSU's record against quality opponents coached by guys who will publicly admit they wouldn't take the Alabama job on a dare but would love to use it to squeeze a few bucks from their athletic director.
When you finish, put your pencil down and wait for the other children.
Got it?
Yes, it's Oklahoma.
The Sooners are the second-best team in the nation, and if the system worked, they'd play Ohio State in the BCS Championship Game.
Instead, it'll be Michigan or Florida. That's because the computers aren't being programmed to consider a mistake. They could be, but that's another story.
Only one loss legit
Voters won't cut the Sooners any slack, either. Some of them may not remember that OU should be a one-loss team.
The Sooners do have one legitimate defeat, that to Texas. OU has won eight in a row since, including Saturday's 21-7 walk over Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship Game.
No team has overcome more than the Sooners. No team has shown more resolve. No team is more deserving of a shot at Ohio State.
If coach Bob Stoops had anything left to prove, he proved it this season by retooling the Sooners on the fly. On Saturday, he won the Big 12 crown for the fourth time in eight years on the job.
Meet the new boss — same as the old boss. Just when it seems the A&M-Texas series could get interesting, Oklahoma's re-emergence means the Longhorns and Aggies again will be playing for second place.
OU has just 11 seniors, the lowest number in the Stoops era. Thirteen of OU's 22 starters have at least two years of eligibility remaining.
Perhaps the smartest thing Stoops did was move wide receiver Paul Thompson, a former quarterback, back to his original position after Rhett Bomar was kicked off the team.
Thompson became more than the OU quarterback. He became the OU leader.
''He's the best," Stoops said. ''If you could recruit guys like that every single day, you would. He's in the huddle with a bunch of young guys, and they all look to him."
Stoops should be in the BCS Championship Game for the fourth time in seven years. He won't because the Sooners are being penalized for a game they shouldn't have lost.
The refs have admitted they blew some critical calls in the OU-Oregon game. That's OU's other loss. That's the one sending the Sooners to the Fiesta Bowl to play Boise State.
Stoops refused to alibi, saying: ''We can't do anything about it. For us to sit here and make an issue of it won't come off the right way."
But he knows what his team has accomplished. He knows how good the Sooners are. This isn't his most talented team. But his OU team that won the national title in 2000 wasn't his most talented, either.
''I just feel fortunate and blessed to work with a special group of players," Stoops said. ''They pulled together the entire year. They never made excuses. This group is super competitive, resilient. It has a great will and determination."
Sooners can pass, too
On Saturday, Nebraska stacked defenders at the line of scrimmage, gambling that if OU couldn't run, OU couldn't win. That strategy forced Thompson to make plays in the passing game. He made them, throwing two touchdown passes to Malcom Kelly.
Meanwhile, OU's defense forced five turnovers, including three interceptions against Nebraska QB Zac Taylor.
Arrowhead Stadium had the look and feel of a Nebraska home game, but the Sooners forced a turnover on Nebraska's first play and had their first touchdown after 48 seconds.
They were on their way to another trophy. It's a nice trophy and should have gotten them an even bigger one. The Sooners say they can live with the way things worked out.
''Within this organization, we never doubted ourselves," Thompson said. ''We never felt we were one step behind. It's been a crazy year. This dedication is something I've never seen before."
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[email protected])This writer is a genuis and deserves the Nobel Prize for journalism.Btw check out his name Dick (Richard) Justice,OK maybe I AM the only one amused by that.