The Ducks then drove the ball and scored a touchdown with a little over a minute remaining in the game. Trailing by six and with only one remaining timeout, the Ducks had no choice but to try an onside kick. The kick traveled nine yards through the air and then was batted by an Oregon player and players from both teams then scrambled to recover the ball.

The officials on the field quickly rule the ball in the possession of the Ducks. The Sooners complained and the officials in the replay booth decided to take a look. While they were reviewing the play, television footage clearly showed that the ball was touched by an Oregon player before it traveled the required 10 yards. It seemed a no-brainer call that the call on the field would be overturned and the Sooners would receive possession (and be able to run out the game clock). The still image above clearly shows the Oregon player touching the ball before it reaches the 45 yard line.

Amazingly, when the official replay team finally completed its review it said that the receiving team (Sooners) touched the ball first and the ball became live (even if it hadn’t traveled the required 10 yards). The Ducks were awarded with possession of the ball and proceeded to score a few plays later to secure victory.

What makes the entire situation even more amazing is that Oklahoma running back Allen Patrick actually recovered the kick, but the officials never noticed. They were too busy trying to focus on the pile of players to find the ball. Replay again clearly shows Patrick recovering the ball as it squeezes out of the back of the pile. He stands up and tries to find an official to give the ball to. Several OU players are seen on the video trying to point this out to officials, but were ignored by the referees.

The two pictures below clearly show proof that Patrick recovers the ball as it bounces through the legs of the Oregon player. A video at the bottom of the page will show you this evidence in full game speed.

The pictures below are closer looks with circles around Patrick as he secures the loose ball. Tak a closer look:

The bottom line is that the call on the field should have been overturned by the replay officials since video evidence conclusively shows the Oregon player touching the ball nine yards after the kick. The Sooners should have been rewarded with the football and a chance to secure the game.

College football, the NCAA and the PAC-10 owe the Sooners an apology. Take a look at the video below for full speed action.

Here’s a few more views of the video footage of the onside kick. It’s simply amazing that the replay officials couldn’t get this right.

Click Here to see another video

In the much anticipated 2006 season opener, the Oklahoma Sooners looked better in some areas than expected and looked below potential in others.

With much of the focus this spring on the loss of last year’s starting quarterback Rhett Bomar, many college football experts expected the Sooners offense to be the biggest question mark. Most experts agreed that the Sooners would have one of the nation’s best defensive units.

While the Sooners offense, led by fifth year senior Paul Thompson, looked better than expected overall, the defense was average at best. The Sooner defense allowed Alabama-Birmingham to pile up nearly 300 yards of total offense and dominate much of the time of possession battle. Although most of the OU defensive struggles appear to be correctible, like poor tackling and position problems, the performance was still a surprise.

Offensively, the Sooners showed signs of promise. Facing an above average UAB defense, the Sooners controlled the line of scrimmage and were able to successfully work the field through the air and on the field.

In the first half, Thompson picked apart the UAB secondary while driving the Sooners up and down the field. Due to three first half turnovers, the Sooners were only able to score one touchdown while losing the ball twice inside the UAB 20 yard line. At halftime, the game was tied 7-7.

Oklahoma star running back Adrian Peterson took over in the second half. After getting off to a slow start in the game, Peterson had much of his 200+ yards of all purpose yardage in the closing half. UAB head coach, and former OU offense coordinator, Watson Brown said Peterson may be the best player he’s ever coached against.

Due to another turnover and poor defensive tackling, the Sooners trailed the game 17-14 when Peterson took a short pass from Thompson and broke lose for a 69 yard touchdown reception. The Sooners scored again on a late field goal to secure the final 24-17 margin.

Courtesty: SoonerSports.com

NORMAN, Okla. — The Oklahoma women’s basketball team (29-4) has received an NCAA Tournament berth for the seventh straight season and will be a No. 2 seed in the San Antonio Regional. OU will open the first and second rounds against No. 15 seed Pepperdine (14-16) at the Pepsi Center in downtown Denver.

OU is in the San Antonio regional with No. 1-seed LSU. The potential trip to San Antonion brings up fond memories for Oklahoma, which reached the 2002 Final Four in that city.

OU and the Pepperdine Waves will meet at Noon CST (11 a.m. MST) in the opening game of the Denver subregional. The contest will air live on ESPN2 throughout Oklahoma. Potential second round games will be played at either 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. CST and will be aired on ESPN2 as wel. The talent for the weekend are Pam Ward (play-by-play), Nancy Lieberman (color) and Heather Cox (sideline).

It marks OU highest seed since 2001-02, when OU was the No. 1seed and was the runner up for the National Championship. The Sooners were also a No. 2 seed in 2000-01 when they reached the Sweet 16 in Spokane, Wash.

The Sooners are making their ninth NCAA Tournament appearance and own an all-time 12-8 record in the Big Dance. Last season OU went to Knoxville as a No. 8 seed and lost to No. 9-seed Arizona, 72-69. Since 2000 OU is 8-5 in the tourney.

OU is coming off a season sweep of the Big 12 Confernce. Sherri Coale’s squad became the first team to run the table during the regular season and Big 12 Championship in route to a 19-0 record. OU is the only team in the NCAA this season to accomplish the feat.

All NCAA Tournament games will be televised by the ESPN body of networks throughout the entire tournament.

Tickets are available to fans holding a season ticket to any OU sport. Beginning at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, fans should call the OU Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 456-4668 or (405) 325-2424 to make purchases.

Quotes
OU Head Coach Sherri Coale

Opening
“Were very excited about our opportunity and excited about the possibility of hopefully advancing onto San Antonio because it is a very good regional site and a lot of our fans can follow us, so it’s great.”

On the day
“It is fun to have the alumni back and to let them be a part of this. Stephanie Simon is in there and she was a part of our Final Four squad that played Connecticut for a national championship. It’s so great to have them here. Our kids are very eager and ready to go compete.”

On No. 2 seed
“I am fine with it. It does not really matter to me; you have to beat everybody at some point anyway. I do think North Carolinas bracket is a little messed up but it’s not ours so I am not going to worry about it.”

On her bracket
“It’s tough if you have to potentially go through LSU and than that’s a tough road but their all going to be good. I am sure Pepperdine is going to be prepared and who ever looms after that, but we will take it one game at time.”

On possibility of going back to San Antonio
“First of all we have to talk about Denver and I think that is a easy trip for a lot of fans. It is not like going to the east or west coast and we had a tremendous following in Dallas for the Big 12 Championship. I think people are really excited about our team and our potential and if we are fortunate to survive Denver and make it to san Antonio. I think a lot of Oklahoma people have some very fond memories of San Antonio, Texas.”

On Stanford
“These guys lost to Stanford. This group of juniors and seniors lost to them out in Arizona after we beat Marist and Stanford got the six seed. I think they were probably the best six seed in the history of the NCAA Tournament. They were terrific that night and they beat us. Since then these have wanted another opportunity to play them, so maybe they will have that chance.”

On the team’s confidence
“We are very confident and we are very good together and I think they all know we have not been as good together yet as we can be.”

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Courtney Paris

Opening:
“I am just excited and nervous and overwhelmed and I don’t know what to expect. But it looks like we got a pretty good seed. I am more pumped up than ever. We have some special seniors, who deserve something special this year, so were going to go all out.”

On Pepperdine:
“They are in California. I am a California native, so I automatically have some love for them. I think this tournament is wide open if you are playing well at the right time. Pepperdine will have my full attention until Saturday.”

On No. 2 seed:
“Honestly I did not know (what to expect). I have never been in these selections before and I just got nervous and wondered what it all meant. The other players were smiling as they figured things out. I really don’t think it matters. I think in order to be in the national championship you have to play your best basketball against the best competition and I think were capable of doing that.”

On potential opponents:
“Stanford is tough. They have Candice Wiggins and Austin Etherston and LSU has Sylvia Falls and Seimone Augustus. Its exciting to think about potentially playing Stanford and LSU that is exciting because that is big time basketball. I hope we get to that point and I hope they get to that point.”

On fans:
“We have awesome fans and they have been coming through great for us and our seniors deserve their support. I hope they do come along for the ride with us because I think its going to be special.”

On team:
“I think we have been good for women’s basketball. That is probably what I am most proud of about our team is that we have been able to elevate our sport. Lloyd Noble sells out and the Big 12 championship has a record attendance that helps our program and that helps the girls that come after us and that s pretty cool.”

On what the team can accomplish:
“This team can go to practice tomorrow and prepare for Pepperdine. We can definitely win this whole thing I think everybody in this tournament can win it all but you have to take it one step at a time or it will get overwhelming.”

On Sylvia Fowles:
“I think she is a great player. She is tough, tall and athletic and I am very excited about the opportunity to hopefully play against her.”

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Erin Higgins

On No. 2 seed:
“I think we are in a great position. I think that the teams that got No.1 seeds were pretty deserving.I think we knew all along that we were probably going to be a 2 or even a 3 seed. But were excited and I think they put us in a really good position to be successful in the tournament.”

On Pepperdine:
“I don’t know anything about them yet, but we will prepare like we are playing a No. 1 seed. They are in the tournament, so automatically they are dangerous. We will spend the rest of the week preparing for them and focusing on what we need to do to be a great team.”

On talk of No. 1 seed
“For a split second when Tennessee got the 2 seed we thought just maybe, maybe we will be a No. 1 seed and than we saw we got the No. 2 seed. If you are a 1, 2, or 3 seed I think you have a pretty good shot of doing the same thing. We made Kara Lawson’s Final Four, that is what I’m excited about. When it came up there that we on her list of Final Fours I was really excited.”

Courtesy: SoonerSports.com

NORMAN, Okla. — The University of Oklahoma men’s basketball team will participate in the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time under 12th-year head coach Kelvin Sampson when it meets Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Thursday at 11:25 a.m. CST in Jacksonville, Fla. The No. 6 seed Sooners and No. 11 seed Panthers are two of the 16 teams that comprise the Minneapolis Region field.

The winner of Thursday’s OU-UWM game will play No. 3 seed Florida or No. 14 seed South Alabama on Saturday in Jacksonville. All Jacksonville games will be played inside Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.

An at-large selection, Oklahoma (20-8 overall, 11-5 Big 12) will be taking on a UW-Milwaukee squad (21-8, 12-4 Horizon League) that won a regular season league title and the conference tournament.

The Sooners are making their 24th overall NCAA Tournament appearance and sport a 32-23 all-time record. Oklahoma is 8-3 over its last three NCAA Tournaments, with a Final Four showing in 2002 and an Elite Eight appearance in 2003. Last year, No. 3 seed OU beat Niagara before losing to No. 6 seed Utah in the second round.

All NCAA Tournament games will be televised by CBS (KWTV Channel 9 in Oklahoma City and KOTV Channel 6 in Tulsa).

Tickets are available to fans holding a season ticket to any OU sport. Fans should call the OU Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 456-4668 or (405) 325-2424 to make purchases.

HEAD COACH KELVIN SAMPSON
On making the NCAA Tournament:
“It’s an honor to make the NCAA Tournament. I look up there and see a school like Missouri State, who has had an unbelievable year, and didn’t make it. Maryland didn’t make it, Michigan didn’t make it, Cincinnati didn’t make it. There are so many great programs out there that didn’t make it. So first of all, I want to congratulate our players for making the NCAA Tournament. This is a clean slate and everyone goes in 0-0 and you have a chance to do some damage. I think we’re going to be excited to play UW-Milwaukee in Jacksonville, Fla.

“I have been watching a lot of games in the last week or two and I remember watching Niagara last year and going, ‘Wow, that team is good.’ As the bracket was coming up, every matchup I saw I thought, ‘fifty-fifty game.’ I just don’t know if there is any such thing as an upset anymore. I remember UWM last year when Bruce Pearl was their coach and they beat Alabama, they beat Boston College. They went right through that thing and I think they have most of their players back. Obviously, it is a team that has had a lot of success the last couple of years and they will be a big challenge to us.”

On motivating his team:
“I don’t think we need motivation. I think that our team is looking forward to starting over. You’ve got to have a great year to get to a (NCAA) Tournament, don’t ever lose sight of that. And now that we’re in I think that every team has a chance to win it. The 1-vs.-16 games, I don’t know that those games can go either way, but after that there are a lot of games out there that either team can win. If you look at the way we’ve played the entire year, we started off the conference year going 0-2 then we came right back and went 11-2. And then we finished the year going 0-2. But none of that matters anymore. It’s a clean slate.”

On the team after losing to Nebraska in Dallas on Friday:
“We came back first thing Saturday morning, and it is like how we reacted to the 0-2 start of the (conference) season. I don’t have any doubt that these kids will be fired up and ready to go on Thursday.”

On any surprises in the bracket:
“I thought before the Big 12 Tournament started we were going to be a five or six seed and then when it was over I thought we’d be a five or six seed. One game does not determine your seed in the tournament. This is the 11th year we’ve been in this tournament. We’ve played in this tournament a few times, and the reason I say that is because you start to get a feel for where you will be as a seed. But regardless of your seed, you have a chance to win and that’s what the tournament is all about. You congratulate every team that made it and teams like Michigan, Cincinnati, Maryland, Missouri State and Florida State who had a chance to get in and didn’t. It just shows you that you have to have a good year to get in the Tournament.

“We’re looking forward to Thursday. I’m glad we’re playing on Thursday. I kind of thought we’d be a six seed but I was hoping we’d be in a region where we could play on Thursday.”

On getting a new start and getting the team going in the right direction:
“That will be key. There is no sense in sugar coating it, it’s not like we ended the year on a high. Last year, we ended the year with six straight wins and then we went to the Big 12 Tournament, then we beat Niagara and then didn’t play very good against Utah. But this time of the year is for the players, they’ve got to play. We’re playing against a team that will have a lot of confidence in playing in the tournament because they went to the Sweet 16 last year and I’m assuming most of those kids are back. There are no easy draws. It kind of got off to a wacky start when you saw Syracuse get a five seed. This time last week they were a bubble team and they didn’t know if they were going to get in. Then you look at a team like George Washington who finishes 26-2 and they’re an eight seed. So in this tournament you never know. In a year when there are no great dominant teams, I think the seed is just a number.”

On Wisconsin-Milwaukee:
“I watched them play Wisconsin early in the year and it came right down to the buzzer and I thought, ‘Wow, they’ve got a great program there.’ You can tell the great programs because year in and year out they are consistently good. And UWM is to the point where they are consistently good.”

OU SENIOR FORWARD KEVIN BOOKOUT
“I’m excited. I’m glad we get to play on Thursday instead of Friday. We’ll get a workout in tomorrow and then leave on Tuesday.

“I just want to go out with a bang. If we can win a couple of games, then you never know what could take place. Crazier things have happened. I know a No. 6 seed has gone a long way before, so why can’t we?”

On the team’s NCAA Tournament experience last year:
“It helps because I don’t think our guys will be nervous. All the media attention and everything leading up to that first game, it can throw you off if you’re not used to it. So having been there should really help us.”

OU SENIOR FORWARD TAJ GRAY
“Guys who played in the NCAA Tournament last year, guys like David (Godbold), Terrell (Everett) and Kevin (Bookout), we can reflect on last year. I think it was a disappointment to go out in the second round. This year, I think we’re a lot older, a lot more mature and we realize what it’s going to take to go far in the Tournament.”

On UW-Milwaukee:
“I don’t know much about them, but anybody who gets into the NCAA Tournament is definitely a good team.”

Courtesy: SoonerSports.com

NORMAN, Okla. — The advent of spring in Oklahoma brings longer days, warmer temperatures and thunderstorms. March also returns the Sooners to the football practice fields.

OU begins spring practice on Monday, March 20.

2006 OKLAHOMA SPRING FOOTBALL
The question marks of last fall are this spring’s exclamation points. After the National Football League draft claimed 10 Oklahoma stars, the 2005 season unfolded with plenty of unknowns, primarily because the team was so young.

Bob Stoops and his team, clinging to the head coach’s credo of, “no excuses,” ignored several apparent setbacks and forged ahead.

The start was slow, but after the 2-3 beginning chemistry developed and inexperienced players gained confidence. The crescendo built to an impressive roar in the closing weeks and on the last night of the season, in a west coast stadium inhabited in the majority by hostile Oregon fans, a young team with plenty of reasons to do otherwise, vanquished the nation’s sixth-ranked team.

In doing so, Oklahoma regained the attention of a nation and positioned itself for a championship run in 2006.

This bunch of Sooners, like its competitors, doesn’t necessarily have all of the bases covered. But as it looks toward the season ahead, it does so know that nothing would be more satisfying than to punctuate this campaign with a championship.

THE OFFENSE
If the 2005 season could be quantified on a growth chart, a measuring stick to the heavens might be appropriate. The unit that began the season and the one that finished had but one thing in common — they both included 11 players. Beyond that, the similarities were hard to find.

Rhett Bomar grew up in the quarterback role, a young receiving corps impressed as its experience level grew closer to that of its talent, an offensive line seemingly devoid of chemistry developed into a solid unit and a stable of backs survived the lengthy mid-season absence of Adrian Peterson. That was the offense in ‘05.

For the most part, the skill positions return intact right down to Bomar, Peterson and the team’s leading receiver, Malcolm Kelly. The line, for a second straight season, needs some retooling after the loss of four starters. Fortunately, the list of young players is promising, and two incoming junior college players appear capable of providing immediate help.

THE DEFENSE
In a season in which Oklahoma made a rare departure from the national rankings, the Sooner defense was probably underrated. With its customary speed and improved secondary play, OU’s defense ranked No. 4 against the rush and No. 13 in total yards. Similarly, in Big 12 play, the passing defense numbers were glowing.

Gone from that unit are two key performers, DT Dusty Dvoracek and SLB Clint Ingram. Both played dynamic roles in production and with their emotional leadership.

But Oklahoma returns a lot of speed and experience and should again have the defense ranked among the nation’s leaders.

THE SPECIAL TEAMS
The most noticeable change is at one of the least noticeable positions — long snapper. That job belonged to Jacob Rice over the last four years and the results were rock steady. Oklahoma will have to make a change there, but otherwise welcomes back special teams units that look a lot like last year.

Coming Tuesday – Look Back at 2005 and Look Ahead to 2006

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2006 OU Spring Football Specifics
The Sooners begin spring practice on Monday, March 20. A complete schedule is available online. The annual spring game is slated for Saturday, April 8, and will be televised nationally by ESPN. Advance tickets are available now from the OU Athletics Ticket Office.

Unless otherwise noted, Oklahoma’s spring practices are open to the public. Most will be held on the practice fields immediately south of Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and will begin around 3:30 p.m.

It should be noted that all of the times and dates are subject to change. Fans are encouraged to follow SoonerSports.com in the event that alterations are made to the schedule.

In a season of firsts for Bob Stoops he finally got to enjoy one on Saturday. Oklahoma had not won in Lincoln since 1987 and there is not a soul before this season who believed that streak would come to an end the weak after the Sooners needed double overtime to beat Baylor…in Norman. Stoops, who lost in September for the first time in his Sooner career and lost a season opener for the first time since his days with Bill Snyder in Manhattan, won in Lincoln for the first time as a head coach. Though as much wasn’t on the line, it was almost as good a game as the one he lost there in 2001.

With some clutch throws by Rhett Bomar, some tremendous pressure from the defensive front, and the return of the best running back in college football OU dropped the Huskers 31-24. Comparisons to that 2001 team would be unfair to either side, but this team can experience the same type of finish as that team if they take care of business the rest of the way. If Oklahoma can beat Texas A&M and Oklahoma State at home then their game with Texas Tech in Lubbock on November 19th will likely be for the right to go to the Cotton Bowl on January 2nd. It’s not for the National Championship, but for this team it’s as good as the Sugar or Orange Bowl.

I hate to say I told you so, but I did. There were signs of life in the second half in Kansas City and many things to hang your hope on against Baylor. Though neither was put away until late the Sooner offense showed moxie without their best rusher in Adrian Peterson or their top receiver in Travis Wilson. Oklahoma found offense in those games with Jacob Gutierrez, J.D. Runnels, and superstar in the making Malcolm Kelly. Now, Peterson and Wilson are back with these emerging stars putting together the beginnings of a potent offense, oh, and they’ve put together a pretty salty defense too.

As of this weekend Oklahoma has taken over the #1 spot in the country in rushing defense giving up just over 69 yards rushing per game. That average was aided by nine sacks against Nebraska, the Huskers managed just 16 yards on the ground for the game. OU is now #15 in the country in total defense and have game breakers all over the front seven, not to mention a few up-and-comers in the secondary. This defense has seen its toughest tests this year in UCLA and Texas, but now are clicking in a time when they can dominate.

The defense is becoming more consistent, but they have definitely had their moments all season. The story right now is the emergence of an offense that is littered with young playmakers. Malcolm Kelly has made two incredible catches that didn’t count the last two weeks, but has made 15 catches for 192 yards in the last nine quarters dating back to the fourth quarter against Kansas. J.D. Runnels is a senior, but he has been a bigger offensive weapon the last two weeks than at any point in his Sooner career. Joe Jon Finley is becoming the first threat at tight end for OU since Trent Smith.

However, this offense revolves around one man, Adrian Peterson. Without AD, Rhett Bomar was beginning to develop a bit of a game at quarterback. With AD, Bomar is a tremendous threat to run or play fake and find one of the aforementioned threats. This is not a world-beating team just yet, but improvement continues in Norman. A month and a half ago the Sooners had to rely on Adrian Peterson, and only Adrian Peterson, in the second half at home to put away the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Last weekend, Oklahoma got a huge third down conversion on a pivotal drive in the fourth quarter on the arm of Rhett Bomar.

OU has made steady improvement from week-to-week since the Texas game and now have the momentum rolling into a bye week before getting a Texas A&M squad on the verge of complete collapse. Get ready, here come the Sooners.

Know what the most entertaining, exciting aspect of sports is? Overreacting. There’s nothing like it! Acting like the world has come to an end after a sub-par half of a season is what makes it worth watching. Remember when Bob Stoops was the class of college football and everyone thought he was invincible? Obviously he’s not now, these last seven games are probably a much better example of his ability than the first 78 of his regime.

The general consensus is the great coaches never had down years. After their careers are over all we seem to remember is the big wins and major bowl games. Nobody seems to remember that “The King” Barry Switzer posted seasons of 7-4-1, 8-4, and 8-4 from 1981-1983. His 1983 squad actually finished unranked after the 1981 and 1982 teams finished ranked #20 and #16 respectively. Bud Wilkinson’s teams went 7-3, 3-6-1, and 5-5 from 1959 to 1961 with the 1959 team finishing #15 and the other two finishing unranked.

The great Bear Bryant had back-to-back 6-5 seasons in 1969 and 1970 before ripping off 54 wins over the next five seasons. This is not to say that Bob Stoops is as good or has accomplished as much as these three, but the idea that the shine is gone from the Stoops era is ludicrous and ridiculous to say the least. For those who haven’t looked lately, Stoops is now 70-15 in his seven seasons. That is a percentage of 82.4%, slightly behind Switzer (83.7%) and Wilkinson (82.6%), the standards of Oklahoma Football.

Generally, the thought is that this is such a hard time for Oklahoma because there appears to be no silver lining on the Sooners dark cloud. I beg to differ. Anybody who watches Rhett Bomar knows when he has time to throw, he can throw. Then the question becomes, will he ever have time to throw? At one point last Saturday against Kansas, Oklahoma had Jon Cooper, Branndon Braxton, and Duke Robinson in the game at the same time, all freshmen, all improving.

Yes, but when he has time to throw who will catch it? During that same game against Kansas, Oklahoma lined up Malcolm Kelly, Juaquin Iglesias, and Manuel Johnson wide on the same play. Again, all freshmen, all improving and beginning to make plays.

What about the defense? DJ Wolfe, Lewis Baker, and Marcus Walker are all Sophomores. Reggie Smith and Nic Harris are Freshmen. Beginning to make plays and improving. Carl Pendleton, Cory Bennett, Rufus Alexander, and CJ Ah You will all make their way back to Norman next year with the possibility of returning all-world defensive end Larry Birdine as well.

Yes this year has been disappointing and just making a bowl would be a step forward at this point, but thinking that coaching changes need to be made to save a dynasty is stupid at best. Anybody remember how long it took to go from the depths of John Blake to the heights of the 2000 National Champs? Not very long. Every coaching era has its peaks and valleys, just ask Kelvin Sampson. Remember that 2004 basketball squad that took very public floggings from Connecticut, Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and Kansas? That very next season Sampson grabbed a share of the 2005 Big 12 Championship. Don’t think it can’t happen on the gridiron too.

The clock was ticking below 30 seconds in the first half when Vince Young took the snap and rolled to his left, stopped and popped the pass for a 64 yard touchdown to Billy Pittman. Game over. Series turned. Demons exercised. From the end of the half back in 2002 when Mack’s boys downed the ball at midfield to go to half to now, when they went for the jugular and struck. The wind was taken out of the collective sails of Sooner fans, players, and coaches and the swagger was transferred from one sideline to the other.

Now, we really find out who these coaches are as they are both in situations foreign to them. Stoops must rally the troops to salvage a season that could easily end in November. The good news for the Sooners is this, they won’t face another team anywhere close to as good as Texas. More good news? They can beat every team left on their schedule. The bad news? Every team left on their schedule can beat them. Yes, even those hilarious Baylor Bears.

Brown now gets the honor of being the coach of the team with the gigantic target on their back. Every team from now on will give you everything they have. Onside kicks out of nowhere, trick plays galore, and crowds coming with the slim chance of seeing one of the greatest upsets in recent college history. It can happen (see OSU in Norman in 2001, in Stillwater in 2002) but it probably won’t to this team, they are really stinkin’ good. Brown can’t afford to become the coach that coaches like his team has everything to lose (like they do), he must continue to coach exactly as he did on Saturday and in Columbus.

What do you take from this game if you are an OU fan? Even though this team is young and inexperienced, they didn’t quit like the experience stars that were waxed in last year’s Orange Bowl. These guys kept fighting until the end, for better (TD pass from Bomar to Finley) or worse (Bomar fumble returned for TD). Special teams is solid with Hartley and Freeby and the defense has a lot of talent, just too youthful to stop an attack as powerful as this Texas team.

The Sooners have the opportunity to bounce back against a bad Kansas team in Kansas City next week and they better be ready for the Big 12 South’s newest bowl contender, the Baylor Bears in two weeks in Norman. This is when the coaches must decide what their offense is going to be. Will it be the I-Formation built around Peterson? Will it be the misdirection option with Gutierrez, Jones, and Peterson mixing it up? Whichever it is, this is when you need to be making it yours. None of the teams left on the schedule are good enough to make you change your offense to be successful.

Now you need to start developing that attitude and swagger that won you more games than anyone in college football over the last five years. This is when the Sooners must find their heart again, they can win six in a row and end up in the Alamo or Cotton Bowl or fall apart and take December off. Sooner fans better hope they end up bowling somewhere, might take the sting out of watching Texas play in Pasadena.

In a statement released this evening Bob Stoops has announced that Oklahoma has decided to forego this weekend’s matchup with Texas and stay home to play Norman High School. Stoops declared his team’s wishes to stay away from the big stage where they have failed so often lately and not be embarrassed by the best college football team of all time, the 2005 Texas Longhorns. Brent Venables suggested to Stoops to not play the game after failing to come up with a gameplan to stop Superman in Burnt Orange, Vince Young.

The Oklahoma coaching staff voiced their displeasure to the Big 12 for allowing a team to play with five very agile mountains on their offensive line. “The fact that they allowed the Longhorns to field half of the Rocky Mountains to block for Vince Young is a tragedy,” an angry Chris Wilson said after watching film of the natural wonders. The complaining by the defensive staff didn’t end there.

“Big 12 and NCAA regulations clearly state that it is illegal to start a Superhero at quarterback during a regulation game,” remarked veteran defensive backs coach Bobby Jack Wright. And sure enough, Wright is right. Page 457, Article 7, Paragraph C clearly states, “Any team attempting to play a superhero, demigod, or werewolf will be dealt stiff penalties by the league office, no questions asked.” Attempts to reach commissioner Kevin Weiberg failed as of press time.

Vince Young, who has requested to be called SBO (see paragraph one), was not surprised by the announcement. “I knew that they wouldn’t come, just when I got confident. Everyone knows that the last few years I was a very unconfident superman, but now I’m sure of myself. Have you ever seen a superhero without confidence? Did you see that movie Daredevil? That sucked. That was me before, a sorry Ben Affleck, but now I’m like Toby Maguire, a real superhero.”

When told that Maguire also played an oversized jockey, Young declined to comment. If you’ve kept reading this far you realize the ridiculousness of this article, much the same as the false bravado out of Austin this week. While Texas should and probably will win this game, this false confidence is nauseating. How can one team who has been dominated so completely for five years be so sure of themselves? Answer, they’re not.

If I hear one more time how impervious to pressure and unwilling to lose Vince Young is it’s going to send me over the edge. Those things are alright to say about Michael Jordan after six NBA titles or Joe Montana after four Super Bowls, not Vince Young after beating two good Big 10 teams. Young is really good with the potential to be great, but he has more weaknesses than just kryptonite. Let’s see if he really has grown up and developed a mature passing game. If he has, then we can start talking Heisman, but don’t say they’ve removed the monkey from their back until it’s sitting down with a banana, ok?

Enjoy the Shootout, I can’t pick Texas until they win one, OU brings back the ghost of John Blake with a 30-27 overtime thriller.

Welcome to the freak show. Our relatives of yesteryear used that term to describe the fairs and carnivals that inhabited their towns with such attractions as the “bearded lady” and “turtle boy”. Our fairs are just a bit different now, there are no tents with half-man, half-beast. The closest thing you’ll get to that is Adrian Peterson or Vince Young, freaks yes, but these freaks play on the Texas State Fair’s grandest stage, the Cotton Bowl.

If you’re a Sooner fan, a numbers guy, or a general fan of college football who is headed down to Dallas to watch the game this weekend, here’s some numbers to bat around. Enjoy them and take them for what they are worth.

Oklahoma is a porous 4-16 when entering the Cotton Bowl unranked with their last victory as an unranked team in the series coming in 1996 when John Blake’s 0-4 Sooners upset the 25th ranked Longhorns in overtime 30-27. Texas is 5-0 when entering the shootout with a #2 ranking in the country with the last victory coming in 1983, 28-16.

OU defeated Kansas State last weekend 43-21 in Norman to get to 2-2. When playing Texas the week after the Wildcats the Sooners are 4-1-1 with the last win coming in 2001 when Roy Williams played more like Clark Kent’s alter-ego. The loss was in that same 1983 contest when Texas was #2 and the tie was the infamous 1984, 15-15 tie that any Sooner will tell you was a sham to this day.

Oklahoma is 5-4 when the game is played on October 8th and Texas is 15-5-1 when coming in as the higher ranked team. Even though Oklahoma has won five in a row in the series and won those by a combined total of 125 points, Texas still leads the series 55-39-5. However, since WWII the series is tied 28-28-3 and the series average final is 17-16 Texas. Actually, it’s even less than a point, break it down and the final is Texas 16.27 and Oklahoma 15.76.

What does all this tell you about picking the winner this weekend? Nothing! Picking OU-Texas is an impossible feat. The numbers can support any argument, the only one to pay attention to is that last one. These two have played 99 times and are separated by just an average of .51 points per game. Chew on that during the hours of construction that stall your trip.