Oklahoma Disillusion

[DeBiceps]

This evening, i found myself in in one of the more heated electronic arguements i've had in recent history with my great friend and estranged life partner, TAE. He was trying to drive home the fact that OU will beat Texas this year, and prove himself, I was on the other side of the fence, trying to sway him in the way of the Longhorn. Anyway, after things cooled down and moved on to other topics (the trash bag game between NC State and South Carolina), this transpired:

TAE-I also hate south carolina. spurrier is an idiot and garcia is such a joke!
DB- Yeah i love spurrier man but its not there anymore, it really isnt.. and by the way, i hate OU way more than texas. I feel that no one has done less with more this decade than bob stoops
*If i were writing an essay, that would be my topic sentence*
TAE- They played in many national titles so how can you say that? Bc they didnt win all of them? I hate OU as well but they're totally elite.

I thought about what both of us said. I had formulated a trail of thoughts to defend myself from what was sure to be a QWERTY asswhippin' from Mr. Enemy. Here's my point:

It is not that OU has lost to USC and Florida in recent years, its the fact that they have lost to West Virginia and Boise state in BCS bowl games, K-State in the Big 12 championship, and got the benifit of the doubt anyway- still go to the nat'l championship, and Lose to LSU. They cried bloody murder that they deserved to be in that game because "they were the best all season" and sh*t the bed again. USC is ranked number 1, is kept out of the bcs game, and beats michigan, prompting a national championship split in an era where there is a NATIONAL CHAMPINOSHIP GAME and the AP to drop out of the BCS totally.

OU has absolutly no problem pounding the big 12, racking up 50, 60, 70 points a game in conference, but lets be serious, NO ONE in that conference plays defense! Mike Leech refuses to acknowledge anything but the offensive side of the football, Oklahoma state was NEVER a major player until maybe this year.. (last year they lost to Oklahoma, Texas, and got MURDERED by texas tech. Not to mention a loss to Pac 10's Oregon in the bowl game. Iowa, Wisconson, and Purdue can all go 6-3 in the conference and lose to Penn State, Ohio State and (until rich-rod) Michigan and then lose their bowl game and no one will give them ANY credit!) Oklahoma also plays Colorado, Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State, Mizzou, and Kansas.. NONE of those teams are on the level of Georgia, Florida, LSU, Bama, USC, or even Ohio State, Penn State or V Tech.

Anyway, to get where i'm going with this, they put up these uber numbers against decent in conference opponents, yet when they play the "Elite" of other conferences, the result is different:

2003- Number 1 team in the nation ALL Season, average 52 points per game. Lose to K State in Big 12 champ but still get bid somehow into national title game over nubmer 1 USC, put up a whopping 14 points in a loss to LSU.

2004- This year's Oklahoma team was "much more well rounded" and "a super power." Undefeated regular season. Averaged 40 points per game, but they were on a "man hunt" and "destined" for the title they didnt win the year before. They meet up with USC in the championship game. USC, who plays "no one" in the pac 10 and didnt deserve a bowl bid against them the year before. Corso paraphrased- there's no way oklahoma loses. they're too big and strong. The result- 55-19. USC.

2005- lose alot from those 03-04 teams. perhaps a orange bowl hangover with the TCU loss. also lose to UCLA, Texas, and Texas Tech. Beat top ten oregon in the Holiday bowl. still a dissapointment.

2006- 12-1 oklahoma gets passed over for a national championship by Florida as part of a string of number 1 teams. Ohio State is looking unstoppable, there's alot of arguement should Michigan play OSU? Oklahoma? Florida? End of bowl season- Michigan gets pasted by USC, Oklahoma loses to WAC CHAMPION BOISE STATE and Florida blows out Ohio State.

2007- Late season loss to Texas Tech knocks sooners out of national title contention. They still win the big 12 and BCS bowl birth. Result? Loss to WVU- 48-28.

2008- average 59 points a game. TCU and Texas are both able to hold them to 35. Neither TCU or Texas are an SEC defense. Florida wins national championship 24-14.

What's my problem with Oklahoma?

Not that they arent a good team. They made 7 bcs appearances and 4 title appearances since 2000. My problem with Oklahoma is they arent a strong Finisher.

USC has lost a game each of the past 3 years to knock them out of national champinoship contention. What did they do?

Penn State- W 38-24, Illinois- W 49-17, Michigan (number 3, ppl believed should be playing for national title)- W 32-18.

Go ahead and say "Oh, but they beat big ten teams, the big ten sucks!"

OKLAHOMA LOST TO THE BIG EAST CHAMPION AND THE WAC CHAMPION!

It is irrational to expect more than 2 national titles in a decade, no matter what the program, so i'm not complaining that Oklahoma doesnt win "the big one" in a title game sense. I'm complaining about the fact that Oklahoma doesnt Finish their seasons.

Lets look at Ohio State:

Since Jim tressel's arrival:

BCS Bowl Games- Oklahoma: 7, Ohio State: 6

National Title Appearances: Oklahoma- 4, Ohio state- 3

National Titles: Oklahoma- 1, Ohio State- 1

BCS Record: Stoops- 2-5. Tressel- 3-3

Stoops Losses: LSU, USC,Boise State, West Virginia, Florida
Tressel Losses: Florida, LSU, Texas

Two of the above teams do not belong.. Can you guess who they are?

Why does everyone complain and gripe over and over because the big ten has no skill and doesnt play anyone and use Ohio State as an example as to why the Big Ten underperforms in bowl games?

I'm not making an excuse for Ohio State, the reality is Michigan and PSU and the Occasional Iowa or Wisconson ARE tough but in general, when its time to play a team from the top of another mountain (SEC, USC), You arent ready.

That's how I feel about Oklahoma. Why did they not get slaughtered for not playing anyone but Texas whenever they were beaten by USC 55-19, yet when USC beats Penn State by 14 all we hear about is how horrible the Big Ten is and how they dont belong in these games.

Boise State was up 4 td's in that Fiesta bowl. WEST VIRGINIA BEAT THEM BY 20 AND THEY DIDNT EVEN HAVE THEIR HEAD COACH! How does OU keep ALL of their credibility EVERY YEAR no matter what happens?

This Column was not just meant to defend the Big Ten as much as it is to say Oklahoma is not leaps and bounds above everyone, and they will not be until they REMEMBER (they did win their first 2 bcs games) how to finish a season.

Until then, Jump off the Big 10. You have USC and Florida right now. LSU and Texas are close with the decade they've had. after that, give me a freaking break about how weak the big 10 is. Recent history shows that Oklahoma has proven to be no better, actually worse than the Buckeyes.

*Note to all Penn State fans, I am not an Ohio State fan, however, they have been the best team in the big ten for the past 8 years. You're an idiot not to know that. The bar of recent history is set with them, not us. That being said, I hope we beat the piss out of them this year. Fight on, State!*

[vman]

Good stuff but.....

This evening, i found myself in in one of the more heated electronic arguements i've had in recent history with my great friend and estranged life partner, TAE. *

ESTRANGED LIFE PARTNER????

[DeBiceps]

C'mon man! just tryin to get a few chuckles

[abpk2903]

many great points in that post DeBiceps.

[The Ancient Enemy]

I personally feel that OU is currently the 3rd best program in the nation behind Florida and Southern Cal. They are elite in my eyes, but I kinda have more of a "depth and reloading" look than I do a "championships" look. He's 100 percent right, though.

[Former Wildcat]

TAE, other than style points, how do you rate Oklahoma ahead of Ohio State? They are almost mirror image programs over the past decade. Both coaches won a championship in their second year and have made it back to the title game but have been embarassed there. Both have numerous conference championships. OSU has done better in bowl games. Why Oklahoma?

[The Ancient Enemy]

I think there's a couple teams in that 2nd tier that are all very close to eachother. I just think OU is 1/100th better.

[deliverance]

I can only laugh at TAE claiming that Oklahoma is the third best program in the Nation. They have lost 3 out of their last 4 games against their biggest rival. It will soon be 4 out of 5. They have lost their last 3 bowl games not to mention 5 out of their last 6 bowl games. The last time they won a game in January was 2003. That's not the third best program in the Nation. You have to be kidding me. Maybe 6 years ago, buddy. I agree that they are a great team, but they are not the third best program in the Nation.

[The Ancient Enemy]

They certainly didn't look like the 3rd best today, that's for sure.

I've told you 75 times that Texas needs to step it up on defense. Last year they did well with Muschamp. Looked good today, and they probably righted the ship defensively but let's see how it plays out. I'm guessing UT beats OU based on what I saw of OU tonight, even with Bradford. I think Texas has a chance to challenge USC for the "2nd best program" claim if they win 10 or 11 and beat OU.

[deliverance]

Rumors are that Bradford could be done for the season. I think he'll be out until the Texas game. Gresham may need surgery and he could be done for the season as well. Oklahoma is in big trouble if they lose these two players.

As far as Texas is concerned, I totally agree with you about their defense. They are making steps in the right direction, but there's still a lot of work to do. They can't afford to have Beasley and Scott sidelined due to an academic violation for very long. Tech will be ready to throw the ball 70 times against them in Week 3 and they are going to need every defensive back they have.