Despite lapses, Sooners are among nation's best
By Tom Dienhart
Sporting News
AMES, Iowa -- Style points don't count. This isn't figure skating. It's tackle football, thank goodness. The object: score one more point than your foe.
Mission accomplished for Oklahoma, which painted the joint a thick coat of ugly in a grungy 17-7 win over plucky Iowa State.
At least an unranked team didn't unceremoniously dump the No. 4 Sooners. That has been the script in a bizarro season that has given up oh-my-god gems such as Stanford 24, USC 23; Kentucky 43, LSU 37; and Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32.
Oklahoma knows the feeling, having been pantsed by Colorado, 27-24. But not today. No siree Bob Stoops.
It's all about surviving and advancing. And that's what the Sooners did after trailing 7-0 at the half and looking oh-so-primed to lose thanks to a sluggish offense and three turnovers.
"I didn't have a great speech at halftime," says Stoops. "If you're going to be a championship team, we have to respond in difficult situations. It's hard to have a ton of energy when you turn the ball over, even when they aren't perfect."
There will be better days for an offense netted just 316 yards after entering the game averaging 48.4 points and 468 yards. OU quarterback Sam Bradford, the redshirt freshman sensation, misfired on several sure touchdown passes, was sacked three times and tossed a pick. He finished 16-of-28 for 183 yards.
The ground game struggled to get on track until the second half, but the Sooners ended up grinding out 133 yards after having just 37 at halftime.
At least the defense showed up, rationing the Cyclones 269 puny yards of offense.
"If that's not the best team in the nation, then it's one of the best," says Iowa State coach Gene Chizik.
I agree. In fact, I think the Sooners are one of the two best teams in America (Ohio State is the other), and that they're headed to the BCS title game on January 7 in New Orleans.
Sure, the secondary is vulnerable at times, and Bradford still suffers hiccups. But this team is as close to complete as any in the nation.
And look at the remaining schedule: vs. Texas A&M; vs. Baylor; at Texas Tech; vs. Oklahoma State. Then comes the Big 12 title game. Who in the North is gonna beat OU? Exactly.
The Sooners will need a few teams ahead of them in the BCS standings to lose along the way. And that will happen. You just know it.
We shouldn't be shocked that OU is primed to pounce in a season when no one expected it. Remember: This arguably has been the team of the decade, having forged an 84-15 mark with four BCS bowl bids and three Big 12 titles. The Sooners won the national title in 2000 and played for all the marbles after the 2003 and 2004 seasons. No school in the nation can match that run.
"This off-week comes at a great time," says Stoops. "Everybody keeps talking about how good or bad we are. We haven't reached our full potential this year."
That's scary. And that's why I like Oklahoma.
This biased piece of excuse making appeared on the Yahoo Sports website on Saturday, October 20, 2007.
