We give up: let's play without officials

The powers that be decided the six officials on the field weren't good enough to get the calls right. So, they invented the video tape machine (which is probably a DVR, but we like the "video tape machine" name better).

So, they put some guy in the press box to review calls on the field when a coach challenged them. That wasn't good enough, so this year they made the fella in the press box review ALL plays in college football this year.

As proven by last week's Louisville at Connecticut game, that doesn't work either.

The Big East Conference has acknowledged Louisville was screwed by the officials in the game, by allowing a punt returner for UConn to advance after signaling for a fair catch. Worse, they let stand his "touchdown" which he "scored" when all 21 other players on the field came to a stop. It determined the outcome of the game.



It's time to scrap the video review from college football. It doesn't work. I'll take my chances with the blind mice in stripes on the field. At least they have an excuse.

The state of Husker football

Nebraska Athletic Director Steve Pederson was fired this afternoon.

Husker fans can give a collective sigh of relief, because with Pederson out of the way it opens the door to a dismissal of head football Coach Bill Callahan and a possible end to a nightmare of mediocrity Pederson has heaped on NU since dismissing winning Coach Frank Solich.

After Saturday's loss to Oklahoma State, we knew this was coming. Those usually stoic and conservative midwesterners in Lincoln didn't waste any time. Two days after the 45-14 drubbing by the Cowboys the university chancellor said enough is enough.

Chancellor Harvey Pearlman said "new leadership" is needed to assess the state of the football program. In other words he didn't trust Pederson (who hired Callahan) to find a suitable replacement for the football coach. It is therefore a foregone conclusion that Callahan won't be back next year calling any opposing fans "f***ing hillibillies" like he did on his first trip in Norman in 2004 (where he lost to the Sooners 30-3).

No disrespect to Oklahoma State, who did a masterful job of destroying Nebraska on Saturday, but the egg laid by NU was about the size of sprawling Omaha. Their players gave up. Their fans threw things at Callahan. Otherwise nice wheat and corn farmers turned ugly. Nebraska fans can live with losses to Oklahoma, and sometimes to archi nemisis Missouri -- or even the coke heads of Colorado. But to lose to those Cowboys from Stillwater? That's just awful, they're thinking. The lowest of lows. The worst of agony. The deepest valley of Husker football.

As Sunday's headline read in the Lincoln Journal Star: "This is not Nebraska football."

So it was time to take desperate action. Today they did just that. But, as Alex writes on the front page of www.soonerguys.com, the loss to OSU made this decision easy for the Big Red of the North.

-- Mike

Bias Texas Press

Post game reporting...

First we had the Dallas Morning News reporting that Jermaine Gresham did a "throat slashing" move toward Texas fans after his touchdown catch Saturday in the Red River Rivalry. The reporter had to retract the statement and issue an apology to Gresham after watching a tape of the game and seeing that Gresham was running his hand across the emblazoned "SOONER" on the front of his jersey toward OU fans in the south end zone of the Cotton Bowl. No throat gesture at all.

Now we have to put up with the Austin American-Statesman erroneously reporting that Oklahoma coaches "celebrated" a late hit that Austin English put on Texas QB Colt McCoy. The article falsely reported that all players stopped playing after an official threw a flag and a whistle was blown due to a UT false start, but that English ran over to the standing McCoy and decked him. Longhorn fans and Coach Mack Brown were up in arms over what they thought was a cheap shot.

But the video shows none of the Texas players stopped blocking, including the one assigned to block English.

The head referee who stands there to protect against late hits on the quarterback never blew the play dead, or motioned that the play was dead.

See the video for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9byZiJj4Vxw

Apparently the AAS doesn't know people record televised football games (especially THIS one), so they can see what they report is false. There was no celebration of any late hit. It looked to everyone in the stadium that play was live and English made a sack.

This is the kind of cheap shot reporting that occurs every year from the hallowed press of Texas. As bad as the Daily Oklahoman can be in its coverage, you cannot say that either it or the Tulsa World are bias in their support of OU as the Texas media is so blindly (literally) "supportive" of the Longhorns.

-- Mike

History repeats itself

Before our trip to Boulder last week our buddy TC down Dallas way reminded us of the following facts:

Oklahoma was sailing along at 4-0. All blowouts.

One of the blowout victims was Utah State. Another a formidable ACC opponent.

Everyone was talking about the Sooners’ first-year starter at quarterback. And the Sooners had a smothering defense. Talented freshmen dotted the roster.

And the next game was in Boulder, Colorado. The Sooners were a double digit favorite.

And the Buffaloes smacked down the Sooners 20-14.

No, not on Saturday. Rather, on a Saturday in 1972.

The Buffs ran through the vaunted OU defenders who had only gave up 74 points the entire season. CU hit two back-breaking field goals.

History repeated itself this week.

Well, while we're all in a dumps this Sunday afternoon, remember this:

After that loss in Boulder in 1972, Oklahoma would not lose again for three years, when the Jayhawks came to town in 1975.

Here's hoping history does in fact repeat itself.

-- Mike

Dear Coach Gundy

I have a child. Two of them. One in college. And I understand OSU Coach Mike Gundy's opinion that Daily Oklahoman columnist Jenni Carlson (who is no doubt auditioning for a role on "The View") got her facts wrong and unfairly criticized benched OSU QB Bobby Reid. Carlson wrote a column that insinuated Reid was a "baby" and the coach replaced him at quarterback because of his attitude, instead of his play.

But, come on, Coach Gundy. Was that display of uncontrolled anger after your win over Texas Tech on Saturday really necessary? Or a good idea?

I don't care too much for the Cowboy football program. I don't care if T. Boone Pickens and OSU AD Mike Holder have their scheme to bank on the deaths of alums to fund their investment of life insurance proceeds to overbuild their stadium. So, really Gundy's outburst is kind of funny to Sooner fans like me, who kind of expect a high school approach to anything in Stillwater.

It just puts Gundy in the same out-of-control category as that Muskogee High School football coach who didn't want to be bothered when involved in an auto accident with a little boy on bicycle. Only this time the only things that got hurt were some feelings.

Well Gundy says he's a man. He's 40, he says.

Do 40-year-old men have carte blance to pout? If so, I've got some catching up to do.

It would have been better had Gundy simply said the column was fiction. He could have said reporters should have done a better job investigating the claim. Or, better yet, he could have said nothing. I certainly would not have seen the column if Gundy had not made a big deal about it.

Here's a novel idea. He could have talked about the great and exciting game his Cowboys won -- a valliant effort by his players, despite everyone counting them out for the year following their dismal beginning -- but, no, he chose to beat up on a newspaper columnist and storm out of his post-game press conference.

In the aftermath of this mess Gundy could always ask for T. Boone to buy out the owners of the Daily Oklahoman and quiet critcism. No, wait...their name is on the stadium here in Norman, isn't it?

-- Mike

Easy road is over

The easy road for the Sooners comes to an end this week when Oklahoma gets on a bus for the trek up the turnpike to take on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Friday night. That's the team with supposedly the best quarterback in Oklahoma, Paul Smith, who lit up BYU late Saturday for a 55-47 victory.

Smith threw for 454 yards and five touchdowns against a team which admittedly plays in a conference that thinks defense is only a department in Washington, D.C. But Smith's ability to orchestrate such an offensive performance is impressive. With Oklahoma's cornerback play always an Achilles heal of sorts, it will be interesting to see how they stack up against what will likely be the most challenging passing game they will face this year, Texas Tech included.

Of course Tulsa's secondary gave up 537 yards passing to BYU too. That means Sam Bradford will likely have his season high at Skelly Stadium (we refuse to call it Chapman stadium, or some of such name TU's regents have decided to call it now). If the game is close, which we expect it will be (within one or two scores difference the entire game), then Coach Stoops will not rest Bradford at all, and receivers Malcolm Kelly and Joaquin Iglasias will be called upon frenquently.

But...

Will OC Kevin Wilson opt to run the ball against TU, grind out the clock and keep the ball away from the opponent? That would mean Allen Patrick and Demarco Murray will make Sportscenter highlights Friday night.

---

Photo credit: The Oklahoma Daily

Redemption

51-13 win over Hurricanes feels good

If walloping Miami for transgressions in the 1980s was not incentive enough for the Sooners on Saturday, think about this: Paul Dee, Miami's athletic director, served as chairman on the NCAA Committee on Infractions that handed out sanctions against Oklahoma during the off-season.

On Saturday, Oklahoma delivered its sanctions against Miami, 51-13, before a jury of 85,357 mostly Sooner fans who saw the “U” take a further step toward irrelevance in the college football world. The beating the Hurricane took was worse than losing a dozen scholarships. To any Sooner older than 35, it felt oh so good.

For the second straight week Sam Bradford looked like a seasoned Jason White (who coincidentally was honored Saturday with his own statue in Heisman park), tying a school record with five touchdown passes. The offensive line looked like the guys who protect Peyton Manning. The defense looked like Tony Casillas, Brian Bosworth, Roy Williams and a couple of Selmons. Oklahoma held Miami to 139 total yards. D.J. Wolfe had six solo tackles. In other words, it was a great performance by the Sooners.

LB Ryan Reynolds set the tone on defense mid-way through the first quarter when he lost a shoe during a play. He tried to get it on before the next play, but the shoelaces didn’t cooperate. As if to say “screw this” he ripped off the untied shoe and threw it half-way across the field toward the sideline and played the next play (a key third down) with one shoe on and the other in just his socks. The defense held, sending Miami to one of their 10 punts.

Reynolds had a terrific day on defense, in on six tackles, and will be forever called “Shoeless Ryan Reynolds.”

Best season trivia: Sam Bradford now has eight touchdown passes. He also has thrown eight incompletions for the season. Nice ratio.

Worst stereotype: You get that south Florida feel when you see Miami Hurricane fans. Many guys with first names like Vito or last names like Cohen, all wearing number 47 jerseys (Michael Irwin’s number).

Worst guest: The University of Miami official, riding in a big limo, flipping off the very well known resident’s spouse on Chataquah Avenue after the game.

Best Superman impression: The guy with the rocket pack. Almost as good as Roy Williams flying through the air.

-- Mike

Photo Credit: The Oklahoma Daily

The night before

It remains to be seen if the Hurricane and Sooner players who take the field tomorrow here in Norman are taking this game as seriously as the fans. Oh, I'm sure they are all pumped up to play, have focused on game plans and such; but do they understand this is a grudge match whereby OU fans hope to kick sand in the face of bullies Jerome Brown, Vinnie Testaverde and Michael Irvin.

Oh, they're not playing tomorrow? Too bad.

Maybe Miami can do us all a favor by stepping off the bus at Memorial Stadium wearing camoflauge fatigues.

We want that because we (fans) want to get even. And if Miami's coach is a gentlemen and the Hurricane players don't throw punches or insult our women, then it's going to feel a bit uncouth to be screaming for their executions.

As for the game, my prediction is that Oklahoma will win big. I hesitate to say this -- I've kept my mouth shut all week for fear I might jinx it -- but something tells me we're going to win big. Nevermind the fact I thought that once in a Big 12 Championship game against K-State. Just remember I thought the same thing down in Dallas in 2000 and 2003.

What to do with Nichol?

I wandered to midfield early in the fourth quarter last night just in time to see quarterbacks coach Josh Heupel come up to freshman QB Keith Nichol and tell him "warm up -- you're going in." (see pic). At that time the game had been virtually over for two hours -- the score was already well into AARP status -- but the look on young master Nichol was, well...kinda cute.

Yeah, cute. As in Bambi eyes deer in the headlights cute.

Nichol pitched some warm up balls to Jermaine Gresham while North Texas was floundering on the field. Then after another UNT punt to change the possession, Nichol sauntered onto the field like John Elway. He looked as smooth as Joey Halzle did moments before, and as smooth as starter Sam Bradford did what seemed like a few days before (the game seemed really long -- it's hard to maintain concentration when Oklahoma teams are scoring half a hundred, ala Barry-esqe, by halftime.)

I give great credit to Coach Heupel for preparing all three quarterbacks.

But, was it a good idea to break this barely-out-of-high school player's redshirt (you know the one the fans placed on him, but apparently the coaches never donned him with)?

Well, I don't think so. I don't get the point. Some might say if Bradford succeeds, Nichol won't get much playing time anyway, especially with recruits-to-be waiting in the wings at some high school locker room in New Mexico or who knows where else. Others say Nichol is the best back-up, so why not get him playing time in case Bradford gets hurt. While I admit there is some merit to the last suggestion, that is oh so not Bob Stoops if we've paid any attention to his coaching style lo these last eight years.

It just seems to me you want to save the kid's eligibility. We did that last year with Bradford. Has something changed? Note, you'll see our poll here on the blog over to the right. Vote and tell us what you think.

--Mike D.

Broyles suspended after arrest

Unusual way of fillin' up

Freshman WR Ryan Broyles of Norman is suspended indefinitely after his arrest this morning at a closed convenience store, where police said he was using pump codes to steal gasoline. He is expeced to be charged with a misdemeanor count of larceny. See the full story in the OU Daily on-line edition:

http://hub.ou.edu/articles/article.php?item_id=944876239&hub=2cc2fd057e25216e0669281e85a9e5c8

Sooners getting props

The Sooners are getting more national attention this year, including some surprising predictions that Oklahoma will be playing for the national championship (again).

In addition to Allen Patrick making the regional cover of SI (left), on Saturday ESPN's Gameday crew predicted a BCS championship contest for the Sooners.

Lou Holtz has picked Oklahoma over USC for the national championship.

Kirk Herbstreit has put OU in the game, but favors USC in the contet.

Mark May (are we kidding here?) predicts another LSU vs. OU matchup, but picks Les Miles' team to win. I certainly hope he's not right about that, because I definitely do not want to see any drunken Tiger fans in New Orleans in January (whether OU is there or not). It's not a fun experience for any opponent fans.

Big Red Rally

OU Prez David Boren gave fair warning to the Irish on Thursday at the Big Red Rally in Norman. The Sooners will butt them out of the way and capture more national championships than ND's eight before the Stoops era ends.

Sort of makes that 2011 matchup against the Irish an important point on the Sooner horizon.

Those remarks were a departure from Boren's usual rally cry to put more conference championship stenciling on the Memorial Stadium press box. Well, he said that too -- about the championships, but it was clearly directed toward the national variety.

ESPN's Maisel puts OU in title game

ESPN's Ivan Maisel has predicted Oklahoma will play USC in the BCS Championship game in New Orleans at the end of this season. See:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/preview07/news/story?id=2974110

Let's just hope the other team isn't LSU. I'd hate to suffer through another week of "Tiger Bait" screams from drunk LSU students jamming up Bourbon Street on New Years. Hopefully the cat fight that is the SEC will prevent that from happening. On the other hand, USC has class fans. It would be nice to get a re-match with them for the national championship.

Stoops has named the team captains. The honor went to Joe Jon Finley, Allen Patrick, Lewis Baker, Marcus Walker and Jacob Gutierrez. Finley, a tight end, and Patrick, a running back, will represent the offense. Baker, a linebacker, and Walker, a cornerback, will represent the defense, while Gutierrez, a running back, represents the special teams. All five are seniors.

Baghdad Bob Stoops Press Conference

Our friends south of the Red River have this hilarious account of a typical Bob Stoops press conference. Check it out:

http://www.barkingcarnival.com/scipio-tex/any-given-stoops-press-conference

New Season, New QB

From the soggy scrimmage...

Saturday's scrimmage sealed the deal for Sam Bradford. Coach Stoops today announced the redshirt freshman from Oklahoma City will be the starting QB.

We sat through the rain-drenched scrimmage (who knew that a tropical storm would come to Norman), thinking perhaps it would be the "separation Saturday" the sports pundits had labeled it. But, frankly, there wasn't much difference in play from Bradford, Keith Nichol and Joey Halzle.

Nichol and Halzle made more mistakes, that's true. Both probably knew they were playing catchup, so they took more chances. But none of the QBs were good throwing the football in admittedly difficult conditions.

The difference was Bradford didn't make mistakes. At least not many. And when he did -- such as when he under threw some balls -- his teammate made him look good, as in receivers coming back to the ball and making plays. This may be a season of the supporting cast making the starting QB look good.

We can live with that.

At least now Bradford will get the majority of snaps with the first team offense. He'll get better. Those timing pattern passes will get crisper. We're just glad the first test is against North Texas.