Sooners know how far they have to go

Shaky season openers were a Barry Switzer staple. They are becoming so with Bob Stoops, too. Poorly-played openers of the Switzer and Stoops eras:

1974: OU 28, Baylor 11; Sooners won the national title but led Baylor just 7-5 after three quarters. Those Bears turned out to be Southwest Conference champs but had been a long-time doormat.

1977: OU 25, Vanderbilt 23; Sooners finished 10-2 but opened with maybe the worst game a Switzer team ever played.

1979: OU 21, Iowa 6; Hawkeyes were coming off a 2-9 season and so talent-shy they were forced to play a redshirt freshman safety by the name of Stoops.

1982: West Virginia 41, OU 27; Enough said.

1983: OU 27, Stanford 14; Uneventful game, but Stanford went on to finish 1-10.

1985: OU 13, Minnesota 7; Gopher QB Rickey Foggie threw into the end zone on the game’s final play.

2002: OU 37, Tulsa 0; Looks good on paper, but Sooners led just 3-0 at halftime. Tulsa finished 1-11.

2005: TCU 17, OU 10; Unlike West Virginia, Horned Frogs had no Jeff Hostetler.

2006: OU 24, UAB 17; not disastrous, in the wake of TCU.