Right on track
Sooners who we thought they'd be

By John Helsley

Published: November 27, 2006

Texas A&M's upset of Texas in the land of Bevo on Friday set off a wave of national reaction.

In Norman, it set off a giddy game of phone tag.

"We were all calling each other," Sooner linebacker Zach Latimer said.

Latimer dialed up neighbors C.J. Ah You and Calvin Thibodeaux. He located his roommate Larry Birdine and phoned Rufus Alexander, too.

"We all called each other after that moment and said, ‘Come on, let's go,'" Oklahoma linebacker Zach Latimer said.

"‘By any means necessary, we've got to get this (Bedlam) win so we can go out on top.'"

A&M created an opening that allowed Oklahoma to right a season once filled with promise — Athlon pegged OU as its preseason No. 1 — but had veered off course.

The Sooners did the rest, fending off Oklahoma State 27-21 on Saturday in another edition of the Bedlam rivalry to remember.

And suddenly, the Sooners are just who we thought they'd be.

Big 12 South champs.

Top 10 team.

Bidders for a BCS bowl.

Oh, they're still lugging around one more loss than they deserve, although the Oregon asterisk may be reappearing judging by the latest rankings.

Perhaps Gordon Riese's chat with The Oklahoman last week sparked some voter correction. OU leaped five spots to No. 8 in the Associated Press poll and is up four slots to No. 10 in the coaches ranking.

The Sooners would be slightly higher, if not for the Oregon ordeal.

But with the loss to Texas, they probably weren't going to the national championship game.

OU enters the conversation at 11-1, or better yet 12-1 with a win over Nebraska and the title of league champion; yet would be hard pressed to rise above Southern Cal or Michigan.

So things have worked out for the Sooners, who have seized control of their own destiny with seven straight wins.

"It's exciting," Bob Stoops said. "I thought of that (Friday) afternoon. I said, ‘Finally, we're in position to do what we have to do.'

"It's been a hard fight, but it's been an enjoyable one. We have an opportunity. And that's what we're excited about."

And the Sooners can relish what they've done to get there, although they won't.

Not yet.

"We expect to be there," offensive tackle Chris Messner said. "That's what we work for. That's what we play for. That's what our season is about.

"We work to win championships."

Now that's possible, thanks in part to A&M, but also because the Sooners never surrendered a basic quest to be their best.

Sitting 3-2 after the Texas loss, most Sooners couldn't envision winning the South.

"Nah," Latimer said, "because I know how good a team Texas is."

Still, they took care of their own business, while A&M — and Kansas State before them — did a job on Texas to lend a hand.

And pay no heed to any suggestions that the Sooners have slipped into the title game through any back door.

"We came through the front door. Loud. Music playing," senior Larry Birdine said. "They heard us coming.

"I believe that we've been the most consistent team throughout the whole year. Barring the whole Oregon debacle.

"I think we've been the most consistent team the last few weeks. We deserved this."