What's a coach to do when the game turns into a big-time blowout?
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8
By John Rohde
Published: September 15, 2007
NORMAN — If all goes as anticipated, Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops will get an uneasy feeling around 5 p.m. today.
Not from the score being too close against Utah State, but from the score being too wide.
OU is a 46-point favorite for its 2:30 p.m. contest on Owen Field against the Aggies of Logan, Utah.
Though Utah State arrives with good intentions, there appears to be a bit of a mismatch between the No. 3-ranked Sooners and the No. 100-something Aggies.
With OU fans looking for an early knockout, the game appropriately will be televised on pay-per-view — just like a boxing match.
Dominating an opponent can feel awesome and awkward, and Stoops is well-acquainted with both emotions.
If a blowout is in the making, exactly how is Stoops supposed to behave?
It's hard to call off the dogs when your entire kennel of players is ready to pounce.
Is it possible for a coach to have an elite team without coming off as an elitist?
Four seasons ago, another set of Aggies experienced the wrath of a rout when the Sooners romped 77-0 over Texas A&M in Norman.
New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica accused Stoops of running up the score.
That column is as wrong today as the day it was written.
Anyone who actually witnessed the game (Lupica did not) knew OU easily could have scored 100.
Stoops has tiptoed through a minefield of blowouts since his arrival.
This season already has presented two Lupica Specials.
North Texas coach Todd Dodge lost 79-10 to the Sooners two weeks ago, but he said his team's pass-happy approach contributed to the margin of victory.
Miami coach Randy Shannon exchanged post-game pleasantries at warp speed after last week's 51-13 loss, but said his team's inability to make plays — not Stoops — was to blame.
Texas A&M coach Dennis Franchione never publicly accused OU of running up the score four years ago, nor did he do so privately to Stoops.
"Fran and I talked after that game and after that season, and he understood totally," Stoops said. "What do you do?"
Here are a few ideas on what the winning coach can do during a game when the spread hits, say, half-a-hundred.
Some of these suggestions are genuine, others are not. But as far as I know, all are within the rules:
Running clock: Break the pause button on the game clock; come to an agreement with the opposing coach; strike a deal with game officials; send the scoreboard operator home early; do whatever it takes.
Knee, knee, knee: Three kneel-downs and one punt burn roughly three minutes off the game clock.
Dive, dive, dive:
"OK, fellas. Fullback up the middle on two, on two. Ready, break.” If you don't actually have a fullback, create one.
One-two-three kick: Punt on third down. If Paul "Bear” Bryant did it, and he did, then other coaches should be required to do the same.
Oh, Canada: In the spirit the Canadian Football League, implement a self-imposed rule allowing yourself only three downs to gain a first down (an off-shoot of the Bryant maneuver). If it's third down, you must punt. Passing is permitted, but frowned upon.
Jumbo switch: Switch the stadium's Jumbotron to a competitive game that's being televised. No sense witnessing your slaughter in stereo — on the field and on the scoreboard screen. This distraction will not speed up the clock, but will help pass the time.
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I can still remember the awkwardness of the moment as Paul Thompson looked over to the sideline for a play in OU's 77-0 blowout over TAMU. Here he is in mop up duty, backing up a heisman trophy winner in which he has already scored and moved the backup offense almost as efficiently as the 1st team. He needs to gain as much experience as possible to prepare him for future starts. There was still way too much time to run out the clock. He had successfully moved the offense all the way down the field with a first and goal and he looks over to the sideline for the play. The coaches call a new play: "just fall down". That's not what he was trained for, not what he was expecting. And yet, being the "team" player that he always was he put his own and his teammate's safety in jeopardy at the coach's request and purposely ended the drive without a score.
If you remember it was the defense that scored the final touchdown doing what comes naturally when you happen upon a fumble. You pick it up and run it in. I don't know which was more humiliating for the aggies that day, the final score or the knowledge that it should have been a whole lot worse.
The bottom line is that the coaches have to look at each situation through the lens of the good of the team and the team's season. You only get so many snaps in preparation for the tougher games down the road. I trust Stoop's judgement in this. He is an honorable coach.