Thoughts from Arizona

Here are some general thoughts from Day 8 in the desert:

1. I still like Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl tonight. But if the Sooners lose, they have no one to blame but themselves. It’s one thing to lose three defensive starters for a bowl, but when only one is out with injury, that’s not bad luck. That’s bad preparation.

A reader emailed Monday morning, an OU fan from Utah, who said he never had seen a team with so much focus. I told him settle down; you never now how much focus a team has. Five minutes later, I got the call that DeMarcus Granger had been sent home for shoplifting. I would say the Sooners have shown a LACK of focus.

Still, I think they win. West Virginia is talented, and I love this interim coach, Bill Stewart, but the Big East is inferior to the other leagues, and the sooner we all admit it, the better.

2. Big 12 football is looking good in the bowls. With five bowls left, here are the standings among conferences:

SEC: 6-2

Big 12: 4-2

Pac-10: 4-2

Big Ten: 3-4

ACC: 2-4

Big East: 1-2

A few thoughts.

* The Big East has not fared well. Its lone victory (Cincinnati’s) came against Southern Mississippi. South Florida got rolled by Oregon. UConn lost to Wake Forest. College football would have been best served if West Virginia, not Boston College, had joined the ACC, and the Big East had lost its automatic BCS berth.

* Michigan saved the Big Ten. Ohio State could, too, against LSU. But if the Wolverines hadn’t beaten Florida, the Big Ten today would be 2-5, with victories over Central Michigan and Texas A&M.

* The Big 12 has gotten about all the mileage it can get out of schedule so far. All victories except Colorado and A&M, two teams that just weren’t very good. Both put up a good fight, I suppose, but expecting victories from those two teams was a testament to hope.

* The Pac-10 had an easy bowl schedule. Two games against mid-majors (Air Force, BYU). An Oregon State matchup against a so-so Maryland. USC drew Illinois, a team that really was not Rose Bowl worthy.

* The ACC stinks and will do so until Florida State and Miami get their acts together. Virginia Tech can’t keep holding up its end of the freight. Here’s what the ACC is. Think Big 12 if OU and Texas start going 7-5, 5-7, 6-6.

* If LSU beats Ohio State, the SEC clearly has the evidence to back up its superiority complex. If Ohio State can win, the SEC looks no better in post-season than the Big 12. No better in regular season, either.

3. All I can say about Big 12 quarterbacking in 2008 is, wow. Zac Robinson looked fantastic in the Insight Bowl. Chase Daniel is a Heisman finalist. Colt McCoy was superb against Arizona State. Graham Harrell didn’t play great for Texas Tech against Virginia, but he’s got most of that offense back. Todd Reesing and Sam Bradford haven’t played their bowls yet, but both can play. K-State’s Josh Freeman looked great against OSU back in October, Cody Hawkins was just a freshman at Colorado and maybe an NFL coach (Mike Sherman) can rescue the career of Texas A&M’s Stephen McGee, who has one season left.

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The following comments are archived from the original publication of this post

Alan Spencer on Jan 04, 2008 @ 7:41 pm

Berry, The problems at OU are not a result of Bob Stoops' personality. First of all, Stoops has surrounded himself with old coaching buddies and former OU quarterbacks on his coaching staff. Last I heard former QB Cale Gundy was a running backs coach. Coach Wilson's offensive playbook apparently consists of no more than 5 or 6 different plays.He runs a 1950's style offense. Coach Venables has no clue how to adjust his defenses during a game and has on several big time stages proved how inept he really is. He has been with OU for 9 years yet no one calls to see if he is interested in a head coaching job. He has simply been out coached too many times. Giving up 400-500 yards a game is unacceptable. And finally, our QB situation is really not that good. We have a QB who can't run a lick and in the present era of college football that is a liability. Our offensive co-ordinator is an uinventive stiff who usually plays it plain vanilla for 4 quarters. Our defensive co-ordinator is totally lost against current defenses and we have a about as much game day spirit as my 17 year old dachsund. Bob Stoops must re-evaluate his entire coaching staff and then start recruiting Corvette type QB's instead of the one dimensional dinosaur type QB's we have now. Otherwise, the BCS will soon start to ignore the Sooners and will consider the entire football program fraudulent. The last 4 BCS games have started to turn national opinion against the once mighty and feared Oklahoma Sooners. This is not good.
Laner on Jan 04, 2008 @ 3:13 pm

Truth in disclosure time. Born in OKC, raised in Omaha. NU is my fav team, but I root for OU any other time. Now, folks, calm down. As a Husker fan I have lived thru the joys of the coaching carrousel and can tell you it ain't no fun. Stoops is not an idiot. He is a damned good coach. He may have to adjust his staff, but the bottom line is that you do not want to start firing a guy who wins most of his games (ala Frank Solich). NU has gone thru four years of tradition-shattering angst. The only tradition Callahan did not blow (and I mean the ONLY one) is the stadium sellout record, and that was going to go if he didn't go. As an outsider looking in who has nothing but respect for OU, think carefully and think twice about looking for the head of Stoops. If you're completely out of luck you may get what you want.
Texas Tech Fan on Jan 04, 2008 @ 2:50 pm

Berry never ever reads this post and if he did, he would be an idiot to defend Jenni and her stupid columns.
Sooner Girl on Jan 04, 2008 @ 9:56 am

Nebraska Sooner: "next year" will never be our time so long as we can't win a bowl. Berry: 0-4. yikes. Please, puh-lease, tell us what it is?? Bad luck? Overconfidence? Poor coaching? A hex? Karma? Can we sacrifice a few virgin squirrels to atone for the sins of Sooners past? Will that bring back the bowl wins? Should we just start deliberately losing the Big 12 title game so we can avoid the BCS and play a nice safe Holiday Bowl against an overrated Pac-10? I love Stoops. I don't think you get rid of a guy that gets 11 wins every year. But even so, I think a couple of the calls yesterday, the look of bewilderment on Bob's face, and the air of utter resignation about the players...all that gives me the impression that he really has lost that edge that once made him a "big game" coach.
Nebraska Sooner on Jan 04, 2008 @ 5:04 am

I am astounded by the reaction of many on this blog. Yes - we played poorly last night, yes, there were several bad coaching decisions. Yes, we have played poorly in four of the last five bowl games - all of us Sooner fans are discouraged and disappointed about it. Coach Stoops has owned up to everything. However, to suggest that Coach Stoops needs to go, that we don't respond after being hit in the mouth and that we are chokers is utterly ignorant. In the nine years since Coach Stoops has arrived, our record is 95-20, 27-10 against teams in the top 25, we have won 5 Big XII Championships, 1 National Title, we have played in three BCS Championship games, we have beaten Texas six times, and we have produced 23 All-Americans and 1 Heisman Trophy winner. During the Post Switzer and Pre-Stoops era (1989 - 1998), our record was 61-50-3, 6-29-2 against top 25 teams, 0 Big 8/XII Championships, not even a sniff at a National Championship, four straight years without a Bowl appearance (1995-1998), a record of 2-7-1 against Texas, 2 All-Americans and no Heisman Trophy winners. I believe that I have made my point. I’ll stack that up against ANYBODY. Stoops is one of four top tier coaches in America – the others are Pete Carrol, Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer. I have said all year that this team was a year away, that we would be a very good football team, not a great team. Next year will be our time. As for all of those piling on, we’ll talk next year when you are trying to jump back on the Stoops bandwagon.
jeff on Jan 04, 2008 @ 1:56 am

why does big shame bob always get a pass and the coordinators get hammered? it's the same story each year. i have yet to hear of any leaked head-set conversations where venables or wilson override all of big shame's coaching decisions leading the team straight into bcs disaster. and for pete's sake, let's stick to the same tired excuses like officiating, injuries, trick plays, or my personal favorite; it was a meaningless game. i'm sure those who purchased tickets and travel costs feel the same way. oh, and when was the last year there wasn't a thief, pot head, drunk or illiterate (Q) on the starting 22?
Longhorn on Jan 03, 2008 @ 10:54 pm

Once again you Choke-lahomans drag the Big 12 down...as long as mister egomaniac Stoops is there this trend will continue. Of the Big 12 teams...yours is the only one to embarrass the conference...at least Colorado and Texas A&M were competitive. And, of course all the others have won with Kansas to play Va Tech tonight. In reality this year. The SEC and Pac 10 are the fastest and most athletic conference. And, then I would say the Big 12 is a close third. However! West Virginia just could be the fastest team in college football. I thought that was California during the regular season. But, now I think West Virginia is the speediest team. So, you can't just judge a team based on it's conference. WV is a great team in a weak conference. They could definitely challenge LSU or OSU. I just wonder how Pitt stopped them in December. That's one of the biggest surprises along with App State beating Michigan, Stanford beating USC and also South Carolina beating Georgia. Too bad for WV, USC and Georgia that there is no playoff. Too bad for OU that they keep embarrassing the Big 12 hehe Hook'em Horns!
Shrouded Llama on Jan 03, 2008 @ 10:17 pm

And i need to learn how to proofread! My last post was chocked full of typos! My apologies.
Shrouded Llama on Jan 03, 2008 @ 10:14 pm

OUch. Last night was rough for OU fans. I'm a Cowboy fan, but i love Bob Stoops! He is a great coach, but he needs to lose Wilson and Venables. The defense only plays well every other game and the offense only runs at a high level when it completely over matches the defense. Also, where is the intensity? If you hit OU in the mouth they can't recover. They look stunned until the fourth quarter and then they start playing again. It happened last night, it happened at Texas Tech, and it happened at Colorado except the never recovered! Stoops needs some young, hungry, motivated coordinators to re-energize the team. I think they worry to much about sheer size and speed to win when i great scheme will beat a better team a lot of the time! Also, Big 12 QBs? WOW! To to bottom the Big 12 will have the best QB play in the nation next year! Daniel, Reesing, Bradford, McCoy and Harrell will all be in the Hiesman conversation next year and Robinson, Freeman, Hawkins and McGee aren't slouches either! And don't forget the kid from Nebraska who replaced Keller at the end of the year. I can't recall his name but i know he played extremely well and made people wonder why Keller started at all. With the exception of Baylor and Iowa State the Big 12 is loaded to throw the ball! I give it a 40% chance that a Big 12 QB wins the Hiesman next year.
stv on Jan 03, 2008 @ 10:11 pm

"Still, I think they win. West Virginia is talented, and I love this interim coach, Bill Stewart, but the Big East is inferior to the other leagues, and the sooner we all admit it, the better." Hahahahahahahahahaha, right on the money again Tramel.
Jeff from Vermont on Jan 03, 2008 @ 9:25 pm
You have to love a guy like Zeke Morris! Thanks Fella! I for one, appreciate the sentiment.

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BY BERRY TRAMEL

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Berry Tramel, a lifelong Oklahoman, sports fan and newspaper reader, joined The Oklahoman in 1991 and has served as beat writer, assistant...

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Berry Tramel, a lifelong Oklahoman, sports fan and newspaper reader, joined The Oklahoman in 1991 and has served as beat writer, assistant sports editor, sports editor and columnist.

Tramel grew up reading four daily newspapers — The Oklahoman, the Oklahoma City Times, the Norman Transcript and the Oklahoma Journal — and entered the newspaper business at the age of 17, with the Transcript in 1978. His first game assignment was the Lexington-Elmore City high school football game, and he has enjoyed the journey ever since, from high school wrestling duals and regional track meets to Orange Bowls and the NBA playoffs.

Tramel was born and raised in Norman, Okla. He and his wife, Tricia, were married in 1980 and live in Norman near their daughter, son-in-law and three granddaughters.

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Thoughts from Arizona

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