OU: Beware needing to dominate


Posted November 23, 2008 by Berry Tramel Comment on this article Leave a comment

Not long after the BCS rankings came out Sunday, the script was set. The Sooners, barely behind Texas — .921-.913 — in the BCS, need an impressive victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday in Stillwater.

Well, yes, that would probably do it. Rout the Cowboys anything close to the way the Sooners whacked Texas Tech (65-21 Saturday night), and OU probably would jump ahead of the Longhorns.

But two things to remember, OU fans, before deciding where to eat on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City.

1. Beating the Cowboys, much less beating them bad, has been a tough assignment for the Sooners. Yes, OU has a five-game Bedlam winning streak, but the last two trips to Stillwater have gone down to the wire for OU. Jason Ricks’ 48-yard field goal sailed just wide in 2004, allowing the Sooners to escape 38-35. And in 2006, a last-ditch pass sailed just out of D’Juan Woods’ reach in the end zone, and OU won 27-21.

2. The times the Sooners went into a game thinking win big and impress the voters, they hit icebergs.

The 1977 Sooners went into the Orange Bowl against Arkansas knowing No. 1-ranked Texas had been clock-cleaned by Notre Dame. OU thought a big win over the heavily-underdog Razorbacks could produce a national title. And maybe it would have. We’ll never know, since the domination went the other way, 31-6 Arkansas.

The 1984 Sooners went to the Orange Bowl hoping an impressive victory over Washington could lift them over undefeated Brigham Young, which already had completed its season. The Huskies ran wild, won 28-17 and even the Schooner got a penalty.

Herman Edwards said it best. You play to win the game, and you don’t play to win by 20, or 40, or 44.

The Sooners can’t dwell on the BCS. They have to dwell on stopping Zac Robinson and Kendall Hunter and Dez Bryant and Brandon Pettigrew. They have to remember that their phenomenal offensive explosion didn’t come from will, but from preparation.

Worry about the BCS on Saturday, and you might not have to worry about it on Sunday.

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