Oklahoma football: Bob Stoops making excuses

Bob Stoops talked Monday of being “on the wrong side of some judgment calls” against Notre Dame. He was referring to the holding call against Bronson Irwin on Blake Bell’s touchdown run late in the second quarter, and the no-interference call when linebacker Dan Fox broke up a fourth-quarter pass intended for Jalen Saunders, and Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o’s made a diving interception, which some also disputed.

“In a tight football game, they’re part of the game,” Stoops said. “The holding call where you have a chance to score. Those take some momentum away. Whether it’s interference or not, it isn’t called. Whether it’s an interception or not, again, I’m not complaining at all. When you’re in a tight game, those decisions are tough to overcome.”

Complaining? No. Excuse-making? Sounds like it to me.

Stoops once had a no-excuse policy, but lately, he’s slipped. He indeed seems to make excuses.

I’m not one of these sky-is-falling guys. I think the OU program is in excellent shape. It needs to get better to compete for a national championship, no doubt. But the Sooners remain one of America’s five most successful programs of even recent years.