Berry Tramel

Thoughts from The Oklahoman Sports Columnist Berry Tramel

Patrick gets mad December 01, 2007 | Comment on this article

Allen Patrick has started playing mad. That is a good thing. A very good thing for Oklahoma. OU’s 50-yard touchdown drive was keyed by a couple of passes — 18 yards to Chris Brown on a Sam Bradford rollout and 10 yards on a slant to Malcolm Kelly on 3rd-and-7 — but the Sooners got to the end zone with... Read More

Not a sellout December 01, 2007 The Big 12 title game is not going to be a sellout. We’re 15 minutes before kickoff, and the corners of the Alamodome basically empty. Not big chunks; maybe 2,000 people shy of capacity. But still, the ‘Dome seats about 65,000, some 13,000 less than Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, which always sells out the... Read More

On the Riverwalk December 01, 2007 Friday night, Sooners dominated the Big 12 title game. I flew from Dallas to Oklahoma City on Friday morning and was stunned by all the Missouri fans on my plane. Probably 30 or so, with only about 10 OU fans. I thought, wow. Then I waited on comrades Ebony Jackson and Jake Trotter for their flight from OKC, via... Read More

Stoops might blow a gasket December 01, 2007 Bob Stoops might just go nuts. His Sooners have committed two personal fouls in a three-play span. One forced OU into a 3rd-and-22 situation; the other gave Mizzou decent field position despite the Tigers being flagged for a block in the back on a punt. Stoops was saying the other day how much he detests... Read More

Shaky start in Alamo City December 01, 2007 Shaky start for both teams. Nic Harris blew up a Missouri reverse pass, resulting in an 11-yard loss and eventually a 3rd-and-21 situation. OU, after a 14-yard completion to Juaquin Iglesias, suffered back-to-back losses, then back-to-back penalties and faced 3rd-and-23. That’s now these high-powered offenses are... Read More

Where’s the downfield game? December 01, 2007 Missouri leads 3-0 with 3:19 left in the first quarter, and OU has 22 total yards. The Sooners have tried two runs, both losses by Allen Patrick, and five passes. Four of the five have been swing passes, and the only downfield throw came on 3rd-and-23 when Sam Bradford threw incomplete, well short of the first-down... Read More

OU defense flying around December 01, 2007 OU’s defense is playing a whale of a game. Flying to the football. Intensely pressuring Chase Daniel. Hitting hard. Very hard. And the Sooners have turned back two Mizzou red-zone threats, holding the Tigers to field goals. Mizzou has moved the ball at times, but two questionable pass interference penalties have... Read More

Ominous sign: no run game December 01, 2007 OU is not running the ball effectively. That is not good news. The Sooners have combined for 17 yards on eight tailback carries, and that won’t get it done in a big game. Missouri is loading the box, which smart teams do against the Sooners, and OU has made Mizzou pay only once, with the long shot to Malcolm... Read More

Quentin Griffin II December 01, 2007 Chris Brown’s 3-yard touchdown run, basically off a shotgun draw, looked like vintage Quentin Griffin. Brown got the handoff in traffic, but traffic that didn’t yet know what was the play. Brown stutter-stepped, dashed outside a little and found an easy opening into the end zone. Nothing, though, is coming... Read More

Who will win in San Antonio? November 28, 2007 I was on a St. Louis radio show Tuesday night, on KMOX, the station that carries Mizzou, and the host, Kevin Wheeler, told me he’s picking OU to win the Big 12 title game. Funny thing, I said, I had been thinking Missouri would win. Bob Stoops seems awfully confident, so I was starting to change my mind, but it... Read More

Week 13: More rousing football November 28, 2007 COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 13 The final week of the regular season, and a good week it was. Two days of college football, which is great for fans and even better for writers, since we’re at games and can’t enjoy the wall-to-wall football. Thanksgiving Friday was a world-class day for me. Almost every game went the... Read More

Quit your beefing November 27, 2007 I’m getting a little tired of hearing fans and coaches gripe about the disparity of some conferences playing league title games and some not. No one put Pistol Pete’s six-shooter to anyone’s head. If a league is playing a title game, it’s by choice. And besides, a league title game in the Big Ten or Big... Read More

Give me a playoff November 26, 2007 If the NCAA would adopt my playoff plan — an 11-team playoff, with only conference champions involved — think how great would be not just the playoff, but the regular season. That’s the problem with all the 16-team or 8-team playoffs. When you bring in the wild cards and at-large berths, you’ve got just as... Read More

Nice tough by the Bedlam bands November 25, 2007 Bedlam football provided something I’d never seen before. A combined performance by the OU and OSU marching bands, doing a tribute to the Centennial. The field was arrayed with crimson and orange musicians, and while they stood with their backs to each other — except for the OSU percussion section, which... Read More

Land run start November 24, 2007 Bob Stoops admitted early in the week that OU got away from the running game too soon in Lubbock. The Sooners seem intent on not making that mistake in Bedlam. We’ve played less than nine minutes at Owen Field, and OU has rushed for 91 yards on 13 carries. Allen Patrick has 66 yards on seven carries and Chris... Read More

Zac attacks November 24, 2007 Zac Robinson’s value to Oklahoma State’s offense was apparent on the 87-yard touchdown drive the Cowboys just produced. Thirteen plays, and 10 were either Robinson runs or passes. Dantrell Savage carried thrice for 18 yards, but Robinson carried seven times for 55 yards and threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to... Read More

Big day for Patrick November 24, 2007 Sometimes you don’t want to make outlandish predictions too early, but here’s one. Allen Patrick could break OU’s single-game rushing today. Patrick has 107 yards on 10 carries so far — his 33-yard run just set up Chris Brown’s 3-yard touchdown. That’s through 18 minutes and 11 seconds. So Patrick is on... Read More

Disaster for the Cowboys November 24, 2007 Disaster has just struck OSU. First-and-goal at the 1-yard line, and OSU sends Julius Crosslin up the middle twice for no gain. Then Zac Robinson is stuffed for no gain on a counter option. Finally, the Sooners stretch out a fourth-down option play, with Marcus DeGranger corralling Robinson, who seemingly panicked... Read More

Bedlam gets interesting November 24, 2007 This game could still get interesting. Sam Bradford’s what’s-he-doing pass, intercepted by Jacob Lacey and run back to the OU 1-yard line, put OSU back in this game. Funny start to this half for the Sooners. Third-and-1, and Bradford throws deep, and incomplete, leading to OU’s first punt. Then OU’s running... Read More

Hardware up for grabs November 23, 2007 Here’s another great thing about this college football season. It’s Thanksgiving Friday, and of the nine pennant races that matter most — Big Ten, Big East and Pac-10 titles; division crowns in the Big 12, SEC and ACC — only three have been decided. Ohio State is the Big Ten champion, and that’s... Read More