Berry Tramel

Thoughts from The Oklahoman Sports Columnist Berry Tramel

OU football: Who was the Insight Bowl MVP? December 31, 2011 | Comment on this article

Bob Stoops sat at the Insight Bowl press conference and was informed that backup quarterback Blake Bell had been named the game’s offensive most valuable player. “I was shocked,” Stoops said. “I said, ‘What?’ Geez, the guy played nine plays.” Bell, playing in OU’s short-yardage package, played... Read More

OU football: Future looks bright December 30, 2011 I know it’s been a troublesome season for Oklahoma football. I also know this. The Sooners can get victory No. 10 Friday night against Iowa in the Insight Bowl, and the Sooners will take Sun Devil Stadium with just five senior starters. And four senior backups. That’s a remarkably low number. OU could still... Read More

OSU football: Stanford coaching legacy impressive December 30, 2011 Stanford is an interesting name in college football. The Cardinal is not a traditional powerhouse. But the Cardinal does have tradition. Stanford carries a magical name. For several reasons. Jim Plunkett and John Elway and now Andrew Luck. Stanford Stadium, which has hosted a Super Bowl. And for coaches.... Read More

OSU football: Bill Young likes his defense December 29, 2011 Oklahoma State leads the nation in takeaways, with 42. OSU is ranked 107th in total defense. OK, defensive coordinator Bill Young. Your option. You can reverse those standings — be first in total defense and 107th in takeaways — or stay with what you’ve got. Which do you choose. At a Fiesta Bowl press... Read More

OSU athletics: Myron Roderick served the Cowboys well December 29, 2011 Few Cowboys in OSU’s grand athletic history cast a longer shadow than Myron Roderick, who died Wednesday at the age of 77. Roderick was an elite wrestler, then a championship wrestling coach, then a landmark athletic director. Roderick, who came to OSU in 1953 from Winfield, Kan., won three NCAA... Read More

OSU football: Fiesta Bowl splits Piedmont household December 28, 2011 When Karl Gigstad arrived at StanfordUniversity 31/2 years ago as a Piedmont High School graduate, Stanford had reached one major bowl in 38 years. When his little sister, Elise, got to OSU earlier this year, the Cowboys hadn’t been in a major bowl since the 1945 season. So naturally, in the Fiesta Bowl next... Read More

OU football: Bob Stoops talks more Iowa December 28, 2011 No surprise, the Iowa media’s line of questioning for Bob Stoops during the days leading up to the Insight Bowl has been heavy on his days as a Hawkeye. Much of it we have already heard in Oklahoma, but not all. Stoops has talked of how he went to job fairs with his business degree and walked away shaking... Read More

Big 12 football: David Boren in the eye of the hurricane December 27, 2011 David Boren stood in theOklahomaheat almost four months ago, discussing conference realignment, and said, “I don’t think OU is going to be a wallflower when all is said and done.” As more and more anecdotal evidence emerges about how we’ve arrived at where we are, the more we know that Boren was telling... Read More

Big 12 football: David Boren in the eye of the storm December 27, 2011 David Boren stood in theOklahomaheat almost four months ago, discussing conference realignment, and said, “I don’t think OU is going to be a wallflower when all is said and done.” As more and more anecdotal evidence emerges about how we’ve arrived at where we are, the more we know that Boren was telling... Read More

Bedlam football: Matt Millen talks Cowboys & Sooners December 27, 2011 For our weekly Collected Wisdom feature last Sunday, I interviewed ESPN analyst Matt Millen. You can read the collected wisdom here: But Millen also had some things to say about OSU and OU. He will call both teams’ bowl games — the Sooners vs. Iowa in the Insight, the Cowboys vs. Stanford in the Fiesta. Here... Read More

Bedlam football: Phoenix weather looks nice December 26, 2011 Here’s a scene you never want to see. A beautiful giant cactus in Arizona, covered with plastic to protect it from the cold. But that’s what we saw last year in Phoenix. I spent five or six days in Greater Phoenix a year ago, leading up to the Fiesta Bowl. Froze my butt off. Most days, the high was in... Read More

College football predictions: Bowl Week II December 26, 2011 Time for more college football predictions, this time the 16 games played between Christmas and New Year’s. Insight Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Iowa, 9 p.m. Friday. Sooners 37-14. Not a good matchup for the Hawkeyes, no matter how listless the Sooners were down the stretch. Independence Bowl: Missouri vs. North... Read More

OSU football: Suddenly, Pac-12 comes in droves December 24, 2011 The Fiesta Bowl against Stanford will be OSU’s third game against the Pac-12 in the Cowboys’ last 14 games. Which is interesting only because OSU so rarely has played against the Pac, be it Pac-8, Pac-10 or Pac-12. OSU never has played Stanford, Oregon State, Southern Cal or California. The Cowboys are 5-3... Read More

OU football: Stoops ties with Iowa December 23, 2011 Bob Stoops’ Iowa ties are strong. He spent 10 years in Iowa City. That’s as long as he was at Kansas State and Florida, combined. Stoops played from 1978-82, then was a graduate assistant and volunteer coach for five years, before getting hired for the Kent State staff. In the Friday Oklahoman, I wrote about... Read More

OSU football: 2004 coaching search December 23, 2011 I wrote earlier in the week that Mike Gundy was named OSU’s head coach in December 2004 without so much as a search, after Les Miles left for LSU. A person involved in that situation seven years ago called to let me know that wasn’t accurate. The person said that OSU athletic director Harry Birdwell... Read More

OSU football: Can Cowboys afford to pay Gundy a top-10 salary

December 22, 2011 Here’s the most relevant question concerning the Mike Gundy/OSU contract contention. How much can the Cowboys afford to pay? Forget for a moment how much OSU wants to pay. Or how much Gundy wants. Think in terms of how much OSU can pay. I wrote about the negotiations in the Thursday Oklahoman. You can... Read More

Big 12 football: TCU looks sluggish vs. Louisiana Tech December 22, 2011 TCU coach Gary Patterson chatted with ESPN’s Samantha Steele just before the Poinsettia Bowl on Wednesday night and gave a good quote about the mindset of post-season games: “The team that wants bowl games is the team that wins bowl games.” Then Patterson’s team started playing, and you wondered if... Read More

Ohio State: NCAA giveth, NCAA taketh away December 21, 2011 Two interesting rulings on Ohio State in recent weeks. The Buckeyes were hit with a bowl ban by the NCAA on Tuesday, something the NCAA has been a little reluctant to do in recent years. Southern Cal got one for this season, and Ohio State’s bowl ban is for 2012, since the Buckeyes play Florida in the Gator Bowl... Read More

OU football: Calling all tailbacks December 21, 2011 A hot idea floating the OU chat rooms is this: Javon Harris at tailback. Why not? Harris is in the doghouse as a safety. The Sooners are getting woefully shy at tailback. Harris was a high school tailback good enough to keep Lawton MacArthur teammate Dominique Whaley out of the starting position. Why not... Read More

OU football: Remember Roland Sales December 20, 2011 Iowa tailback Marcus Coker will miss the Insight Bowl, suspended for a violation of the Hawkeyes’ student-conduct code. Don’t expect the Sooners to offer much sympathy, since OU will be without starting tailback Dom Whaley, who missed the final half of the season with a fractured ankle, and Brandon Williams,... Read More