Bob Stoops hoping to end his Red River slump

Lose this game, and the OU coach is 1-5 in the last six Bevo bashes.

photo - Cincinnati Head coach Butch Jones (left) talks with head coach Bob Stoops before the college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the University of Cincinnati Bearcats (UC) at Paul Brown Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman

Cincinnati Head coach Butch Jones (left) talks with head coach Bob Stoops before the college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the University of Cincinnati Bearcats (UC) at Paul Brown Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman

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No way Stoops goes the trail of Gibbs or Luster. But Stoops could go the way of Wilkinson or Royal; could get tired of losing to Texas, just as Brown wearied of losing to the Sooners before Vince Young rode to the rescue.

We always thought that if OU lost Stoops, it would be to the NFL or the University of Florida or to some desire to play golf for more than a few days in summer.

But now, Longhorn fatigue seems the most likely culprit to shoo away Stoops from the Switzer Center.

If anything could make him lose interest in his admittedly fantastic job, it would be an annual beat down from the Longhorns.

Stoops would not admit to such even under threat of the heretics fork.

And Stoops still has his trusty comeback of Big 12 championships; three in the last four years, two of them despite losses in the Cotton Bowl.

Stoops admits this is a big game, a majestic rivalry. Admits the Cotton Bowl tunnel gets his blood pumping.

But Stoops won't bite on the enormity of any particular outcome. Says losing to Texas feels no worse than losing to Texas Tech (he's done it four times) or OSU and Colorado (twice each).

"That doesn't feel good either," Stoops said.

Stoops says he spends no time thinking about his legacy. Which I don't really believe, because everybody does, to some degree.

"We wanted to build on the tradition that was here before," Stoops said of his goal when hired a dozen years ago. "We've done that. We're not done, hopefully."

Stoops acts and talks like a guy who is going to be a long-timer. Going to surpass Switzer's 16 years as OU's coach and Wilkinson's 17 and maybe even approach Bennie Owen's 22.

But the Oklahoma job is a lot more enjoyable when you beat Texas. I recommend it Saturday.

Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at (405) 760-8080 or at btramel@opubco.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can also view his personality page at newsok.com/berrytramel.

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