Oklahoma football: These are uneasy times in Sooner football

These are uneasy times in Sooner football.

Not necessarily nationally, considering the Sooners are ranked fifth or sixth in the major polls.

Not necessarily regionally, considering the Sooners were picked to win the Big 12 and Kansas State coach Bill Snyder, who Saturday night brings his Wildcats to town for a showdown special, says he can't think of a negative thing to say about Bobby Stoops' squad.

But in Soonerville, in every hill and holler and homestead where they hold Oklahoma football dear, there's a general restlessness. Not the hunger to end the national championship drought. A fear. A fear that the program has slipped.

Even Stoops' strongest supporters privately wonder if their coach needs to make even bigger changes than last off-season, when he took the bold and novel steps of firing an assistant (Willie Martinez) and demoting another (Brent Venables).

All of which makes OU-Kansas State a huge game for Sooner psyches. Beat the 15th-ranked Wildcats, and all seems better. Lose, and suddenly it's fair to say that Sooner football is in a multi-year slump.

This much we know for sure. The Sooner talent base isn't what it was a few years ago.

“It's Oklahoma, so you're going to have great players, regardless,” said fifth-year defensive end R.J. Washington. But then Washington recited some of his teammates from 2008 and 2009.

Sam Bradford. Jermaine Gresham. Trent Williams. G.K. McCoy. Jeremy Beal. Auston English.

“Guy after guy after guy,” Washington said. “Their generation might have been a little more doggish, if that makes sense. They were like, I don't care … this is how I'm going to play. Let's go get it. We still have that mentality, but it's tweaked different.”