Sooner football team likes home cooking
Loud crowd or not, few visiting teams win in Norman
BY JOHN HELSLEY
Published: November 21, 2008
NORMAN — The great crowd controversy of 2008 began with the toss of a rather benign question to Bob Stoops.
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Your thoughts!
I will be in section 18 north endzone 2-nite standing and yelling the entire game - no one has to tell me to "cheer like a champion"!
OU class of '86
Pride of Oklahoma member '82-'86
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMERRRRRRRRR!!!
Gary, Oklahoma City - Nov 22, 2008 at 10:32 am
Her is a REAL impressive home schedule Houston,Missouri State,Troy, Tex AM, Baylor. O yea the Sooner are being dished about the last two.
Tom, McAlester - Nov 22, 2008 at 7:24 am
Who do the PLOWBOYS play at home?
Tom, McAlester - Nov 22, 2008 at 6:41 am
I would ask, before everyone freaks out about the lack of toughenss in the home schedule. What is USC's, LSU's, Ohio State's record at home. There are duds in those conference's too folks. What was John Blake's record at home, Schellenberger's one year in Norman. While it is bloated, let's put it up to everyone else's. There have been several close calls over the years, Baylor, KSU, Alabama, Nebraksa, including the two losses OSU and TCU. Those losses were close, and those wins were closer. Let's not go overboard ripping the Sooners for the best home record. Conmplaining about Texas being at a neutral site is like getting on Florida or Georgia for the same reason. If we went with that argument, Texas would also have a much worse record at home. IF it was home at home would it be 2 or three extra losses for OU? 59-5 is still pretty darn good.
Fred, Edmond - Nov 21, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Time to break out the choke chain!
If sooners don't lose this week they have next week or possible bowl game to do it.
Pressure time is here!
Can they handle it?
Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
lee - Nov 21, 2008 at 9:55 pm
I can smell it. Sooners roll over TT and OSU, get the nod over TU for the championship game, kick MU, and get Florida in the National title game for No. 8. If all that happens, there is no denying Sooner Magic lives - forget Santa, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, Texas and OSU. Actually, I think we screwed the pooch when we lost to TU.
bob, anadarko - Nov 21, 2008 at 9:14 pm
If Stoops wants to hear Sooner fans be loud, he should tune in to some sports radio come Monday morning.
John, Ada - Nov 21, 2008 at 8:02 pm
BTW Helsley...there's a junk publication up here in Tulsa for ZeroState writers like you...you shouldn't be allowed to even pen an article about the Sooners...bias lurks...just my opinion...
Wayne, Tulsa - Nov 21, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Trash and garbage comments like john below are what make blogs like this sad...Anyone who truly follows the Sooners know only too well how biased the officiating is AGAINST the Sooners. Unlike Eddie the legand at ZeroState...(Best Refs Tbone can buy...), even Coach Capel can't get the calls on home court. So in a nutshell, this game should be called in favor of the Sooners...afterall, they are at HOME...some losers never shut up...john...just my opinion...
Wayne, Tulsa - Nov 21, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Actually Barry, mullets are cool and I have one, so back off!
jw, Oklahoma City - Nov 21, 2008 at 5:57 pm
A lot of teams can beat OU at home, but the big problem has been "home cookin" with the refs. Look for a lot of pass interferance calls and holding calls against Tech Saturday. I guess they are the best refs money can buy. In spite of this liability, I expect Texas Tech to put on a clinic. POOOOOOR SOOOONERS!
John - Nov 21, 2008 at 5:00 pm
OU's home crowd is way to quiet compared to other stadiums, especially the west side! Bob was definitely right about this issue. I hope the crowd is much noisier tomorrow night.
Janet, Oklahoma City - Nov 21, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Hey- I love Bob... but do wonder if he might be wearing earplugs during home games. It sure as heck seems loud to me!
Mark, Overland Park - Nov 21, 2008 at 4:35 pm
What is wrong with saying OU's crowd needs to make more noise? I would say that is a prety accurate statement by Stoops. My dad and I have had season tickets since John Blake's first year and I have never felt that OU was an overly loud or intimidating place to play. There are certain spots throughout the stadium where fans get a little louder, but typically, it isn't that impressive compared to other big school's crowds. I hope fans take this to heart and really make some noise Saturday night.
Alvin, Waco - Nov 21, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Look out Bob, here comes another top 15 ranked team (from ESPN's Pat Forde)
On Dec. 6, 2003, Oklahoma was undefeated, ranked No. 1 and ticketed for a BCS championship shot in the Sugar Bowl against LSU. The Sooners were widely expected to win their second national title in four seasons. They were playing Kansas State in the Big 12 title game that day, and they were two-touchdown favorites.
Then Sproles sprinted through Stoopsie's defense like the wind rushing down the Plain. He ran for 235 yards that night, plus earned 88 receiving yards, and K-State shocked the misfiring Sooners 35-7.
It was like knocking the teeth out of the schoolyard bully. All the invincibility disappeared that day.
Ever since, Stoops has stopped winning the big one at the same remarkable rate he had earlier. From that K-State game through today, Oklahoma is 4-8 against teams ranked in the top 15 of the Associated Press poll at the time. (And Stoops can thank God for Missouri, which has accounted for half his four victories.)
Five of the eight losses have come as a favorite. Three of them have come against Texas -- the archrival that Stoops once owned but now has beaten just once in four years. Four of the losses have come in the Sooners' past five bowl appearances. They've lost four straight BCS bowl games, all of them embarrassing in one way or another.
John, Edmond - Nov 21, 2008 at 4:12 pm
berry, from arapaho is apparently a Zero S U fan. He calls OU fans mullet wearing rejects [sic].
berry, meet kettle.
Jay, Norman - Nov 21, 2008 at 3:42 pm
It's hard to get to play ranked opponents on Owen field when you have osu at home one year and baylor the next.
Gary, Oklahoma City - Nov 21, 2008 at 3:28 pm
berry, you know nothing, what about TCU, Cincinnati. I mean, like Jay said, if you're a consistent top 5 team it's hard to get a good non-conference schedule because teams that might have a chance don't want to blow it with their non-conference schedule. and how do we not match up with TX A&M, & Nebraska? Other than texas we beat the other two. I don't think A&M has been ranked in the Top 10, since somewhere around the time of ever. and Nebraska has been out of dang near any rankings in years. Stoops & Co. didn't sell us out you moron. they are trying to get the crowd pumped abut the game. Which i for one am ready for, i can't be there but, i will be yelling so loud they will thing i'm there. But, i guess being a lOSUer you wouldn't be able to comprehend what a mastermind at work looks like yet, but, i think ol' Mike will teach you sooner or later, he's a dang good coach. Go Sooners!!!!!!!!!
David, Moore - Nov 21, 2008 at 3:23 pm
You can skew an article any direction you want, Helsley, when you pick and choose your data. He leaves out the fact that we beat Cincy this year, who is now ranked #19. Sure they were unranked when we played them, but now we know how good of a team there are. They may win their conference. Whereas highly ranked (at the time) UGA and LSU have shown their true colors of not being all that great as evidenced by LSU nearly getting beat by Troy on their home field.
Helsley also notes "And only one such team, No. 1 Nebraska in 2000, was a betting-line favorite." Go back and look at our rankings through the past ten years. It's hard to host a favored team when you're ranked in the top 5 more often than not.
Jay, Norman - Nov 21, 2008 at 3:05 pm
It could be that they rarely play anyone of merit other than a Big 12 team and their odds are 50-50 of getting them at home. Zero U does not match up at all with Texas, A & M, Nebraska, and the list goes on. Face it, your coaching staff just told you that you as a crowd suck and they don't need you mullet wearing rejects.
berry, arapaho - Nov 21, 2008 at 2:55 pm
So Helsley says that the Sooners have rarely faced major challengers on Owen Field. Has it ever occured to these idiot sportswriters that is because they have been so good. And John from Edmond has to let us all know he is just as stupid as Helsley by bringing up close wins. Well it is sure nice to be a fan of a team that can only be "criticized" for losing 2 games in 10 years or by not winning by a wider margin. Aggies would give there left nut for such a team.
Mike, Corpus Christi - Nov 21, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Stewart, I don't know how old you are, but in the "old days" they did not serve beer at Owen Field. We got loud without the liquid fanticism and that was when the south end was bleachers!!!! Not to pick on you young uns, I think this crowd will rock the joint and Stewart I hope you are there to add to and experience it because I sure as heck wish I could.
Richard, Visalia - Nov 21, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Yes Eric, I too feel the excitement. I drove through campus this morning, and everyone is already setting up shop for tailgating. I can feel the Sooner Magic........
D, Norman - Nov 21, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Home white? You must have been wearing your home orange when you wrote this inaccuurate article.
Steven, Oklahoma City - Nov 21, 2008 at 1:00 pm
When ur better than ur opponent, u should win regardless of where u play. When u are a consistent top 10 ten, u should win regardless of where u play. When u are picked to compete for the Big 12 and South Campionship every year, u should win regardless of where y play. Could someone remind all the TT and LoSurs contributing to this board, there are part of that "weak" competition that allowed OU to be 59-2 at home? LMAO at all the wanna-bes showing up. You'll come back in about 50 years when u have a tradition of something other than losing or being at best mediocre to talk about. Oh well, I guess u can still support/hope other teams can beat the teams u can't.
Robert, Dallas - Nov 21, 2008 at 12:55 pm
This year OU beat a good Cincinatti and TCU team. In years past they have beaten Oregan and Alabama. They have a good, not great, non-conference schedule and the Big 12 is about as tough a conference schedule as there is. The Sooners have played a good schedule. The reason they win is because year in and year out they are one of the top 5 teams in the country. There is no magic here.
tom, Lawton - Nov 21, 2008 at 11:03 am
This year if anyone tells you to sit down at OU-Tech game tell to put where the sun doesn't shine. I don't go to the games anymore because you have to deal with these older snobbish people that want to watch the game in peace and quiet. These are the people Stoops is talking about, that don't make enough noise. In the old days, everybody stood up for 3 hours sceaming for the opponents head, if someone asked you to sit down, they got a beer dumped on them and laughed out of the stadium. Do the team a favor and stay home and watch the game if your not going be rowdy.
Stewart, Norman - Nov 21, 2008 at 11:01 am
So how come we have to apologize for everyone else suc&ing? Do we have to go 1000-2 and be like wow everyone sux.
Michael, coppell - Nov 21, 2008 at 10:52 am
I think the media has made a mountain out of the "OU quiet crowd" molehill. Anyone who actually attends the games knows the crowd knows how and when to crank it up.
OU can be EXTREMELY intimidating when the entire stadium is jacked up. It's not the fans fault OUr biggest regular season game of the year is played in Dallas.
Not to worry, Bob, you will get "real noise"...now go focus on special teams play.
Gary, Oklahoma City - Nov 21, 2008 at 10:47 am
Horrible article......I give it a "D"!
Patrick, Fayetteville - Nov 21, 2008 at 10:31 am
The home record is a bit bloated? So apparently every other team in the nation that hasn't been able to amass a reocrd as good as OU must play top ten teams all the time.
Michael, Moore - Nov 21, 2008 at 10:19 am
Another negative article by former aggie beat writer Helsley. Can't wait to see what he has to say next week.
J, Claremore - Nov 21, 2008 at 10:01 am
Alabam was NOT ina "downturn" when OU played them in Norman in 2002. They FINISHED that year ranked #11 for crying out loud.
Jeff, Del City - Nov 21, 2008 at 9:57 am
"Another factoid that arises when inspecting Oklahoma’s home record is a handful of close shaves against comparatively weak opposition. For instance, the Sooners edged Alabama-Birmingham by only a touchdown in the 2006 season-opener. They resorted to two overtime periods in order to defeat Baylor in 2005. The Sooners scraped by Texas A&M by only six that same year. And the 2001 Sooners nipped Kansas State by a single point"
2006 UAB was Paul Thompson's first game at QB, sort of understandable... all games in 2005 should be discounted given that Rhett Bomar was under the QB helm... can't really explain the Kansas State game but K-state was #11 at the time and had already beaten USC, they just faltered down the stretch...
Ed Lova, Oklahoma City - Nov 21, 2008 at 9:48 am
What i still don't understand is that they write these stories w/o even a hint that we cannot control where the other teams in our conference rank, and how we pick our non-conference schedules years in advance. You cannot always play Top 10 teams, it will NEVER happen, how about USC's streak, how many wins on there are attributed to how bad WSU and UW stink up the place. In my book a W is a W no matter how you look at it.
David, Moore - Nov 21, 2008 at 9:42 am
And why in the heck was this negative article wrote the day before the game?? I mean if you look at the other coaches that have had great home records over the past 10 years they all have had cupcakes on their schedule too. Give me a break. Go write for another paper. Joker!
Eric, Norman - Nov 21, 2008 at 9:38 am
Lets get this party started!!!!!!!!!!!! BOOOOOOOMMMMMMEEEEERRRRRR!!!!!! Anyone else get so excited the night before a game like this that they have trouble sleeping? Like theres a chance that i might throw up!
Eric, Norman - Nov 21, 2008 at 9:36 am
Terrible story, poorly researched, and a passive-agressively skewed against Coach Stoops' and the Sooners' phenomenal 10 year home record.
Brent, Oklahoma City - Nov 21, 2008 at 9:31 am
I think you can take the rankings and the spread and the stats and throw them out the window on OU's next two games. They will be won solely on who comes out to play and who prepared the best. I think OU will win simply because TT will come out thinking they already have it won, and when they figure out what's happening it will be too late my guess is the score will be OU 47-TT 40. But, i'm no sports analyst. Go Sooners!!!!!
David, Moore - Nov 21, 2008 at 9:19 am
1st you screw up the Blake Griffin All American story, saying Ryan Minor in 95 was the last Sooner to be pre-season AA, when in fact it was Najera in 99. Now, you screw this up too? Oklahoma wears white on the ROAD, not at home. Football teams period, wear color jerseys at home, and white jerseys on the road. (aside from LSU, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins)
You've been slacking lately.
Zach, Norman - Nov 21, 2008 at 8:27 am
John, tell me you know we wear home crimson.
Bob, Edmond - Nov 21, 2008 at 8:24 am
Uh, Mr. Helsly.....OU wears their "whites" on the road.
JJ, Okc - Nov 21, 2008 at 8:20 am
The fact that has everybody all shook up is Oklahoma’s 59-2 home record during Bob Stoops’ tenure. That mark is the best in college football during the ten-year span in question. And it is no doubt impressive. But upon closer inspection, a bit of that record’s luster fades and concomitantly, Tech’s hopes wax a mite.
To begin with, the Sooners have faced only two top-ten teams at home during the Stoops era, and one top-five unit. The top-five team was No. 1 Nebraska whom OU dispatched 31-14 back in 2000. The only other elite team to venture into Norman during this period was No. 9 Iowa State in 2002. The Sooners won that one 49-3.
Thus, the fine folk of greater Oklahoma City have not seen a visiting top-ten football team in six football seasons.
They’ll sure see one this coming Saturday.
Another factoid that arises when inspecting Oklahoma’s home record is a handful of close shaves against comparatively weak opposition. For instance, the Sooners edged Alabama-Birmingham by only a touchdown in the 2006 season-opener. They resorted to two overtime periods in order to defeat Baylor in 2005. The Sooners scraped by Texas A&M by only six that same year. And the 2001 Sooners nipped Kansas State by a single point.
John, Edmond - Nov 21, 2008 at 8:09 am
You have to kill the King before you take his throne
m., Oklahoma City - Nov 21, 2008 at 8:02 am
How can TT be the underdog? They should be favored because they are undefeated and beat the only team to beat OU. I don't understand the spread but don't beat anyway. Please OU come out determined and in control. Sack the QB and put pressure on him every down. Def. catch two and return for TD's. Is that asking too much? Go Sooners!
Robert, Denver - Nov 21, 2008 at 7:35 am
OUCH! This article kinda puts the ole screw to Ou in the competitive teams played argument.
ALBERT, BETHANY - Nov 21, 2008 at 3:57 am
Actually, Bob's record against ranked teams on our home field is better than Bud Wilkinson's or Barry Switzer's:
Against Top 25 Teams in Norman
Bob Stoops: 11-0 (100%)
Barry Switzer: 17-5-1 (76%)
Bud Wilkinson: 8-4 (67%)
JaneAnn , Shawnee - Nov 21, 2008 at 12:56 am
Come back after you get your azz handed to you next week.
K, Oklahoma City - Nov 20, 2008 at 11:43 pm
And now that the Oswhoo cowgirls have their new stadium, OU will own it like they do the one in Norman. Poor, poor, cowgirls, can't do anything right when it comes to OU.
Carl, Norman - Nov 20, 2008 at 11:23 pm
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