Somebody's back....and it ain't Texas.
Rarely do you get a chance for your team to play in the clear spotlight game of the week. Even more rarely does that game fully exceed the high pregame expectations as an Instant Classic/GOTY, with your team winning. These are the best moments as a fan, and the moments where the flywheel visibly gains momentum.
Don't hear me saying that this year's OU team is truly elite and going all the way. But, until as recently as a few weeks ago we were still dealing with the genuine possibility that we were headed for an extended time in the desert of cfb, searching for the right coach and hoping to still be able to attract the right roster to make the transition to the SEC without falling flat on our faces. Again, this OU team is far from perfect but we are definitely back. Maybe, just maybe, we're even back from the statistics and Heismans powered illusion of the Lincoln Riley era. Maybe we're more importantly back to the type of balanced, but defensively-led team that Switzer and Stoops built....the kind that can actually win it all. The kind of team that stuffs the #3 team in the country 4 times from our own 1-yard line. The kind of teams you saw at Bama during their dominant run, Clemson when Venables was there and they won titles, and at UGA & Michigan currently. We don't have those rosters (yet) but we have the culture now, and we have the core of a roster like that amongst our Sophs, Fr, and current recruiting class. Between that and the possibility of being the Portal Team Du Jour, you can start to see the possibilities. OUs best team is coming not this year, not next year, but in 2025. Enjoy the ride, we're more 'back' than we ever knew we needed to be.
Meanwhile, Lincoln Riley went to 3OT, after midnight, with nobody watching in the stadium or on TV to sneak by unranked 3-3 Arizona, at home. Case closed. Lincoln saved us from himself and is exactly where he belongs. His problem is that now he's got to deal with the bait & switch his Admin pulled on him putting him in a Big 10 he's completely unfit for. Good riddance and good luck.
In the distant second biggest game in the SEC yesterday, both Bama and A&M did what Bama and A&M do when the biggest moments present themselves. OU and UT to the SEC is an unmitigated disaster for A&M, and they're in the process of proving beyond all doubt that even with a 10+ year head start and an all-in mentality, they're somehow cursed and won't ever find the top of the mountain. Ever.
In other relevant moments, Coach Prime got a road W (Sko Buffs!), Miami lost in hysterical fashion (look it up), Endless Pac-12 cannibalism began with UCLA knocking Wazzou from the undefeated ranks, and Gundy danced his way back into full control of a top half XII program.
There are no perfect or dominant teams in CFB this year. Everyone is likely to slip up somewhere. There's likely to be 3-6 teams with 1 loss arguing for 1 or 2 playoff spots. This year is going to be a great way to close out the 4-team CFP era and to imagine the glory of next year's 12-team model. I have always been against playoff expansion because I don't think those kinds of teams have earned a chance to compete for a championship. That being said, when it's actually about manufacturing and monetizing a spectacle for TV revenue, it's inarguable that the 12-team model is going to be incredible. This year is going to be a great example of that fact.
Boomer!
Rarely do you get a chance for your team to play in the clear spotlight game of the week. Even more rarely does that game fully exceed the high pregame expectations as an Instant Classic/GOTY, with your team winning. These are the best moments as a fan, and the moments where the flywheel visibly gains momentum.
Don't hear me saying that this year's OU team is truly elite and going all the way. But, until as recently as a few weeks ago we were still dealing with the genuine possibility that we were headed for an extended time in the desert of cfb, searching for the right coach and hoping to still be able to attract the right roster to make the transition to the SEC without falling flat on our faces. Again, this OU team is far from perfect but we are definitely back. Maybe, just maybe, we're even back from the statistics and Heismans powered illusion of the Lincoln Riley era. Maybe we're more importantly back to the type of balanced, but defensively-led team that Switzer and Stoops built....the kind that can actually win it all. The kind of team that stuffs the #3 team in the country 4 times from our own 1-yard line. The kind of teams you saw at Bama during their dominant run, Clemson when Venables was there and they won titles, and at UGA & Michigan currently. We don't have those rosters (yet) but we have the culture now, and we have the core of a roster like that amongst our Sophs, Fr, and current recruiting class. Between that and the possibility of being the Portal Team Du Jour, you can start to see the possibilities. OUs best team is coming not this year, not next year, but in 2025. Enjoy the ride, we're more 'back' than we ever knew we needed to be.
Meanwhile, Lincoln Riley went to 3OT, after midnight, with nobody watching in the stadium or on TV to sneak by unranked 3-3 Arizona, at home. Case closed. Lincoln saved us from himself and is exactly where he belongs. His problem is that now he's got to deal with the bait & switch his Admin pulled on him putting him in a Big 10 he's completely unfit for. Good riddance and good luck.
In the distant second biggest game in the SEC yesterday, both Bama and A&M did what Bama and A&M do when the biggest moments present themselves. OU and UT to the SEC is an unmitigated disaster for A&M, and they're in the process of proving beyond all doubt that even with a 10+ year head start and an all-in mentality, they're somehow cursed and won't ever find the top of the mountain. Ever.
In other relevant moments, Coach Prime got a road W (Sko Buffs!), Miami lost in hysterical fashion (look it up), Endless Pac-12 cannibalism began with UCLA knocking Wazzou from the undefeated ranks, and Gundy danced his way back into full control of a top half XII program.
There are no perfect or dominant teams in CFB this year. Everyone is likely to slip up somewhere. There's likely to be 3-6 teams with 1 loss arguing for 1 or 2 playoff spots. This year is going to be a great way to close out the 4-team CFP era and to imagine the glory of next year's 12-team model. I have always been against playoff expansion because I don't think those kinds of teams have earned a chance to compete for a championship. That being said, when it's actually about manufacturing and monetizing a spectacle for TV revenue, it's inarguable that the 12-team model is going to be incredible. This year is going to be a great example of that fact.
Boomer!
