The Ace of Spades???

[PtLavacaSooner]

So yesterday I threw some stuff out there in my usual Oklahoma Sooners homer mode. I never predict an OU loss. I really don't believe I'm capable of it. I was raised on Sooner Magic. Even in the worst of predicaments, I believe the Sooners will find a way. I saw the possibilities of that slowly dwindle last night. Players make plays or they don't, right? Sure. They are the ones on the field. There was some Sooner Magic that seemed to return when Bob Stoops took the reins of the monster known as Oklahoma Sooner Football. Is it still here? If so, where? If not, where did it go? Did it never really exist. Have I been duped by a fairy tale?

Anyway, I've pulled out another Ace. In doing so, I pose the question, "How Long?" I will be posting my results...

 

[PtLavacaSooner]

And so it began... Do you remember, back in 2003? OU had finished #1, #6, & #5 the years prior. OU was back! And Bob Stoops was a big part of that, if not all of it. The 2003 Oklahoma Sooners football team was 12-0 and being touted as the best college football team ever. A simple game against KSU in the Big XII Championship Game to take care of and "Hello New Orleans!" No doubts the Sugar Bowl was next, the Sugar Bowl was hosting the BCS National Championship Game! OU was a sure bet. Nobody could beat them...

As OU takes the field, ABC sideline reporter gets a response from Bob, "We're going to try to be great tonight, too, Jack." Try? Really? Okay, but did you? Hmmm, let's see...

 

[OUSOONER67]

I remember after the loss to lsu Bob said it was hard to lose the title game with all that talent. Maybe it is coaching thats the problem.

 

[veritas59]

And so it began... Do you remember, back in 2003? OU had finished #1, #6, & #5 the years prior. OU was back! And Bob Stoops was a big part of that, if not all of it. The 2003 Oklahoma Sooners football team was 12-0 and being touted as the best college football team ever. A simple game against KSU in the Big XII Championship Game to take care of and "Hello New Orleans!" No doubts the Sugar Bowl was next, the Sugar Bowl was hosting the BCS National Championship Game! OU was a sure bet. Nobody could beat them...

As OU takes the field, ABC sideline reporter gets a response from Bob, "We're going to try to be great tonight, too, Jack." Try? Really? Okay, but did you? Hmmm, let's see...

View embedded media

And this is me..... now.

 

[PtLavacaSooner]

I remember after the loss to lsu Bob said it was hard to lose the title game with all that talent. Maybe it is coaching thats the problem.

I know Mike was an "advisor" on the sideline for the LSU game. My question, which will probably not get answered, was Mike already negotiating with schools before the KSU beat down? Is that part of the fall off?

And I found my answer... He was hired before the Big XII Championship Game... Announced November 29th...

 

[PtLavacaSooner]

So diasappointing finish in 2003. Maybe there was a distraction with the departure of Mike Stoops. Maybe his role wasn't easily filled at that point in time... OU finishes 12-2 and #3 while LSU & USC split the NC.

2004 and OU starts #2 in the polls and looks every bit of it. In route to an 12-0 record, 10 coming by double digits. It was on. Two storied programs. Heavy hitters in the history of college football. USC & OU at the Orange Bowl. Debacle? Unmotivated? WTF? After the 35-7 KSU beating, how does 55-19 show up a year later? These aren't just losses. These are the beatings OU dishes out...

***WARNING EXPLICIT LYRICS***

 

[PtLavacaSooner]

2005 brought a theme not seen in Norman since 1998... Losing. The Oklahoma Sooners started out with a loss. They didn't get passed the .500 mark in 2005 until a double overtime win against Baylor, 37-30. From the 8-5 record, only three games appeared certain wins. KSU, Kansas, and aOm. This after starting the season #7. The 8th win, over #6 Oregon in the Holiday Bowl 17-14 earned OU a #22 ranking in the final polls... Oregon got their revenge in the focking of the century early in 2006, claiming a 34-33 victory over the Sooners after two botched calls by the PAC12 officials. The Sooners ended the season with a 43-42 OT loss to Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. Every bit of Sooner Magic was used to perfection, by Boise State! The Sooners did gain some respect back though, claiming another Big XII title and and end of season rank of #11...

Meat Loaf for dinner anyone????

 

[PtLavacaSooner]

2007 brings a year of new hope... No, not Obi wan Kenobi... The hope was in a top 10 ranking and early in the season, a new qb... Sam Bradford entered the season as a redshirt freshman who was expected to compete with two others, Joey Halzle, and Keith Nichol, a highly recruited dual threat qb. Bradford won the job after a call scrimmage and led the Sooners to #3 in the nation before faltering to Colorado. Another Big XII Championship and hello buzzsaw, er, Fiesta Bowl... Beat down city at the hands of future conference foe West Virginia, 48-28. Although it really wasn't that close.... And it ain't that pretty at all...



Of course, you could say, My Sh!t's Focked Up...

 

[PtLavacaSooner]

2007 might have been focked up, but 2008 was different. Opening the year ranked #4 and climbed the ladder. 3, 2, 1... texASS had other plans, knocking the Sooners from their perch in a 45-35 contest. No worries. Oklahoma would run the table afterwards setting records galore... Nobody could stop it... 7 wins in a row, 6 of 58+ points, Heisman winning QB Sam Bradford led the Sooners to a BCS #1 ranking, AP #2, and a matchup with Florida for the National Championship... Oklahoma was back in the saddle... Again...



Woopty tie aye ohhhhhhh....

 

[PtLavacaSooner]

Kerplunk.... 24-14 Florida... 12-2 for the year. One thing I know? You can't win it, if you ain't in it... A few plays here or there and this one, just like the LSU one, could have went OUr way... So while it is what it is, it isn't like we are watching aOm football... So while 2008 ended without the wanted results, 2009 was looking good for the next step. #3, opening the year with a 14-13 loss to BYU @ the new Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas. OU also lost qb Sam Bradford in the opener. After falling to Nebraska, the 2009 Oklahoma Sooners were 5-4 and out of the AP rankings. Looking at it all, 1 point, 1 point, 3 points, and 7 points... I guess a play here or there, and sh!t, OU is 9-0 at that point... Instead, it is another 8-5 season and whorndom is playing Alabama for the NC...

And I knew then, I had lost what should've been found....

 

[PtLavacaSooner]

Oh, what a difference a W makes... Close victories are better than close losses, even against Cupcake U. At 6-0 the Sooners were #3, despite wins of only 7, 2, and 3 points against lesser opponents... Mizzou wasn't impressed and dropped OU down to #11 and losing later to unranked aTm left OU barely in the top 20. Oh, it ended well though, 12-2 #6 after not being embarrassed in a Fiesta Bowl matchup with U Conn.... Yep, somebody get me a cupcake... I think it's just what I needed... Barf...

 

[PtLavacaSooner]

So... Not going into each season forward... Big games? aTm in the Cotton Bowl? Maybe. Alabama in the Sugar Bowl? Okay. Did Alabama see it that way? Not sure. OU didn't have a chance, supposedly. I'm thinking if Alabama continued to run Henry, it isn't a 14 point game... He was never stopped, other than Alabama stopped calling his number...

What's my point? It's more of a question... Why is OU receiving beatdowns instead of giving them to top competition? texASS type beatdowns... 63-14, 65-13, etc... 55-0 over KSU? they were 6-7. Is 63-21 vs. texASS in 2012 all we got?

 

[PtLavacaSooner]

The shapes of things before my eyes... Ah, maybe we are all just victims. Isn't that the norm today? Shadows of the past, Victims of the Future.... maybe?



How long will it last, Victims of the Future????

 

[JConXtsy]

It'll have to last until next Saturday at least. No game this Saturday.

 

[BillyRay]

I don't have all the answers, but I think a big reason for the current predicament is Bob's program is finally paying the price for so many years of lazy ass recruiting. I think that is part of the reason for his staff overhaul the last few seasons. It's taken those new coaches a little time to get going and I think we are finally seeing the full effect with how wear the 2017 class is coming.
But OU fans should dig it and realize it will be pretty lean the next couple of seasons until the talent level gets back up.
But time will tell if it's enough. Being in the Big XII I believe has a negative effect on recruiting by itself. Hopefully the new coaches can overcome that handicap going forward. The 2017 class gives reason to be optimistic.

 

[PtLavacaSooner]

I don't have all the answers

WHAT?!?!?!? Fine. I quit... And here we were counting on you to fix it all while ending world hunger...

 

[PtLavacaSooner]

KSU kicked the team of ages in the teeth after Mike took the Arizona job... In the games and seasons since... an edge that is missing... The chip on the shoulder... Line in the sand... Whatever you want to call it, but OU has been more prone to getting hit than doing the hitting. While Bob has at times appeared to get it corrected, the big games tell another story...

I think it was Sammy Hagar who said, "Having a high school band is great, you're all friends and all. But when you want to get to that next level, and this one guy can't play, well, "I'll be your friend for life, but you're out of the band.""

So the story goes... You're fired! Want some candy little boy?