Doubts means Bradford has arrived
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Tebow for Heisman
Mea culpa time. A few weeks back, I ripped the Scripps Howard Heisman poll, both in general and for listing Florida’s Tim Tebow as the leader way back in September.
Well, Tebow soon enough fell from favor, and here we are in late October, and Tebow is back atop the poll. And this time, I salute the voters. I think Tebow might be the best player in college football. A quarterback who can throw — he leads the NCAA in passing efficiency — and also run. A tough leader on a great team, despite Florida’s two losses.
I still think a Heisman poll in early September is goofy. I still think voters six weeks ago were voting for Tebow not because they knew something, but because they didn’t know anything.But now, Tebow is the man and as good a pick as any to win the 2007 Heisman.
Stories from the football front
One of the fun things about my job is the stories I get to hear. I hear some live. Others I get by email. Some I got when I took calls on my radio show.
Not every story makes the paper, but that’s not necessarily because they’re not worthy. They just don’t fit. But this blog offers another option to place a tale that bears telling. R.J. has been an occasional caller to my radio show and also corresponds via email from time to time. Here’s a story he sent me this week:
“It was sometime in the mid 1950s, and I was probably 10 or 11 years old. OU was getting ready to play Texas, and the game was blacked out in Oklahoma but televised in Texas. I lived in Clinton, and my dad, a big football fan, ran a salvage yard south of town. Everyone was disappointed that the game would not be on TV.
“My dad came up with an idea. So we spent Saturday morning building a make-shift 30 foot antenna that we erected outside the shop. We were determined to pick up the signal from Wichita Falls. Well, come game time, our 17” Motorola got a faint and fuzzy picture going. Everyone was pretty excited about it. Word got around town, and before long we had a mix of lawyers, doctors, plumbers, and mechanics crowded around the TV.
“I remember that afternoon and how much fun everyone seemed to be having. It’s kind of like a Norman Rockwell painting etched in my mind. An 11-year-old boy learned some new cuss words that afternoon. The funny thing is, I can’t remember who won the game that day.
“It still amazes how people can come together and forget their troubles for a few hours while watching their favorite team. It’s kind of like the story you told once about your neighbor, whose house burned down before the Texas game. Yet, there he was happy as could be in the Cotton Bowl.”
Good stuff, R.J. And as for my neighbor, that’s a story I told on the radio but I don’t think I’ve shared it in print. So here goes.
2003. A fire struck my neighbor’s house, two doors down. The house wasn’t leveled but was mostly gutted and much was lost, though thankfully no one was hurt. Anyway, the fire hit on Wednesday of OU-Texas week. Saturday, I was at the Cotton Bowl, and that’s the year, remember, the Sooners routed the Longhorns 65-13. Near the end of the game, I went to the Cotton Bowl floor, standing in the end zone, waiting out the final gun. I heard someone call my name. I turned around, and about 10 rows up, my neighbor waved. I went up into the crowd, and all he could talk about was how great was the game.
One of my favorite OU-Texas stories.But not as good as R.J.’s.
Why home-field advantage?
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BCS still unkind to Sooners
This week’s BCS rankings weren’t kind to Oklahoma. And they won’t be anytime soon.The Sooners fell from fifth to sixth in the BCS, and truth is, forget rankings and computers and anything else. Any team that goes to Ames and trails at halftime, then wins 17-7, deserves a mighty fall.
But even so. OU’s computer ranking of 14th is dragging down the Sooners and will continue to do so. OU has Iowa State wrapped around its neck for the rest of the season, pulling down its computer average. Baylor awaits, which will do the same.
Texas A&M and OSU won’t hurt the Sooners’ computer ranking but won’t help much.OU still can climb the BCS mountain. But the Sooners very likely will lose out to most one-loss teams.What it boils down to is this. Oklahoma still needs help, and lots of it.
What was Les thinking?
I’m a big Les Miles fan. I think he’s a heck of a coach. Good play-caller. Good strategist. But I have no idea what Les was thinking in the final seconds Saturday night, when LSU beat Auburn 30-24.
LSU trailed 24-23, and with the clocking winding down, and LSU with the ball on the Auburn 22-yard line, the Tigers threw a pass into the end zone. Demetrius Byrd made a diving catch for a touchdown, with one second left in the game. But what could Miles have been thinking, unless he had no confidence whatsoever in his kicker? If that play malfunctions in the slightest — a tip in the end zone, a little bit of pressure that makes quarterback Matt Flynn hesitate — the clock could have expired, and LSU would have been left looking foolish, in field-goal range but no time to try the game-winner.
Great goal-line stand
If OSU loses this game, it can look back to Kansas State’s goal-line stand late in the second quarter. First-and-goal at the KSU 2-yard line, and the Wildcats hold. They stuffed bruising tailback Julius Crosslin for no gain, one yard and no gain on three consecutive plays. With the pressbox crowd saying the Cowboys were playing Les Miles football, OSU lined up for fourth down. Zac Robinson pitched to Dantrell Savage, who sped to the corner and was stopped for no gain by KSU linebacker Justin Roland, a Ponca City product.
With a versatile quarterback like Zac Robinson, it’s inexcusable not to score on first-and-goal from the 2. Of course, it’s inexcusable not to score on first-and-goal from the 2 even with a statue at quarterback.
Hey, this guy is good!
Remember about 15 months ago, when the Big 12 seemed void of quality quarterbacks? Now, the league is awash in good quarterbacks, and when making that list, don’t forget Kansas State sophomore Josh Freeman. The KSU quarterback just threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson, and it was a heck of a play. Freeman was rushed heavily but stayed with the play, stepping up into the pocket to give himself a sliver of a chance to fling the pass. Which he did, a strike to Nelson inside the 10-yard line. Freeman now has completed 13 of 19 passes for 169 yards.
Dez dispenses touchdown
Dez Bryant just showed us what the big deal is all about. The 6-foot-2 Oklahoma State freshman just outjumped Kansas State cornerback Justin McKinney for a 24-yard touchdown catch from Zac Robinson, bringing the Cowboys within 14-7. OSU has been looking for a sidekick to Adarius Bowman, and Bryant in August seemed to be the likely candidate. Tall, fast, a big-time receiving prospect. But Bryant hasn’t done much this season; 12 catches in the first seven games. The knock on Bryant is that he hasn’t learned all the offense. But this kind of play suggests perhaps OSU should run the plays he does know.
Robinson off to slow start
Zac Robinson is off to a slow start in Stillwater. He’s 1-of-5 passing, with a 3-yard incompletion and an interception, and his Oklahoma State Cowboys trail Kansas State 14-0 midway through the first quarter. The Cowboys clearly are going to have to feed Dantrell Savage. The OSU tailback has four carries for 36 yards.
