Comparing Stoops with Wilkinson & Switzer
One of Bob Stoops’ big detractors emailed me this week during our Stoops @10 series, wanting to know why we didn’t list the bowl records of Stoops, Bud Wilkinson and Barry Switzer.
Well, the reason we didn’t list bowl records is we didn’t have room to list every conceivable stat of the legendary coaches. We didn’t list their records against Texas, either, which would have elevated Stoops to the top.
But it’s all interesting, so I will provide the numbers here.
Bowl records: Stoops is 4-5, including 2-4 in BCS bowls; Wilkinson was 6-2, all eight games coming in the Sugar or Orange bowls; Switzer was 8-5, including 6-3 in major bowls.
Vs. Texas: Stoops is 6-3, Switzer was 9-5-2 and Wilkinson was 9-8.
Vs. Nebraska: Stoops is 4-1, Switzer was 12-5 and Wilkinson was 14-3. Of course, Nebraska is not a great barometer. The Huskers weren’t competitive through much of the ’40s and ’50s. And before you say that the Huskers of the Stoops era weren’t legit, either, remember that two of Stoops’ victories came in 1 vs. 2 or 1 vs. 3 matchups, and another was in a Big 12 title game.
So, Stoops clearly lags behind Switzer and Wilkinson in bowl success. But he has the best record against Texas. And Stoops’ record against Nebraska is snuggled tightly between Wilkinson and Switzer, who both produced against the Cornhuskers.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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Comments
If you look at the longevity of its most successful Sooner coaches, Bob has to “step up.” It appears that 16 to 18 years has been the limit for Sooner coaches. Of course, one could make the argument that 16 to 18 years is plenty for any college coach, especially today. However, if you use history as an indicator, Bob only has 7 years to go and he is 2 national championships behind. And while many folks will say that this is a different era or that Bob is not recruiting thugs and thieves or that there is no such thing as the “Sooner Monster”, the sad reality is that the fans are restless. While many fans are satisfied with Bob, the reality is that the Sooner Monster is alive and Bob knows it. If he does not step and step up now, it is unlikely that he will be around in 7 years as the Sooner Monster might force to look elsewhere for employment (can we say Iowa and the Big 10??).
While I did not purchase the PPV package for the game and while the overall numbers look impressive and yes, it is a victory, it is still, that same old vanilla offense. It is not going to win a national championship, especially if the defense is not consistent.
I suggest that Bob steps up, as I want him to stay for the “duration” and go out a winner. Yes, he owns Mack Brown but do not forget, BCS bowl games and Les Miles owns him. As a long time Sooner fan and alum, that has been disheartening to see.
Time to step up Bob. The fans are restless! You said it best….”The history of Oklahoma is winning championships. Anything else is unacceptable.” You need to run the table this year Bob to calm the Sooner Monster down some. If not, you might want to dust off the old resume. Iowa City might be your next address!
switzer could bring on the SOONER majic in his players in the last two minutes of the game …. now it seems to gone … maybe it was in the wishbone offense!
If Bob Stoops doesn’t figure out how to motivate the Sooners to show up for bowl games, embarassing losses in January is going to end up being his lasting legacy.