OSU football: Mike Gundy doesn’t flee from the pressure
OSU is No. 3 in the BCS rankings. That’s new territory for the Cowboys, but so far, they’ve handled it very well. Since beating Texas A&M, the Cowboys have been in the national spotlight. But they’ve routed Texas at Texas, Missouri at Missouri and Baylor at Boone Pickens Stadium.
And it appears the Cowboys have a solid leader when it comes to dealing with the pressure of such high expectations. Mike Gundy is admitting the existence of such pressure.
“It’s more difficult each week,” Gundy said Monday during his weekly press conference. “Anybody who says it’s not is probably giving you a coach’s line. It’s human nature.
“There’s more attention drawn to your team, more attention drawn to your players individually. If anybody says there’s not more pressure put on them as the season progresses, I’d like to know how they avoid it.”
I like that attitude. Yes, you have to prepare each week, whether it’s Kansas or Bedlam on the schedule. Yes, you have to concentrate on Saturdays; the lessons of the last two Texas Tech games are apparent.
But there’s no reason to pretend that the pressure isn’t greater now than it was when OSU was a mid-level Big 12 team, wrestling for bowl positioning.
The pressure mounts on the Cowboys every week. They carry the expectations not just for themselves, but for OSU teams and fans of generations past. This season already is likely to be the greatest in school history. It has a chance to be even more than that.
No reason to deny those pressures. Better to embrace them. It appears Mike Gundy is doing just that.
Big 12 football: 11-team conference creates issues
A couple of readers pointed out to me that my idea for an 11-team conference has some flaws. Primarily, the nine-game conference schedule, which in its true form is impossible. I wrote about a possible 11-team conference in my Monday column.
It’s mathematically impossible to play a nine-game conference schedule in an 11-team conference. However, you could play a nine-game schedule with the exclusion of one team playing just eight games. Iowa State, Baylor, whoever. You could rotate it. It would be absolutely goofy, yes, but no goofier than anything else going on.
When the Big Ten had 11 teams, it never played a nine-game conference schedule, for that reason.
I’m on record as disapproving of a 10-team league with no championship game. But I’ve got to say, I like the round-robin scheduling format in the current 10-team league. Not because of that stupid slogan — one true champion — but because it means more good games. The nine conference games eliminates a non-conference game, and non-conference games have become mostly humdrum. So the more conference games, the better. That’s why in an 11-team conference, I’d vote for a 10-game schedule. That would leave two non-conference games; schools could play a quality home-and-home series, plus a purchased victory. That would make six home games some years, seven other years, although for a school with an annual neutral-site game, it would be six at home every year. So that’s a financial question some would have to answer.
Mike Gundy long proposed an 11-game conference season, with no title game. We’ll never get there, but we’re closer this season than ever before, and we could get closer.
Bedlam football: Texas Tech stunners helps both OU & OSU
The most stunning result in college football Saturday was Iowa State 41, Texas Tech 7. In Lubbock. A week after the Red Raiders ended OU’s 39-game home winning streak, they suffered their third straight home defeat, this time to a team that had been winless in the Big 12.
Iowa State’s quality wins — Iowa and Connecticut — had proven to be not such a big deal, though they were huge to the Cyclones at the time and remain so. I-State appeared to be climbing uphill with a piano on its back, trying to reach the necessary six wins for bowl eligibility. But the Cyclones went to Lubbock and dominated. Forty minutes time of possession, 368 rushing yards on 67 running plays. One week after Seth Doege looked like the best quarterback of the spread era, he looked like the worse. Doege completed just 16 of 32 passes for 171 yards and two interceptions. No touchdown passes. That’s hard to believe for the Sooners, who were continually wounded by Doege darts.
So what to make of the last two Tech games? I think we’re left to make this assumption: in retrospect, Tech’s upset of OU was a total fluke. Not a fluke as in the ball bounced crazily or the refs cheated or the Sooners had food poisoning. Fluke as in, the stars aligned, the Red Raiders played the game of their lives, the Sooners slept-walked through a good chunk of the game, and the result was 41-38.
And here’s what that means for OU and OSU. Good news.
Good news for OSU for this reason. A week ago, we were ready to consider Tech a rising force in the Big 12. Any team that could come into Norman and pin a loss on an elite Bob Stoops team had to be taken seriously. But not now. Which makes OSU’s Nov. 12 trip to Lubbock a lot less precarious. Still won’t be easy to win on the road, but considering that OSU is 3-0 in Big 12 road games (Texas A&M, Texas, Missouri), and Tech is 0-3 in Big 12 home games (Texas A&M, Kansas State, Iowa State), that games looks firmly in OSU’s control.
With Kansas State and Bedlam still upcoming, it’s not like OSU is in dire need of some quality opponents to pad its BCS ranking. The Cowboys have plenty of stiff opposition, plus have the road wins already under their belt. So Tech becoming a team that looks like a little man behind the curtain is a great development for OSU.
As for OU, I don’t think Tech’s downfall is necessarily a bad thing for the Sooners, as it relates to the BCS. Doesn’t really hurt the computer rankings. In this round-robin Big 12, every result helps and hurts the same. OU plays Iowa State, too, so the Cyclone victory is a good thing. I suppose some of the computer rankings give you credit for how a team was slotted when you play them, but that didn’t help OU with Tech, since the Red Raiders only garnered national attention (or a BCS profile) after beating the Sooners.
So what about the pollsters? I think Tech’s exposed status helps the Sooners. The flukish nature of the result could help the image of the Sooners. If Tech goes 9-3 with a big upset of OU, you figure the Sooners lost to a really good team, which is no crime but certainly was disappointing. But if Tech goes 6-6, including 3-6 in the Big 12, or even worse, then it’s virtually unexplainable how the Red Raiders could win on Owen Field.
If you can’t explain something, sometimes you just dismiss it. If you can’t explain something, sometimes you just don’t even factor it in. No voter in their right mind would rank an unbeaten Stanford below a once-beaten OU, but OU would get the nod over other once-beaten foes. Maybe even over the Alabama-LSU loser, which would be the Sooners’ biggest threat in a BCS confrontation, should OU win out.
So Tech’s loss was not a bad thing for the Oklahoma teams. It was stunning. It was not bad.
OU football: Most shocking defeats
We’re about seven hours from kickoff of the only thing that can soothe fans’ shock of OU’s loss to Texas Tech: another ballgame. But before OU-Tech is not the most recent game in Sooner history, let’s try to put it into context for the most stunning defeat in Sooner history. Here’s my list of the 10 biggest shockers in Sooner history:
1. 2001: OSU 16, OU 13, at Norman. Sooners were on course for the national title game until this Thanksgiving Saturday loss to a 3-7 team.
2. 1957: Notre Dame 7, OU 0, at Norman. The idea of defeat — to anyone — long had left Norman during what became a 47-game winning streak. Then Dick Lynch scored around right end late in the game, and the Sooners returned to reality.
3. 1975: Kansas 23, OU 3, at Norman. It wasn’t so much that KU wasn’t capable — the Jayhawks were 5-3 — but the Sooners had a 28-game winning streak and Barry Switzer never had lost as a head coach.
4. 1959: Northwestern 45, OU 13, at Evanston, Ill. The Wildcats had gone 9-17-1 in Ara Parseghian’s first three years as coach. The Sooners had seven losses total the previous 10 years, by a combined 30 points. Then Northwestern won by 32.
5. 1977: Arkansas 31, OU 6, at Miami. Strange to think you couldn’t lose an Orange Bowl, but the Razorbacks suspended three marquee players for the game, the Sooners were on a roll and in national championship contention, and OU was a 19-point favorite back when 19 points was a lot.
6. 1976: OSU 31, OU 24, at Norman. The Cowboys proved to be an excellent team, tying for the Big Eight title, but nobody knew it then. They were 3-2; the Sooners were 37-1-2 under Switzer coming into this game. But the Cowboys scored the game’s final 18 points.
7. 2003: Kansas State 35, OU 7, at Kansas City. The unbeaten Sooners were in contention for more than the national championship. They were being mentioned as the greatest team of all time. Not so after this Big 12 title game.
8. 1965: OSU 17, OU 16, at Norman. The Cowboys entered this game 2-7. The Sooners entered this game 3-6 for the season and 29-26-1 in the ’60s. But they still had their Bedlam domination, having beaten OSU 19 straight times. Until this one, Gomer Jones’ last game.
9. 1960: Iowa State 10, OU 6, at Ames. The Sooners weren’t good in ’60, taking a 2-3-1 record into the game, but they hadn’t lost to the Cyclones since 1931. Losing to ISU brought the cold, hard truth. The glorious ’50s were over.
10. 1982: West Virginia 41, OU 27, at Norman. Don Nehlen was building a great program in Morgantown, but nobody west of the Cumberland Gap knew it. After Jeff Hostetler torched the Sooners, there was no lack of appreciation for the Mountaineers.
Big 12 football: West Virginia’s Big 12 history
West Virginia is coming aboard the Big 12. Just what the Big 12 needed. Name-brand football. The geography’s a stretch, but the football is solid. That geography thing has kept the Mountaineers from too much interaction with its new brothers in Conference Chaos. Here is West Virginia’s history against Big 12 schools:
OKLAHOMA: 2-2.The Sooners beat WVU under Bud Wilkinson (47-14 in 1958) and Barry Switzer (52-10 in 1978). But the Mountaineers and QB Jeff Hostetler stunned the ’82 Sooners 41-27. And we all remember the 2008 Fiesta Bowl, when Pat White, Noel Devine and Owen Schmitt put a 48-28 whipping on OU. The Sooners never have played in Morgantown.
OKLAHOMA STATE: 2-1.Believe it or not, OSU and WVU played a home-and-home series in 1928-29, with the Mountaineers winning 32-6 in Morgantown in ’28 and 9-6 in Stillwater in ’29. But the Cowboys beat WVU 35-33 in the 1987 Sun Bowl.
TEXAS: 1-0. West Virginia won 7-6 in Austin in 1956.
TEXAS TECH: 1-0. WVU won 7-6 in the 1938 Sun Bowl.
TCU: 1-0. WVU won 31-14 in the 1984 Bluebonnet Bowl.
KANSAS: 1-0.WVU won 21-0 in 1941 at Morgantown.
KANSAS STATE: 1-1. WVU won 23-7 in 1930 but lost 19-0 in 1931, both games at Morgantown.
West Virginia has not played Baylor or Iowa State. So that’s an impressive, albeit limited, record, 9-4. But just five of the 13 games have been played since 1958, and three of those in bowl games. None of WVU’s future Big 12 mates has played in Morgantown since World War II.
World Series: Game 6 the greatest ever?
I met Steve Crawford this week. Well, that I remember, anyway.
Crawford is the major league pitcher, notably for the Red Sox, in the 1980s, from the great hamlet of Salina, Oklahoma. My dad’s hometown, in Mayes County, about an hour east of Tulsa. Me and my twin brother spent our first birthday in Salina, where we lived for a short time in 1961-62. On Jan. 20, 1962, JFK’s one-year anniversary in the White House, my mom threw a birthday party for us.
Then as now, birthday parties for 1-year-olds are largely ceremonial. My mom invited anyone she knew that had a kid — the list was short; she wasn’t from Salina — and Steve Crawford made the list. He was 31/2.
Anyway, he went on to be quite the pitcher at Salina High School, signed with the Red Sox as a 20-year-old in 1978 and made the Boston roster in 1980. Pitched with the Red Sox seven seasons, then spent three years with the Royals. Pretty solid career; pitched in 277 major league games.
I met Crawford, officially, Monday at my aunt’s funeral in Pryor. He stopped by to say hello to some cousins of mine he knew from Salina days. Crawford lives in Claremore now.
Funny how baseball and life work. Steve Crawford was the winning pitcher in the greatest baseball game I’ve ever seen. Until maybe Thursday night.
The Cardinals’ 10-9, 11-inning victory over the Rangers riveted with drama just like the game that’s No. 1 on my list. Game 5, 1986 American League Championship Series. It was a game so good, another friend of mine, Mike Sowell, wrote a book about it. “One Pitch Away.” Sowell, now an OSU journalism professor, wrote about the tormented life of Donnie Moore, who eventually committed suicide.
Anyway, here’s a condensed version of Angels-Red Sox, Game 5. California led the series three games to one. And led the game 3-2, after Bobby Grich’s sixth-inning home run, which deflected off the glove of Boston centerfielder Dave Henderson and over the fence. Henderson was a goat. But that status didn’t last the afternoon.
By the ninth inning, the Angels led 5-2, and Anaheim Stadium was buzzing for the advent of the Angels’ first World Series. But in the ninth, Bill Buckner — who soon enough would know goat status himself — led off with a single. These kind of historical reminders are priceless; they teach us a little perspective. Buckner’s later disaster in the World Series was possible only because he helped the Red Sox stage a rally. Anyway, Don Baylor then slugged a one-out, two-strike home run to draw Boston within 5-4.
But an out later, the Angels were ready to celebrate. One out away. Left-handed reliever Gary Lucas came on to pitch to the left-handed hitting Rich Gedman and promptly hit Gedman with a pitch. So Angel manager Gene Mauch called on Moore, his bullpen ace, to pitch to Henderson. Another righty/righty advantage for California.
The count reached 2-2 on Henderson, then he fouled off a pitch. The next pitch was sent sailing over the left-field fence. Boston suddenly had a 6-5 lead.
To the Angels’ credit, they rallied in the bottom of the ninth. Rob Wilfong’s RBI single tied it 6-6, and California loaded the bases with one out. Ninety feet away from reaching the World Series.
On came Steve Crawford, the pride of Salina, to pitch to Doug DeCinces, who lofted a short fly ball into right field, and the runners held. With two out, Grich hit a soft liner back at Crawford, and the Red Sox had escaped the jam.
In the 11th inning, Henderson hit a sacrifice fly to put the Red Sox ahead, reliever Calvin Schiraldi replaced Crawford and pitched a 1-2-3 inning, and Boston was alive.
Boston won Games 6 and 7 in routs. Donnie Moore was scarred for life. Gene Mauch never reached the World Series, despite managing 26 seasons and leading several excellent teams. Dave Henderson was a made man in Boston. And Steve Crawford was the winning pitcher in one of baseball’s greatest games.
OSU football: Brandon Weeden Cowboys’ greatest QB?
OSU hosts Baylor on Saturday, and the Bears sport the greatest quarterback in their history. I didn’t really run that past any Waco historians. But it seems likely, doesn’t it, that Robert Grifffin, who figures to finish in the top five in the Heisman Trophy, is No. 1 on the Baylor list?
In 1995, Texas Football magazine named Larry Isbell, who quarterbacked Baylor to the Orange Bowl in 1951, as the QB on the Bears’ all-time team. And Baylor’s had some other solid quarterbacks. Cody Carlson. Neal Jeffrey, leader of the Miracle on the Brazos team of 1974. From the ’60s, Don Trull, the Southeast High School flash who played in the AFL. From the ’50s, Cotton Davidson, who also played in the pros.
But Griffin seems to be the man. And he won’t be alone in historic status on Saturday.
Isn’t Brandon Weeden the greatest quarterback in OSU history? I know, that status has been reserved for almost a quarter century for the man who now is his coach. But can Mike Gundy be placed above Weeden?
It’s a little dubious to be talking about, since we also did the same for Weeden’s predecessor, Zac Robinson, who seemed poised to challenge Gundy’s status until his senior season stagnated with injury. But by what measuring stick would we not proclaim Weeden No. 1?
* Honors: Weeden is the only all-conference quarterback of the post-Missouri Valley era. Gundy didn’t make it. Robinson didn’t make it. Weeden did, in 2010, and while he might not repeat in 2011 thanks to Griffin, it won’t be because his performance has slipped.
* Value in style: Yes, it’s easier than ever for quarterbacks to pile up big numbers. But we’re not talking numbers right now. We’re talking how important is a QB in the 21st century. Like the optioneers from the old wishbone days, quarterbacks in the 2000s make multiple decisions after the ball is snapped. Unlike the optioneers, they also make multiple decisions before the ball is snapped. I’d say it’s tougher than ever to play college quarterback, and Weeden plays it superbly. It’s a much more complicated position than when Gundy played in the ’80s.
* Value to team: Gundy’s quarterback play meant a ton to OSU football. But Weeden’s means more. In the ’80s, OSU was a tailback-oriented offense, as any self-respecting football coach would make sure of with Thurman Thomas and Barry Sanders on the roster. The Cowboys ran, ran, ran, then Gundy threw to Hart Lee Dykes if the defense tried to stiffen. It was a deadly combination. But Weeden’s value is greater. The Cowboys pass, pass, pass, then run Joe Randle or Jeremy Smith after the defense softens. The ’88 Cowboys would have missed Gundy greatly, but they still would have been dangerous. I don’t think we can say the same about the ’11 Cowboys.
* Team success:For better or worse, a prime quarterback criteria is winning. In 2010, Weeden led the Cowboys to an 11-2 season and a tie for the Big 12 South Division. Via tiebreaker, OSU lost out on the chance to go to the conference title game. But still, that’s a season that matches Gundy’s great 1988-88 run, when OSU went 10-2 both years but twice placed third in the Big Eight. And now Weeden has OSU 7-0 and ranked third nationally. If the Cowboys win the Big 12, I think the debate is completely over.
Stats:Weeden’s video-game numbers blow Gundy’s out of the water, but I don’t think that’s relevant. You can’t compare 2011 offenses to 1988 offenses. That’s no more relevant than comparing 1914 home run statistics to 1998 home run statistics. But the statistical difference certainly doesn’t hurt Weeden’s case.
* Career longevity:Here is where Gundy has an edge. He quarterbacked OSU 31/2 years, and two of them were golden. Weeden will basically have a two-year career, plus one game (Colorado in 2009, in relief of the injured Robinson). Gundy started 43 games and posted a record of 29-14. Weeden is on pace to start 26 games. So that’s a big difference. But the last eight games of Gundy’s freshman year and 11 games of his senior year were not the salad days of Cowboy football. 1989 was a probation-laced season that was void of much intrigue or talent. Gundy’s two middle seasons were full of meat, but not as meaty as Weeden’s.
So there you have it. I think Weeden clearly gets the nod over Gundy, barring a complete drop in performance. In fact, I’d say the only thing that could derail Weeden is if we redefine the position. In the old single-wing days, the guy who took most snaps and threw most of the passes was called a tailback, and Bob Fenimore did that wonderfully for the Cowboys. A quarterback by any other name is no less a QB. If someone wants to say that Fenimore really was a quarterback, and that he’s OSU’s greatest ever (a two-time all-American; leader of Cotton Bowl and Sugar Bowl teams), I wouldn’t argue.
Otherwise, it’s Brandon Weeden.
OU football: What a difference three points make
What a difference three points make. Or six points. Oklahoma lost to Texas Tech 41-38 Saturday night, and while there are myriad reasons for the OU defeat, field-goal kicking is not a bad place to start. Michael Hunnicut missed a 39-yarder and a 28-yarder, the latter in the closing minutes, when OU trailed by 10.
If OU had somehow had rallied to win that game, it would have caused massive celebration and we would be writing about what great intestinal fortitude the Sooners showed to come back, even though clearly all the warts that we now analyze still would have been apparent.
It’s all true, win or lose. The Sooners did play poorly. They were dominated much of the night. Tech was a superior team. But the Sooners did fight hard to get back in the game, after trailing 31-7 early in the third quarter.
“I appreciate the players hung in there, battled back,” Bob Stoops said. “Gave us a chance to win or tie at the end.”
Only twice has OU rallied from a deficit as big as 21 points:
* Trailed Kansas State 21-0 in 1981 but rallied to win 28-21.
* Trailed Iowa State 21-0 in 1970 but won 29-28.
OU also trailed Texas 21-0 in 1995 but managed a 24-24 tie.
Of course, getting most of the way back doesn’t mean squat in the grand scheme. Talking about character looses oomph when players like Travis Lewis start criticizing teammates moments after the game. Sources say the OU locker room was pretty testy, with players’ expressing frustrations at each other.
So whatever good came from at least fighting back to make it interesting? Gone. The Sooners will be starting at ground zero and will have to build back their belief this week. It can’t be manufactured on Saturday. It has to have developed all week.
All because of three points, which are lost on overthrows and dropped passes and missed coverages and missed tackles, but most apparently lost on missed field goals.
Big 12 football: Five-way tie possible
If you discount all the conference realignment madness, Big 12 football has been glorious this season. Three teams in the BCS top 10. Six teams in the BCS top 25. Two States leading the way — Oklahoma State and Kansas State, creating great stories and possibilities.
But a conference that seems incapable of taking two steps without tripping over itself can always mess it up. And here’s how. What could be worse than the Big 12 not putting a team in the Big Bowl this season? How about not knowing which team to send to the Fiesta Bowl? Anyone ready for a five-way tie?
Don’t look now, but a five-way tie for first place in the Big 12 at 7-2 is a possibility. Not a distinct possibility. But a possibility. Which would be rich with irony, considering the league crowed over the summer about its new round-robin schedule that featured no championship game. Crowed about its suddenly-superior new method of crowning a champ, as if 15 years of a title game were fraudulent.
Here’s one way a five-way tie could occur:
* Kansas State beat Oklahoma but loses to OSU and Texas A&M. The Wildcats would finish 7-2, provided it won its other games (at Texas, home vs. Iowa State). Not crazy.
* OU loses to KSU but beats Texas A&M and OSU, plus wins its other games (at Baylor, home vs. Iowa State). Not crazy.
* OSU beats KSU but loses at Texas Tech and to OU, plus wins its other games (at Iowa State, home vs. Baylor). Not crazy.
* Texas A&M beats KSU but loses to OU, plus wins its other games (Missouri, Kansas and Texas at home). Not crazy.
* Texas Tech beats OSU, plus wins its other games (Iowa State at home, at Texas and at Missouri, and vs. Baylor in Arlington). OK, a little longshot.
Five not-crazies equal crazy, but still. Would you put it past the league to produce a five-way tie for its title. One True Champion? How about as many teams claiming the title as not claiming the title?
It’s not at all likely. It’s much more likely that Oklahoma State runs the table and wins the league outright. But you’ve got to admit, a five-way tie would be just perfect for Conference Chaos. I suppose the BCS rankings would determine the league’s team for the Fiesta Bowl, although the Fiesta might just get to pick, since the old BCS method of breaking unbreakable ties was intended to produce a team for the Big 12 title game.
My brother first noticed the possibility. He even came up with scenarios by which Baylor and Texas could be part of a five-way tie. But Baylor would have to beat OU, OSU, Texas, Texas Tech and Missouri. Texas would have to beat Baylor, Missouri, Kansas State, Texas and Texas A&M.
Big 12 football: More madness in conference realignment
West Virginia, and new coach Dana Holgorsen, seemed destined for the Big 12 just a couple days ago. Now, it seems the Big 12 is stumbling over itself once again. AP PHOTO
The Big 12 tells West Virginia an invitation will be forthcoming, the whole danged state celebrates, then the Big 12 says, well, maybe. What a joke. What an absolute joke.
Various reports say most of the Big 12 wants West Virginia, but some prefer Louisville, including OU president David Boren. Fine. Whatever. And forget, for a moment, the obvious solution, which is invite them both and get on down the road to 12 schools in the league.
Can we please some have some honor in the league? Can we please some have some leadership? Can we please conduct business with just a smidgen of decorum?
After this nonsense, it’s clearer than ever that the only the desperate would be interested in the Big 12. After this nonsense, it’s clearer than than ever that getting anyone to trust this leadership, be it interim commish Chuck Neinas or defacto commish DeLoss Dodds or any school president, is fruitless. After this nonsense, it’s clearer than ever that it’s a waste of time trying to talk Missouri into staying.
Talk about turning something good into something rotten. Remember the glee down in Fort Worth when the Big 12 added TCU? Same kind of thing spread over West Virginia on Tuesday; the Mountaineers and their fans were thrilled at the prospect of joining the Big 12. Only to have the brakes applied the next morning.
If West Virginia makes it back to the good graces of the Big 12, rest assured the glee will not be so grand. West Virginia had a revelation. Let this be a lesson learned, Mountaineers. If you get into Conference Chaos, sleep with one eye open.
I think West Virginia will get in, eventually. That’s what the networks want. Louisville-Texas Tech doesn’t attract many eyeballs. West Virginia-Oklahoma State does. At some point, the Big 12 has to listen to the networks — Fox, which just shelled out that huge contract to make the Big 12 feel good about itself, and ESPN, which figures to do the same in a few years.
But to embarrass the Mountaineers like this is unforgivable. I have no idea who to blame. I think Neinas is the least likely suspect. This kind of madness was going on before he arrived and this kind of madness was going on after Beebe was beheaded. So the common denominators are the leaders at the schools.
Out here, we sort of care who. But out in West Virginia, they only care about what. As in, what is going on with Conference Chaos? And the Moutaineers have to be asking themselves. Is this really our only option?
