OU’s Sooner Schooner falls to Nebraska’s Tunnel Walk
Oklahoma lost its final matchup against Nebraska as a Big 12 opponent today in SportsNation and EA Sports’ “NCAA Football Traditions” contest.
Nebraska took home 63 percent of the votes compared to Oklahoma’s 37 percent with a total number of 81,018 votes. The votes were up from OU’s victory over Texas last week that had 39, 292 votes.
The winning school will receive hundreds of free copies of EA Sports “NCAA Football 12.”
The tournament is now down to the final four and voting will be open until July 5. Although Sooner Schooner won’t be riding anymore in this contest you can cast your vote here.
The final four schools are listed below:
- Notre Dame “Play Like a Champion” (1) vs. Florida State Chief Osceola/Renegade (4)
- Michigan Go Blue (11) vs. Nebraska Tunnel Walk (15)
-Tariq Lee, Staff Writer
Sooner Schooner beats Bevo
The Oklahoma Sooners beat the Texas Longhorns again. This time off the field in a battle of mascots.
OU’s Sooner Schooner defeated Texas’ Bevo 61 percent to 39 percent in voting as part of a promotion for EA Sports NCAA Football 12 college football video game.
The Sooner Schooner is one of eight finalists voted on each week at ESPN.com/sportsnation. The Sooner Schooner is matched this week against Nebraska’s Tunnel Walk. Voting in the Elite Eight round continues until Monday.
Every Tuesday ESPN’s “Sports Nation” announces football traditions that have advanced in the bracket competition, the overall winner to be revealed live on July 12, the day EA Sports releases NCAA Football 12 video game.
The other six college football traditions, and the Elite Eight matchups, include:
Notre Dame’s “Play Like a Champion” versus Georgia’s Uga.
Michigan’s “Go Blue” versus Clemson’s Howard’s Rock.
LSU’s “Mike the Tigers” versus Florida State chief Osceola/Renegade.
Sooner Schooner advances in NCAA Football 12 traditions contest
Screen grab from NCAA 12 of the OU Schooner. PHOTO PROVIDED
The Sooner’s official mascot, Sooner Schooner, is one of the eight finalists left in EA SPORTS NCAA Football 12 college football traditions voting competition at ESPN.com/sportsnation.
Last week the Sooners faced Texas’ Bevo and Big Bertha in video game version of the Red River Rivalry and won with 61 percent of the vote compared to Texas’ 39 percent. The tournament is bracket-style and started with 16 teams with well-known pre-game traditions.
The voting for the quarterfinal round ends on Monday, June 27 and Oklahoma will be facing off with former Big 12 rival Nebraska Cornhuskers and their Tunnel Walk.
The announcement of the winner will be held every Tuesday on ESPN’s “SportsNation” at 4 p.m. EST on ESPN2 and the school voted with the best tradition will be announced Tuesday, July 12, NCAA Football 12’s release date.
Vote at ESPN.com/sportsnation if you would like to see Sooner Schooner crowned champion.
The final eight are listed below:
· Notre Dame “Play Like a Champion” (1) vs. Georgia Uga (8)
· LSU Mike the Tiger (12) vs. Florida State Chief Osceola/Renegade (4)
· Michigan Go Blue (11) vs. Clemson Howard’s Rock (3)
· Oklahoma Sooner Schooner (10) vs. Nebraska Tunnel Walk (15)
– Tariq Lee, Staff Writer
Bodog: Landry Jones, Ryan Broyles and Roy Finch among Top 15 players most-likely to win Heisman Trophy
OU quarterback Landry Jones is second on the list at 13/2, trailing only Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, who is listed at 9/2.
OSU’s Justin Blackmon and OU’s Ryan Broyles are listed at 15/1.
In a little bit of an upset, Sooner running back Roy Finch is listed higher than OSU quarterback Brandon Weeden. Finch came in at 30/1, while Weeden came in at 32/1.
Here’s a look at Bodog’s top 15 Heisman hopefuls:
Andrew Luck, Stanford quarterback: 9/2
Landry Jones, Oklahoma quarterback: 13/2
Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina running back: 7/1
Denard Robinson, Michigan quarterback: 15/2
LaMichael James, Oregon running back: 15/2
Trent Richardson, Alabama running back: 12/1
Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State receiver: 15/1
Kellen Moore, Boise State quarterback: 15/1
Knile Davis, Arkansas running back: 15/1
Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma receiver: 15/1
Robert Griffin III, Baylor quarterback: 20/1
Chris Polk, Washington running back: 25/1
Roy Finch, Oklahoma running back: 30/1
Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State quarterback: 32/1
Case Keenum, Houston quarterback: 35/1
Landry Jones and Whitney Hand engaged
Landry Jones and Whitney Hand, Oklahoma’s celebrity couple, got engaged Sunday night, the two announced via social media Sunday evening.
Jones, OU’s quarterback, and Hand, a guard on the OU’s women’s basketball team, have been dating for two-and-a-half years.
“Thank you all for the sweet engagement wishes!!! We are so blessed by all of our sweet friends and can’t wait for this journey!!!” Hand tweeted late Sunday.
-JT
Poll: Do you forgive Kelvin Sampson?
Former OU coach Kelvin Sampson, who coached the Sooners from 1994-2006, is a hot commodity in the NBA. He’s interviewing soon for the head coaching position with the Detroit Pistons.
Sooner fans: Do you forgive Sampson for abruptly leaving OU in 2006 for Indiana? He was sanctioned by the NCAA for 577 excessive phone calls he and his staff made while at Oklahoma. Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
If OU played Auburn in the 2004 national title game, who would have won?
Berry Tramel blogged today about how an OU-Auburn 2004 national championship game would have played out. And it wasn’t pretty, in his opinion.
Years later, Bob Stoops and others admitted those ’04 Sooners lost focus on their final game, that he sensed many (unnamed) marquee players seemed to have one foot out the door in the weeks leading up to that Orange Bowl. NFL careers and paydays, not the Trojans, were at the forefront of OU’s psyche.
That’s a character flaw in a team and completely unrelated to USC. If the Sooners couldn’t get ready to compete with the Trojans, how could OU get ready to compete with Auburn?
That Auburn team was dominant in an unspectacular way. In the regular season, the Tigers played just two games decided by single digits — 10-9 over defending national champion LSU and 21-13 at Alabama, which finished 6-6. Auburn’s non-conference schedule was weak — Louisiana-Monroe, the Citadel and Louisiana Tech — which explains why USC and OU were picked to play in the title game.
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with Berry? Read the rest of his blog here.
Video: OU’s Bob Stoops talks to reporters at Tulsa caravan
OU snags commitment from No. 32 player in country
The Sooners picked up a huge high-profile commitment Wednesday in St. Louis wide receiver Durron Neal, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Neal is rated the 32nd overall prospect in the Class of 2012 by Rivals.com
The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder accounted for 1,914 total yards and 31 touchdowns while playing wide receiver, quarterback, running back, cornerback, safety and returning punts and kickoffs for DeSmet High School.
He has already accepted an invitation to play in the 2012 U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio.
Neal had racked up more than 20 scholarship offers, including Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Oregon State, USC and Wisconsin.
The Sooners now have eight commitments for the class of 2012.
-JT
Thibodeaux would give title to Auburn
Calvin Thibodeaux, a defensive end on Oklahoma’s 2004 team, believes Auburn should be given the national title if the NCAA decided to replace USC, which was stripped of the title earlier this week.
The Trojans defeated the Sooners 55-19 in the Orange Bowl, the national title game. The NCAA announced the 2004 title will be vacated with no national champion.
OU's Calvin Thibodeaux (58) sacks Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor (13) during the first quarter of the University of Oklahoma Sooners at the Nebraska Cornhuskers college football game at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb., October 29, 2005. By Nate Billings/The Oklahoman
“They beat us fair and square,” Thibodeaux said. “If anything I feel bad for Auburn. That Auburn team went undefeated. I really didn’t have a reaction because they beat us.”
Thibodeaux is focused on his new job, defensive line coach at Dartmouth after coaching at a junior college last season. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Houston, which ended a 28-year bowl draft that season.
“I’m really enjoying it,” Thibodeaux said. “We have 18 returning starters off a 6-4 team so I think we have a chance (to win the Ivy League) this season.”
Ivy League schools don’t offer scholarships but Thibodeaux said that isn’t an issue filling out a roster.
“I’ve been surprised how many guys we’ve had to turn away,” Thibodeaux said. “We recruit nationally. (Recruits) know the value of an Ivy League education so we have a lot of players interested, especially on the West Coast. Out there they’re crazy about the Ivy League.”
Thibodeaux helped lead the Sooners to three Big 12 titles and four trips to BCS bowl games, including two national championship games. He signed with the Calgary Stampeders in the Canadian Football League but began his coaching career after he was cut following two preseason games.
