Not that Bob Stoops and Vince Neil have anything in common, or that Oklahoma’s coaching staff or even the Sooners themselves represent any kind of a motley crew, but when it comes to today’s foray into Arrowhead Stadium, OU once again finds itself, with apologies to 80s metalheads, in the “Same Old Situation.”
Really, it’s like some kind of broken record.
Or, should we say, some sort of forgettable broken record.
This is where OU was following TCU, wondering about its quarterback, its offensive line and all that talent the Sooner Nation was certain was on this team.
This is where OU was following UCLA, wondering if it could run the ball, if its defense could hold up for four quarters and turn the opponent away on third down.
This is where OU has been pretty much the whole season, one in which watching the Sooners inevitably seems to break one of two ways: they’re a fraud, or there’s got to be a good team in there somewhere and sooner or later it will show itself.
The same old situation extends to the head coach, too.
To demonstrate, here are three soundbites.
“We’re fighting through it, trying to find some consistency.”
“We’ve got to have some guys step up and be accountable and be responsible on the field.”
“We’ve got to be, I think, more than anything, more productive in the passing game.”
Now, after which game, or in advance of which game, did Stoops say these things?
The first one could have come at any time but after Kansas State. Ditto for the second. The third works after every game but UCLA and Kansas State.
Of course, each was uttered Wednesday, a day even Stoops himself might have been thinking, “Geez, I keep saying the same stuff every week.”
It’s because this dark cloud will not go away. It’s like every day is opening day. Somewhere in here there has to be a Bill Murray movie.
Remember what everybody was saying after Tulsa?
The Sooners wanted to establish an identity as one tough customer. That’s why they didn’t throw the ball in the second half. That’s why they force fed Adrian Peterson. They grew up that day. They got physical. They turned a corner.
It was all bull, either what was said or the conclusions drawn.
They ran the ball because they couldn’t throw it and Tulsa has one of the few defensive lines these Sooners can still push around.
Five games in and in only one may the Sooner Nation really take some pride.
That was Kansas State, which may have played its worst game in 10 years that night at Owen Field, but OU was still dominant for a good three quarters.
That was also Kansas State, which beat Kansas, which is today’s opponent, which could be the best news Sooner fans have heard outside of basketball practice starting yesterday.
It’s almost a sports cliche, or a sportswriting cliche:
The reporter tells the coach or the player, hey, this is quite task, this has to be difficult, what are you going to do? And the coach or the player, if seasoned as so many are, explains how the team will approach the task as a challenge and an opportunity.
Well, if Bob Stoops and the boys had any less of a winning history since coming to town, they might have blown the same sunshine. Of course, they don’t, so they didn’t. It was all about plowing ahead.
And so they will try again today, to plow ahead rather than dig the same hole that much deeper. Staring at their fourth loss in six games, they best look at today as an opportunity and one they best cash in.
The same old situation, this team has been here before.
But it will not be here again.
Today the Sooners pick their path.
Today, they start heading in the right direction or …
What’s that?
Basketball practice started yesterday?
Clay Horning366-3526cfhorning@normantranscript.com
OU Sports
Horning: Sooners have been here before
Commentary
- OU Sports
-
-
Sooners make winning look easy
As Oklahoma’s players locked arms around the pitching circle, coming together for what passed as a celebration following Saturday’s 7-1 NCAA Super Regional-clinching victory over Arizona, three gloves remained near second base....
-
There are no easy outs in the lineup
Looking for a gameplan to stop Oklahoma? Well, one may or may not be available, but walking two of the first three Sooners you face certainly isn’t part of it. Just ask Arizona’s Kenzie Fowler....
-
Sooners will play for Big 12 championship
OKLAHOMA CITY, — It’s been 16 years since Oklahoma won the Big 12 tournament. It’s closer now than its ever been to ending the streak. The Sooners rolled through Baylor, 7-2, on Saturday at Bricktown Ballpark to advance to the tournament’s ...
-
Sooners send five more to nationals
AUSTIN, Texas — Oklahoma track and field teams had five more individuals qualify for the NCAA Championship on Saturday evening at the NCAA West Preliminary. The men’s 4x100-meter relay team also advanced to the national semifinals....
-
OU sophomore Jao-Javanil wins NCAA golf title
FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Oklahoma’s Chirapat Jao-Javanil made Oklahoma golf history Friday, becoming the first Sooner, man or woman, to win an individual NCAA national championship....
-
Pitching staff is exactly where Golloway wants it to be
When the Big 12 tournament began, Oklahoma felt like it had the pitching staff to make a deep run. Dillon Overton, Jordan John, Jonathan Gray and Damien Magnifico gave them four quality starters and a closer — Steven Okert — capable of ...
-
Sooners shut out Wildcats, need one more win for WCWS entry
Oklahoma might have scored more runs, not committed an error and starting pitcher Keilani Ricketts could have been just a little more efficient along the way....
-
Sooners send 4 more to NCAAs
AUSTIN, Texas – Oklahoma’s track and field teams added four individuals to the list of Sooners advancing to the NCAA championship Friday at the NCAA West Preliminary. In addition to the four new qualifiers, Brittany Borman advanced to the ...
-
Big 12, SEC deal breaks the mold
It is unclear what the on-the-field product of the game-for-which-there-is-not-yet-a-name will be. Indeed, all we really know is the Big 12 and SEC plan to play a game on Jan. 1, 2015 (and on every Jan. 1, thereafter) that will include ...
-
Rivalry helped shape program
For coach Patty Gasso, it goes all the way back to 1995, her first year at Oklahoma. That was when her Sooners played Arizona six times throughout the season. Those Sooners were “annihilated” in all six of those contests....
- More OU Sports Headlines
-
Sooners make winning look easy
