Here’s what I can’t get over.There’s this onside kick and everybody goes after it and it’s not really clear who has it and the officials come rushing in and there’s this brief moment of unpiling the players and one of the officials, all emphatic and everything, swings an arm around to signal it’s Oregon’s ball.
Only Allen Patrick had the ball.
Find a long enough replay and you’ll see a couple of Sooners pointing toward Patrick, who other replays show to have clearly pounced on the ball after it squirted out of the scrum and then stand up without a care in the world even before the referees converged on the pile.
He had no care in the world because he had the ball. He knew the Sooners had dodged the bullet because he had the ball. And a moment later, there’s this official signaling it’s Oregon’s ball.
How can that be?
Whatever he saw, it wasn’t a Duck with the ball.
So write it down.
The officials cost the Sooners the game. They did not unduly influence the game. They did not miss a call or two. They did not make mistakes.
They flat won the game for Oregon.
I don’t believe the fix was in.
I believe they were that incompetent.
On the other hand, this is the first time I’ve ever seen the fix theory carry weight in any sport other than boxing. Because if you knew everything you know now, having seen everything you’ve seen now, before any of it ever happened — impossible, I know, but stay with me — what’s more plausible, incompetence or corruption?
Corruption.
In the aftermath, I still can’t buy it. But what happened may be more unbelievable.
So bully for OU president David Boren.
No, he was never going to get the Pac-10 and Big 12 to agree on the game being ruled a no-contest. And yes, getting the Pac-10 to suspend officials the rest of the season may have been too optimistic a plea. And who knows, he may actually get the Left Coast conference to change its rule about only allowing conference officials to officiate non-conference home games. And you bet, Kevin Weiberg, Big 12 commissioner, has no patience for being blindsided by one of his university presidents because that’s what athletic directors are for.
But Boren’s refusal to play the game politically correct serves two fine purposes.
One, which will never pay any official dividends, yet is valuable nonetheless, he’s venting for the entire Sooner Nation and this time around the entire Sooner Nation deserves a venter of high repute and who better than a former governor and three-term U.S. senator not to mention the dadgum president of the university?
Two, when a guy of such repute makes these kinds of headlines, the news kind of lingers with Middle Tennessee and an off-week coming up and the longer it lingers the better the chance the Sooners have of people paying attention. Even though getting the guys who run the BCS computers to change their input from Sooner loss to Sooner win is never going to happen, Boren stands a real chance at getting to the pollsters.
In the new AP Top 25, the Sooners are No. 17 and Oregon is No. 13. Well, that’s just stupid because OU won the game and the referees lost it. But the season is not over and don’t think there might not be some movement based solely on the sympathy Boren’s righteous indignation may stir.
And if Weiberg doesn’t like the president of one of his universities refusing to go through channels, tough. He’s working for Boren and 11 other presidents, so he can just get over it.
Of course, Boren has this going for him, too.
He’s right.
Clay Horning366-3526cfhorning@normantranscript.com
OU Sports
Related Photos
Discussion
No remedy, but Boren may help
Commentary
- OU Sports
-
-
Sooners did not show up to play
Texas had something to play for. So there’s that. If the Longhorns are to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, this was just the kind of game they absolutely had to win....
-
With W.V. set free by Big East, Big 12 schedule’s out and it’s backloaded for Sooners
With West Virginia finally receiving its release from the Big East Conference on Tuesday, the Big 12 Conference was finally able to release its conference football schedule for the 2012 season....
-
Red River rut
The rut Oklahoma has been trying to escape for the last two weeks continued to grow deeper with a 69-58 loss to Texas Tuesday night at Lloyd Noble Center....
-
OU gearing up for Texas’ Brown
If Oklahoma guard Steven Pledger had his way, tonight’s meeting with Texas will come down to two players: himself and Longhorn guard J’Covan Brown....
-
Sooners will have a dramatically new look up and down the order, on the mound
The clubhouse at L. Dale Mitchell Park hasn’t changed over the last year. Just about everything else has since the 2011 baseball season ended. The locker stalls have 20 new nameplates. The coaches’ locker room has two new ones as well. ...
-
Despite hard fight, UConn wins big
By its own standards, the Connecticut team that took the floor Monday night at Lloyd Noble Center was not in the same class as its previous incarnations. But a down year for the seven-time national champions is still better than just ...
-
Believe it or not, OU women are progressing
Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma appeared plenty willing to embarrass Oklahoma for a third time in seven games....
-
OU reeling from stunning loss to Texas Tech
As Oklahoma’s players headed toward the exit at United Spirit Arena on Saturday night, most had dazed looks on their faces. The 65-47 loss to Texas Tech was something they didn’t see coming....
-
Husky challenge
No time might seem like a good time to face Connecticut. The Huskies are always terrific and this season will enter Lloyd Noble Center likely ranked No. 2 following Notre Dame’s Sunday loss to West Virginia....
-
Sooners put finishing touches on perfect opener
Oklahoma capped off a perfect opening weekend of softball on Sunday with an 11-1 victory over Kent State. The Sooners were led by another strong outing from pitcher Keilani Rickets and an offensive explosion by Allee Allen....
- More OU Sports Headlines
-
Sooners did not show up to play
