KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Next week college football will hold its annual awards show in Orlando, Fla. The top players from throughout the land will be there to pick up some of the nation’s most valuable hardware.
Oklahoma’s lone representative will be kicker Garrett Hartley. The junior is a finalist for the Lou Groza Award, which goes to college football’s top kicker.
Other than Hartley, the national awards lists are void of Sooners.
That’s what makes No. 8 OU’s berth in tonight’s Big 12 championship game against No. 19 Nebraska (9-3, 6-2 Big 12) so odd; or, perhaps, eye-opening. Usually, when the Sooners (10-2, 7-1) play for conference titles, they bring enough star power to light up Times Square.
But this collection of Big 12 South winners is known more for its team deeds than individual achievement.
“The sum of all our parts are greater than any one individual, is what I’ve been saying a lot,” OU coach Bob Stoops said. “And it’s very true with that, with the way we’ve been as a team.”
The map drawn by previous Sooner squads hasn’t exactly been followed.
OU venturing to Arrowhead Stadium in search of a conference title for the fourth time. But unlike those first three teams, there isn’t that one individual player who stands out above all others.
In 2000, quarterback Josh Heupel (now the Sooners’ quarterbacks coach) claimed multiple national awards, including the Associated Press Player of the Year and was runner-up in the Heisman Trophy balloting.
In 2003, the Sooners featured the Nagurski Award winner in cornerback Derrick Strait, the Butkus Award winner in linebacker Teddy Lehman and the Lombardi Award winner in defensive tackle Tommie Harris. And, of course, there was Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jason White running the offense.
A year later, OU returned to Arrowhead with Outland Award winner Jammal Brown anchoring the offensive line, White still engineering the offense and Heisman Trophy runner-up Adrian Peterson setting freshman rushing records.
The Sooners have set virtually no records this season. Their claim to fame is overcoming obstacles.
Plowing ahead despite the preseason dismissal of Rhett Bomar, the heartache of the Oregon loss and going 6-0 after Peterson was lost to a broken collarbone are this season’s impressive feats.
“I think it comes with us doing good, staying together as a team, being tight and winning games,” safety Reggie Smith said. “That’s what we’ve been doing since the very beginning of the year.”
The Sooners enter tonight’s game averaging 188.7 rushing yards a game and Peterson has played in only half the games.
The defense was the best in the conference during the regular season, but other than All-American linebacker Rufus Alexander, there isn’t the collection of established superstars that OU has boasted in the past.
Quarterback Paul Thompson admits this team doesn’t have the aura of the 2003 and 2004 teams. At least not yet.
“I’ve been a part of Big 12 championships here with Jason White and (All-American wide receiver) Mark Clayton, in that era, but it’s kind of like a new era with not as many recognizable guys, maybe from the outside,” he said. “It’s kind of a new era of players and a young team. So I’m looking to get a championship for them.”
Championships have always been the measuring sticks for Sooner teams. This one only has 12 seniors and a lot of potential yet to be reached.
A victory tonight could be the start of something bigger.
“To actually have a bigger part in winning a Big 12 championship would mean a lot to me and also for a lot of these guys that weren’t a part of it those past years,” Thompson said. “It’s a good experience for them to have that driving factor, for them to have that type of experience, and so they’ll be able to lead good teams for the next two or three years.”
There’s no doubt OU’s future is very bright, but it can start reaching for the stars tonight.
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.com
OU Sports
Related Photos
Discussion
Gameday-It's the sum of their parts that's so special
- OU Sports
-
-
It’s a recipe for success
Oklahoma softball coach Patty Gasso was answering questions Saturday after her Sooners clinched another return to the Women’s College World Series when, without really meaning to, she began to make it clear her job has, sort of, become ...
-
Tigers deny Sooners’ Big 12 title hopes
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma wanted to win its first Big 12 tournament in 16 years on Sunday. Missouri needed to win it to get in the NCAA Tournament. Need topped desire at Bricktown Ballpark....
-
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 ...
- More OU Sports Headlines
-
It’s a recipe for success
