By John Shinn
One thing Oklahoma hasn’t been this season is nostalgic.
Less than an hour after beating Nebraska 21-7 Saturday night to win his fourth Big 12 Conference championship, OU coach Bob Stoops was already thinking about what’s next.
“I’ve been lucky and fortunate to be in a lot of bowls and all the BCS bowls but the Fiesta Bowl,” he said Saturday night at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. “So, as a coach, I haven’t been in it or as a player.
“So I talked about that with my wife Carol here this week, and so I thought that would be pretty special to win the Big 12 Championship and (be) in the one I haven’t been fortunate enough to be in.”
It was no secret the Fiesta Bowl was the dessert to Saturday night’s main course. The Big 12 champion gets an automatic berth.
But it all became official Sunday night when the BCS bids were officially announced.
No. 7 OU (11-2) will face No. 9 Boise State (12-0) at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 1 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
It should be a special trip for many reasons. Finishing the season in a BCS bowl is a goal for every Sooner team. The fact the 2006 Sooners have been able to reach this level may be more satisfying considering the obstacles they were forced to overcome.
The preseason dismissal of Rhett Bomar and losing Adrian Peterson to a broken collarbone midway through the season cast a dark cloud.
But OU never buckled under the pressure.
“It’s been a crazy year,” Sooner quarterback Paul Thompson said after throwing for 265 yards and two touchdowns against the Huskers. “And just the dedication, the commitment all these players have is something I have never seen before.”
And he’s seen a lot during his career. He and the rest of the fifth-year seniors will accomplish a very unique feat. The trip to the Valley of the Sun will give them a complete lap around the BCS circuit.
The group, which arrived in 2002, has already been to the Rose, Sugar and Orange Bowls.
“That’s what I thought about. This would be the only one I haven’t been to out of five years; four BCS games,” Thompson said. “So that’s real big. And just a testament to this coaching staff and to this organization.”
Sophomore wide receiver Malcolm Kelly, who set Big 12 title game records with 10 catches and 142 receiving yards has a different perspective.
“I haven’t been to either one,” he said. “This is real exciting for me.”
This will be the Sooners’ fifth BCS bowl. Only Florida State, with six appearances, has appeared in more.
It will also be OU’s third Fiesta Bowl. OU beat Wyoming on Christmas Day in 1976 and lost 32-21 to Arizona State on New Year’s Day in 1983.
Bowl history is definitely on the Sooners’ side. The Broncos are going to the biggest bowl game in the history of their program.
They rolled to the Western Athletic Conference title and toppled all 12 of their opponents by an average score of 39-16.
“This is something we’ve been scratching and clawing for the last five or six years,” Boise State coach Chris Peterson said. “For us to get a chance to even compete on the same field with Oklahoma is going to be an awesome challenge and hopefully a lot of fun as well.”
The Broncos might not have the powerhouse stature the Sooners have faced in previous postseasons, but no one was complaining Sunday night.
The Fiesta Bowl has two teams that are extremely excited to be there.
“We recognize this as another big game and another challenge,” Stoops said. “We’re really looking forward to it.”
John Shinn366-3536jshinn@normantranscript.com
