Evaluation

Stoops taking a hard look at how Sooners have approached bowls

By John Shinn

A lot of things went wrong in Oklahoma’s Fiesta Bowl loss. Coach Bob Stoops acknowledged all of them Friday, but defended none.

In the end, he made no excuses.

“When you sit back and don’t play as well as you’re capable of you want to know why and anything you bring up is an excuse,” he said Friday morning in a conference call with reporters, “so I’m not much for sitting here talking about it.”

The Sooners, who finished the season 11-3 for the second straight season, have become the butt of national jokes after their lackluster performance in a 48-28 loss to West Virginia Wednesday night.

Fans from near and far were despondent over the Sooners losing their fourth straight BCS bowl game in a nearly carbon copy of the first three defeats.

Struggling offense, defensive breakdowns and a botched and, perhaps, ill-advised onside kick attempt all snowballed in OU’s latest setback.

The only theory Stoops offered Friday was perhaps there has been too much emphasis on winning Big 12 championships in recent years. This year, OU took home its fifth conference title in the last seasons and its third in four years.

Each year, the Sooners have stated winning the conference crown takes priority over everything else. There could be some loss of focus after it is achieved.

Coming out flat has been a common trait in the last three BCS games.

“It’s something I’ve already looked at and processed about and there’s a lot of dynamics at the end of the year,” Stoops said. “Do you put all the eggs in the basket of winning the championship and playing so well in the Big 12 championship and then after that everything starts (over)?

“Your seniors have graduated and some are going to the NFL, some aren’t. Some juniors are considering going but everyone has their issues just as West Virginia has too.”

What affect those distractions had will be the source of speculation until the Sooners play in their next bowl game. Stoops said the coaching staff would spend Friday dissecting what went wrong and what needs to change in future seasons.

Finding a way to keep his team hungry past the end of the regular season will be a priority.

“I think as much as anything, we haven’t handled success as well as maybe some other people have,” Stoops said. “You look at some of these teams that are in the bowl games that have done well, maybe they’ve got a chip on their shoulder. They’ve been told for a month they aren’t worthy.”

The Sooners have played like a team without anything to prove in January since rolling over Washington State in the 2003 Rose Bowl. It’s been that long since OU took momentum from winning a conference championship and ran with it.

That will be the goal next season and beyond.

Stoops added he doesn’t expect any staff changes, other than hiring a new receivers to replace Kevin Sumlin who resigned to become head coach at Houston.

“There’s no real urgency,” Stoops said. “We’ve got some idea of some quality people that I’m considering but I think more than anything, in speaking with all the wide receivers, they’re excited just about how we play and they know we’re not going to change that.”

How the Sooners have been playing in bowl games is another matter.

John Shinn

366-3536

jshinn@normantranscript.com





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Sooners

and the BCS



2001 Orange Bowl

A heavy underdog to Florida State, Sooners beat Seminoles with defense, 13-2.



2003 Rose Bowl

After being upset by Texas A&M; and Oklahoma State, Sooners redeem themselves by blasting Washington State 34-14.



2004 Sugar Bowl

After slow start, Sooner rally falls short in 21-14 loss to LSU at national title game.



2005 Orange Bowl

Another national title game, USC begins rolling and can’t stop, popping OU 55-19



2007 Fiesta Bowl

Slow starts yields to apparent game-winning rally until trick plays hand Boise State 43-42 overtime victory.



2008 Fiesta Bowl

Sooners start slow, play undisciplined, lose 48-28 to West Virgina.