KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Oklahoma will gun for its third straight Big 12 Conference title this fall, but what’s worked for the Sooners has taken a back seat to what hasn’t in the national spotlight.
Even in July, January is still on the minds of most when it comes to OU. The last game is what most remember and the 48-28 Fiesta Bowl loss to West Virginia still stings.
The criticism isn’t new. OU has faced questions about how it finished four of the last five seasons. Losing BCS bowl games to end the 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007 seasons, the Sooners have failed to close the deal.
The Sooners understand.
Safety Nic Harris laid it out simply Wednesday at Big 12 Football Media Days.
“Extremely high,” the senior said of the team’s expectations. “It’s national championship or bust.”
“I agree,” wide receiver Manuel Johnson added. “I think the University of Oklahoma sets that standard for you. If we play Oklahoma football, there isn’t any reason why we shouldn’t play in that game.”
Typically, preseason national championship talk has been something reserved for fans and pundits during Bob Stoops’ tenure. He’s about to begin his 10th season in Norman and he’s always approached season goals in this order: Big 12 South, Big 12 championship and, if applicable, national championship
The Sooners have been like a machine with the first two goals. Last season’s conference crown was the Sooners’ fifth since 2000.
But the final part of the equation has been difficult. Four straight BCS bowl losses is hard to deal with. The January struggles have overshadowed a lot of what the Sooners did in those seasons, going 46-5 and winning three Big 12 championships if those bowl losses aren’t counted.
But they count and OU is just 4-5 in bowl games under Stoops.
The offseason was spent searching for solutions.
“It’s a situation that there isn’t any one answer to it,” Stoops said. “You can look at the factors.”
Players who have expended their eligibility and turned their attention toward the NFL draft has been mentioned as an issue for the season-ending struggles. Treating the conference championship game as an end rather than a gateway to the BCS has, too.
“There might be a thing here or there you can change,” center Jon Cooper said. “But there’s not one thing you can say we’re doing wrong. Because we have been successful throughout the seasons and throughout conference play. We train and practice the same way during the bowl games. There isn’t one thing.”
OU returns to the practice field early next month and most believe what transpires over the next four months will put them in a position to win the Big 12 and be in contention for a national championship.
It’s hard to make drastic changes from something that has consistently put OU in such a strong position.
“We’ve been in six Big 12 championships and we won five of them. We are doing something right,” Stoops said. “We know how to win those games and we’ll manage these others the best we can. I think as much as anything, it’s the players staying invested and us as coaches, as well, doing the job we need to do to be at our best in those situations.”
Every season is a marathon, but that final sprint to the finish line is already weighing heavily on the Sooners’ mind.
So, get ready to hear a new acronym around OU circles this fall.
“Our whole mentality right now is ‘WTLG’ … Win the last game,” Harris said. “We have to finish. There will be no excuses.”
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.com
OU Sports
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Discussion
A title road?
Sooners already thinking about the end
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