John Shinn
Oklahoma sent a message Saturday night with its 65-21 victory over Texas Tech.
Sunday it was received.
The Sooners (10-1, 6-1 Big 12) jumped to No. 3 in the latest BCS rankings. Their path to the Big 12 title game and a shot at the national championship, however, is still blocked.
Texas moved up to No. 2 with Alabama still holding down the top spot.
OU, which was No. 5 last week, hopped three spots in one of the components that comprises the BCS rankings, and two in the others. The coaches were the most impressed. They jumped the Sooners to No. 2 in their poll, ahead of Florida and Texas.
The Harris Interactive poll slotted OU at No. 3, trailing the Crimson Tide and Gators. The computers lifted the Sooners to No. 3, but shifted Texas up to No. 2.
OU’s deficit to the Longhorns, who beat the Sooners 45-35 Oct. 11, is less one hundredth of point (.0084). The Longhorns have a BCS average of .9209. OU’s at .9125.
Sooner coach Bob Stoops made a plea for his team to move up in the rankings following Saturday night’s game. The voters took note of what has to be considered the most impressive victory by any college football team this season.
“Now we’re in the mix with everybody,” he said, “and with the way we play, you would think ahead. If you can’t move us in front of Texas because they beat us, then you have to keep Texas Tech in front of Texas.”
The voters went in that direction. The computers still need a little more convincing.
Luckily for the Sooners, they can still remove the final obstacle. A victory this coming Saturday at No. 12 Oklahoma State would likely be enough to move them ahead of the Longhorns in the computer rankings and give them the three-way tiebreaker with Longhorns and the Red Raiders in the Big 12 South standings.
“Oklahoma State is another major challenge and you have to do your best to be prepared well to play there,” Stoops said.
If OU remains at the level it was at Saturday night, it shouldn’t be a problem. The performance against Texas Tech was pretty close to a masterpiece.
The 44-point victory included 625 yards of total offense, while OU held the Red Raiders to 406 (Texas Tech was averaging over 550 heading into the game).
“I just feel like our preparation throughout the week, the way our coaches prepared us and the attitude we had, we were feeling good about ourselves,” OU middle linebacker Austin Box said. “We were feeling like we could come out and make a statement.”
OU made it at the perfect time. The Texas Tech game was one of the most highly anticipated of the season. Most expected a shootout, but the Sooners did the majority of the shooting.
Defense was the difference, and OU played its best game of the season under the bright lights.
Defensive coordinator Brent Venables said he could sense a breakout performance was building throughout the week.
“I really felt our guys were locked in and were extremely well prepared,” he said. “They practiced with great energy, focus and attitude.”
They’ll need another week of it to get past the Cowboys at Boone Pickens Stadium. The high stakes game the Sooners just won can’t be cashed in. It can only be parlayed. The payoff is still a ways away.
A victory would likely send OU to the Big 12 title game against Missouri Dec. 6. A loss means no BCS bowl and its two-year reign atop the conference is over.
“It will be a big game for us and we will have our hands full with those guys,” running back Chris Brown said. “Stillwater is a tough place to play, but we have the drive and we are ready for it.”
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.com
