IRVING, Texas — Neither Bob Stoops nor any of his players said it Wednesday, but Oklahoma believes whatever hasn’t killed them will make them stronger.
It’s the way it looks at the season that ended seven months ago and how it has prepared them for the one that starts in less than six weeks.
“What we went through has made us a better and a stronger team coming into this year,” Stoops said Wednesday at Big 12 Football Media Days. “We’re more experienced than maybe we would have been.”
Make no mistake, the Sooners are coming off a disappointing season. Going 8-5 and finishing the year with a victory in the Sun Bowl was well below their set standards.
Then again, they were playing 11 of 13 games without a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback. Losing a star tight end to a knee injury before the season even started and seeing a young offensive line become riddled with injuries made things even more difficult.
But they also served as motivation.
“You can say it’s redemption or whatever you want to say,” running back DeMarco Murray said. “No disrespect to the Sun Bowl, it was great, but we’re not used to playing in those types of games. We’re used to playing in big games, BCS games and Big 12 championships. We’re looking forward to trying to get back on that track.”
Most expect OU to get back to that level in 2010.
It is the preseason favorite to win the Big 12 south. The division has produced the last six Big 12 champions (OU 4, Texas 2). It does have a wealth of starters back on both sides of the ball. It also has some younger players who were forced onto the field earlier than expected and gained valuable experience.
Above all else, though, the Sooners are displaying the hunger for success that only comes after dealing with the frustration of losing.
Finishing last season with a victory over Stanford did some cleansing. The Sooners hadn’t finished the year with a win since 2005.
But it’s the drive to get back in the national championship debate that was the motivating force in the offseason.
“I’m pretty sure coach Stoops will attest that this has been one of the best offseasons since he’s been here. We really carried that momentum,” linebacker Travis Lewis said. “We’ve been preparing with that chip on our shoulder.”
The track record says the Sooners know how to get ready for a season. Winning six conference titles in the previous 11 seasons can’t be done without knowing how to prepare for the grind.
The current Sooners, however, feel they have more to prove than the teams they preceded. The last time they stepped on the field, they were closing out what ranks as the toughest season of the Bob Stoops era.
It’s gone, but not forgotten.
“We put last season behind. Last year is last year. We went 8-5 and we’re not used to that,” defensive end Jeremy Beal said. “We have to change our mentality and learn from it. We don’t want to be 8-5 again. We worked twice as hard so we can be a better team. Last year sticks with us because we don’t want to be an 8-5 team.”
Beal brought up the record three times, because it’s now what OU uses to describe a sub-par team.
The Sooners don’t expect to be one this season.
The injuries are healed, but the scars remain. That isn’t a bad thing for the Sooners. They know how bad things can get when times are tough. They also believe better days are ahead this season.
“We’re Oklahoma and we have standards to live up to. I don’t think our fans appreciated us going 8-5,” Lewis said. “I don’t think going back is an option.”
John Shinn 366-3536 jshinn@normantranscript.com
