Sooners left to maintain the tradition of those who came before

By John Shinn

Calling Oklahoma disappointing at this point is like waiting until after the Super Bowl to call out a team that didn't make the playoffs.

Sooners teams are gauged on championships. This team won't be winning this season. The national championship hopes were gone by early October. Big 12 title hopes followed soon after.

After last Saturday's loss at Nebraska, defensive end Jeremy Beal gave the best description of OU's season to date.

"It's very frustrating," he said. "Before the season, we had high expectations."

Which begs the question: What does OU (5-4, 3-2 Big 12) still have to play for?

Championships are out of the question. Getting to a bowl requires one more victory.

The Sooners, however, can get that critical victory at 6 p.m. at Owen Field against Texas A--M (5-4, 2-3).

"Honestly, some of our goals are gone now but we feel there is still a goal out there. We haven't been able to win a bowl game in a while," center Ben Habern said. "We feel like we need to win out and whatever bowl game we go to, we feel confident in trying to win that, too."

Then again, OU's played in BCS bowls the last three seasons. Anything else is going to be a letdown.

The typical late-season motivational factors are missing.

"Last year, we were in a certain situation where we had a chance for the national championship. We wanted to finish strong," Sooner defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said. "We don't have that same opportunity this year, but we have pride in being at the University of Oklahoma, so we still want to finish strong. Nothing changes."

It's what OU teams have for done for decades.

Players mentioned peer pressure as the strongest motivation they have for the rest of the regular season. There's the standard they've set for themselves, but what matters to them is not letting the standard set by those who came before them slip.

"You have to step and embrace the challenge and play well," OU coach Bob Stoops said. "We're expected to play well; practice and invest in the week to get yourself in a position to play well."

It gets tougher every week when you consider who is no longer practicing.

The Sooners did their best to absorb the blows from losing Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Sam Bradford and All-American tight end Jermaine Gresham. Three more starters -- defensive end Auston English, left guard Brody Eldridge and right guard Tavaris Jeffries -- were lost against Nebraska.

Each week it seems like the Sooners find another obstacle that must be overcome that goes beyond their next opponent. The injuries are the most obvious. This year's team has suffered the most of any during Stoops' 11 seasons.

Obstacles or not, the expectations don't change. They remain there even when hopes of winning a national championship or a conference title drift away.

"It just means that we have to keep pushing," left tackle Trent Williams said. "We still have games to play and we can't give up, so we still have to play."

The Sooners will be playing a very critical game tonight. It will have no bearing on the Big 12 race and has zero national championship implications. Tonight is the night OU lets everybody know if pride still matters.

John Shinn 366-3536 jshinn@normantranscript.com