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Why The College Football Critics Are Wrong About OU

News Type: Opinion — Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:22 PM EDT
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So as a Sooner fan, I was very excited about the prospect of the coming season. During the off-season word came out that Adrian Peterson is healthy, finally, for the first time in two years. I was ready to see what Rhett Bomar would do at the helm of the offense entering his second year. He set a record for Freshmen quarterbacks last year and we ended the season on a great winning streak which was capped off with a win over Oregon in the Holiday Bowl.

We were ranked in the top 5 in a lot of pre-season power rankings and a few people were giving us odds to win a championship. We were looking strong. Then it happened - Rhett Bomar and J.D. Quinn took money they didn't earn from Big Red Sports and Imports, a car dealership in Norman, OK. Everything fell apart. I was expecting a drop in the rankings, but not to the degree that we actually plunged. ESPN dropped us to 12, SI put us at 14, and The Sporting News let us free fall all the way to 24. I was blown away, I couldn't believe that they dropped us that far. I could understand a drop to 10, but out of the top 10 - they are wrong. Let me tell you why.

  • Rhett Bomar was prone to make dumb decisions on and off the field. He was reckless with his body and the ball on the field and before he got kicked off the team for taking money he didn't earn, he was busted twice for being drunk in public - and he's underage. And one of those times he was in front of 19,000 people at an NBA game. If he's not smart enough to avoid these kinds of mistakes, then we are better off without him.
  • Stoops will openly admit that even though Thompson won the starting job last year, that the system was never set up for him to succeed. After the opening game loss, the reasoning was we have four years to build with Bomar, or two with Thompson. They chose Bomar even though Thompsom was more mature, talented, and in a better place for us to succeed as a team
  • After Bomar left, the team was much more unified and there was a lot of momentum. After Bomar took over there has been a lot if inner-team politics about who should support who, even though Thompson gracefully stepped into a role as a receiver.
  • Thompson only knows the system better now that he has learned it from two different positions. He is in a much better place to be successful with an air attack so that Adrian Peterson can do what he does best - dominate.

Even though we have achieved underdog status as far as a championship goes, that's the way Stoops and the Sooner nation likes it - just look back to 2000.

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{"commentId":271666,"authorDomain":"HonkyTonk"}
HonkyTonk

I agree that OU will be dangerous this year. The defense will be stout and the running game should be terrifying. And as a Texas fan, I've learned not to underestimate Stoops. They'll be the 2nd best team in the Big XII. (heh yeah, I'm pickin' a fight )

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  • 1 vote
Reply#1 - Wed Aug 30, 2006 6:43 PM EDT
{"commentId":271725,"authorDomain":"benparker"}
rileyrichter

No fight here Honky Tonk . . .

we have achieved underdog status . . . . that's the way Stoops and the Sooner nation likes it - just look back to 2000.

I am looking forward to how Mack Brown handles the quarterback situation - I know Colt McCoy (cool name) is tabbed to start, but the last time Texas was in this situation it ended up being a two quarterback system. You are more in the know about the Texas program, is a two quarterback system a possibility or is it McCoy all the way?

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    Reply#2 - Wed Aug 30, 2006 7:31 PM EDT
    {"commentId":272713,"authorDomain":"HonkyTonk"}
    HonkyTonk

    I hope it's McCoy. Between what the Applewhite/Sims fiasco did for Texas and the Mac witnessing firsthand how juggling QBs failed Ohio State last season, I hope they've learned something. And McCoy seems to be really standing out in the preseason. Of course, all bets are off when Saturday rolls around. Colt's got a year of film and study under his belt, and V. Young said last year that McCoy knew the offense as well as he did. I guess we'll see in week two what he's made of.

    {"commentId":272713,"threadId":"39749","contentId":"344362","authorDomain":"HonkyTonk"}
      Reply#3 - Thu Aug 31, 2006 1:21 PM EDT
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