By MICHAEL PETERS Sports Editor on Oct 16, 2011, at 1:48 AM Updated on 10/17 at 11:37 AM
THE EDITOR'S DESK
I attended the Iba Awards last week, then went straight to vacation, so I haven't had the chance to praise the efforts of ...
It was a good news, bad news kind of home opener for the Tulsa Shock on Monday.
The good news: There was a buzz around ...
Former University of Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford has partnered with the city of St. Louis to collect supplies for victims ...
Landry Jones and OU were unimpressive against Kansas, but did pull away late for a 30-point win. STEPHEN PINGRY/Tulsa World
Here are three things we learned from a sleepy day of college football:
1. All OU efforts are not created equalOklahoma has two gears. From here on out, we'll call them "Missouri gear" and "Texas gear." In Missouri gear, the Sooners play somewhat sporadically, giving up big plays on defense and making mental errors on offense. In Texas gear, OU pairs an efficient offensive machine with a fanatical defense. Texas gear can win a national title. Missouri gear may give the Sooners a loss before they even get that far. At Kansas, OU gave a Missouri-level effort... and picked up a 30-point win. The Jayhawks did all they could to stay that close. I would guess Texas Tech will see a slightly more focused OU team next week. How well the Sooners maintain that focus determines how far they go.
2. OSU faces a three-week seasonIt says a lot about how far the Cowboys have come that a somewhat indifferent effort Saturday at Texas netted a somewhat comfortable victory. That's a good sign. OSU's Big 12 and national championship aspirations come down to the next three weeks. The Cowboys face a road game at Missouri, followed by home games against Baylor and Kansas State. Missouri's three losses were close games against ranked opposition. Baylor features an elite-level quarterback, while Kansas State looks to be the third-best team in the conference. Run that gauntlet and Bedlam should be the most meaningful one ever.
3. Tulsa isn't immune to looking aheadEven the Golden Hurricane can be guilty of peeking past the current opponent. UAB was winless, without a touchdown pass this season. UAB now has two TD passes, but still no wins because Tulsa controlled the second half. If Tulsa wants to win CUSA, it can't give up any gimmes, not with SMU and Houston (a combined 11-1) in its division.
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