Leaving Cincinnati in state of Sooner confusion
Published: 9/26/2010 7:32 AM
Last Modified: 9/26/2010 2:04 PM
CINCINNATI – I leave the Queen City more uncertain about the Oklahoma Sooners than I was before last night's 31-29 victory over Cincinnati.
Is OU going to be the national title-contender that made an otherwise-good Florida State team look laughably bad two weeks ago?
Or are the Sooners going to keep playing as they did last night?
Gregg Doyel of CBSSports.com was at Paul Brown Stadium. Here's how he put it:
"Cincinnati is not good -- Cincinnati is, in fact, pretty damn lousy -- and Oklahoma won by the slimmest of margins. If Oklahoma were Oklahoma State, where the coach is a man and a win is a win, then beating bad Cincinnati by the slimmest of margins would be celebrated.
"But Oklahoma strives for more than the Holiday Bowl, so this wasn't a celebration. This was scary, and I'll tell you why. Because Oklahoma is a stupid football team.
"Oklahoma is fast, but Oklahoma is stupid. Oklahoma is skilled, but Oklahoma is stupid. Strong? Yes. Oklahoma is strong. But stupid…
"In all, Oklahoma was penalized 13 times for 113 yards, and these were dumb fouls. A late hit here. A dead-ball foul there. Intentional grounding? Roughing the passer? A pass interference to nullify an interception?
"Yes. There was a surplus of stupid."
Bob Stoops lamented his team's foolishness throughout the 2009 season. It helped cost them an 8-5 season.
This year's Sooners are getting away with it. So far. They're also getting away with an offense hasn't put the hammer down in three of four games, and a defense that has been punctured in three of four.
Never mind the 4-0 record, OU must rediscover the complete-game manner in which it dismantled Florida State. Remember that team?
I haven't seen it since. Nobody has. It might want to reappear soon.
Saturday afternoon, say at the Cotton Bowl, would be a good time.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
