OU's pent-up anger poured out on Red Raiders
Published: 11/23/2008 11:41 AM
Last Modified: 11/23/2008 11:41 AM
If Texas Tech was treated with a level of hostility never before seen in Norman -- by Oklahoma fans, players and coaches alike -- Saturday night, there was a reason. The Sooners explained it after the 65-21 annihilation by saying all the game-week talk focused on Mike Leach, Graham Harrell, Michael Crabtree and the feel-good story building on the West Texas prairie.
They felt passed over, ignored, forgotten, and by kickoff the record crowd at Owen Field wasn't the only thing boiling over.
Matthew Zemek of FOXSports.com took OU's pent-up anger even deeper in his analysis:
"Catharsis is the word that clearly marked this conquest for a program that — because of its Fiesta Bowl losses in the past two seasons, plus the setbacks in two straight BCS title tilts earlier in the decade — has had to endure more unfair criticism than any other school not named Ohio State.
"Always successful and at the top of their conference, the Sooners have displayed a level of consistency that only Ohio State and USC have been able to match since 2000. Yet, the only thing a lot of people have associated with Oklahoma football in recent years has been Stoops' inability to win more championships and postseason contests. OU's awesome track record this decade has not deserved such withering commentary, but the Sooners have learned that no good deed goes unpunished.
"Saturday night, Oklahoma dealt that punishment to the boys from Lubbock, and never relented until the final minutes."
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
