Some bulletin board material from The Boz
Published: 9/27/2012 11:01 AM
Last Modified: 9/27/2012 11:01 AM
Brian Bosworth redefined the phrase "over the top." So I guess it won't surprise anyone that during a 10-minute appearance on James Hale's midday radio show on Norman's KREF Wednesday, he called Oklahoma's offense "predictable," lamented that OU's defense isn't "intimidating" or "dominating" any longer, and topped that off by saying: "If I look at the top 20, I can see 15 to 17 teams, easily, that I don't think we could compete against on a neutral field."
Somehow I don't think Bob Stoops will be mentioning any of that to his players, assuming he's looking for a motivational ploy in the wake of the Kansas State loss.
This Bosworth passage from Hale's interview, however, might be worth the bulletin board...
"I know the landscape of college football has kind of evened itself out. And I think we really have to look ourselves in the mirror and say, 'Yeah, we are a good team, but we're not a great team.' We're used to being a great team and I think it's OK to understand that we're a good team.
"It's really up the players to determine whether they're going to be good and average and mediocre, which is what we were Saturday night. Or are we gonna be a great team? And the coaches can only do so much. The systems have got to be sound, and I think the systems are sound. But the players have got to find something inside themselves that say, 'I'm not gonna be just average and mediocre. That's not good enough. I need to find a way to be great. And if I'm gonna be great, I have got to play every play – I don't care if it's against Kansas State, UTEP, Texas, Texas Tech, whoever it is – come out to play and win every single play with a passion.'
"And I don't see that passion from our guys on the field. It just seems like there's such an apathy. And the biggest apathy to me was last year's debacle at Oklahoma State. It's a continuation, and it's kind of a disease. And once it starts it's tough to kill. You've gotta kill it. You've gotta kill it fast. And young players have got to kill that. It seems like the older players have fallen into that 'well this is the way it's going to be, let's just play the first, the third and the fourth quarters the same way. And if it doesn't happen, I guess it doesn't happen.'
"That level of acceptance from the players' standpoint is really what, I think, frustrates the fans and the former players, especially me. Because I'm passionate about Oklahoma football. And I hate to lose any game."
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
