Stoops hasn't come up big lately
Published: 11/21/2008 7:32 AM
Last Modified: 11/21/2008 7:32 AM
In his column now appearing on ESPN.com, Pat Forde traces the demise of Bob Stoops as big-game sure thing back to the 35-7 hurt Kansas State put on the Sooners in the 2003 Big 12 championship. He's not the first to do so, but he has some jaw-dropping numbers to prove a then-and-now point:
"Ever since, Stoops has stopped winning the big one at the same remarkable rate he had earlier. From that K-State game through today, Oklahoma is 4-8 against teams ranked in the top 15 of the Associated Press poll at the time. (And Stoops can thank God for Missouri, which has accounted for half his four victories.)
"Five of the eight losses have come as a favorite. Three of them have come against Texas -- the archrival that Stoops once owned but now has beaten just once in four years. Four of the losses have come in the Sooners' past five bowl appearances. They've lost four straight BCS bowl games, all of them embarrassing in one way or another."
That 4-8 record is amazing when you consider how invincible Stoops once seemed against poll-sitters.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
