Stoops went to Tuscaloosa 'strictly to watch their bowl practice'
Published: 12/30/2009 1:59 PM
Last Modified: 12/30/2009 2:00 PM
EL PASO, Texas — Bob Stoops didn't go to Tuscaloosa, Ala., last week, to give Alabama coach Nick Saban any pointers on how to handle Texas.
"Come on," Stoops said Wednesday. "Like Nick needs help?"
Stoops said he and three assistants flew to Tuscaloosa on last Wednesday simply to watch practice. OU, preparing for Thursday's game against No. 19 Stanford in the Sun Bowl, has lost its last three bowl games and five of its last six.
Stoops also visited Saban in Tuscaloosa prior to the start of the season, and they shared various viewpoints and philosophies.
"I had a day, the 23rd, that we weren't practicing, and just wanted to see their practice," Stoops said. "That was it. We didn't talk strategy or anything else. It was strictly to watch their bowl practice and their methods and how they go about a day of practice. That was it. Was in and out."
Said Saban, "During this time, we've had numerous coaches from a lot of different places come to practice. When we got together in the summer, he said that he wanted to come to practice some time. They got here right before practice. They watched the practice organization. They watched practice, and they left.
"We didn't get a chance to spend a lot of time or talk much. We had a Christmas party right after that for the staff here. ... They wanted to watch practice organization, and they did that."
No. 1 Alabama plays No. 2 Texas next week in the BCS national championship game. OU's defense dominated the Texas offense during their annual Red River showdown in October, holding the high-powered Longhorns to just 16 points (UT won 16-13) and 269 total yards. Texas QB Colt McCoy completed just 21-of-39 passes for 127 yards. He was intercepted once and sacked four times, and his longest completion went for just 14 yards.
The Longhorns averaged 446 yards and more than 42 points per game against everyone else, and McCoy, who had eight games of 250 yards or more passing, went on to win most of college football's quarterback awards. In his career, two of McCoy's three lowest-yardage output games have come against OU, including 108 yards in 2006.
But, Stoops reiterated, Saban doesn't need his help.
"He's got all the tape," Stoops said. "He doesn't need me to — no."
— John E. Hoover
Written by
John E. Hoover
Sports Columnist
