Taking a spin with the Sooners
Published: 9/29/2010 1:23 PM
Last Modified: 9/29/2010 1:23 PM
The Sooners are having trouble running the football. Yet they swear they're really close to "breaking some big ones."
The Sooners are struggling to stop big plays. Yet they claim it's a matter of fixing some "little things." Then they can dominate for four quarters.
The Sooners have both fans and pundits puzzled after three close games against inferior opponents. Yet they're joyous to be 4-0 and state all of their problems "are good ones to have."
So are they really on course to achieve all of their goals, beginning with a victory over Texas Saturday afternoon? Or are they masking their shortcomings, knowing full well they'll be hard-pressed to achieve any of them?
You know what the Dallas Morning News' Kevin Sherrington thinks by the title of his column: "Red River Rotten."
"Officially, Oklahoma is still in the title hunt this year with a 4-0 record," Sherrington writes. "But for the purposes of this column, let's not pretend. Even given the fact that the Big 12 appears far from peak form, the Sooners' results don't represent the road map for a bold BCS run.
"Other than an impressive win over Florida State, an old patsy for (Bob) Stoops, Oklahoma has won three games by a total of 12 points.
"Of course, there's another way to spin this, and Stoops is spinning, spinning, spinning. The Sooners lost five games last season, four by a total of 12 points. Now they're winning close games."
Yes, that's another way to look at it. Also, they haven't lost their starting quarterback and top receiver for the season, which also puts them ahead of last year's pace.
It doesn't, however, necessarily put them on track for repeats of 2008, '04, '03 and '00. Not at their rate from the first four games.
-- Guerin Emig
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
