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Stoops revisited

OU coach Bob Stoops poses with the national championship trophy after the 2000 Orange Bowl. In just his second year with the Sooners, Stoops led Oklahoma to its seventh national championship. Tom Gilbert/Tulsa World file

 
By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
Published: 8/30/2008  2:06 AM
Last Modified: 8/30/2008  3:05 AM

 Over the past nine seasons, Bob Stoops has won a national championship and lost to a 26-point underdog. He has won five Big 12 crowns and lost a sixth by four touchdowns to his mentor. In one recruiting class he landed the best player in America and a quarterback with his hand out. He has been beaten twice in national championship games and twice in Fiesta Bowls, but is 6-3 against archrival Texas. OU's record is 97-22 under Stoops going into Saturday's season opener against Tennessee-Chattanooga, but at a program like Oklahoma, a coach's record is just as often defined by defeats as it is by victories.

A look at some of Stoops' memorable moments at OU:



The nemeses



Nick Saban: Flaws (namely a 35-7 loss to K-State in the Big 12 title game) already had begun to appear in Stoops' indestructible armor when Saban handed Stoops his first defeat in a national championship game in the Sugar Bowl at the end of the 2003 season. There were rumors of illicit practice monitoring, and Heisman QB Jason White had numerous injuries, but Saban walked away the winner.

Rashaun Woods: Oklahoma State's prolific wide receiver made an unnaturally good catch to knock the Sooners out of the national title picture at the end of 2001 (OU was favored by 26), then did it again with a 12-catch, 226-yard, 3-TD fireworks show in 2002 that sent the OU defensive staff back to the drawing board. Also credit QB Josh Fields, who engineered the '01 drive and threw for 357 yards and 4 TDs in '02.

Chris
Petersen: Perhaps no unheralded knight in history was better prepared to slay a dragon than Petersen in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl. Some dismiss Boise State's win as gimmicky, but with victory or defeat hanging in the balance, Petersen's preparation produced an amazing hook-and-lateral, a halfback TD pass and an unbelievable Statue of Liberty 2-pointer for the win to send Stoops into a postgame state of shock.

He owns them



Dennis Franchione: From a 37-27 thriller over Alabama in 2002 to the 77-0 bashing over Texas A&M in 2003 to four more triumphs over the Aggies, Stoops always got the better of Franchione. Maybe the best came in '04, when Jason White left his grandfather's funeral and threw 5 TDs, or in '06 when Fran kicked two short field goals and Stoops called for a fourth-and-inches deep in OU territory to clinch it.

Mack Brown: Throw out Stoops' first forgivable season in '99 and Vince Young's storybook season in '05 and Stoops has lost just once to Brown, 28-10 in '06. The Sooners under Stoops redefined Red River dominance with a 63-14 trouncing in 2000 and a 65-13 bloodbath in 2003. Most fans also are fond of the close ones, 14-3 in '01 (Roy Williams dons a cape) and 12-0 in '04 (Adrian Peterson's breakout).

Mike Gundy: Gundy was offensive coordinator of the '01 and '02 upsets and gets credit for developing Josh Fields, but as a head coach, Gundy is 0-4. Peterson and a missed OSU field goal at the end of the '04 game in Stillwater ensured a Stoops triumph; another Peterson showcase turned '05 into a blowout; an incomplete pass into the end zone in '06 clinched the Big 12 South for the Sooners; and OU dominated 49-17 last year.



The highlight



Oklahoma winning its seventh national championship was inevitable with Stoops at the helm. But doing it in just his second season raised expectations for new coaches at programs across the country. A run through Red October — 63-14 over No. 6 Texas, 41-31 over No. 2 Kansas State, 31-14 over No. 1 Nebraska — got OU atop the polls. An interception return for a TD by Torrance Marshall at Texas A&M kept the Sooners there. Fantastic finishes against OSU and K-State in the Big 12 title game powered OU to Miami, where one of the most inspired defensive efforts in school history — a 13-2 win over Florida State — wrote Stoops' name permanently in the OU scrolls.



The lowlight



On the day before practice began in 2006, Stoops sat at his desk and looked Rhett Bomar in the eye. He knew his quarterback was lying. He gave him one more chance to tell the truth. Bomar finally did, and Stoops told him to leave. Pack it up, go home, don't come back. Bomar and roommate J.D. Quinn had garnered illicit wages from a Norman car dealership, a violation of the first commandment of the NCAA bible. Paul Thompson led the Sooners to their fourth Big 12 title. Bomar eventually landed at Sam Houston State. OU's ensuing NCAA probation got Stoops a red flag from the NCAA, but a smiley face from his admirers.



The unbelievable



The use of video replay in college football was implemented to fix mistakes. Instead, replay reviews took mistakes to an entirely different level, and Stoops and the Sooners were on the wrong end — twice. In 2005 at Texas Tech, officials reviewed three plays on the Red Raiders' final drive. Two, they got wrong, including the game-winning TD by Taurean Henderson on the last play. The Big 12 never acknowledged the errors. Five games later, in week three of the 2006 season, OU was treated to Pac-10 officiating at its worst. Most egregious was Oregon's onside kick that was recovered by OU's Allen Patrick. But officials — even after replay — awarded Oregon the football, and the Ducks prevailed. The replay official resigned, the game referee is now a Pac-10 administrator, and the league's coordinator of officials retired.
By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer

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2 comments have been made for this team so far. Tell us what you think below!
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JeffB, Kirkwood (8/30/2008 10:19:31 AM)
Does anyone have any idea as to what the writer intends with the term "unnaturally good catch" in referring to Rashuan Woods?

Unnatural in what sense? Woods made those kind of catches all the time, so it can't be that view. The usage must related to some predisposition of the writer and not facts.

As to the Oregan call, hey "bad calls" happen all the time. Would the writer like for Stoops to give back all the ones that went in his favor? Some of these made the difference in the game. Besides, didn't OU have a FG attempt blocked? Just execute and he could've won anyway.

Excuses, excuses, excuses.
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Native, (8/30/2008 1:17:07 PM)
Hey John. As Mike Gundy has only been head coach at OSU for three seasons (just now beginning his fourth), please explain to your audience how he could be 0-4 versus God Stoops. It would behoove you to do a little research before you finalize your articles.
 

 
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