Tulsa World: Stoops relies on help from friends

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Stoops relies on help from friends

By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
Published: 11/15/2008 2:13 AM
Last Modified: 11/15/2008 2:28 AM

NORMAN — How many favors can Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops call in?

Last week, Stoops and the Sooners got a lift in the Bowl Championship Series when Iowa, coached by longtime Stoops associate Kirk Ferentz, upset Penn State.

The No. 5 Sooners, off this weekend before finishing with critical games against No. 2 Texas Tech and at No. 11 Oklahoma State, would appreciate a little more help from a couple of Stoops' other buddies.

No. 3 Texas, perhaps OU's primary hurdle in busting out of a potential three-way tie atop the Big 12 South standings, visits Kansas, coached by former OU and Kansas State aide Mark Mangino — a man Stoops affectionately refers to as "Bear."

And No. 4 Florida, where Stoops coached as defensive coordinator before coming to OU, hosts No. 25 South Carolina and Stoops' former Florida mentor Steve Spurrier — a man Stoops still respectfully calls "Coach Spurrier."

In another game of interest to Sooner fans, No. 1 Alabama hosts Mississippi State. Stoops has no connections in Starkville, Miss. Not that he would be cheerleading too loudly if he did.

"I'll be watching like everybody does. Not just those games," Stoops said. "Heck, on an off weekend, I'll sit there in front of the TV and watch just about everything I can like everybody else."

OU (9-1 overall, 5-1 Big 12) spent this week preparing for Texas Tech. Red Raiders quarterback Graham Harrell leads the nation in passing yards (4,077) and total offense (4,072), and wideout Michael Crabtree ranks fifth in catches per game (7.8) and seventh in yards per game (101.0).

Harrell, said OU defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, is "a good quarterback. I mean, he's a great quarterback. He makes great reads. He knows his offense, and he knows the game and knows the defenses and what's coming at him. That's how he makes the big throws that he makes. We're going to have to keep him in the pocket."

Tech has been renowned for its offense under Mike Leach, but this season the Red Raiders have their best defense since Leach became head coach in 2000. Tech has the Big 12's No. 2 defense (351.4 yards per game, second to OU's 345.6).

"They're very solid all around," OU QB Sam Bradford said. "From what we've seen on tape, it looks like they don't really give up a lot of big plays. In order to score, you have to drive the football (and) sustain long drives in order to put points on the board. We realize we're not going to be able to make mistakes, especially when we get the ball in the red zone."

If Texas wins the rest of its games, OU wins the rest of its games, and Texas Tech wins its last game against Baylor, the teams will be tied atop the Big 12 South standings with identical records of 7-1. Texas beat OU, Tech beat Texas and OU would have beaten Tech.

The team ranked highest in the BCS standings will represent the South in the Big 12 title game. Stoops said that could create an unwanted environment of coaches having to publicly lobby for their team.

"It's not very comfortable, I don't think, for any of us," Stoops said. "We're not in the business of politicking.

"I guess the only other way (than the BCS standings) is strength of schedule."

Currently, Texas' schedule ranks fourth nationally, while OU's is fifth. Texas Tech's is tied for 17th and includes two teams from the NCAA's Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA). OU has one FCS opponent, while Texas played all Bowl Subdivision opponents.

"That kind of thing is probably the fairest," Stoops said. "It encourages you in the future to play a strong schedule for times when this may happen. If you're going to be compared to somebody and you both have one loss and you've gone on the road and played whoever, played ranked teams, that may make the difference."

Bradford to make GameDay appearance

OU quarterback Sam Bradford may have the week off, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be on TV this weekend. Bradford is scheduled to appear on ESPN GameDay via telephone at 9:40 a.m. Saturday.

Bradford and the fifth-ranked Sooners take on No. 2 Texas Tech next Saturday.

John E. Hoover 581-8384
john.hoover@tulsaworld.com By JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer

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Rhymeister, Tulsa (11/16/2008 5:26:15 AM)

His friends didn't exactly perform any big favors now, did they?

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