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OU: Daily Log

Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford practices at Barry University in Miami on Friday. Oklahoma plays Florida in the BCS Championship Thursday. J. Pat Carter/Associated Press

By GUERIN EMIG, World sports writer
Published: 1/3/2009 2:25 AM
Last Modified: 1/3/2009 2:47 AM

What they're writing

We should all underachieve like Bob Stoops. I'll take my chances with six conference championships on my resume. Add a national championship. Loads of All-Americans. Then call me "Mr. Unclutch."

That was the headline on one blog summarizing both Stoops' career and the issue of this week's New Year's Eve windfall for the Oklahoma coach.

Before gagging on Stoops' compensation, consider that the coach has earned it. Every penny. Without going all CPA on you, in 1998 Oklahoma generated $26.1 million in athletic revenue. Stoops arrived the next season. By 2007, that figure had risen to $66.3 million.

Oh yeah, and Stoops has delivered on the field too. Mr. Unclutch? He is the nation's third-winningest active coach. The difference between him and No. 2 is .003. That's the lead Urban Meyer has in career winning percentage (.828-.825). Pete Carroll is No. 1.

Everyone wants the next Bob Stoops but they don't want to credit the current one. Suddenly, it seems, Big Game Bob isn't. A four-game BCS bowl game losing streak has him at the opposite end of the Urban Meyer Scale — hot, sexy, quotable, loads of upside.

Stoops? CWTBO. Can't Win The Big One.

Never mind that he has already won a big one, played for two others and coached a couple of Heisman winners.

— By Dennis Dodd,

CBSSportsline.com

OU senior moment

Nic Harris, strong safety: The Big 12 championship was still competitive Dec. 6 as the Sooners led Missouri 17-7 with 10 minutes left in the first half. The Tigers took over at the OU 47-yard line, and quarterback Chase Daniel thought it a good idea to try barreling through Harris on a keeper outside. Oops. Harris' shoulder-to-gut smack popped the ball loose. Brian Jackson recovered. And 10 minutes later, the Sooners were steamrolling into the national championship behind a 38-7 halftime lead.

Harris finished the night with 10 tackles. He'd finish the regular season as both a third-team All-American and the motivational leader of the Sooners' defense.

"The attitude we've had all year is pretty much what I stated at the beginning of the season in Kansas City (at Big 12 Media Days), when I said, 'WTLG,'" he said. "Win the last game. Right now, the last game is the national championship game. It's where we wanted to be. Hopefully that's what we can do."

Matchup to watch

Florida pass rush vs. Sam Bradford: The last time OU's Heisman winner had to worry about pressure was the last time the Sooners lost, Oct. 11 against Texas. In the seven games since, Bradford has been sacked a total of three times.

If the Gators can't do better than that, they'll need their offense to score in the 50s to win. So can they?

Defensive end Carlos Dunlap, with nine sacks on the year, represents Florida's best shot to pressure Bradford. Expect defensive coordinator Charlie Strong to rely on him, as well as an array of blitzes to confuse OU's blocking scheme. It will be a hefty challenge, since the Sooners allowed the fourth-fewest sacks (11) in the nation this season.

Quoteworthy

"To some degree. None of it is significant enough to make a difference. Things that worked for us in 2000 and in the (2003) Rose Bowl didn't work the next time, so who's to say what's right and wrong. In the end, you've got to go out and play well when the time comes."

— Stoops, asked if he would change the way OU prepares for Jan. 8 compared to past BCS games

Looking back

Orange Bowl, Jan. 4, 2005

USC 55, Oklahoma 19

The Sooners' last visit to Dolphin Stadium was humiliating. The national championship was tied at 7-7, when Mark Bradley tried to field a rolling punt in a crowd inside his 10-yard line. The Trojans recovered and cashed in a short TD run, setting off a 48-3 avalanche that made full use of USC's weapons — Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, Dwayne Jarrett, Lendale White and Steve Smith among them.

The Trojans' defense bottled up OU big play threats Jason White and Adrian Peterson after the Sooners' opening scoring drive, and the game was over by halftime, USC leading 38-10.

Day in review

The Sooners touched down at Miami International Airport Friday afternoon, and were practicing at nearby Barry University a couple hours later.

Looking ahead

Both teams conduct press conferences this morning. Both teams practice. The Sooners have a team dinner scheduled at the Miami Beach Brazilian steakhouse Fogo de Chao, while the Gators will load up at a beach barbecue. By GUERIN EMIG, World sports writer

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