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OU: Daily Log

By GUERIN EMIG, World sports writer
Published: 1/6/2009 2:23 AM
Last Modified: 1/6/2009 3:50 AM

What they're writing

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops bristles when asked about his recent failure in Bowl Championship Series games. He proudly rattles off his team's successes in the Big 12, including appearances in seven of the last nine championship games with six victories. What he does not mention is that his teams have lost four consecutive times in the BCS, including the national title games at the end of the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

Nor does Stoops, whose team plays Florida for the title Thursday, point out that his only crystal trophy for winning the BCS championship game bears the fingerprints of his predecessor, John Blake. The only black head football coach at Oklahoma, Blake recruited more than half of that championship team's 22 starters, including future NFL players like safety Roy Williams and linebacker Rocky Calmus.

The mere mention of the fact seems to agitate Stoops, who did recruit quarterback Josh Heupel, running back Quentin Griffin and linebacker Torrance Marshall, all vital players in Oklahoma's 13-2 victory against Florida State.

"You've got to go there after all these years?" Stoops said in a telephone interview last month. "Are you kidding me?"

But the matter is no joke to Blake, an associate head coach at North Carolina.

"I'm happy for Bob because sometimes one man's sacrifice is another man's gain, and I really believe that," Blake said.

— By Thayer Evans, New York Times

OU senior moment

Juaquin Iglesias, wide receiver: Take your pick. There was that 8-yard grab in the fourth quarter of the Kansas game Oct. 18, giving Iglesias an OU-record 12 catches on the night. There was the 18-yard snag over the middle in the second quarter of the Big 12 championship Dec. 6, putting him over 1,000 yards on the season. Or how about all those times Iglesias bailed out Sam Bradford on third down?

"I do have confidence in Juaquin, and I definitely know where he's at on every play," Bradford said Monday. "If something is funky and I'm not sure what's going on on defense, most of the time I will look to him."

Matchup to watch

OU cornerbacks vs. Florida's option: Safeties Nic Harris, Lendy Holmes and Quinton Carter won't be the only defensive backs who provide run support against Tim Tebow and the Gators' spread option. Cornerbacks Brian Jackson and Dominique Franks will be helpful as well.

"It's very tough," Franks said. "Most quarterbacks that you face want to pitch the ball to the running back. But Tebow, with his size and his great speed, he can also keep the ball. You've got to make sure you've got a quarterback (defender) and a running back (defender) at the same time."

Quoteworthy

"I guarantee you I'm going to bring that hammer. It should be a good matchup."

— Oklahoma linebacker Travis Lewis, asked about facing Tim Tebow on Thursday

Looking back

Orange Bowl, Jan. 1, 1986

Oklahoma 25, Penn State 10

Tim Manoa plunged into the end zone to cap the Nittany Lions' opening drive, and it looked like Joe Paterno was going to get the better of Barry Switzer in this matchup of coaching giants. Then Switzer's Sooners, really Switzer's defense, changed gears and left the Lions behind. Brian Bosworth made 13 tackles. Sonny Brown made two of OU's four interceptions. On the other side of the ball, Jamelle Holieway threw a 71-yard scoring strike to Keith Jackson on third-and-long to put OU ahead to stay in the second quarter.

Day in review

The Sooners showed up at Dolphin Stadium in their crimson jerseys, talked to the media (everyone, that is, but vow-of-silence cornerbacks Dominique Franks and Brian Jackson) and posed for pictures with the national championship crystal football trophy. Then they practiced Monday afternoon.

Looking ahead

Things are beginning to slow down. The only item on OU's official itinerary is a 3 p.m. practice. By GUERIN EMIG, World sports writer

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