Think, (1/10/2009 5:51:00 AM)

Sittler keeps referring to Stoops bowl record as 2-5, but apparently he can't count. OU won the national championship in '00, the Cotton Bowl in '01, the Rose Bowl in '03, and the Holiday Bowl in '05 bowl season. OU was defeated in the Independence Bowl in '99, BCS championship defeats in '03, '04, and '09, and Fiesta Bowl defeats in '07 and '08.
Stoops bowl record is 4-6, not 2-5 as Sittler kept indicating.

Sooner Hawg, (1/10/2009 6:23:01 AM)

Think, as Sittler stated in his article, Stoops is 2-5 in BCS bowls. He is correct in that statement. Stoops is 4-6 overall.

soonerbeach, Wichita (1/10/2009 8:32:43 AM)

Uh, Players win and lose championships. Not Coaches. Stoops is a proven National Championship coach. Anyone thinking OU would be better off without Bob Stoops is insane. If Bradfords two interceptions would have been caught like they should have its a different story. Coaches can help you get to a championship but it boils down to what happens on the field when its all said and done.

David G. Stern, Jenks (1/10/2009 9:07:45 AM)

People have such short memories. I came to OU during the end of the Chuck-Chuck Fairbanks years.
Enjoyed the Switzer era. Then suffered with Howdy Doody Gary Gibbs, died of embarrassment with Harold Schnellenberger (sp) and waited for John Blake to put some fire back in the game. Bob Stoops put OU back on the map as a top national contender. You just don't win the games he's won, the Big 12 Championships and the National Championship as a chump. OSU...TULSA...MIZZOU...how many National Championship games have YOU played in since 1999.
NO, I hated to see us lose again. But the Refs didn't steal it. There were last second gadet plays (although the jump pass was kind of cute). We dropped some key passes, had really dumb penalites at the worst of times, and had key players out with injuries. But that's football. We're SOONER Born and SOONER Bred. Tim did a great job in that game. But Sam was no slouch. Our Defense played their best game of the year, and it just so happened that Heisman Curse, Florida "home games" and a few bad breaks combined to keep the victory from us. But losers? Quitters? Richard M. Nixon? Give me a break. Be thankful for the team we have. Appreciate the fact that these "kids" were able to rally after a Texas debacle, run the table and make it to the top game of the year. I'd rather lose every one of those National Championship games, year after year, than to win one every 40, or 20, or even 10. At least we're in the game. Congratulations Coach Stoops and the entire OU Team...David G. OU Class of '73

American Psycho, broken arrow (1/10/2009 9:29:44 AM)

Hey Think - he referred to Stoops' "BSC" bowl record which does not include his record in the weedwackers bowls.

And how about showing up for the day-after press conference to ask why on earth Billy Simms was allowed to the honorary captain for the coin toss? Bradford must have been having horrible flashbacks being that close to Simms again.

American Psycho, broken arrow (1/10/2009 9:38:11 AM)

Well done David G. I try every year to pull for the Sooners whenever they're not playing OSU but then some jackas$ OU fan pulls me out of it. You managed to throw in a "OSU/Tulsa/Mizzou" slam in an attempt to justify another BCS bowl loss at the hands of Big Game Boob. So while I wanted OU to win to spite the media and also in the hopes of seeing Tebow crying on the sidelines after a title game loss... well I've snapped out of it thanks to the well written speech by Gooner David G. HA HA HA HA HA.... OSU class of '93.

HVJ, (1/10/2009 9:42:25 AM)

No press conference, come on Dave, like Nixon everyone knows the press only wants to schtoop Bob Stoops.

mjaked, Tulsa (1/10/2009 11:10:29 AM)

C'mon Dave. I have a great amount of respect for your journalistic integrity and fairly balanced view of the state's various college sports teams. But, it is ridiculous at this point to try to manufacture stories within stories out of OU's latest BCS bowl loss. Thursday's loss (or meltdown as you call it) is certainly big enough by itself. The irresponsible line, in my opinion, within your otherwise well done article is : "While I'm not totally convinced the Denver Broncos are no longer interested in him, I'm not sure how Broncos' owner Pat Bowlen could sell a Stoops hire to Denver fans because of his woeful bowl record."

Seriously?!? Pat Bowlen is no less interested in Coach Bob Stoops now than ever (and, fortunately for OU fans, Coach Stoops is most likely less interested than ever in the NFL especially after what he witnessed in the Steve Spurrier NFL flirtation experiment and in turn what happens to great college coaches who fail in the pros once they come back to college.....they coach at mid-tier programs in power conferences such as South Carolina). The Denver Broncos want Coach Stoops BIG TIME! Just consider their most recent all-world, Super Bowl winning coach in Mike Shanahan. Coach Shanahan was a combined 8-12 in 1 1/4 seasons for their division rival L.A. Raiders before stepping in as the head coach in Denver several years later. How many Championships had he played for before taking the Denver gig?? C'mon Dave. You do a great job writing stories. Stick with that. If your feelings are hurt that the $6 million dollar man did not hang out with you on South Beach one more day then leave that for your personal diary. Otherwise it seems a little pathetic.

63Tackles, (1/10/2009 11:16:21 AM)

First. I am far from a Stoops "apologist." But let's have some perspective. While it is very disappointing to lose a BCS title game, shouldn't we give Coach Stoops credit for getting us there 4 times and 3 times during the past 6 seasons? Isn't that a remarkable accomplishment? Would we rather not get to the title game in the first place? Coach Stoops loses his share of big games but he also wins his share. Was beating #1 ranked Missouri in the 2007 Big XII title game a big game? You bet! Was beating #2 ranked Texas Tech this year a big game? Ditto. Was beating Nebraska in the 2006 Big XII title game (Bob's best coaching season in my opinion) a big game? You get my point. We wouldn't have had the opportunity to lose to West Virginia, Florida and Boise State if Bob hadn't won those big games. As Lou Holtz said the other night, "They're only big games when you lose them." Thanks Coach Stoops for 10 great seasons. We'll be fortunate if we have you for 10 more.

osupokes, (1/10/2009 11:35:57 AM)

Stoops silence is typical. When he wins, his mouth cant seem to slow down. With his loss, silence. Oh theres a little praise for his opponent, but thats about it, little. His arrogant sideline diplays are the norm for him and the so called Sooner Nation, Admit it bummers ya dot beat by the better team. As a cowboy fan, I can admit we lost to OU because they were the better team. But seeing their displays of OSU sucks at Stillwater is why watching OU get humbled is such a treat. Yeah you might be tops of the Big 12, but outside the conference you suck like the rest of us. GO GAYORS<<< OU uuuu STINK......

canesablowin', (1/10/2009 12:33:18 PM)

Enough already, it's time to get over the fact that OU lost the national championship to a better Florida team. All of us know the current system sucks and should be replaced by a playoff system. The Utah Utes may indeed have won it all. At least Oklahoma can claim one championship team, TU in the GMAC Bowl. If Sooner Nation faithful are getting ready to toss in the towel for next season there's still room on the Golden Hurricane bandwagon. Maybe you'll time your jump at the conclusion of the TU-OU game next season. No big deal when, we'll have the welcome mat out.

BAB, Tulsa (1/10/2009 12:35:25 PM)

Just so you know my point of view, I graduated from OU and have been an OU fan for over 40 years. I don't mind the fact that Coach Stoops did not participate in the morning-after press conference. However, as a student of the game, I would like to know the reasoning behind not kicking the field goal to take a 10 to 7 lead and then deciding to kick a 49 yard field goal rather than trying to convert a 4th and 5 from Florida's 32 yard line. This long field goal attempt seemed out of character for this year's team. I picked Florida to win the game but as the game progressed I saw an OU team playing well enough to win. However, Florida made the critical plays to win the game. It was a disappointing loss but OU had another successful season. I foresee a very challenging season in 2009.

52favoriteteacher, WASHBURN, MO (1/10/2009 12:47:00 PM)

osupokes--you said

watching OU get humbled is such a treat
still bitter?

Watching a great game between #1 and #2 teams was pretty exciting.
OU still can hold their heads up. Finished # 5 out of what--107 division one schools!

SoonerFan4Life, Coweta (1/10/2009 12:51:37 PM)

What is with all the fairweather OU fans? You make me sick! OU doesnt need fans that wont support them if the lose 65 bowl games in a row it doesnt bother me I was sooner born and sooner bred and when i die ill be sooner dead! Dont claim to like the Sooners just because they had a mind blowing record setting team just support the Sooners for what they are OUR (true fans i mean) BIG 12 Champions and one of the most recognized footballs teams of all time! Fairweather OU fans should be relocated to texas!

Shirley S, (1/10/2009 1:09:37 PM)

It seems to me that MGB had enough to say in his pre-prepared loser speach after the game. He pretty much said it all in his last sentence "we'll keep going after them, if it's all the same to everybody else". That's the problem Bob, it's all the same, year in and year out. Chokelahoma wins the Big 12 and shows how good they really are when they play someone outside their mediocre league. No new year's slogans (WTLG) seem to make a difference. The only prescription would be the one Texas, Kansas and Missouri got this bowl season, play a Big 10 opponent, the only BCS league slower than the Big 12. It's pretty sad when the Sooner Nation is happy that OU finally showed up this BCS. Showing up is not something many people (6) did upon the Sooners return to Norman. Don't worry Sooner Nation, Stoops isn't going anywhere, where else will he not be held accountable for losing the last game(LTLG)every year?

Sharkey Hammerhead, owasso (1/10/2009 1:35:01 PM)

Oh how awful fair weather fans can be, The BCS game was a dog fight all the way to the end .. the 10 pint win didn`t even happen till late in the game ..I agree with Bab,.. what was the reason for going for it in the 2 quarter instead of the field goal, I do understand that we wanted to send a message by going for it , the problem was play calling and has been all year... What happened to play action down near the goal line ... And then Sam made a mistake on thr int. that cost us the other F goal,, throw it a way . the score at the half should have been ou 17 -fl 7. .. Barry Switzer said it right at the half ,failure to score at those times would be the achilles heal..and it was ... OU played good enough to win they just didn`t take advantage of the chance they had.... I`m sure Bob is very sad , they had a great game plan ,but penalties, and stupid things like not getting out of bounds by Gresham at the close of the first half, don`t get that ..I`m an OU fan I`ll never give up,... but I really think I could of called a better game Wilson.... you should be the one too take credit for this one .... Best in the nation at scoring in the red zone and you play right into their strength.......OU you were the better team but not the best prepared.....

SoCal Fan, Broken Arrow (1/10/2009 1:57:35 PM)

I use to be a fairweather fan but after Thursday's game, I'm jumping off the bandwagon. Sooners, I'll see you next year, it was a great run.

TexasVandy, (1/10/2009 3:45:05 PM)

Come on Chokelahoma!.....where are your arrogant comments now?

your silence is deafening!

osupokes, (1/10/2009 3:52:01 PM)

Hey Teacher,

Just for you information, TEXAS fans have more class than you morons. ONLY TEAM ON THE PLANET...Its just not OSU, but everyone else you play. So I'll sit back for the next 8 months and watch you idiots punch yourselves in the the face... AGAIN... At least admit TEXAS was better than you...They won, remember...Thats 5 in a row, wanna go for 6...NO CLASS BUMBS>>>

Marathonman, (1/10/2009 5:15:48 PM)

Texas and OSU: Better to have played and lost the national championship than not to get there at all!

BAB, Tulsa (1/10/2009 5:36:14 PM)

In addition to winning 12 games and playing for the national championship (sorry Texas), here are some other memorable moments from the 2008 season:
Winning another Big 12 championship,
Sam Bradford being selected as the Heismann Trophy winner,
Routing Texas Tech,
Beating OSU again
And of course we can't forget these memorable moments:
Watching Crabtree cross the goal line against Texas and seeing the deer in the headlight looks on the faces of Mack Brown and Colt McCoy,
Mack Brown and the Texas nation whining about the Big 12 tiebreaker rules for a three-way tie

TulsaninAtlanta , (1/10/2009 7:21:39 PM)

I concede the following is a bit of an ignorant statement, but What does Florida, Obama & McCain, oklahoma have in common? The winners are clearly reflective of what's good about our counrty and the losers are backwardx ass, hill billy, red knecks...lol

P.S. President Obama won Florida and McCain won Oklahoma....lol and both of ya'll lost!!! lol.

Lance-a-lot, Tulsa (1/10/2009 7:58:48 PM)

Wow, that was a totally useless article.

Who new Sittler was Stoops' PR guy?

Lance-a-lot, Tulsa (1/10/2009 7:59:17 PM)

* knew * sorry.

SoonerDJ, Lisbon, Portugal (1/11/2009 10:18:55 AM)

Just like most people are saying i'd rather have my team get the NC and lsoe then not have been there at all. There were 4 plays that made that game. The 2 INT that were not Sams fault and the 2 outstanding goal line stands by UF. I stayed up till 5 AM and watched the whole game. It was a great game and proved that OU did belong in that game. Texas and USC would have lost. Utah might have won. All you haters, until you compile a historical record like OU has done over the last century then you should really hold your tongues. I also don't understand all the smack talk from OSU and Tulsa fans. Maybe it's because I have lived in other states and abroad in the world for the past 13 years. I am a Sooners fan first and foremost, but I promote Tulsa and OSU almost as much. I am proud to be from Oklahoma.