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OU's task: Slowing down speedy Miami

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops doesn't know whether Bradford will be ready for Saturday night's game at No. 17 Miami on Oct. 3, but said it won't be a game-time decision. (CHARLIE RIEDEL / AP Photo)

 
By DAVE SITTLER World Sports Writer
Published: 9/30/2009  2:29 AM
Last Modified: 10/8/2009  12:58 PM
Go to Dave Sittler's Blog


NORMAN — Overlooked in the Sam Bradford soap opera are three rather large elephants in the room — Oklahoma's locker room.

1. BYU 14, OU 13.

2. Florida State 54, at BYU 28.

3. Miami (Fla.) 38, at Florida State 34.

Now just hold your flow a minute. Take a timeout and hear me out before flipping out if you're one of those who believe comparing scores is pure folly, lunacy, bull feathers or some other words not suitable for this family newspaper.

Yes, I understand that if you're willing to spend the time, you could come up with enough score comparisons to produce a scenario where woeful Idaho State should defeat defending national champion Florida in the BCS title game.

Under most circumstances, my feelings about comparing scores fall on the side of those who believe it's a waste of time. But there are exceptions, and that could be the case in Saturday's huge showdown in south Florida between No. 8 OU (2-1) and No. 17 Miami (2-1).

To make my case, I have a very creditable witness for the defense in former All-American and All-Pro quarterback Steve Young.

After Young watched his alma mater, BYU, get embarrassed at home by Florida State two weeks after the Cougars stunned the nation by upsetting then-No. 3 OU, he pinpointed the reason for the shocking turnaround in the two games.

"Until further notice, we're going to struggle against those higher-ranked speed teams," Young told Salt Lake City radio station KSL of his beloved Cougars. "You know, we can handle the Oklahomas, Ohio States, even the USCs ... anyone in the Pac-10.

"But those really speedy teams are the ones we've got to watch out for. It's our Achilles heel right now."

Legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden agreed with Young's assessment. Bowden started playing BYU when another coaching legend, LaVell Edwards, was turning the school into a player on the national stage.

"You know, we've always had that (speed) even when we used to play LaVell," Bowden said. "We had team speed; they had size. If you don't have speed, you can't catch it."

Or, as the adage goes: Speed kills. And I'm not talking methamphetamine here.

An abundance of speed can cover up a lot of deficiencies in sports. And it can become lethal if a team has the talent to go with it.

Anyone who closely watched Miami's wins over Florida State and Georgia Tech understood why the "The U" has its famous swagger back. The Hurricanes seemingly have players at every position who can get from here to there rather swiftly.

You can throw out last Saturday's 31-7 Miami loss at Virginia Tech. OU coach Bob Stoops and several of his players said they have.

"That game was played in a monsoon," Stoops said.

Exactly. Virginia Tech's plow horses loved the muddy conditions. But Miami's thoroughbreds arrived in Blacksburg, Va., and discovered they had no place to race in those horrid conditions.

"I think it played a big part in slowing them down," OU safety Quinton Carter said. "Because of the weather, that wasn't the same Miami team that we saw the first couple weeks of the season.

"I'm sure we'll face a whole different Miami team than Virginia Tech played."

The long-range forecast for the Miami area this Saturday indicates Carter's right. Instead of a driving rainstorm like the Virginia Tech game, it calls for only a 40 percent chance of showers. So it figures to be a fast track at Land Shark Stadium when the Sooners and Hurricanes renew their compelling series at 7 p.m.

The state of Florida annually produces the highest number of blue-chip high school prospects. But it's the speed factor that sets Florida apart from everyone.

"When you coach in Florida, typically there's going to be really good team speed," OU offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said. "Miami is very athletic, and they're solid across the board because they've got great team speed."

Stoops has dipped into Florida occasionally on the recruiting trail. But the bulk of the players he's signed in his 10-plus seasons at OU have been from Texas.

"We've been (called) a lot of things, but usually slow hasn't been one of the adjectives used to describe us," Stoops said. "So in the end, I think we have as much team speed as about anybody, and I feel they (Hurricanes) do, too."

Are Young and Bowden right? Or does Stoops' team have the speed to match Miami on the Hurricanes' home turf?

In this case, comparative scores suggest the Sooners' BCS hopes could die this weekend in the state where killer speed was born.

By DAVE SITTLER World Sports Writer

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COMMENTS 
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9 comments have been made for this team so far. Tell us what you think below!
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SoonerDJ, Lisbon, Portugal (9/30/2009 5:33:43 AM)
Well then, having heard that it seems that the ACC and SEC should be the only conferences in Div-1 and all of the other conferences should be pushed down to Div-2. I mean OU or anyone else should have no business being on the same field as those ACC and SEC teams. So I guess OU, USC, Ohio St, Michigan, and Notre Dame should give all of their national championship trophies to Miss. St., Vanderbilt, Duke, and Wake Forest. Clearly those teams are better because they live in the south and have "speed"!
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boomercowboy, sapulpa (9/30/2009 8:26:14 AM)
Ha ha thats the funniest thing ive read in a while. Dave sittler needs to put the pipe down . Come on Dave I usually like your articles man but that one is all hog wash .
Report Comment
HunterOU, (9/30/2009 12:57:11 PM)
Dave Dave look, who recruits faster players V Tech or Miami? If your going to argue that adverse weather cause the Miami loss, then I will argue that a new o-line was what caused OU's loss to BYU. I know that Florida's speed did not beat OU last year. OU has a lot of players playing on Sundays is it a lack of speed?
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SoonerRapp, Coweta (9/30/2009 2:15:51 PM)
Of course OU has fast players on offense and defense, however, we have almost always had some holes that other teams can expliot. Say, a middle linebacker with 3 knee operations. Of course, when you win you are called fast and when you lose you are slow.
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lovethemsooners, Fayetteville (9/30/2009 2:25:26 PM)
Let's just play the freakin' game already!
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Vern, Spiro (9/30/2009 2:41:42 PM)
Have you been listening to the Picker again?
Report Comment
FUTURE WORLD, Tulsa (9/30/2009 10:48:25 PM)
Just in case I'll be seeding Sat. morning.

Go Sooners
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FUTURE WORLD, Tulsa (9/30/2009 10:49:59 PM)
But in the end without Bradford this could be the end as far as top 5 is concerned.
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Hlywood7, Edmond (10/1/2009 12:31:05 AM)
Miami might be fast but that doesn't mean anything if they don't know where they should be running to.
 

 
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