Missing Virtues: How Bob Stoops and Oklahoma Can Mend a Broken Tradition

As a Sooner fan, stringently devoted to the team but no less disappointed with the finishes of the last several years, like many I have hypothesized when the fall from prominence took place.

This is my conclusion: December 6, 2003, on a cold night in Kansas City, is when OU lost its fervor to be dominant.

To recap the 2003 campaign: Oklahoma was ranked number one in the nation throughout the year and entered this Big 12 Championship game as the nation’s only unbeaten team.  This was a year that saw OU outscore opponents overwhelmingly (including the 77-0 dismantling of Texas A&M).

No one in the country could deny OU of its above par offense and killer defense, one that exposed even some of the most skilled teams of the Big 12 as mediocre.

Despite the hype of the invincible Sooners as portrayed by the media (I recall one analyst calling the team the best college football team of all time), and most likely the over-confidence of the team itself, the Wildcats of Kansas State walked onto the field that night unimpressed.

After four quarters of sheer anxiety for a Sooner fan, the final score read Kansas State 35, OU 7.  The reality hit home in unbelievable fashion: Undefeated, number one, Big 12-dominating Oklahoma fell to 10-3 Kansas State.

From this night on, OU just has not been the same.

Putting this theory in perspective, let us recall OU football during the Bob Stoops era (1999-present) before and after this night.

Including all the wins from the undefeated 2003 regular season, and excluding the loss to Kansas State, Oklahoma was 55-9 overall in Stoops' first five seasons, including a regular season 33-7 record in the Big 12, and a 3-1 bowl record (2-0 in the BCS).

Now including the loss to Kansas State, since that night Oklahoma is 42-13 overall in 4 seasons, is 27-5 in the Big 12, and is 1-5 in bowls (0-4 in the BCS).  Among these losses are a season-opening fall to TCU and a Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State, two teams that OU was expected to roll over (and in previous years would have).

The most dramatic change since this night, including the Wildcat loss, was our shift of being the Stoops team that blows out to being the team that gets blown out: to Kansas State, 35-7 (2003); to USC, 55-19 (2004); to UCLA, 41-24 (2005); to Texas, 45-12 (2005); and to West Virginia, 48-28 (2007).

To recap, since that night, OU’s losses have increased, the Sooners have lost back-to-back national championship games, and they have lost four straight BCS bowls—all started by Kansas State debunking the myth of OU’s invincibility.

Some would argue that our loss to Kansas State was not that KSU was better, but because it was cold that night—or even better, because Mike Stoops, the best defensive guru in OU history, had already left.  Whatever excuse people wish to make, the fact remains that Oklahoma has not been the same since this night.

In our defense, OU has won three conference championships since this night and has three 11-plus win seasons, which are achievements that most teams in the country would like to claim.  Unfortunately, in the eyes of writers who report on OU football this year, these successes are negated by our failure to bring home a BCS victory in four attempts.

The swagger of Sooner football has not been tarnished despite these shortcomings, but the intimidation level that OU once exhibited over opponents is almost dormant.  I would rather take the appearance of invincibility instead of over-estimated self-perception any day of the week.

It seems as though when OU walks onto a field looking and thinking that they are better than everyone else, that over-confidence causes them to look past their opponent—and OU ends up getting embarrassed.

When Oklahoma shut down USC’s potent offense in their first drive of the 2004 Orange Bowl and then scored on their first, the Sooners had a celebratory ‘this won’t be that hard’ swagger that was shut down quickly, as the Trojans went on to outscore OU 38-10 in the first half.

Similar experiences have taken place in the last four years.  OU just does not seem ready to handle teams that show up, not only to put up a challenge to OU, but to beat the Sooners.

This was probably never more pertinent than at the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, when OU players probably bought way too much into the media’s consistent David vs. Goliath analogy.  Obviously the players forgot how that story ended—but they were reminded by Boise State in dramatic fashion.

So what has been missing from Oklahoma football the last four seasons?

Aside from learning to go into each game psychologically knowing that you are good—but never, ever underestimating your opponent—OU has got to find a way to reignite a forgotten virtue of Oklahoma’s rich football tradition that used to be the rallying motto that sustained consistent success, especially during the Switzer era: “Sooner Magic.”

We have had moments in the last several years that made us think it was still alive.  One instance was the 2005 Texas Tech game, where the Sooners came from behind to take the lead, only to allow the Red Raiders to score in the final seconds to win the game.

Another example was the 2006 Oregon game.  OU had a 33-20 lead but then allowed Oregon to score two touchdowns in under a minute and a half.  I know, I know—OU had a blotched call that affected the rest of the game.  But if you recall, Adrian Peterson returned a kickoff all the way into field goal range, and all we had to do was make that goal to win 36-33.

It seemed as though despite the unfair calls on the field, Sooner Magic was finding a way to win—but then the kick was blocked, and all hope was gone.

The queen bee of them all was the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.  After being behind most of the game, OU tied Boise State, and with only a little over a minute left, Marcus Walker intercepted the ball and ran it back 33 yards to take the lead.  It looked like it was going to be the come from behind victory that Sooner Magic was known for.

But then, as you know, with a hook and lateral, Boise tied the game.  But wait—in overtime OU scored on their first play and took the lead again, only to be killed by the Statue of Liberty play that will live in infamy.

Oklahoma has had the spirit of Sooner Magic in the Stoops era.  To recall some of the successes, we need to look no further than the 2000 national championship season.  Oklahoma revived itself with the blowout win over Texas and the impressive upset of No. 2 Kansas State in Manhattan, but the virtue was re-developed with the win over the top-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Early on in that game, Oklahoma was down by a two-touchdown deficit, but thanks to Sooner Magic, Oklahoma ran off 31 unanswered points to knock Nebraska out of the Big 12 and national title chases.

Later in the season, when it looked as though Texas A&M was going to crush the dreams of Oklahoma going undefeated, the Sooners regained strength when Terrence Marshall got a touchdown off an interception.

Similarly, early in the 2002 season, Oklahoma was on the ropes against Alabama, and when it looked like Alabama was setting itself up to at least tie the game, safety Eric Bassey scooped up a fumble and ran it back for a touchdown to put the game out of Alabama’s reach.  

As a big-time Oklahoma fan—not like many that jump off the wagon when we lose, though our shortcomings are very obvious—I am hoping that we can turn the tide of our program back to the way it was pre-2003 Big 12 Championship, build on our recent conference achievements the last few years, and see that those wins continue on to a postseason victory.

Oklahoma will always be a heavy hitter in college football.  We just need to get a big postseason homerun to keep that image firmly established, rather than it just being understood that Bob Stoops will produce at least a 10-win team.

To clear our name of the recent criticisms, our 2008 campaign not only needs our continued 10-plus win regular season success and another Big 12 Championship, but a bowl win to top that success.  The best way to assure that fire is breathed back into the Sooner team is to have a win that starts, finishes, and relies on Sooner Magic—and if that happens, the season is bound to be great!

Coach Stoops and the team cannot get comfortable during a game.  A sufficient lead is not good enough; stay the course and finish strong.  Give the other team absolutely no edge.  Establish yourself as the best team on the field from the opening kick until your quarterback takes a knee at the end of the game.

Expect anything from the opposing team and be ready for everything. Be psychologically prepared for their 100 percent effort, but counter that with your 110 percent effort.

As a team, always keep this in the back of your mind: Nothing will reignite the passion and dominance of OU football faster than the impressive miracle of “Sooner Magic.”