OU’s Bob Stoops and OSU’s Mike Gundy

Bob Stoops waited until 11 days before the opener to pick the winner of his last quarterback derby, and that was Sam Bradford. Mike Gundy doesn’t plan to wait that long to pick Brandon Weeden’s replacement.The last time Bob Stoops had a legitimate quarterback derby, he didn’t pick a quarterback until 11 days before the season opener. And Sam Bradford was the quarterback Stoops eventually picked.

Mike Gundy doesn’t plan to wait that long. Gundy plans to pick the next OSU quarterback in the near wake of the Cowboy spring finale, if not sooner.

“I’m not really excited about the team not knowing who their quarterback is all summer,” Gundy said.
Read More: newsok.com

OU football: Brent Venables taking Clemson job

NORMAN — After a wild day of conflicting reports and clarifications in the Brent Venables saga, resolution finally arrived: Clemson had its new defensive coordinator, Mike Stoops assumed full control of Oklahoma’s defense and the Sooners landed in the market for a linebackers coach.

Read more: http://newsok.com/ou-football-brent-venables-taking-clemson-job/article/3641428#ixzz1juBkTfYF

1.19.12

Oklahoma’s difficult season draws to close

Ten victories always is an acceptable goal for the Oklahoma Sooners. That is, as long as those victories come before Thanksgiving.

Therefore, this season, which has included three losses, has been disappointing, especially considering all that was anticipated.

Read more from Rivals.com

12.28.11

Ramblings on Game week (@ 5am in the morning)

I was thinking about how much college football has changed since 1980. You know since Oklahoma, Nebraska & Alabama we’re dominating college football.

The Bear, Switzer & Osborne were the guys when I started watching college football. One program in the deep south was full of talent and had outstanding coaching: Alabama.

Oklahoma was Thug U. – Loaded with NFL talent, Switzer would sign anybody and do whatever was needed to sign a kid. Switzer grew up in a tough environment, and he believed in giving every kid a chance. He wasn’t worried about the kids becoming “well-rounded” men. He wanted to win and win big. Switzer was in your face.

Then you had Nebraska and Tom Osborne. Osborne didn’t reach like Switzer. He signed what today would be considered highly rated 3-star players and redshirted everybody. 99% of the kids in Lincoln redshirted. Osborne and his staff were into player development, and Osborne believed in the student-athlete concept. Nebraska also had the cutting-edge strength and conditioning program in the country. So while he didn’t have the pure athletes Oklahoma had – Nebraska relied on disciplined, good (not great) and smart redshirt juniors & Seniors.

 Back then Oklahoma was the Dallas Cowboys just one step away from complete and total disaster which eventually happened & Nebraska was the Pittsburgh Steelers. Even though Switzer dominated for a time in the 1970s & 1980s it was Osborne who had the last laugh. He stayed around longer and eventually won those coveted National Championships in the mid-1990s years after Switzer was run out of Norman for breaking every rule in the book.

 Bo Bounds is the host of the Out of Bounds show on ESPN 105.9 The Zone in Jackson, MS…..Where SEC football meets the Y’all Lifestyle. For more info go to http://yalllifestyle.com.

DALLAS – We interrupt the fear and loathing of Texas for a special announcement: The team that dominates where it matters most has entered the room.

Finally, there is normalcy again.

For two days the Big 12 has tried to reinvent itself, tried to re-brand who and what it is while bickering back and forth about Texas and its controversial Longhorn Network.

Then Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops walked into the building, and all the hype and hoopla suddenly was replaced by more pressing matters, like talking about the Sooners winning championships.

“I have a great feeling about the chemistry of this team,” Stoops said.

Read more of “Forget Texas, on the field Oklahoma is Big 12′s real star” on SportingNews.com
7.27.11

Last year, Alabama was a heavy favorite to repeat as national champions in practically every preseason ranking or poll. This year, early opinions are split between theCrimson Tide and Oklahoma.

Oklahoma, 12-2 last year, has been tabbed No. 1 in 2011 preseason rankings by ESPN and Lindy’s. The Sooners return quarterback Landry Jones, who led the Big 12 with 4,718 yards and 38 touchdowns last season, and All-American receiver Ryan Broyles, who owns 10 OU receiving records, as well as the majority of their defense.

Read more of “Countdown to Football: 74 Days – Alabama or Oklahoma No. 1?” on AL.com
6-21-11

The Sooners are 129-31 under Stoops, with seven Big 12 championships, a national championship and three more appearances in the BCS national championship game. And when his starting quarterback was involved in a scandal in 2006, he dismissed Rhett Bomar from the team.

So, sure, it would make sense that Ohio State would be interested in him.

But would Stoops be interested in Ohio State, a program that’s under NCAA scrutiny and could be facing major sanctions?

Stoops’ name also surfaced as a possible candidate at Florida, Notre Dame and even the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. Each time, Stoops has put a quick end to speculation by announcing he is content at Oklahoma and isn’t interested in leaving.

Read more of “Why would Stoops ever leave OU?” on ClarionLedger.com
6.3.11

Spring practice is over for most college football teams, but there are still plenty of storylines that will determine which teams will have the best chance at winning the BCS National Championship Game in 2011.

Will Jim Tressel be on the sideline at any point during Ohio State’s upcoming season? Can Florida’s defense survive without All-SEC cornerback Janoris Jenkins, who was kicked off the team last week? Will Stephen Garcia be under center when defending SEC East champion South Carolina kicks off the season? Will star receiver Michael Floyd play for Notre Dame in 2011?

Tressel’s uncertain future at OSU, as a result of an ongoing NCAA investigation, means the Buckeyes were among a handful of teams that dropped in the third edition of the 2011 Way-Too-Early Preseason Top 25 poll. (The first two editions were unveiled on Jan. 11 and Feb. 4.)

Read more of “SEC has quantity, but OU is top quality” on ESPN.com
5.16.11

The statement came and went this spring, completely overshadowed by the constant chatter of another elite program and another elite coach kicking and screaming all the way to the NCAA gallows.

But the noise from Ohio State can’t drown out Bob Stoops at Oklahoma:

“I don’t think there is any question,” Stoops said earlier this spring, “that we have more players ready to play this year than maybe at any other time.”

Read more of “Oklahoma boasts the Big 12′s toughest nonconference schedule” on SportingNews.com
5-12-11

What makes the NFL great is parity, as small-market teams such as Indianapolis, Green Bay and New Orleans know they have an almost equal chance to win a championship as teams in mega-markets such as New York, Chicago and Dallas. But that won’t be the case in the Big 12, where the chasm between Texas and Oklahoma and the rest of the Big 12 will grow wider.

Read more of “Longhorns-Sooners rivalry extends to TV” on Rivals.com
3.3.11