Stoops' mantra will serve him well Oklahoma vs. Oregon replay controversy OU coach's ‘no excuses' policy is the right course of action after Sooners' loss in Oregon
NORMAN — Bob Stoops is mad. Real mad.
Kick-the-dog, punch-a-wall, pace-the-floor, mutter-under-your-breath, can't-go-to-sleep mad. Can't blame him. Can't blame him a bit.
You'd be hacked, too, if your professional existence came down to 12 autumn Saturdays, and one was polluted by an officiating crew armed with tin can and walking stick. Put that Pac-10 crew on the Warren Commission and they would conclude insufficient evidence to show that Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald.
You'd be hacked, too, if after all those hours and months of preparing for a big game, a butchered review cost you the sweetness of a victory flight home and status in the polls.
You'd be demanding a pound of flesh; you'd be calling for the professional head of whoever was responsible.
But one lonely anthem still cries out in the wake of Oregon's tainted, 34-33 victory over Oklahoma.
No excuses.
That's what Stoops proclaimed the day he was hired and that's how he's coached these eight memorable seasons. Such a mantra has served him well.
Now Stoops teeters on the edge of excuse-making. Yes, the refs rooked him Saturday in Eugene. Yes, barring miracle of miracles, the game is over with the proper onside kick call.
Yes, it's accurate to say that Mister Gordon Riese of Portland, Ore., cost the Sooners the game.
But so did a blocked field goal. So did OU's sudden allergy to pass defense. Riese's brain lock, or whatever caused this scandal, did not end the game. This was not Lubbock.
The Sooners had time to recover from this and darn near did.
Stoops began his press conference Tuesday with a short acknowledgement that the Sooners were accountable for part of their demise. He ended his informal sortee with writers the same way.
Stoops assured that he and his players have moved on, and the actions of his players backed him up. The young among us are resilient. They bounce back.
Defensive back Calvin Thibodeaux: "Yeah, that happened, but we had several chances to not even put it in the ref's hands."
Cornerback Reggie Smith: "We had a lot of opportunities to not make the game so close at the very end. S
