OU never flinched on way to game for title

By John Helsley

Published: December 2, 2006

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The blows kept coming for the University of Oklahoma this football season.

First, starting quarterback Rhett Bomar and offensive lineman J.D. Quinn were dismissed before preseason practices even began. Then came a loss at Oregon due to botched officiating; a five-turnover setback to Texas; injury to star running back Adrian Peterson. …

"We never flinched," Sooners coach Bob Stoops said.

Never lost focus on the journey, either.

And what a ride it's been, delivering the 10-2 Sooners here to the Big 12 championship game. OU will face Nebraska at 7 tonight at Arrowhead Stadium, the latest stop in an adventurous season.

To the winner: a berth in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1.

The loser is bound for the Cotton Bowl, no small consolation prize.

Neither destinations seemed likely for the Sooners two months ago, when they stood 3-2 and faced the back end of a schedule that featured four road games in five weeks.

And yet, what about these last four months has been at all likely for the Sooners?

"We really didn't expect all this stuff to happen like this," sophomore wide receiver Malcolm Kelly said. "We all had our mindset, ‘This is going to happen, this is going to happen.' We all had it down pat.

"Then right before the season, everything breaks wide open like it did."

Bomar and Quinn were dismissed on the eve of OU's first August practice after it was discovered they accepted payment for hours not worked at a local car dealer.

The Sooners, en vogue as a national contender and the pick for No. 1 by Athlon Magazine, suddenly were in focus for all the wrong reasons. The national media took its shots at the program. Locally, themes like "Trouble in the Huddle" led the evening television news.

Inside the program, Stoops struck with a swift bold stroke, promoting Paul Thompson into the starting quarterback role. Thompson, who lost the quarterback job to Bomar early last season, spent the rest of 2005 and all spring at wide receiver.

"I thought Paul Thompson would be every bit as good, if not better (than Bomar)," Stoops said. "We told the team immediately, ‘Now, if you're looking for an excuse or for our expectations to change, it will not be because of Paul Thompson.'

"And I truly meant that."

In retrospect, Stoops was right on in evaluating Thompson.

Credited often for his leadership and calming influence, Thompson has also played well. And his key numbers — 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions — are indeed better than Bomar's 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions of a year ago.

"It is real gratifying, to see how this team has come together and the way everyone has pulled together with all the adversity we've faced," Thompson said.

The adversity didn't end with Bomar and Quinn, who also brought the NCAA to Norman.

On the field and in the replay booth, officials missed two key calls late in a 34-33 loss at Oregon. The mistakes were cited by the Pac-10 Conference for costing OU the win.

That stuck the Sooners with their first loss. And two games later, committing five turnovers and 11 penalties, OU fell to Texas and stood 3-2.

And yet the Sooners have ripped off seven straight wins, four of their last five on the road, risen to No. 8 in the rankings and now stand primed to pad their Big 12 dominance.

No team has played in more Big 12 title games (five tonight) or won as many (three).

"You come to Oklahoma because you know you're going to have a chance to play for a Big 12 championship or a national championship every year," Kelly said. "That's why people come to Oklahoma. That's what Oklahoma's about.

"For you to have all those expectations for yourself, then have that almost fall apart, with everybody telling you this and telling you that, and you still rise above everybody and make it happen — it's a wonderful feeling."