BCS National Championship: This game about Sooners, not Big 12
Big 12 conference: OU must forget conference burden and focus on Gators
By John Rohde
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25
Published: January 8, 2009
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Oklahoma has enough on its mind trying to beat Florida in tonight’s BCS national championship game, so here’s one thing for the Sooners not to think about.
Don’t think about your conference. Don’t allow the Big 12 to be your burden. Tonight’s game at Dolphin Stadium is not about the Big 12 vs. the SEC. Waving the OU flag in January has become a heavy load lately, so why pick up the Big 12 flag and try to wave that, too? For the Sooners, tonight is all about themselves. Bowl season is the time of year for schools to become selfish. (This viewpoint is never openly discussed at the league’s spring meetings.) Teams must take care of their own business, and their league can latch onto their coattails. Tonight is not about OU trying to rectify how other Big 12 teams have performed this postseason. Heavily favored Texas survived Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, and the Longhorns promptly and predictably anointed themselves No. 1. Oklahoma State got shoved around by Oregon and lost the Holiday Bowl. Texas Tech went through the motions and lost to Mississippi in the Cotton Bowl. Missouri went through the motions and managed to beat Northwestern in overtime in the Alamo Bowl. Nebraska and Kansas won their bowl games, but the No. 6 and No. 7 conference seeds don’t carry much weight. Psychologically, it would have been immensely helpful for OU if Big 12 teams were 6-0 in bowl games so far. Instead, the league is a shaky 4-2 with the No. 2, 3, 4 and 5 seeds all underachieving in their performance. This has become one more burden for the Sooners to bear. Imagine the weight on OU’s shoulders had Texas not pulled off a last-second victory on Monday night. The incessant "S-E-C" chant would be in its eighth day had Utah not soundly beaten Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Tonight is about everyone in crimson and cream, not everyone in the Big 12. It is about everything OU, not everything around OU. This year’s Sooners have been judged by how other Big 12 defenses have fared. They’ve been judged by their four straight BCS bowl losses. They’ve been judged by the USC massacre on the very same field four years ago. They’ve been judged by other BCS bowl losses to LSU, Boise State and West Virginia. None of these things should matter, but they clearly do. This is why the Sooners must focus all their energy on Florida, and not on representing the Big 12. John Rohde: 475-3099. John Rohde can be heard Monday-Friday from 6-7 p.m. on The Sports Animal Network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1.
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I was upset that Stoops left Bradford in the game against Missouri. Not so much of running up the score but that Hazle did not get to play in the championship game and he is a senior. I think it would have been great if Hazle had led the team down for the 60th plus points. He deserved to get in the game.
and don't talk to me about the second best team in the pac-10 beating the fourth best team in the big 12 in the holiday (which is in pac-10 country, no?) bowl. let's see the ducks beat texas or oklahoma. then you might have a point. as it is, you just sound like an idiot tooting the horn of a conference which is on par with the MWC.
the lower seeded teams from the other conference they are playing, hence Mo., Kan., Neb.,
The higher rated team or seeded teams in the Big 12 are marginally equal or less than the
higher rated teams they played from the same. The PAC 10 is rated low but seems to be
the conference to beat, like wise the SEC. The Big 12 gets flowery ratings during the season,
but when their leaders are matched up, even with teams ranked 10 to 15 places below them
they can't get the job done, the Big 12 is an overated conference, bowl season bears that
out almost every year. Last year being one of the few exceptions, except for OU, they held
true to their losing bowl ways.
the lower seeded teams from the other conference they are playing, hence Mo., Kan., Neb.,
The higher rated team or seeded teams in the Big 12 are marginally equal or less than the
higher rated teams they played from the same. The PAC 10 is rated low but seems to be
the conference to beat, like wise the SEC. The Big 12 gets flowery ratings during the season,
but when their leaders are matched up, even with teams ranked 10 to 15 places below them
they can't get the job done, the Big 12 is an overated conference, bowl season bears that
out almost every year. Last year being one of the few exceptions, except for OU, they held
true to their losing bowl ways.