Stoops to Notre Dame? not a chance

Rumors have been circulating that Notre Dame is interested in hiring Bob Stoops as their next head football coach. Charlie Weis was fired by Notre Dame and it was rumored that Notre officials wanted to meet with Stoops. No one knows whether Stoops met with them, but it is pretty evident that Stoops will be staying in Norman.

Stoops responded by saying, “I intend to be at Oklahoma. That’s the only (job) right now that I’m looking to do. I’m going to be at Oklahoma next year. I can’t be in two places at once.”

Stoops has also hit the recruiting road since he doesn’t have to prepare for a Big 12 Championship game. He has been sending the message to his recruits that he will return to Oklahoma. Despite a rough season, Stoops looks to bounce back and gain momentum for next year by bringing in these high quality recruits.

OU and OSU Bedlam Highlights

Sooners struggle at Nebraska, pound Texas A&M, and get demolished by Texas Tech

The Oklahoma Sooners next game was in Lincoln, Nebraska against the Cornhuskers. This would be no easy task for the Sooners as they were to play in a tough environment. Nebraska had lost four straight games to the Sooners before this game and they were looking to change that. This game was a defensive battle because there was only 13 total points scored in the matchup. Nebraska beat Oklahoma 10-3 and closed the gap of the Big 12 standings in the north division to half a game. The Sooners statistically beat Nebraska but turnovers kept them from winning the game. OU had a total of 325 yards but the Sooners turned the ball over three times, missed three field goals, and threw five interceptions. Landry Jones finished the game with 245 yards passing and those five interceptions. Nebraska’s offense only had 180 total yards and seven first downs. Nebraska’s defense stopped Oklahoma when they needed to and only allowed the Sooners into the red-zone once. Despite having more total yards on offense, the Oklahoma offense couldn’t produce any points and it cost them. The bright part of the game was the Oklahoma defense because they kept OU in the game. Oklahoma is a confusing team this year as they have been so inconsistent. Nobody knows if they will show up, but when they do they can compete with anyone in the country. 

Ryan Broyles running down the filed after a reception against Nebraska.

 

The Sooners next opponent was the Texas A&M Aggies, and it was a home game for the Sooners. Oklahoma rebounded from the Nebraska game by putting up enormous offensive numbers. Landry Jones responded from last week’s 5 interception game by throwing 5 touchdowns against the Aggies. Jones threw for 392 total passing yards and led the team to a 65-10 blowout to become bowl-eligible. Oklahoma rushed the ball efficiently for a total of 248 yards, which opened up many options for the offense. Demarco Murray, Ryan Broyles, Chris Brown, and Adron Tennel each scored two touchdowns and proved to be Oklahoma’s playmakers. The Oklahoma offensive line showed improvement as they didn’t allow a sack versus the Aggies. Overall, the Sooners had 640 total yards of offense. Turnovers killed Texas A&M as they committed four of them, which showed that the defense stepped up once again for the Sooners. The Sooner defense only allowed 226 yards of offense and Brian Jackson returned a fumble for a touchdown to add points to the board. The special teams stepped up by causing three turnovers, two on kickoffs and one on a punt return. Oklahoma displayed a good showing and embarrassed the Aggies. With Oklahoma being so up and down in their games, it’s hard to tell how they will do in the next game. 

Demarco Murray carrying the ball against Texas A&M. He finished the game with 143 yards receiving and two touchdowns.

 

 Oklahoma’s last road game of the season was in Lubbock, Texas against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. It was not a pretty sight as the Sooners would get rolled 41-13. Oklahoma has struggled in their last meetings against Texas Tech when playing them in Lubbock. Texas Tech was out to get the Sooners because OU ruined Texas Tech’s title hopes last year when they blew tech out 65-21. Oklahoma’s offense couldn’t get anything going versus the Tech defense. Oklahoma was held to 310 total yards of offense and only 13 points. With that being said, the Sooner defense didn’t help out much as they allowed 549 total yards of offense and 388 of them were passing yards. Oklahoma’s defense had been great all year, but Texas Tech exploited OU’s weaknesses. The Defensive backs had been relatively good all year but Tech broke them a part. What hurt OU was the time of possession as Tech had the ball for most of the game.  This was a disappoint to the Sooner fans and many are wondering whether or not the Sooners can take out the cowboys in Bedlam. I think the Sooners can but they will need to stop Oklahoma State’s high-powered offense.

Landry Jones getting pressured from the Texas Tech defense.

 

 

Sooners fall to Texas and Sam goes down again. But Oklahoma follows up with two Big 12 wins over Kansas and K-State

With Sam Bradford back from his shoulder injury, the Sooners had high hopes of upsetting the Texas Longhorns in the Red River Rivalry Shootout. But devastation occurred when Bradford went down in the first quarter with a hit from Aaron Williams. Bradford would not return to the game as his shoulder became re-injured. Landry Jones took over and the Sooner offense struggled. This was very much a defensive battle as Oklahoma’s defense was solid against the Texas offense. Oklahoma could not establish a running game as Texas held the Sooners to -16 rushing yards. Jones would have to lead the way with his arm and finished up with 250 passing yards but threw two interceptions. The Oklahoma defense caused havoc for McCoy as he only finished with 127 yards through the air and had three turnovers. But in the end Texas prevailed 16-13 over Oklahoma. Oklahoma had the chance to upset Texas, but the turnovers committed by the Sooners hindered the outcome of the game. How would Oklahoma respond to their Big 12 start? Could they still win the Big 12 despite losing to Texas? I highly doubt that, but there is still a possibility.

Demarco Murray carries the ball during the Red River Rivalry Shootout.

The next week, the Sooners traveled to Lawrence, Kansas to take on the Kansas Jayhawks. This was a true test to see how the Sooners would bounce back from the Texas loss and if they could get a road win. The Oklahoma defense had too much speed for the high-powered Kansas offense and held them to only 13 points. Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing struggled with the passing game as he finished with 224 yards passing and three interceptions. The Sooner offense played extremely well as they established a running game to open up the passing game for Landry. Chris Brown finished the game with 2 rushing touchdowns and one receiving touchdown. Landry Jones had little trouble with the Kansas defense as he finished with 252 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Ryan Broyles led all receivers with 11 receptions for 121 yards. The Sooner defense keeps improving, and Dom Franks had the highlight of the game with an 85 yard interception return for a touchdown. Oklahoma won the game 35-13, and it was a good moral boost for them to win on the road. Can the Sooners stay on track and keep winning conference games?

Chris Brown running the ball against K-State.

Oklahoma would now travel back to Norman to take on the Kansas State Wildcats. The week of this game, the Sooner nation found out that Sam Bradford would have surgery on his shoulder and would not return for the rest of the season. Bradford also stated that he would enter his name into the 2010 NFL Draft. Landry Jones would have to step up and lead the Sooners for the rest of the year. Jones was beginning to look more comfortable as the starting quarterback and his teammates had trust in him. Oklahoma would start this game off with great play on both sides of the ball. They looked to run away with the game as OU led early in the game 21-0. K-State would not give up, and they fought their way back into the game. Once again, the Oklahoma defense proved it was the back bone of this team. The defense secured the game with an interception by Quinton Carter with on three minutes remaining in the game. Jones finished the game with 294 yards passing and four touchdowns. Demarco Murray had a strong outing as he scored three of Oklahoma’s touchdowns. Dejuan Miller led the Sooners with 9 grabs, 94 yards receiving, and a touchdown. Overall, the Sooners played well enough to come out with a victory. Oklahoma won the game 42-30 over the K-State Wildcats. Oklahoma was now getting into the heart of their schedule and many were  wondering how the Sooners would finish out Big 12 play. It wouldn’t be an easy task but the Sooners were up for the challenge.