Lay Off Stoops (and other Big 12 observations)

He may not longer be "Big Game Bob", but he's still the best coach you're going to have right now, Sooner fan! And you don't have to look far for the reasons why--if you leave unrealistic expectations out of the equation.

Yes, Bob Stoops and the Sooners are having a bad year--3 & 3, with injuries galore (and let's face it--QB Sam Bradford's lost for the year) and a bickering fan base to go along with it. And while the bickering is somewhat justified--with expectations of competing for the national championship gone kaput--some of the calling for Stoops's head is not. Sooner fans aren't really any different from any other that root for a national championship calibre program: they not only want to be in the national championship mix every season, they expect to be. And, that's what Stoops has generally delivered. Now, granted, the Stoops troops have come up goose-eggs since winning the BCS title back in 2000, and has suffered two VERY embarrassing BCS bowl defeats to Boise State and West Virginia--those two losses prompted the joke: "What do OU football and marijuana have in common? ANSWER: "They both get smoked in bowls.".

But Sooner fans also sport short memories. It was a decade ago when Stoops took over a moribund OU program that languished under John Blake in the late 90s--suffered four straight losing seasons--and in just two seasons, resurrected OU to not only elite status, but a national championship. Granted, Stoops won that 2000 title with mostly John Blake's players. But then one must also grant another fact: Blake evidently couldn't coach those players, and Stoops could--therefore, not only good coach, but GREAT coach. Furthermore, factor in two major cogs that were all Stoops: QB Josh Heupel and LB Torrance Marshall.

Now, to be fair, it's been 9-years since that magical year. That's an eternity of time when it comes to bragging rights of a national title. But if the criteria nowadays is, "You win a title or you're going to get fired" is not only absurd, it's unrealistic. Even Florida's Urban Meyer, who's won 2-of-the-last-3, will tell you that. He'd be the first to say that a lot of variables went his way, namely injuries (namely lack of injuries), and a little luck along the way (e.g: losing to Ole Miss at home in 2008 early rather than late). Oh, Sooner fans, how about your own Barry Switzer, "The King"? After winning back-to-back titles in 1974-75, it took another 10-years before tasting title-time in 1985, and did you forget that you were calling for his head after the lean years of the early 1980s and late 80s? Learning lessons of that magitude come very hard, evidently.

But back to 2009. This is a team that has lost three games by a collective five points. I'll go so far to say that the Sooners #3 preseason ranking was entirely too high--considering the losses on the offensive line that gave Bradford Secret Service-like protection in 2008. Sooner fans have gotten spoiled again, and with the rumblings of some calling for the end of the Stoops era, it shows. Get real, Sooner fans. It'll save you a lot of heartache. Besides, I bet you don't want Stoops coaching against you.

OTHER BIG 12 OBSERVATIONS:
>Oklahoma State's defense still resembles Swiss cheese for the most part, but shutting out Missouri in the 2nd-half last week should give it a boost heading into Saturday's showdown at Baylor. Oh, and Baylor: you don't stand a chance as long as you continue to get dominated on both sides of the line of scrimmage. And, that's with or without Robert Griffin.

>Texas looks vulnerable, at least offensively. QB Colt McCoy just doens't have the same step he had in 2008. I do think they'll handle Mizzou this Saturday, but unless McCoy and company find some of that 2008 magic, trouble looms at Oklahoma State on All Hallows Eve.

>Texas Tech has to go back to Taylor Potts at QB now that Sheffield's injured. Darn, what a quandry--going BACK to the guy who started for you when the season kicked off.

>I'd talk about the Big 12 North, but there's nothing really to talk about. Nothing remarkable, anyhow. These things go in cycles, but at least for this year, the North plays little brother to the South again.