Fixing the Sooners: Living by the Sword

Posted: 11 Jan 2012 03:00 AM PST

In my last installment of "Fixing the Sooners," I covered the evolution of the Big 12 during the course of Bob Stoops' 13-year tenure. The league-wide predominance of the spread offense essentially means that traditional metrics and methods of evaluating offensive and defensive effectiveness –...

OU football 2011 in review

Posted: 11 Jan 2012 02:29 AM PST

The senior wide receiver from Norman ended his career prematurely - against Texas A&M in Game 9 - but did it in style, breaking the NCAA record for career pass receptions (349).

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OU's high hopes for 2011 turned into frustration

Posted: 11 Jan 2012 02:28 AM PST

From Austin Box's tragic death to Travis Lewis' broken toe, from Ryan Broyles' torn ACL to Brody Eldridge's angry tweet, from Kenny Stills' game-one suspension to Landry Jones' 171 passes without a TD, ...

OU women's basketball at Texas Tech preview

Posted: 11 Jan 2012 02:01 AM PST

It was easy to pick out highlights when Oklahoma's schedule came out.

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Gymnastics: Former OU athlete in finals at Olympic event

Posted: 11 Jan 2012 01:43 AM PST

Former OU gymnast Steven Legendre advanced to the vault finals of the 2012 Olympic Test Event on Tuesday in London.

Gymnastics: OU's Olson honored

Posted: 11 Jan 2012 01:42 AM PST

Oklahoma women's gymnast Brie Olson has been named Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week.

Track and Field: OU teams open in top 25

Posted: 11 Jan 2012 01:39 AM PST

The Oklahoma men's and women's programs begin the 2012 indoor season ranked in the top 25 by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Wrestling: OU tops Binghamton

Posted: 11 Jan 2012 01:38 AM PST

Oklahoma, ranked No. 12 nationally, downed 24th-ranked Binghamton 20-15 in Vestal, N.Y., on Tuesday night. The Sooners (5-2-0, 2-1-0) earned five wins on the night, three of which led to bonus points, ...

Final college football polls

Posted: 11 Jan 2012 01:28 AM PST

The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, final records, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place ...

For Sooners to succeed, Pledger has to get open

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 10:49 PM PST

Everywhere Oklahoma guard Steven Pledger has gone throughout the last three games, he’s had company. Such is the life of a leading scorer in the Big 12 Conference. Anytime he finds himself with extra space, it’s after a mistake by a ...

Importance of game on the home hardwood can’t be overstated

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 10:49 PM PST

Oklahoma women’s basketball coach Sherri Coale doesn’t want to call tonight’s Lloyd Noble Center meeting with No. 10 Texas Tech a must-win game. “We try not to label anything as a must-win,” she said....

Final 2011 Season BlogPoll Ballot

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 09:03 PM PST

My submission of this ballot officially means that the 2011 college football season has drawn to a close. Feel free to agree, disagree or ridicule my ballot in the comments section. This is your last opportunity to do so...until next week when I release my early 2012 rankings. Crimson and...

Trey Metoyer Waiting On NCAA Clearinghouse

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 08:54 PM PST

Trey Metoyer Waiting On NCAA Clearinghouse ESPN's Jake Trotter is reporting that Metoyer is still set on coming to OU this spring and is only waiting on the NCAA Clearinghouse. (From Sooner Nation$$) It sounds like Metoyer is just waiting to get official approval from the NCAA...

Sooners still targeting Dorial Green-Beckham

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 06:08 PM PST

By Ryan Aber, Staff Writer, raber@opubco.comOU FOOTBALL RECRUITING — The nation's No. 1 prospect hasn't committed yet, and Oklahoma is still on his radar Read more on NewsOK.com

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LSU, Alabama, USC atop our odds to win 2012 national title

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 06:02 PM PST

BY TRAVIS HANEY, Staff Writer, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Never too early for a look ahead. Here's a breakdown of the favorites to win the 2012-13 national championship. Read more on NewsOK.com

Commissioners open to making big BCS changes

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 04:41 PM PST

(by Ralph D. Russoo/AP via Rivals) NEW ORLEANS (AP)—College football leaders, including Big Ten commissioner and staunch playoff opponent Jim Delany, are open to considering the idea of turning the Bowl Championship Series into a four-team playoff....

Six Big 12 teams in the too-early top 25

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 04:26 PM PST

(by David Ubben/ESPN) Colleague Mark Schlabach uncorked his way-too-early top 25 on the morning after the national championship. We'll have plenty more look-aheads to 2012 in the coming weeks, but here's where Schlabach slotted the Big 12 teams....

OU women to play host to Texas Tech

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 03:28 PM PST

From Staff Reports WOMEN'S BASKETBALL No. 10 Texas Tech at Oklahoma When: 7 p.m., Wednesday Where: Lloyd Noble Center, Norman TV: KAUT-43 (Cox 16) Radio: KOKC-AM 1520, KREF-AM 1400 Webcast: SoonerSports.com THREE THINGS TO KNOW * Texas Tech is undefeated on the season at 14-0 and coming off a win...

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Oklahoma's 2012 Football Schedule Isn't Going To Be A Cakewalk

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 03:14 PM PST

Oklahoma's 2012 football schedule is still in the process of being put together but there are enough pieces in place already to tell that it won't be easy. The Sooners still have to pick up two out of conference games because TCU will now count as a Big XII game. The one non-conference game that OU...

Oklahoma State does win a national title? Baffling BCS computer rankings, and more

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 03:13 PM PST

CAMPUS CORNER — It’s no secret that we exist in a world with a broken college football system, though there are at least conversations being held about change. We’re not there yet, however. In the meantime, we deal with ridiculousness like what I’m about to tell you. As you...

OU football: Does Bama defense surpass Sooner greats?

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 02:00 PM PST

The Alabama defense — both throughout the 2012 season and in the Big Bowl on Monday night — conjured memories of great Oklahoma defenses of the past. First, the singular game. Bama’s 21-0 shutout of LSU, with the Tigers getting just five first downs and 92 total yards, was a...

Oklahoma's Michael Hunnicut Makes Freshman All-American List

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 01:24 PM PST

Oklahoma has had its fair share of kicking woes (although none will ever contend with the Florida St. Seminoles and the costly multiple wide right kicks in my book). With no special teams coach, the kickers are left to literally coach themselves. However, the special teams coach could bring more...

Mike Baldwin’s Power Lunch Chat Recap

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 12:40 PM PST

Power Lunch Chat with OU writer Mike Baldwin

The first (of way too many) way too early Top 25 rankings for 2012

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 12:25 PM PST

The first (of way too many) way too early Top 25 rankings for 2012 Top four, in whatever order, looks pretty accurate to me. I think OU at #5 is way too high. I'd put OU more in the 10-15 range and probably on the lower end of that. Oklahoma State is obscenely high.

ESPiN's Robert Smith does the impossible

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 12:23 PM PST

ESPiN's Robert Smith does the impossible Robert Smith is sitting next to Matt Millen and he (Smith) comes off as the moron. Texas at #4 in your 2012 Top 5?!? Good to see that ESPiN doesn't have any kind of agenda to push. At all.

Photos: A review of the Oklahoma Sooners' 2011 football season

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 12:20 PM PST

(Dallas Morning News) Oklahoma entered the 2011 season as the No. 1 team in the country, and ended it without a Big 12 title or a BCS bowl berth....

Debunking the myth of Alabama's 14 "national championships"

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 11:28 AM PST

Debunking the myth of Alabama's 14 "national championships" I can't help but feel the need to post this after having seen more times than I care to count reference to Alabama's supposed 14th national championship won Monday night. It is a complete and utter fallacy as detailed in this...

OU depth will be tested in spring

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 11:17 AM PST

(by Jake Trotter/$ESPN$) NORMAN, Okla. -- SoonerNation takes a look at Oklahoma's projected defensive depth chart for the spring. We examined the offensive spring depth chart Monday. Classifications in parentheses are for the 2012 season....

My way-early top 25: LSU starts on top, rejuvenated USC at No. 2 [OU No. 7]

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 10:49 AM PST

(by Brett McMurphy/CBS Sports) NEW ORLEANS -- Don't look now, but next year is officially here. Now that the Rematch of the Century has been played, we can look ahead to next year. Or make that this year....

Oklahoma offers Watch List DE Bower

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 10:39 AM PST

($ESPN Recruiting$) Oklahoma is now an official player for Tashawn Bower. The ESPNU 150 Watch List defensive end from Somerville (N.J.) Immaculata informed ESPN that he has picked up a scholarship offer from the Sooners....

Early 2012 Big 12 Power Rankings

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 10:17 AM PST

(by David Ubben/ESPN) With the season over, it's time to take a look at the Big 12 in 2012. For now, that means assuming a few things. And we all know what assuming does....

How Stoops balances football and family

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 10:02 AM PST

(by Jake Trotter/ESPN) After taking the Ohio State job, Urban Meyer referenced Bob Stoops as someone he learned a lot from after a trip to Norman. Not on the football field. But off it....

As Season Ends, B.C.S. Retooling Begins

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 09:58 AM PST

(by Pete Thamel/NYT) NEW ORLEANS — College football’s postseason is poised to undergo significant change. B.C.S. officials will meet Tuesday for the first of several discussions on altering the sport’s postseason....

Where Should Dorial Green-Beckham Go?

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 09:52 AM PST

(by Jim Weber/Lost Lettermen) Man-child receiver Dorial Green-Beckham, the nation’s top overall football recruit, has yet to make a decision about his college destination. The 6-foot-6, 220-pound Green-Beckham finished his high school career with a national-record 6,447 receiving yards....

Tune In Tuesday: Oklahoma Sooners 2011 Football Season

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 09:15 AM PST

For the Aerys Sports pop culture site, the Pulse, each a writer does a post of songs that remind them of their team. I decided to do my own ode to the Sooners. The Sooner 2011 season done to a random musical score. You know you want to hear it….. Just click the link. 2011 [...]

Video: ESPN's Mark Schlabach has the Sooners at No. 5 in his Way-Too-Early Top 25 for next season

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 08:29 AM PST

(ESPN) Mark Schlabach reveals the top five teams in his early top 25 preview for 2012....

Video: ESPN's Matt Millen has the Sooners at No. 3 in his preseason Top 5

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 08:23 AM PST

(ESPN) Robert Smith and Matt Millen with their top five teams heading into the 2012 season....

Orange power: Ford's attire helps inspire Cowboys win

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 07:23 AM PST

About five minutes before tipoff of the 221st Bedlam basketball game, a manager carried a bright orange blazer into Oklahoma State's locker room.

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OU Football - A very, very early look at 2012 (Linebackers)

Posted: 10 Jan 2012 06:00 AM PST

In what you'll notice to be a common theme among the Sooners front seven for 2012, there isn't a lot of experience to inspire much confidence. Who knows, maybe all the players stepping from reserve roles into starting ones will raise their play and it won't be an issue. But given how many spots...

COLUMN: Oklahoma State loss worst yet for OU men's basketball team

Posted: 09 Jan 2012 08:58 PM PST

Oklahoma could ill afford to drop yet another Big 12 conference game against in-state rival Oklahoma State. But it did just that Monday night at Gallagher-Iba Arena. The 72-65 Bedlam loss signified the lowest point of the season thus far for the Sooners.