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The Case For Starting From Scratch


I want everyone to go back into their memory banks. I want everyone to remember the 2000 season. It started out with us dominating, but not destroying several lower end and (now FCS) Division II Indiana State. By the time we were on the winning end of the very first Red River Blowout, people were really thinking this team was for real. Then we win in upset fashion in Manhattan and then one of the many fabled "Games of the Century" beating Nebraska. On our way to a perfect regular season we escaped with a miracle in College Station, which to this day Aggies will claim a clip. We survived Bedlam, which was a miracle all into itself. We went on to stun Florida State and the nation by shutting out Bobby Bowden's vaunted offense in a 13-2 defensive classic. Who can forget the image of Josh Heupel being carried off the field at the end of the Orange Bowl?

The 2000 edition of the Sooners were truly magical. You had Oklahoma boys such as JT Thatcher, Corey Callens, and Rocky Calmus. You had a mixture of walk on delights and junior college transfers. We had a defense that made the Gary Gibbs squads of the mid 80's proud. Implemented only a year prior, our offense was one of the first true spread teams out there. The most important factors? We had a coaching staff hungry to prove itself, a team sick of losing, and a mentality of taking it one game at a time.

Throughout the next few years, OU was dominant on the field, at least when it came to the product on the field. We were exposed to some of what we would face in the future however. We had recruiting home runs in Tommie Harris and Adrian Peterson. We had complete strikeouts in Mo Dampeer and Rhett Bomar. We had memorable games, such as either game played against Alabama, and ones we would rather forget like the Bedlam losing streak. 2005 proved to be a hiccup, or did it?

The University of Oklahoma won more conference championships than anyone else during the Stoops/BCS eras. OU went to more BCS games than just about anyone. For all of our successes however, there was going to be some losses that are going to be some of the most embarrassing in OU history. Starting with the Bedlam losing streak. This is why Les Miles was allowed to become the "Mad Hatter". We got blown out in the Orange Bowl by USC in a game that to this day people say Auburn should have been in our place. If you look back on our record, very few of our losses in the Stoops Era can you come away saying that we got beat by a better team when we fought hard. The Stoops Era has been marked by embarrassing blowouts and inexplicable upsets. This is not even mentioning the fact that during the 2000s, the nation truly got sick and tired of OU and our losing in big bowl games.

Since 2008, OU has not been dominant to say the least. Sure we can point to Big 12 titles in 2010 and a shared title in 2012, but were either of those teams what anyone would call dominant? 2009 began with a rash of injuries befit of a horror film. In fact, that year, OU only won two games played away from Norman. In that span, we have become the worst defense in the history of the game. Our offenses have either been just good enough to keep us in the running, or bad enough to allow us to get blown out. This season, if you take a look at it, OU has played its best games on the road. It makes you wonder if the coaches and the team do not consider the OU fans themselves to be the greatest enemy.

Why I am thankful for Stoops. I am thankful for the 2000 National Championship. It came at a time when I personally felt OU would never be relevant again. Nothing hurts more than to hear college football analysts talk college football and to be allowed to completely ignore OU altogether. I am thankful for the Red River Blowouts. I am thankful for all the blowouts really, the ones reminiscent of Jamelle Holieway and Brian Bosworth. I am thankful that the Big 12 will always be considered OU's conference due to winning so many titles.

I do, however, feel that we are in a permanent rut. I am not confident that OU will ever get out of the 3-5 losses a year rut under Bob Stoops, I do not feel that we will ever be the focal point of conversation in early December while Stoops is coach. Sure, we will continue to recruit some great players, but I will look at the number of stars and realize that elite talent will always be headed elsewhere. Gone are the days of losing one blue chip just to land three tomorrow like Barry used to. Lately, we even fail to develop the talent we do have. What happened to all those great wide receivers we supposedly recruited? It seems for every diamond in the rough we end up with 5 cases of fool's gold. The mentality is not healthy in Norman. I feel it is time for a change, Folks, we are in our "Lost Decade" if you would just look around.

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