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This Years Sooner Football Hype is Different

Ever since Bob Stoops led Oklahoma to that magical 2000 season, in which they went undefeated even through Red October and won the National Championship in only Stoop's second year as the head ball coach, preseason expectations for the Sooners have soared. Every season, people expect nothing less than a championship, and, though Oklahoma is still the most consistently successful program in these last fifteen years, no more championships have come. Nearly every year Oklahoma is expected to improve on the previous season(which for the Sooners can be a tall order), and nearly every year Oklahoma experiences losses that no one thought they should have. In 2009, following Sam Bradford's Heisman-winning season and a national title appearance for the Sooners, OU was ranked third in the nation in the preseason AP polls. Visions of a Florida/Oklahoma Title rematch floated in many people's heads. But Jermaine Gresham, arguably the best tight end in Sooner history, was injured before the season and missed the whole year. Then while playing 17th ranked BYU in JerryWorld on opening day, Bradford hurt his shoulder in an upset loss. He stayed of the field until the Red River Rivalry, where a blitzing linebacker went unblocked and again crushed Bradford's shoulder, sidelining him for the year. OU finished the season 9-4 and unranked, leaving everyone wondering what happened.

In 2011, the Sooners came into the season ranked first I the land. After cruising through their first six games, OU ran into trouble against Texas Tech at (gasp) home. After a rain delay, a missed field goal, and other excuses, Tech upset the Sooners and handed them their first loss at home in 39 games. Later that season, Oklahoma w ould fall to Baylor for the first time in history, and got drilled by OSU for the first time in 9 years. The Sooners finished 10-3 with a win in the Insight Bowl against Iowa, but the season left much to be desired.

So why is this season different? It begins with one word: assumptions. In recent years, the assumptions were that OU would win the games they are supposed to. No upsets would happen, and no games would be dropped. The media bought that, the coaches bought that, and the players bought it. That when the "trap games" trapped the Sooners. That's when any non-top-15 opponent was overlooked. Because every game was already marked as a win, there was no preparation. There were no chips on the players' shoulders. Oklahoma was supposed to go out, sleepwalk through easy games, and come out with victories. They showed up to play the big names, not Tech. Not Baylor.

This year is different because the assumption is different. Instead of assuming OU has the games they are favored in in the bag, the assumption is that they will slip up. The media assumes it. The fans know how possible it is. But so do the players and coaches. They hear the media predict a loss to TCU in a trap game. They hear about how they always slip up at Tech. They hear the skeptics saying that OU can't get through a season without an embarrassing loss. They hear, and they are ready. The coaches and players have a chip on their shoulder again. They are looking right at the TCU game, the Tech game, and even the Iowa State game. The coaches and players talk with defiance. They have been disrespected by these assumptions, and are ready to prove them wrong. Wasn't that the attitude in 2000? The Sooners wanted to prove people wrong. Even though Oklahoma starts out ranked number three this season, the attitude is more similar to the 2000 team than any recent team. The players and coaches await the challenges of every game. The Sooners are ready to take games rather than be given them. They are ready to take it all.

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