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Sooners Notebook: Mixed Reviews For OU

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 3, 2009

The Oklahoma Sooners arrived in South Florida on Friday, ready to face Florida in Thursday's BCS Championship Game at Dolphin Stadium.

"This is not going to be any type of party atmosphere," Sooners sophomore CB Dominique Franks said. "We're going down there for one thing - to win the national championship."

The venue carries memories for Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops - good and bad.

After the 2000 season, Stoops' Sooners defeated Florida State 13-2 at the Orange Bowl to capture the national championship. After the 2004 season, his unbeaten Sooners were soundly thrashed by the top-ranked USC Trojans 55-19 in another Orange Bowl national-title game.

Oklahoma had a longstanding tradition of playing in Miami as the Big Eight champion under ex-coach Barry Switzer. The Sooners won six of nine Orange Bowl appearances under Switzer, including two that produced a national title.

HE'S IN THE MONEY

It's already a Happy New Year financially for Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops. He qualified for a $3 million bonus when 2009 arrived.

The Associated Press reported that a clause in Stoops' contract - approved in 2005 by the university's board of regents - prompted a $3 million "stay bonus" after completing 10 seasons as Oklahoma's coach.

Stoops already receives annual raises of $150,000 under a contract that runs through December 2013. His guaranteed annual income last year was $2.775 million. If Oklahoma defeats Florida in the BCS Championship Game, Stoops also qualifies for an additional $250,000 bonus.

BCS FAILURES

Expect to hear plenty about Oklahoma's four straight losses in BCS bowl games, including last season's Fiesta Bowl against a West Virginia team that was seemingly reeling after the departure of Coach Rich Rodriguez.

Just don't expect to hear much about it from Oklahoma's camp. Sooners coach Bob Stoops has grown tired of the talk - and his players say past results are irrelevant.

"It's a completely different team," senior C Jon Cooper said. "There are new guys who haven't been there and played in those games."

"You don't think about it," senior DB Nic Harris said. "At the end of the day, you can't dwell on the past. And that's what it is - the past."

NO INJURY WORRIES

The Sooners will be without two key performers - RB DeMarco Murray (1,002 yards), who underwent season-ending surgery after the Big 12 Championship Game, and DT DeMarcus Granger, a key to Oklahoma's defensive-line rotation. No worries, say the Sooners.

"We have great depth on our team," DT Gerald McCoy said. "We have different schemes to compensate for Granger not being there."

Murray, also OU's primary kick returner, means the loss of a key offensive weapon. But the Sooners have another 1,000-yard rusher - RB Chris Brown (1,110 yards, 20 touchdowns) and Mossis Madu, who performed well against Missouri in the Big 12 title game.

"I know it's disappointing for DeMarco and the team," Brown said. "We have to fill in a big hole that he left. We are capable of doing it and we just have to move on."

Joey Johnston

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