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Advice: Don’t taunt Josh Heupel

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On a post-Thanksgiving Saturday in 1999, Josh Heupel — the JUCO transfer that mad scientist Mike Leach had found on a Utah mountain somewhere — was quarterbacking the unranked 6-4 Sooners in his first Bedlam experience.

It was early in the game and the Sooners had a third down and long.

Across the way, on Owen Field’s east sideline, Oklahoma State’s scatological defensive coordinator Rob Ryan screwed up his face and started screaming: “F**k you, Hype. You’re a P***y! You’re a bitch!”

Ryan’s screams caught Heupel’s eye as he began barking signals from his shotgun position. He turned and faced Ryan, pointed ahead toward the Cowboy end zone and mouthed the words, “Watch this.”

You know what happened next, of course. A Heupel big-play pass to wide receiver Curtis Fagan — one of many that obliterated Ryan’s Poke-y defense in the Sooners’ 44-7 win. The win put an end to OSU’s previous two-game series win streak which contributed to ending John Blake’s head coaching career and led to Bob Stoops’ hiring and, well, you know the rest.

More importantly, that moment, which I witnessed firsthand in my role as a sideline photographer standing near Ryan that day, said all you need to know about the competitiveness of the man coaching the Tennessee Volunteers on that same field this Saturday night. Only this time it will be Heupel on the visitor’s sideline wearing the orange.

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What we learned from a 41-12 loss to Baylor

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For almost a half Mike Stoop’s was looking like a magician wooing the crowds at the circus.

The Sooners had a 5-3 lead in the second quarter at mighty, shifty Baylor, thanks to a remarkable safety scored by LB Dominique Alexander. The Bears fans were stunned, worried their undefeated team was facing disappointment.

mikesblogThen the bottom of the magic box fell out. Baylor went on to an easy 41-12 win over Oklahoma.

No, not because of Stoops’ defensive play calling. And, not really because of his defense at all, although his squad’s tackling skills became suspect later in the game.

Rather, it was the Oklahoma offense that exposed the Sooners as they went down to a disgusting defeat – the fourth worst in Coach Bob Stoops’ tenure and the last game they will ever play at Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco, Texas.

The offense was pretty offensive, challenging the officials to throw their flags and throw them often. Dropping passes. Tossing interceptions (2). Not converting on third downs.

And, most importantly, the Oklahoma offense appeared lacking in any semblance of a game plan. Was it to run between the tackles? Was it to pass on the perimeter? What was it exactly?

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Knight should start, but let’s give him a chance to succeed

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mikesblogUPDATE: Coach Bob Stoops announced Monday that Trevor Knight’s knee injury will sideline him and Blake Bell will start against Tulsa.

The office water cooler discussion on Monday morning will be all about the quarterback situation in Norman.

After Trevor Knight’s slow start, but fast finish, against Louisiana-Monroe, there were plenty of fans who had anointed Knight the next star (at least in the making) to shine wins on Sooner football. I actually got criticized for my reluctance to join the Knight bandwagon.

Boy, what a difference a week makes. Knight again started slow against West Virginia on Saturday night. But instead of getting better, he got worse — throwing two interceptions and giving up another fumble in a close match with the Mountaineers that placed the game outcome squarely in the hands of the Sooner defense.

Oklahoma held on to a 16-7 win, thanks in large measure to a stellar run game (Brennan Clay for 170 yards) and stingy defense lead by Gabe Lynn (one interception and one fumble recovery) that stepped up for the second straight week.

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