ONE LAST LOOK BACK AT 2013 / PART III

2013
Unpredictable, Unusual & Unforgettable

Part III

#18 OKLAHOMA 33 @ #6 OSU 24

Starting QB: Trevor Knight

Second half starter: Kendal Thompson

Closer: Blake Bell

When you can't call something a rivalry…You call it Bedlam

"Oklahoma vs. Nebraska.  OU vs Texas...now those are great rivalries. OSU, are you serious? That's not a rivalry game for Oklahoma.  Just because it doesn't take us very long to get home after we kick your ass doesn't make you our rival" - Barry Switzer

OSU was ranked #6 in the country and they were on a roll, having won seven straight, the last two having been over #23 Texas and #3 Baylor.  The Cowboys had two weeks to prepare. The game was @ 'The Boone' in Stillwater.  The Pokes were double digit favorites...and just in case beating OU wasn't motivation enough, a win would give the Pokes the Big 12 Conference Title and a BCS Bowl berth.  Yep, wheat was gonna wave. Bullet was gonna run...and Pistols were gonna…Umm, hold up there Pete. 
When you can't call something a rivalry…You call it Bedlam

Rival: (adj) having the same pretensions or claims when competing

The Sooners unstable QB situation would soon reach new heights after starting QB Trevor Knight gets knocked out of the game just before halftime.  When the OU offense takes the field to start the second half, the QB replacing Knight isn’t the experienced Blake Bell...instead its redshirt freshman, Kendal Thompson.  

Wow.  A mere 14 days ago, the stance among OU coaches was that Kendal Thompson wasn’t ready to play yet…an opinion that seemed substantiated by the fact that Thompson had taken the same number of snaps up to that point of the season as I had…which before you go to the effort of looking it up, is zero. But thirteen meaningless snaps against Iowa State later...and suddenly he’s the guy Stoops thinks gives his team the best chance of winning a game where they're on the road and tied at half against the #6 team in the country.

What does offensive coordinator Josh Heupel have Thompson do on his first play from scrimmage?  Why throw the ball deep and into the wind, of course.  “Alex, I’ll take stupid play calls for $300, please”  Yep, wheat was gonna wave. Bullet was gonna run...and Pistols were gonna...Umm, hold up there Pete

When you can't call something a rivalry…You call it Bedlam

"Some people are born on third base and go through life thinking they've hit a triple" - Barry Switzer's response when asked why OSU fans thought they were going to beat OU that year

Thanks in part to a goal line stand by the defense, a Jalen Saunders punt return for a touchdown and a touchdown pass to the kicker on a fake field goal…OU found themselves leading 20-17 midway through the fourth quarter.  But when Desmond Roland scored from one yard out to cap off a 7-play, 89-yard drive to give OSU a 24-20 lead with 1:47 to play…it didn’t look good for even the most optimistic OU fan.  Why you didn’t ask?  Becasue the Sooners would need to score a touchdown, which was something they had yet to do on offense all game.  Yep, wheat was gonna wave. Bullet was gonna run...and Pistols were gonna...Umm, hold up there Pete

When you can't call something a rivalry…You call it Bedlam

"Winning is a habit.  Unfortunately, so is losing." -Vince Lombardi 

So who do the Sooner coaches ask to save the day? Yep, Blake Bell.  Wow, you have to wonder exactly how that conversation went down, don't you?

“Hey, Blake...can you put down that clip board, find your helmet and come over here for a minute? Great, thanks. Uh, remember a few days ago when we basically told you that you sucked by demoting you to third-string? Well, we were just kidding. Look, you need to forget what a kick to the nuts that was to your confidence and ego, alright? I know that you didn’t get any reps this week in practice being third string at all, but practice is overrated.  Oh, and earlier when we put Thompson into the game instead of you to start the second half…well, don’t take that personal either.  One other thing, be confident, just because some walk-on holder named Grant Bothun has thrown more touchdown passes today than you have doesn't mean a thing…I know you can do it. Now get out there and win the game!”  Yep, wheat was gonna wave. Bullet was gonna run...and Pistols were gonna...Umm, hold up there Pete

When you can't call something a rivalry…You call it Bedlam

"I don't blame em for being excited. Some of those people out there

 weren't born the last time they beat us, and there's a pretty good chance they might not live long enough to see it happen again"

- Barry Switzer

When asked about the OSU fans celebrating

 their upset win over OU in 1976

OSU had a 24-20 lead with 1:47 to play.  The only thing between the Pokes and a Big 12 Title and BCS Bowl game was a third string QB and an offense that hasn’t scored all game. A few plays later, your best player has his hands on the ball and a chance to end the game. It was all right there for the taking. 

But instead, your best player drops the ball. Given new life...a few plays later our future tight end hits Jalen Saunders in the back of your ugly orange end-zone for a game winning touchdown with 17 seconds left. 

In typical OSU fashion, you use that time to add insult injury by finding a way to let us score again.  The only way it could be better is for the rules to be different so we could have gone for two.

Wheat was gonna wave...Bullet was gonna run...and Pistols were gonna fire...but you forgot something didn't you Pete?  You forgot that your OSU.  You forgot about 84-17-7. You forgot that it's the most lopsided in-state football series for a reason. You simply forgot that:

There's Only One Oklahoma

Now go get your shine box.

Season Excitement Meter: I didn't think it could get better, but I was wrong.

Next Up...The final chapter of 2013.  PART 4: The Sugar Bowl