ONE LAST LOOK BACK AT 2013

ONE LAST LOOK BACK AT 2013 

Unpredictable, Unusual & Unforgettable

Part 1

@ (#16) Oklahoma 34 vs. Louisiana-Monroe 0

Starting QB: Trevor Knight

Duck Dynasty was in the house as the Sooners opened the season at home against an opponent from the Sun Belt Conference...fitting since the temperature at kickoff was somewhere around 137 degrees, give or take a heat stroke or two.  The defense throws a shut-out, which seemed unlikely no matter who the opponent based on 2012 performance.  Trevor Knight was the anti-Landry Jones, finishing with more yards rushing than he did passing.  All in all, Knight was very average at times, very mediocre at others…but mostly…it was just hot. (1-0)

Season Excitement Meter: The equivalent of eating left-over meatloaf, you’re not hungry anymore…but far from satisfied. 

@ (#16) Oklahoma 16 vs. West Virginia 7

Starting QB: Trevor Knight

Finishing QB: Blake Bell

Five games ago these two teams played a Big 12 style thriller in Morgantown that the Sooners survived 50-49.  This one was no thriller.  If the 2013 game was Scarlett Johansson…then the 2014 version was Scarlett Fever.  Trevor Knight was having a horrible game when he got hurt, whether it was more than his feelings, only he really knows.  Regardless, every fans favorite player, the back-up QB…came to the rescue.  The Trevor Knight era = 1.75 games.  Next up: Blake Bell. (2-0)

Season Excitement Meter: The equivalent of having to sit through a Michael Bolton Concert…but with a hot date.  It sucks, but you hope it pays off later. 

@ (#14) Oklahoma 51 vs. Tulsa 20

Starting QB: Blake Bell

Blake Bell dispels rumors that the Sooners had thoughts of reverting back to the wishbone.  Bell breaks Sam Bradford’s record for most yards passing in their debut as starting QB with 450+ yards and four touchdowns.  “So much for your QB controversy,” said Bob Stoops to the media after the game.  Uh, hey Bobby…you might wanna tap the breaks on that whole no QB controversy thing. Even Sugar Hill Gang had a moment in the sun with Rapper’s Delight.  Might be better to wait until he's played a game on the road against someone we don't have to pay to be on our schedule before annointing him the man.  In the words of the Sugar Hill Gang:

I said, “You need a man who’s got finesse and his whole name written across his chest.  He may be able to fly all through the night, but can he rock a party ‘til the early light?) (3-0)

Season Excitement Meter: The equivalent of recording a top 10 finish at the Albertsons Boise Open on the Nationwide Tour…its nice, but what happens when you tee it up against the big boys? 

(#14) Oklahoma 35 @ (#22) Notre Dame 21

Starting QB: Blake Bell

Cameo: Trevor Knight

Sooners go to South Bend and play maybe their best game in years and knock off #22 Notre Dame.  The Sooners were physical on offense, opportunistic on defense and impressively resilient when the Irish made a push in the second half.  Bell threw for 240 yards to compliment the 200+ yards the Sooners had on the ground.  There was even a Trevor Knight sighting.  Knight jumped off the back of the milk carton and into the game long enough to make a sizable contribution on a scoring drive.  The Sooner Nation has a whole new attitude…things are suddenly great…maybe even thoughts of #8? 

(4-0)

Season Excitement Meter: The equivalent of getting bumped up to first class where you find a super model sitting in the seat next to you who admits she has a fetish for vice ridden, middle aged, over-weight, narcissistic divorced guys who’s first and last names rhyme.  

@ (#11) Oklahoma 20 vs. TCU 17

Starting QB: Blake Bell

A reality check in the form of Gary Patterson and the TCU defense.  Despite not having a first down at halftime, the Frogs were very much in the game late in the fourth quarter.  It was a trap game, right?  After Notre Dame, before Texas? Throw in a little mad scientist Gary Patterson and you can make the case that the Sooners did what they needed to do…win and move on to Dallas and a date with the Longhorns. (5-0)

Season Excitement Meter: The super model has bad breath…but so what.  Just because she could use a tic-tac doesn’t make it a deal killer, right? 

Dallas: (#12) Oklahoma 20 vs. Texas 36

Starting QB: Blake Bell

Ending QB: Maw Bell

You’d think having the experience of playing well on the road in front of Touchdown Jesus and a national television audience would have helped reduce the jitters associated with making your first start at QB in the Red River Rivalry.  You’d think.  But despite the experience in South Bend and the fact that he’d played in this game the previous two years…Blake was completely unnerved from the minute he trotted out of the tunnel.  Look, I use to throw-up before every 2A Oklahoma High School football game I played in.  If I’m yacking up lunch because I’m about to play the Atoka Wampus Cats, then I'd probably need the entire cast of Gray's Anatomy waiting for me at the end of the tunnel prior to taking a snap against Texas.  But that’s why he gets a free education and an opportunity and I get to pay to sit in the upper deck and drink.  OU came in to Fair Park as an 18 point favorite.  They left the Cotton Bowl embarrassed, exposed and with their season at an unexpected cross-road.

Season Excitement Meter: Turns out the super model was a cross dressing transvestite with irritable bowel syndrome. The flight attendant just informed me that there is no more alcohol on board and the movie that is about to play is Cannon Ball Run II. (5-1)

PART II TO FOLLOW