2012 Oklahoma Sooners Football

The final weeks of the NCAA Football regular season may have been as electric and entertaining as ever. But, looking at how things started this season will shock you even more. Many teams fell in and out of the top five and some out of the top ten, shaking up the BCS like never before. While a hand full of teams celebrated the bowl selections like children on Christmas morning, many team that had high hopes heading into the season finished with great displeasure. The Oklahoma Sooners were one of those teams left hanging in the dry that Sunday evening. While hoping for an at large bid to the Sugar Bowl and hoping to face a Florida Gator team that left a sour taste in the Sooners mouths following a bitter National Championship game loss, neither luck nor fate were in the Sooner’s favor. Northern Illinois slipped in to the BCS, knocking Oklahoma into a Cotton Bowl for the ages. The Sooner nation better not lick its wounds too long though. A young Texas A&M team, led by their freshman quarterback and Heisman trophy winner Johnny “F-ing Football” Manziel, is out for blood. While the Sooners and head coach Bob Stoops didn’t see their championship season finishing with a game in the Cotton Bowl, it will nonetheless be a game for the ages. The Sooner nation better not lick its wounds too long though. A young Texas A&M team, led by their freshman quarterback and Heisman trophy winner Johnny “F-ing Football” Manziel, is out for blood. While the Sooners and head coach Bob Stoops didn’t see their championship season finishing with a game in the Cotton Bowl, it will nonetheless be a game for the ages. hat many don’t realize about Oklahoma Sooner football is the constant pressure to win a national title. This season, the Sooners tied as Conference Champions, losing two games against teams with total combined losses of ONE. Their two losses were against Notre Dame, who will play Alabama in the BCS National Championship game, and Kansas State, who also shared the Big 12 crown, led by another Heisman caliber quarterback. Oklahoma won the other ten games on its schedule, costing itself a BCS bowl game only because coach Stoops and Oklahoma played Notre Dame out of conference. Alabama on the other hand had one loss, and played no top twenty teams out of conference. Oklahoma and Stoops are known for playing tough out of conference schedules, resulting in many high ranked years that included losses. In the end, a handful of players had remarkable years, so let’s pat them on the back as we take this break before the real games begin.Landry Jones came into the 2012 season with Heisman hopes and National Championship dreams. In reality, a rough beginning to the season forced Jones playing catch-up down the stretch, and that he did. Jones finished the season with 3989 yards passing, throwing 29 touchdowns, with only 10 interceptions. He boasted a completion percentage of 65.5%. The stats don’t tell the whole story, mainly leaving out Jones heroics down the stretch, leading multiple game winning drives and overtime to defeat West Virginia and rival Oklahoma State in the final weeks of the season. Landry will be missed dearly, but his final game against the Aggies may be his last hoorah before the NFL draft this spring. Blake Bell also took snaps as the signal caller, mainly around the goal line or short yardage situations. His eleven rushing touchdowns may have hurt Landry Jones’ stock in the draft, but it helped the Sooners win several games. The other notable runner this season was Damien Williams. Williams carried the ball 160 times for 905 yards and 11 touchdowns. These are remarkable stats considering Williams split time with several other backs. Two receivers led the way for the Sooners this season, including Justin Brown and Kenny Stills. Brown had 66 catches for 822 yards and 4 touchdowns. Great numbers, but not quite as good as Stills. Stills lead the team with 75 catches for 892 yards and 11 touchdowns. Just a junior, Oklahoma faithful hope Stills sticks around for another year, leaving the draft for another day. I personally follow Stills on twitter @KSTiLLS4 and notice his constant dedication to the university and his teammates. Individual talents played a major role this season, but Stoops preaches team play, and that’s what they did. The team finished ranked number eleven in total offense, with 505 yards per game. The defense gave up 378 yards per game, giving the obvious advantage to the Sooners week in and week out. This advantage will be needed in the Cotton Bowl, playing a team that knocked off the undefeated Alabama squad earlier in the season. Luckily, this Oklahoma team has been resilient most of the season, and come this January, the Aggies of College Station will be glad they no longer play the University of Oklahoma. Follow me on twitter @DFWsportscreed

Cowboys Recap: Is This Team Real?

The last time the Dallas Cowboys finished the month of December with a winning record, DeMarco Murray was probably in Junior High, and Jason Garrett was nowhere near a NFL head coach. Eleven years later, Dallas finds itself tied for first with two games to play, Murray is the game changer Dallas needed to sustain a running game, and Garrett looks like a season game manager after making all the right calls late in Sunday’s defeat over long term rival Pittsburg Steelers. The game was won in “all three phases of the game” as head coach Jason Garrett likes to so eloquently put it each week, but in fact that’s just what did it. Let’s sum up the play of these “three phases”, and try to find a way we can continue this approach for the next six games. OFFENSE: The Dallas Cowboys are most known for their controversial quarterback in Tony Romo. Over his career, Romo has carried stellar numbers, including the most passing yards in Cowboys history. Yes I will say that again, Tony Romo has more passing yards in Dallas than Staubach and Aikman. What most don’t realize is Romo has single handily carried Dallas back into first place with not only stellar play, but an Iron Man attitude. The Cowboys offensive line has struggled drastically this season, leaving Romo running around aimlessly avoiding defenders, all the while Dallas fans praying for the magic, and not another horrible turnover. This Sunday against the Steelers there was only one of those blunders, a fumble around the goal line by DeMarco Murray. The fumble cost Dallas points, but Garrett showed trust in his young star, leaving Murray in the game, which turned out to be the deciding factor of the game. Murray had 81 yards on just 14 carries. Ask any quarterback his thoughts on having a running back average nearly six yards/carry, and he will be pleased. Murray also scored the game tying touchdown in the fourth quarter on third down, a gutsy call by Garrett that ended up being a great play. The second major key was the play of Romo. While going 30-42 with 341 yards and two touchdowns is a stellar performance, no turnovers against the Steelers standout defense was the change in the game. Romo, Murray, and Garrett all worked together, giving Dallas their biggest win of the season, and much hope for Cowboys fans all around. DEFENSE: When many think about the Dallas defense, a pot belly long haired grungy man comes to mind. Although that description of the Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan is accurate, the reputation should be a team that made a few major stops this Sunday to help their team win. Garrett put faith in his defense several times in the final minutes of regulation Sunday, and boy did they respond. Back to back sacks and key stops kept the Steelers from scoring on their final two possessions of regulation, giving Dallas the chance to keep the game tied and eventually win in overtime. As sloppy as the game may have been, the final defensive play by Dallas summed up the teams last six weeks, resilient. Brandon Carr was a high profile free agent this offseason, and after his game winning interception Sunday against the Steelers, he is worth every penny. Teams go after major talent to make game changing plays, and that’s just what Carr did Sunday. Someone who many won’t remember as another major game changer was Alex Albright, who played an amazing game after Simms was knocked out early with a concussion. Albright isn’t the first Cowboys player to step up this year, but yesterday was a major spotlight, and Albright showed up. The defense may be banged up, may make some bone head plays, but against tough teams the last two weeks, the defense has kept Dallas in the game, and helped put us in first place. SPECIAL TEAMS: Probably the most forgotten phase of the game, special teams won us the game this Sunday. A fumble in the fourth quarter on a long punt return by the Steelers gave Dallas great field position, and even better a chance to tie the game rather than fall behind by two scores. This play put us in the proper situation to tie the game, but the kicking of Dan Bailey put us ahead for good. Many don’t notice the work the young Oklahoma State kicker has done this season. He is 27/29, including eight from over forty yards. As much as I disagree with almost every special team’s play we make, the job was done yesterday so let’s not dwell on the negative.

In the end it was a big win for Dallas, but an even bigger win for the fans. Cowboy’s fans are probably the most loyal in sports, with nothing but a blue star to root for over the last fifteen years. But the last six weeks have been different. Dallas has been the underdog, has been the team to get in the trenches and be accountable. The last six weeks have been multiple slaps in the face by media, injury, and devastation, but a unified locker room with a strong leader in Jason Garrett has helped this year’s team prevail to a great spot with two weeks to go. It’s nowhere close to a perfect scenario, but it’s the resiliency and attitude that we fans love. Seeing Garrett get red faced pissed off at a ref, and near tears after an emotional win is what we want in our coach. Seeing players hug and carry around teammates jersey’s is the comradery we want, and making that game winner in overtime is the W we want. The Dallas Cowboys have given us something we haven’t seen in years, and that’s a team that’s fun to root for some Sunday! Follow me on Twitter @DFWsportscreed