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