Oklahoma Sooners News

Sporting News staff reports Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops on Wednesday again tried to dismiss rumors that he is a candidate to take over at Notre Dame if the school fires coach Charlie Weis after the season. Asked by Sporting News Radio's Tim Montemayor if there is "any truth (to the rumors), anything going on with you and Notre Dame?", Stoops replied: "Notre Dame has a coach, so there's nothing to talk about," reiterating what he has told... reporters all week. Stoops also told Montemayor that he considers any talk linking him to other school just "noise." "I'm very fortunate to work with great people here and a great situation at a great university," he said. The Chicago Sun-Times, citing a third-hand source, reported this week that Stoops would be interested in speaking with Notre Dame officials about the job. Stoops responded that the newspaper was making up the story. Notre Dame is 6-4 after losing to Pitt on Saturday. Weis appears to be safe for at least the Irish's final two regular-season games, however. Athletic director Jack Swarbrick told Sporting News' Matt Hayes after the Pitt game: "I evaluate programs at the end of the season. I don't evaluate coaches, I evaluate programs." He also said that a potential multimillion-dollar buyout of Weis wouldn't affect his decision. To hear Montemayor's entire interview with Stoops, click here.more>>

USC won't make the BCS. SMU is good, and Temple is better. The national title game should include two unbeaten teams. A lackluster Big East record shows that Jim Leavitt's teams aren't built to last a full season. All sorts of alleged guarantees in college football have failed to come through in 2009. But a few new rules have developed. Here's a peek at a handful:  Rule 1: USF tanks down the stretch Again, the Bulls took an undefeated into October and looked like a Big East title contender.... Again, they tumbled in conference play, capped by a 31-0 tail-kicking against Rutgers on Thursday. Coach Jim Leavitt's program is 16-17 in conference play since joining the league and only once has finished as close as a game out of first place. Rule 2: Rich Rodriguez vs. the fans He almost took the Alabama job. Then he did bail, to Michigan, sparking lawsuits and nasty he said-he said. Then he coached UM to its worst season in decades. Now, he's sitting on a six-game Big Ten losing streak, with the NCAA investigating his program. "The last half of the year has not gone well," Rodrgiuez said on a teleconference. Rule 3: Oklahoma rules at home Despite a four-loss season, the Sooners remain a sure thing at Owen Field. Saturday's thumping of Texas A&M stretched the program's home winning streak to 29 games, longest in Division I-A. Oklahoma State gets the next crack at snapping it on Nov. 28. Rule 4: Here comes Oregon State The Beavers started 2-2 last season and stormed to within a game of the Rose Bowl. Same drill in 2009 -- OSU has won five of six, losing only at USC. Coach Mike Riley said the season turned during an October win over Stanford. "That was probably where the whole team started looking the a whole team, with all three phases," he said on a teleconference. Rule 5: The other Trojans The much-reported Fall of Troy hasn't affected, well, Troy. One more victory would give the guys from Troy, Ala., a fourth straight Sun Belt Conference championship. It might be time to rename the New Orleans Bowl the Larry Blakeney Invitational. Rule 6: "The list of candidate includes East Carolina Coach Skip Holtz..." Get ready for heavy doses of Skip, Louisville and Virginia fans. With his coaching genes and recent winning at ECU, Holtz seems to pop in connection with every major-conference gig east of the Mississippi. He considered Syracuse a year ago, and might listen again this year if schools that fit the geography come calling. Rule 7: Navy = bowl game Supposed talent deficiencies and recruiting disadvantages haven't kept the Mids from reaching seven straight bowls, counting their trip to next month's Texas Bowl. Wins, especially over Notre Dame, must make Annapolis' academic and military rigors more manageable. Rule 8: Another Badger big boy Related Links What We Learned: Coaches losing pull Hot Seat: Constant grief for guys in charge Bowl projections: Curtis sets them all Ron Dayne and Anthony Davis started the trend, and P.J. Hill carried the Badgers for three seasons. Now it's John Clay, the Badgers' 250-pound tailback who leads the Big Ten in rushing. He has produced six games of 120 or more yards and 12 touchdowns. This story appears in Nov. 18's edition of Sporting News Today. If you are not receiving Sporting News Today, the only daily digital sports newspaper, sign up today for free. Dave Curtis is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at dcurtis@sportingnews.com.more>>

Each week, Sporting News' Matt Hayes ranks the Division I-A conferences—and the teams within each league. Conf. rankings No. 1 SEC No. 2 Pac-10 No. 3 ACC No. 4 Big 12 No. 5 Big Ten No. 6 Big East Nos. 7-11 4. Big 12 1. Texas 2. Oklahoma State ... 3. Texas Tech 4. Nebraska 5. Oklahoma 6. Kansas State 7. Kansas 8. Texas A&M 9. Missouri 10. Iowa State 11. Baylor 12. Colorado Rising Nebraska: Despite the season-long inconsistent play on offense, the Huskers still control their destiny in the Big 12 North Division. Falling Iowa State: Cyclones followed up a momentous win at Nebraska with back-to-back duds against Texas A&M and Oklahoma State by a combined 69-18, ending their North Division title hopes. Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. E-mail him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.more>>

Sporting News' Dave Curtis analyzes what Sunday's buzz means to college football. Big East, big time Bash the Big East for its weak bottom half and lack of a national title-contending program. But the league provides annual drama this time of year, and 2009 should be no exception. West Virginia's visit to Cincinnati on Friday ranks among the nation's most compelling matchups and kicks off a four-week round-robin involving the conference's top three teams. The talk about Friday's showdown... started Sunday, when Mountaineers coach Bill Stewart sounded as though he'd rather game-plan for the Cincinnati Bengals than the Cincinnati Bearcats. He referred to UC's offense as "assaulting" and a "juggernaut." And he laughed at the notion that Tony Pike, once a fringe Heisman candidate, has been supplanted by super backup Zach Collaros. "They're the media darlings," Stewart said. "They're scoring 40 points per game. … We'll probably be 20- or 30-point underdogs." WVU's biggest problem will be stylistic. Opposing teams have enjoyed success running between the tackles on Cincinnati; the Mountaineers would rather spread the field and work the sidelines. "We're not a big, physical, grind-it-out, bang-it-out football team," Stewart said. "I don't know if our offensive line can go up and down the field with them." What now, Notre Dame? Georgia Tech coach and former Navy head man Paul Johnson said Sunday night that he exchanged texts with some Midshipmen coaches after their victory at Notre Dame. Then he mentioned that the result isn't the only gauge by which to measure the Mids' success. "Might say more about Notre Dame than about Navy," he said. It's true, folks—tough days have returned for the Fighting Irish. ND again has ventured from BCS bowl-bound to the butt of jokes throughout college football. Coach Charlie Weis sounded resilient in a Sunday teleconference, declaring that the theme of this week's preparation for a game at Pitt will be accountability. Heck, that's the program's theme for the next month. Maybe a 3-0 finish can clean up this mess; maybe, after Saturday's effort, the Irish have no prayer of stopping the Panthers' Dion Lewis, UConn's Jordan Todman or Stanford's Toby Gerhart. Regardless, as athletic director Jack Swarbrick has said, Weis eventually will be held accountable for this Notre Dame season. And that could cost him his job. Shaky Sooners Nobody signs with Oklahoma thinking he'll be shuffling through a 5-4 season. In that spirit, Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said he has no idea what kind of vigor the Sooners will show when practice resumes Monday in Norman. He knows this, though: something's got to change. "We've had a similar scenario in the four games where we've been on the wrong side offensively," he said. Injuries have hurt OU as much as any program in America. But Wilson's spot on—the aspects of those "scenarios" are synonymous to losing. Turnovers (including five Saturday night at Nebraska), penalties, dropped passes and missed chances for big plays continue to devastate. And late in games, Oklahoma's execution has gone south as well, leading to the four losses by a combined 12 points. With Texas Tech and Oklahoma State left on the schedule, a 6-6 Sooners season remains in play. That's something no one in Oklahoma or elsewhere imagined in August. This story appears in Nov. 9's edition of Sporting News Today. If you are not receiving Sporting News Today, the only daily digital sports newspaper, sign up today for free. Dave Curtis is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at dcurtis@sportingnews.com.more>>

Each week, Sporting News' Matt Hayes ranks the Division I-A conferences and the teams within each league. Conf. rankings No. 1 SEC No. 2 Pac-10 No. 3 Big Ten No. 4 ACC No. 5 Big 12 No. 6 Big East Nos. 7-11 5. Big 12 1. Texas 2. Oklahoma 3.... Oklahoma State 4. Texas Tech 5. Kansas State 6. Kansas 7. Texas A&M 8. Nebraska 9. Missouri 10. Iowa State 11. Colorado 12. Baylor Rising Texas A&M: One day Mike Sherman is fighting off firing rumors; the next, the Aggies are winning back-to-back games and need to win at Colorado this week to become bowl-eligible. Falling Colorado: The issue isn't the coach's son at quarterback or the backup fans crave. It's a defense that has given up at least 30 points five times this season. Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. E-mail him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.more>>

Each week, Sporting News' Matt Hayes ranks the Division I-A conferences and the teams within each league. Conf. rankings No. 1 Pac-10 No. 2 SEC No. 3 ACC No. 4 Big East No. 5 Big Ten No. 6 Big 12 Nos. 7-11 6. Big 12 1. Texas 2. Oklahoma 3.... Oklahoma State 4. Kansas 5. Kansas State 6. Iowa State 7. Nebraska 8. Texas Tech 9. Texas A&M 10. Colorado 11. Missouri 12. Baylor Rising Kansas State: That's right, everyone. The team that lost at home to Louisiana-Lafayette leads the rock'em, sock'em North Division. Falling Missouri: We knew there had to be a step back from the success in 2007-08. But not this bad, this quickly. Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. E-mail him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.more>>

Sporting News college football columnist Matt Hayes weighs in on the five biggest story lines of Week 8: 1. Upsets, upsets, upsets We see it every season: What looks like a relatively uneventful weekend evolves into something that shapes the race for conference championships and the BCS title game. This is your weekend, everyone. You want potential upsets? We've got a barrel full. Ranked teams in danger this weekend include No. 2 Florida (at Mississippi State), No. 7 Iowa (at Michigan State),... No. 10 TCU (at BYU), No. 11 Georgia Tech (at Virginia), No. 12 Oregon (at Washington), No. 13 Penn State (at Michigan) and No. 24 Kansas (vs. Oklahoma). The next question: Who's most vulnerable? Could Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen lead an upset over his former employer? • Florida still hasn't proven it can throw the ball downfield and is dinged up on defense. Former Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen knows the Gators' personnel and their tendencies. If the Bulldogs can run effectively with Anthony Dixon, this will be a fourth-quarter game. • Iowa has been living off second-half comebacks and already has proven it can win on the road in the Big Ten (at Penn State, at Wisconsin). Michigan State, though, is more multiple on offense than any team Iowa has faced, and the two teams that have given Iowa trouble this fall (Northern Iowa and Arkansas State) threw the ball efficiently. • For BYU, it's simple: Motivation from last year's humiliation at TCU is the foundation. And QB Max Hall, whose senior season has been a struggle (10 INTs), is due for a breakthrough game. • The reality is, Georgia Tech should beat Virginia by 30. But this is the ACC, where absolutely nothing makes sense – least of all, Virginia's annual October run to save coach Al Groh's job. The Cavs have given up 19 points combined in the last three games and a measly 247 yards rushing (2.91 yards per carry). Uh-oh. • Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli still is trying to get on the field with a gimpy knee, and despite heady play from backup Nate Costa, the Ducks' offense gets bogged down when the quarterback isn't part of the run game (and Costa is not a runner). Masoli had better play in this bitter rivalry game with the Huskies, because Oregon will have to score in the 30s to win. • There's a reason Michigan is 5-0 at home and 0-2 on the road: Freshman quarterbacks make mistakes on the road. Michigan has seven turnovers in two games away from Ann Arbor, and the offense simply plays with more precision at home. That could make things tough for Penn State on Saturday. • Who here really thinks Oklahoma isn't one of the top 25 teams in the nation? The BCS voters/computers don't, despite the fact that the Sooners took No. 3 Texas to the last minute of last week's Red River Rivalry. It's only a matter of time until OU busts out on offense; why not now against Kansas? 2. Feeling orange Let's all put our hands together for Lane Kiffin. The dude just flat-out refuses to back down. When the first-year Tennessee coach was asked earlier this week about Alabama, Kiffin offered up that at least one of the polls got it right when it ranked the Tide No.1. Zzzing at you know who in Gainesville. Unfortunately for Kiff, he still has to deal with the Nicktator – the same guy he took verbal swipes at in the offseason after hiring Lance Thompson away from Tuscaloosa. My editor, for whom I have great respect and admiration, emailed me earlier this week to boldly proclaim that Tennessee is pulling the upset. It'll be an upset, all right – if Alabama doesn't win by three touchdowns. 3. The life of Terrelle So now we hear that LeBron James is mentoring Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor – or, as James said, trying to get Pryor through "life in the spotlight." Meanwhile, Ray Reitz, Pryor's high school coach, once again has become a source of (mis)information on the uber-talented one, and he's pushing Pryor farther into the (negative) spotlight. Reitz says Ohio State is "misusing" Pryor and that the Buckeyes need to utilize him more in the zone-read run game. I've got a novel idea: How about, you know, hiring someone who actually has a history developing quarterbacks to coach your quarterbacks? Not next year, next week. Ohio State isn't misusing Pryor; it's mis-coaching him. Watch how dicey Saturday's game against Minnesota gets – a game Ohio State should win comfortably. We've gone beyond Xs and Os with Pryor. He has been so poorly coached – he and Juice Williams are battling for the biggest regression award – that he's way over-thinking things and is mentally unsure about every step he takes. That's coaching, everyone. 4. The Pitt plan more>>

Sporting News staff reports There's a "very good chance" Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford will announce today he's having season-ending surgery on his right shoulder, ESPN.com reports. Bradford was planning on making the announcement Wednesday night but postponed it so he could gather more information about the procedure, according to the report. "He just wasn't ready to fully answer everything that'll want to be asked and for sure what... he wants to do just yet, until he has a few more people to visit with," Sooners coach Bob Stoops told ESPN.com. "That's it. I won't say another word about it." A decision to enter the NFL draft would not accompany the decision to have the surgery, according to the report. Last year's Heisman Trophy winner, Bradford decided to forgo this year's NFL draft to play his junior season for the Sooners. However, he sprained the AC joint in his throwing shoulder in Oklahoma's season-opening loss to BYU. He reinjured the joint in the Sooners' loss to Texas last Saturday.more>>

Sporting News staff reports Oklahoma running back DeMarco Murray, who injured his ankle in the Sooners' 16-13 loss to Texas last weekend, is listed as uncertain for Saturday's game against Kansas. "He's still limping a little bit, but is coming around," coach Bob Stoops told the Tulsa World. "We'll see. That's something we'll just have to address as we go through the week, see if he gets comfortable with it." Murray limped to the... sideline and sat out a few plays before returning against the Longhorns. He lost three yards on five carries in the game but made up for that through the air with eight catches for 116 yards. If Murray, who leads the Sooners with 403 rushing yards, is unavailable, the Sooners likely will turn to Chris Brown.more>>

Sporting News' Dave Curtis analyzes what Wednesday's buzz means to college football: Don't play again, Sam Oklahoma's Sam Bradford can wait until Thanksgiving to hold his press conference; it still won't change how he should manage things the next 10 months. It's time for Bradford to shut down his college career, to trust Dr. James Andrews and his aides more than he trusts Trent Williams and his offensive line. The answer is that definitive, and that simple, because the negatives of another... return outweigh the positives. Bradford can't win another Heisman Trophy, no matter how wide-open that award chase might be. The Sooners fell out of national title contention with the Miami loss, and falling to Texas means they don't control their chances for a Big 12 South title. So what's left? Beating Oklahoma State again? Throwing 20 touchdown passes against Texas A&M? The major negative, of course, is further damage to a shoulder now held together by the equivalent of wet spaghetti. Bradford can, as coach Bob Stoops said Wednesday, take time to "gather more information." He can deal more with his hesitancy to surrender his OU career. The decision he should make remains clear, and it isn't changing. Tumult around Terrelle The critics are chirping around Ohio State football. Terrelle Pryor's high school coach told ESPN he thinks the offense stinks and wasn't what was promised when the quarterback chose the Buckeyes. DeVier Posey, one of Pryor's top receivers, conceded to reporters that Pryor "really can't do much worse." Things were supposed to improve as this OSU season progressed. Instead, they're en route to imploding, especially with Penn State-Iowa-Michigan regular-season finish. Only Jim Tressel can fix all this, and the next few games can show why he remains one of the nation's top coaches. Tressel has no other practical options at quarterback, so he must find a compromise between his philosophy and Pryor's desires. (Solution: look for more designed runs for Pryor and a zone-read package in time for Saturday's date with Minnesota.) The coach, for a second straight year, also must deal with a locker room divided over confidence in the quarterback. A touching salute Clemson coach Dabo Swinney emerged from Monday's 6:30 a.m. film-watching meeting and found defensive back Chris Chancellor waiting for him with a request. The player's high school teammate, Connecticut DB Jasper Howard, had been killed. And with the Tigers going to Howard's hometown Saturday to face Miami, Chancellor had an idea for a tribute. "He really wanted to honor him and wear No. 6," Swinney said on Wednesday's ACC teleconference. So Saturday afternoon, Chancellor will shed his usual No. 38 and don the number Howard wore as a Husky. Related Links Bradford cancels news conference TSB: Pryor's HS coach slams Tressel Clemson CB to honor Howard The move was seamless, since Chancellor and Jacoby Ford, Clemson's typical No. 6, never appear on the field at the same time. Swinney said he had no qualms with the request and added that Chancellor, with the support of his teammates, continues to grieve Howard's death. "They're young guys," Swinney said. "You lose somebody you've grown up with and you know and care about, it's a hard thing." Dave Curtis is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at dcurtis@sportingnews.com. This story appears in Oct. 22's edition of Sporting News Today. If you are not receiving Sporting News Today, the only daily digital sports newspaper, sign up today for free.more>>

Each week, Sporting News' Matt Hayes ranks the Division I-A conferences—and the teams within each league. 3. Big 12 1. Texas 2. Oklahoma 3. Oklahoma State 4. Texas Tech 5. Nebraska 6. Kansas 7. Missouri 8. Colorado 9. Baylor 10. Kansas State 11. Iowa State 12. Texas A&M Rising Texas Tech: Everyone focuses on the close loss to Houston instead of the close loss to Texas. Maybe this Tech team is much closer to the loss to Texas than the game it gave away to Houston... (kick the field goal, Mike). Falling Texas A&M: What in the world has become of A&M, which gave up 62 points last weekend to K-State? The Wildcats had scored 47 points in three previous games against BCS teams.more>>

Sporting News staff reports Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford aggravated his shoulder injury against Texas on Saturday but did not suffer a new injury, ESPN.com reports. It is not known how much time Bradford will miss because of this latest setback. The Heisman Trophy winner underwent an MRI and X-ray on his right (throwing) shoulder Sunday which produced the diagnosis. Bradford left Saturday's game after absorbing a hard hit from... Texas' Aaron Williams. Bradford missed three games after suffering a third-degree sprain of his AC joint in the Sooners' season opener. Sooners coach Bob Stoops said he didn't have any updates on Bradford's condition Sunday and likely would not have any news until Thursday. more>>