Oklahoma Sooners News

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>>

It took all of one game and two series for Sam Bradford's junior season – and college career – to be thrown into limbo again. Sam Bradford's season, and Oklahoma career, could be over after another shoulder injury Last year's Heisman Trophy winner, Bradford reinjured his right throwing shoulder in the second series of a 16-13 loss to Texas , likely ending his season and possibly his college career. "I really can't answer that," Bradford said when asked if he played in his last Oklahoma-Texas... game. "I'm not sure. I'll have to make that decision at the end of this year." Bradford and his family had contemplated season-ending surgery, but the injury had healed and he was throwing pain-free last week against Baylor and all this week in practice. Now that he has reinjured the shoulder, the next likely step is surgery. What happens after that depends on the healing process, and if Bradford 's injuries at OU – concussion in 2006, shoulder injury this fall – are cause for concern with NFL personnel. If so he could return for his senior season. "I really don't know the outlook from here," Bradford said. "Obviously I have to talk to the doctors and make a decision and find out exactly what's wrong with it." Matt Hayes covers college football for Sporting News. E-mail him at mhayes@sportingnews.com.  more>>

Sporting News staff reports Texas beat Oklahoma 16-13 in a turnover-plagued Red River Shootout. Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford left the game for good less than five minutes into the first quarter after he again hurt his right throwing shoulder.

Associated Press DALLAS (AP) — Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford reinjured his right shoulder early in the game and isn't likely to return for No. 20 Oklahoma against No. 3 Texas on Saturday. Bradford, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, was jerked down by unblocked Longhorns cornerback Aaron Williams while running backwards trying to get away from the defender on Oklahoma's second drive. Williams got Bradford by the waist, but the... quarterback landed on his shoulder and began writhing in pain right away. Backup Landry Jones, who has started three games this season, replaced Bradford. "Just similar to the last one." Stoops said on TV at halftime. "Don't know anything other than that." When asked if Bradford would return, the Oklahoma coach said. "I don't believe that'll happen." Bradford missed a month with a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder. He returned last week and threw for 389 yards against Baylor. Jones was 12 of 23 for 130 yards in the first half in relief of Bradford as the Sooners led 6-3 at halftime. Bradford, who was 2 of 6 for 77 yards, eventually started testing his range of motion and few minutes later tried to throw the ball. But it was clear he couldn't get any zip on it and was in pain. Bradford tried holding his helmet with his right hand but it appeared to cause him discomfort and switched it to his left hand. Soon, he was standing on the sideline without his helmet. Bradford would stand near the offensive huddle but would stay toward the back during timeouts. After the break, he had taken off his jersey and pads and stood on the sideline in a T-shirt. Bradford decided to pass on the NFL draft last spring to take another shot at winning the national title after the Sooners lost in last season's championship game to Florida. In 2008, Bradford threw for 4,720 yards and led the nation with 50 touchdown passes. He likely would have been one of the top quarterbacks taken if he had left school Bradford's chances of winning a second straight Heisman ended in the opener against BYU when he was driven to the turf, injuring his throwing shoulder. Bradford missed three games before returning against Baylor. Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.more>>

Matt Hayes Place: Dallas Time: noon ET TV: ABC Line: Texas by 3 1/2 Three reasons Texas will win 1. Special teams: A kick return for a touchdown in last year's game turned things around for the Longhorns. The same guy who returned that kick (WR Jordan Shipley) is one of the nation's best punt returners, and Texas freshman WR D.J. Monroe averages 51.5 yards per kickoff return (that's not a misprint) and has returned two for... touchdowns. 2. McCoy, every play: Texas QB Colt McCoy hurt the Sooners with his accuracy and big plays on third down last year. But just as damaging was his ability to run on the zone read play, and throw with accuracy on the run while escaping pressure. OU simply couldn't get enough pressure on McCoy to force poor decisions. The Longhorns are patient on offense, and will pick and choose spots to make big plays in the passing game -- much like Miami did to the Sooners. 3. Pressure up front: Don't expect Texas to get fancy on defense for a couple of reasons. The Longhorns like to rush four and drop seven to play a variety of mixed coverages to confuse quarterbacks. That system only works if you can get pressure up front, and the Longhorns are getting a consistent rush off the edge with DEs Sam Acho and Sergio Kindle. Three reasons Oklahoma will win 1. Make the Longhorns one-dimensional: Texas still doesn't know who will be healthy at the tailback spot. Vondrell McGee (shoulder) and Tre' Newton (concussion) have shared the job this season, and neither has been notable. OU wants to stop Texas' shaky running game, and then find ways to get more pressure on McCoy. But DEs Jeremy Beal and Auston English can't rush upfield without discipline. They must keep McCoy within the pocket, and can't run past potential quarterback draws. 2. Throw it early, often: The Sooners aren't going to push around many defensive front sevens. The offensive line still is a work in progress, and protects better than it run blocks. Line up QB Sam Bradford in the shotgun, snap it and throw it. Even if WR Ryan Broyles can't play, Cameron Kenney and Brandon Caleb are instantly more effective with Bradford back there instead of Landry Jones. It's not that Jones isn't accurate, it's that Bradford has seen every defensive set and stunt, and knows where to throw the ball in every situation. 3. Take chances: OU coach Bob Stoops has a history of gadget plays and gambles in big games. The Sooners can't play from behind, and need to feel the momentum of a strong start. If that means a fake punt or an onside kick or some gadget play on offense, do it. If OU struggles early and it can't stop the Texas offense, it forces an offense that hasn't played together with Bradford (see: timing issues) into tough, make-a-play situations.more>>