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If I Were King for a Day, by Les Miles Justin Waganer Senior Sports Columnist November 26, 2001
From the diary of OSU Head Football Coach Les Miles, the entry for November 24, 2001: If I were King for a day, I would make the defending national champions look like the Bad News Bears of football. If I were King for a day, I would make the Oklahoma offense resemble that of which took the field when I coached with Bob Simmons against the great John Blake.
Ok, so I'm not Les Miles and the Oklahoma Sooners aren't exactly as bad as I said above, but Saturday was what many Cowboy fans would have done if they were king for a day, dominate those heathens from Norman. When the clock registered triple zero on Saturday afternoon, the Pokes were the kings of Oklahoma, but for more than a day, this one will live on in the hearts of Poke fans forever. They dashed the big red bully's dreams of a national championship and made a statement of what the Les Miles Era is to come.
"We have great respect for taking the field at Memorial Stadium. We understand the history behind Sooner football. Coach Stoops and his staff have done a great job. We will root for them from this time forward. We just needed to show everyone we are a good football team," said Les Miles after the 16-13 win. Is OSU great? Hardly, but the program obviously heads into a tough season on a high point and the program is firmly behind Les Miles.
The Sooners were able to muster zero yards on the ground and Nate Hybl was Patrick Fletcher-esque while a season full of plain vanilla play calling finally caught up to a team that had lived off of its dominant defense all year. The problem was that defense wasn't exactly dominant on Saturday, giving up 334 yards of offense, but the Pokes had something to do with that, just ask Bob Stoops.
"Give Oklahoma State credit. They made the key plays all over the field and simply out-executed us. It was especially apparent on the last drive with their receivers making diving catches. I don't think we came into this game unprepared and looking ahead to next week (to the Big 12 Championship Game). The team was out-played and I was out-coached. That's really the only excuse I have for this loss," said Stoops after a loss that sent his team from the Big 12 and National Championship games.
That was the story of the 2001 version of Bedlam. The Oklahoma State Cowboys emerged from a season of despair to dominate Oklahoma on the field, on the sidelines, and in the stands. When Oklahoma and Oklahoma State fans start the trash talking for the 2002 season, Sooner fans must be sure to state their words clearly. Oklahoma had the better season, Oklahoma State won the game.
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." - Mahatma Gandhi.
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