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A Take on the Weekend The first games of the college football season were a bit more competitive than most thought they would be, the Sooners and Huskers get 14-point victories, Georgia Tech struggles to beat Syracuse, and Colorado loses at home to Fresno State in a game they deserved to lose. Colorado deserved to lose, not only because of their constant turnovers, but their use of the clock in the final minute. The Buffs once again looked weak and soft, while not showing the amazing speed that they had for so many years. I picked Colorado to win the north and will not stray from my pick, but Gary Barnett better hope I'm right or begin to pack his bags. A home loss to Fresno State is unacceptable to a school like Colorado. Now to the talk of the town, Oklahoma's 41-27 win over North Carolina in front of the nation on Saturday night. Like you, I left the stadium thinking, what did I just see? An odd game in which the offense seemed to sputter, the Sooners still scored 41 points and won rather easily. Did Oklahoma not look like a national champion? Let me ask you a question. Did the Sooners who led Rice 21-14 at home halfway through the third quarter in 2000 look like a national champion? Did the Sooners who trailed Kansas at home 16-14 in the second quarter, were giving up long touchdown pass after long touchdown pass, and took a 24-16 lead into the halftime locker room in 2000 look like a national champion? I'll help you out, no and no. Yes, the offense wasn't the problem then, but it was when they scored 12 in Stillwater last November. Yes, the offense wasn't the problem then, the defense was. In case you missed it on Saturday, Oklahoma's defense was phenomenal until late in the fourth quarter with the game in the bag and half the starting defense sitting on the bench. Calm down, they're good. Really good. No, Nate Hybl wasn't the Heupel who threw 29-37 against Kansas State or the one who went 20-34 against Nebraska, but he also wasn't the Heupel who went 19-36 against Oklahoma State with two interceptions or the one who went 18-36 against UTEP in the opener of 2000. Heupel may have been the best quarterback ever at Oklahoma, but like any other human, he had bad nights. Will Hybl be Heupel? Probably not. Will he be good enough to lead these guys to the championship? Who knows? Lets see what happens. The mark of a well coached team is improvement as the year progresses. Oklahoma now has three straight games against teams with little to no chance of victory, this is where you build confidence and become comfortable in your spot. This is where you iron out the wrinkles. The mark of Bob Stoops is defense and now we may be seeing what we will see for years to come, a tremendous defense, extremely above average special teams, and a solid balanced offense that scores what it must and does what it must to win. The Mike Leach offense is what turns the corner quickly in a fledgling program, the Mark Mangino offense is what wins national championships. Haven't we learned that already? Give them time, when Kansas State comes to town if they are throwing screens, swings, and shovels every play and lose then you complain. My bet, they do what they need to do to win, if they trail Air Force on Saturday they reverse, halfback pass, and hook and lateral until they lead and win, after all, these guys have shown they're pretty good at that.
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