NORMAN, Okla.—Bit by bit, Oklahoma’s grand dreams have been nibbled away by the tiniest details.
Long ago, the Sooners (5-4, 3-2 Big 12) had their dreams of returning to the BCS championship game dashed, and now any hope of continuing an unprecedented run of three straight Big 12 championships is gone, too.
Four losses by a combined 12 points have doomed Oklahoma to one of its worst seasons since Bob Stoops took over as head coach in 1999.
“It’s hard how close we’ve been in so many games,” center Ben Habern said. “I feel like we’re just a few plays away from being 9-0 right now. That’s one thing that we’ve got to deal with and one thing that we’ve got to get past. ... It’s weird seeing Oklahoma 5-4. Everybody’s used to seeing them with no losses or maybe one loss and still in the national championship hunt.”
Heading into Saturday night’s game against Texas A&M (5-4, 2-3), the only stakes left aren’t so high: continuing a run of 10 straight bowl games under Stoops. The Aggies come in with a matching record and seeking the same goal, though for them it would mark a return to the postseason after a year away.
“Last year, we were in a certain situation where we had a chance for the national championship. We wanted to finish strong,” Sooners defensive captain Gerald McCoy said. “We don’t have that same opportunity this year, but we have pride in being at the University of Oklahoma, so we still want to finish strong. Nothing changes.”
After hanging in through tough blows with the loss of Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Sam Bradford and tight end Jermaine Gresham, a second-team All-American, the Sooners are dealing with an avalanche of bad news this week.
Three more starters are out for the rest of the season with injuries, with the team absorbing its first fall from the Top 25 in four years.
“You can’t let a loss or four losses bring you down. You’ve just got to keep on pushing and finish out strong,” McCoy said. “We’re not about giving in.”
This week’s losses include two more starters from an offensive line that has yet to overcome the departure of four starters from last season’s run to the BCS championship game. Guard Brody Eldridge (neck) and tackle Jarvis Jones (heel) join guard Brian Simmons (knee) on the sidelines, leaving even less experience along the front line.
“You can accept that and have that kind of attitude, that defeatist attitude and ‘Woe is me,’ or you can respond,” Stoops said. “You have to come out and keep responding and keep playing, and you challenge the other players that ‘Regardless of your experience, you’re here. You need to play well.”’
The same line that struggled last week against a Nebraska defense led by tackle Ndamukong Suh will be go head-to-head this week with Von Miller, who leads the nation with 15 ½ sacks.
“I really just want to win and go to a bowl game and all the other stuff is second tier,” Miller said. “If you don’t win, it really doesn’t feel as good as if you were winning. All that other stuff is bonus. If you don’t win, it’s really not quite as important.
“I’d trade every last sack to be undefeated right now.”
Texas A&M’s strength has been an offense that leads the conference and ranks fourth nationally with 477.6 yards per game. Quarterback Jerrod Johnson tops the Big 12 in total offense.
Oklahoma counters with a defense giving up an average of only 12.3 points, the seventh-fewest in the country. That group allowed only seven first downs in a 10-3 loss at Nebraska last week, giving up the only touchdown after the Cornhuskers returned an interception to the 1-yard line.
“We have to work really hard this week to do something against them,” Aggies offensive lineman Michael Shumard said. “It will be our biggest challenge of the year.”
