Well, last week fucking sucked. As much as I had a bad feeling about it, I didn't want that feeling to be founded. It all but ends our national championship hopes and really changes the feel for a season that was beginning to have a pretty good one. Credit Missouri, they played a good game and didn't make many mistakes. Certainly not as many as we did in continuing our trend of the last few years and putting our worst foot forward on the biggest stage. Big Game Bob is about as current as a Mondale Ferraro campaign bumpersticker. I don't know that I can think of anyone who so solidly earned a nickname only to do a complete 180 in their career. Anyway, we've more or less discussed this before it just gets pretty old. I'm not sure what is tougher, having expectations that are never lived up to or having no expectations and exceeding them. I guess being a contender is the outwardly better way to go and probably what I would ultimately pick. Attending OU during the John Blake era makes it hard to want the alternative. However, as a Royals fan I almost get a sick pleasure out of expecting to lose, it's the fantasy of someday being relevant and it being that much sweeter. I guess the thing that bothers me the most is that I know we have the talent to win these games (OU I mean) and yet I expect to lose, or at the very least escape. I could run around this circle all day, but I'll cut it off here.
As for the game itself, we picked the worst possible week (and least survivable game) to play our worst game of the season. We knew we would get their best shot and while we weathered the early storm, we played to our season form and did absolutely nothing defensively in the fourth quarter. The fact that we were even in the game (leading in fact!!) after the turnovers, drops, missed field goals etc. is testament to the talent discrepancy between our teams. We absolutely should have won...but we didn't. The good news is this game reminds me a of a very specific game between the Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers in 1997. Denver was good that year, damn good in fact and so were the Steelers. However, in the general public's mind there was a general consensus that Denver was superior (I'm a huge Broncos fan). Denver played a road game late in the season with home field advantage on the line in Pittsburgh. Denver played generally terribly that game. There were key drops on 3rd downs, turnovers and all sorts of uncharacteristic shit that they did in the game and ended up losing. I knew, just knew, they were better than the Steelers. So later that season in the playoffs, Denver went back to Pittsburgh with the AFC championship on the line. I had absolutely no doubt they were going to win that game. I couldn't fathom another mistake riddled performance like I'd seen earlier in the season. Of course Denver went on to win that game and the Super Bowl.
I'm not saying that OU is 1998 Denver, or even the league relative equivalent of this year. I just have that same feeling and have had all week. The feeling that if we were to meet them down the road we would beat them. I guess the point of this long digression is that I hope Missouri wins out, and we do too because I'd love to get a chance to stomp their nuts in the Big 12 title game and I think that is exactly what would happen.
As for Missouri, good for them that they finally won a big one, as for all of the rampant shit talking, it's telling that the biggest win in their program history came in their 7th game of the year (I had to get a dig in, fuckers).
One final positive note, how about Roy Finch? I now see why the coaches couldn't wait to get him back. While not our most consistent or best back by any stretch, he's instantly the most electrifying and biggest home run threat. That's no small feat when your putting him up against Murray. The future may not be this season for OU, but these young guys that are playing now certainly make it look promising. Now if we could just get the middle of our D-Line fixed.
I'll be back this afternoon for a look at Colorado, I just wanted to get this up before we move on.
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