Nebraska was expected to be here.
Oklahoma? Not so much.
First there was the preseason dismissal of its starting quarterback as well as a starting offensive lineman. Then there was the ill-fated game at Oregon where the replay official blew two calls in the late going that would have secured a Sooners victory. Next, there was the regular season-ending injury to Heisman Trophy hopeful running back Adrian Peterson.
And then there was Texas, playing well and looking like it would cruise to the Big 12 championship.
The deck was stacked against Oklahoma, but the Sooners never folded. With a backup quarterback, two reserve running backs and a loss to Texas, the Sooners did more than salvage their season. They kept winning until they ended up in Kansas City, Mo., for Saturday’s Big 12 championship game against Nebraska, thanks in part to two late-season losses by Texas.
The Sooners are as much a surprise entrant as a team like OU can be, seeking its fourth Big 12 conference title this decade in its fifth championship game.
“As much as anything, we’ve improved as the year has gone along,” OU coach Bob Stoops said Monday on a teleconference. “I really believe our assistant coaches have done a great, great job of working through all of the different changes that we’ve had with personnel.”
The most high-profile of those changes was the insertion of senior Paul Thompson at quarterback, after Rhett Bomar was let go for accepting money he did not earn from a summer job. Thompson started the 2005 season at quarterback but was replaced by Bomar early in the campaign, after which he was moved to wide receiver.
Stoops said he told his team none of what it had experienced was to be used as an excuse not to win. His players must have believed it, winning their final seven games to set up a matchup of former Big Eight Conference rivals.
“We credit it all to our coaches,” OU linebacker Rufus Alexander said on the teleconference. “They’ve done a great job of keeping us together, keeping our heads focused and not letting the media or the fans tell us that we’re not going good because Adrian is not playing or because we don’t have Rhett Bomar, and not letting us get down on ourselves because of the Oregon loss or the Texas loss.”
Said Stoops: “We’ve really just managed it in a really positive way, and the players have never flinched, regardless of our circumstances or injuries. The expectations never changed.”
Oklahoma did not face Nebraska this season, but did beat the Huskers in Lincoln last year 31-24, a win that extended the Sooners’ series lead to 42-37-1.
“Nebraska-Oklahoma has had a storied tradition,” Nebraska linebacker Stewart Bradley said. “You hear about those big games they played. We’re excited to be in another one.”
Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
