Little 12

OU fans rejoice. Sooner Nation can go ahead and book its trip to New Orleans for the BCS title game. The Louisiana Superdome will host the Championship game on January 7.

Yes, you heard it here first. Oklahoma's path to the championship appears to be smooth sailing. The Big 12 is as downtrodden as ever and barring a major hiccup; OU will waltz into the title game undefeated.

The Sooners dismantled an overrated Hurricanes team. Miami looked good on paper. The game was pumped up as a challenge of perennial powerhouses. However, The U fields a solid defense and zero offense. Hardly the dream match-up OU signed up for several years ago when the schedule was announced.

But as coach Stoops would say, and will likely say in the coming months, they can only play the teams on the schedule. Therein lies the answer.

Which team left on OU's schedule can challenge them? Let's just skip the non-conference schedule. As much as we'd like to see our beloved Golden Hurricane pull an Appalachian State on OU, it's not going to happen.

Colorado was soundly defeated on the road by Arizona State 33-14. Answer me this -- would ASU challenge OU on any field? Me thinks not. Colorado is the Kobe Bryant of the Big 12. Well, not really but it is fun to see Kobe and Colorado in the same sentence.

The Missouri Tigers are the chic pick to capture the Big 12 North. Chase Daniel is the type of QB that has given the Sooners trouble in the past. However, the game is in Norman and Missouri's defense if giving up an average of 481 yards per contest. Good luck with OU's offense.

Iowa State just lost to a directional school. You know, when the team has North, South, East or West in the title. Northern Iowa went into Ames and left with a W. Me thinks OU will escape with a W as well. Iowa State has as much a chance to beat OU as one of Michael Vick's pit bulls has at a dog show.

I really hate preseason polls. Do I read them? Of course. I pick up the national mags but at the end of the day how does anyone know the makeup of a team in the offseason.

Just look at the national jugger-nots Notre Dame and Michigan. For crying out loud, the Wolverines were ranked fifth in the nation before they strapped up the pads. Look how foolish the preseason polls look now. Why the tirade? Here's why.

These same experts are predicting great things this year from Texas A&M. Why? Forget for a second how the Aggies barely pulled out a 3OT win against Fresno State this past weekend. The Aggies have gone 8-8 in Big 12 play the past two years. Dennis Franchione gets way too much credit for his genius. Honestly, what has he done? I could keep bashing the Aggies and Franchione but my space and time is limited. A&M is like the Rolling Stones. Getting by on namesake these days.

Baylor. Pfft.

You want to see a team fold under pressure? Just put Texas Tech up against a ranked team. The Red Raiders last victory against a top-25 squad came in 2004. Texas Tech is to the Big 12 what Paris Hilton is to celebrity. Nice to look at but empty on the inside.

Ahhh, and then there was Oklahoma State. This will be a challenge if for no other reason than OSU plays this like a BCS Championship game every year. The game is in Norman this year.

The Cowboys just don't have the defense. In fact, they hardly have a defense at all. Hell, they might not have the offense. Head coach Mike Gundy has to be one of the worst head coaches in college football.

Stoops will not lose to this guy. Ever. OSU is the little train that could. Except, the books last few pages get ripped out and they never made it up the hill.

So that leaves the only two important games on the schedule left over. The Texas game and the Big 12 Championship game.

Five straight wins by OU in the Red River Rivalry ended two seasons ago. Texas now has a two-game winning streak over the Sooners. It's over people. Book it.

Longhorn quarterback Colt McCoy looks like a shell of his former self. Tailback Jamaal Charles is a speedster but isn't at the level of Texas backs of the past.

The Texas defense is uncharacteristically giving up chunks of yardage. Of course they still have Mack "I wish Vince Young was here" Brown patrolling the sidelines.

Texas is like the Washington Wizards version of Michael Jordan. Sure he looked like the Bulls version but he was slower and got by on reputation and intimidation mostly. Oklahoma will play the roll of Kobe Bryant. Not really, I just wanted to see Kobe Bryant and Oklahoma in the same sentence too.

The Big 12 Championship game will be an afterthought. Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Kansas State, whoever . . . it doesn't matter. Oklahoma's fanbase should start booking rooms at the The Royal Sonesta Hotel on Bourbon Street.

Unfortunately, this is where the warm and fuzzies about OU end. The Sooners will lose in the BCS title game once again.

Quarterback Sam Bradford is exceeding expectations, no doubt. However, he hasn't been tested and likely will not be tested before the bowl season commences.

Stoops wants Bradford to manage the game. "Managing" a game is a coaching cliché which means don't toss INT's or fumble snaps. This sounds great on paper but at the end of the year, his "managing" the game will be a disservice to the team.

A quarterback needs to be under fire. He needs to be tested. He needs to know he can drive the field against an elite defense with the game on the line.

Alas, he will not get that chance this season. Bradford will excel at tossing passes with a 14-point lead. Let's see what happens when he's under fire with two minutes left in the game down by seven.

He'll face off against an attacking defense like LSU or USC in the BCS title game. He'll get rattled. The defense will crumble under the pressure of having to win a game by themselves. Stoops will argue with Lynn Swann in another mindless halftime interview which provides no information.

But hey, at least they will have made the big game.