Offensive Overload

Slapping 77 points on the scoreboard is poor sportsmanship. Like any steadfast rule there are exceptions. Here are three reasons why 77-35 isn't running up the score in this town.

First, the Golden Hurricane (7-0) is needy. They need to be recognized by the AP voters, coaches and BCS computers. Last week they were the only remaining unbeaten team not in the top 25.

Phrases like, "No one believed in us" and "Lack of respect" are overused. Coach Todd Graham's coaching staff can use these coined slogans in earnest.

Second, BYU fell from its lofty perch as a potential BCS party crasher. Utah, Ball State and Boise State remain ahead of TU in public perception. Big scores and flashy offense are required.

Third, the defense needs breathing room. The TU express will fail once a team slows the offense. Will an opposing defense solve this Rubik's Cube clad in blue and gold?

TU is home again this weekend before two weeks on the road. The University of Central Florida Knights (2-4) visit H. A. Chapman Stadium Sunday evening. Sunday's kickoff is scheduled for 7pm. The game is televised on ESPN.

If the city of Tulsa has a single sports bone in its collective body, the crowd will be littered with "Dave Johnson for Heisman" oak tag.

The University (unlike the receivers at TU) has dropped the ball on Johnson's Heisman campaign. Let's take the initiative and get the ball rolling. Yes We Can.

Poking Around

Battle of the undefeated teams. Clash for Big 12 South supremacy.

Yes, you read that correct. Remove "State" from the above paragraph and recycle any other year.

Could this be the year of the Cowboys? I am not sure what makes me feel queasier these days: Betting on an OSU road victory against the Longhorns or believing the potholes in Tulsa will be filled within five years.

The Pokes must answer three more questions before we crown their rears.

Can they slow down an offensive juggernaut like Colt McCoy? Bonus points if OSU pulls off the miracle. The Heisman campaign for Dave Johnson can be renewed (or in this case, newed). The Sooners immediately catapult back into the Big 12 race.

What happens when someone triple covers Dez Bryant? I'm not even kidding. College football coaches get paid millions and millions of dollars. Defensive coordinators make more in one year than I make in several years. Why would the opposition not blanket Bryant?

Are you sold on Mike Gundy? So far he's like bizarro Mike. He looks focused on the sidelines. He leaves the defense to the defense coaches. The players are drinking the orange Kool-Aid. Will he unleash the famed Gundy stare if OSU falls behind in the second half?

I guess that leaves the worst team in the state. Have OSU and TU ever remained unbeaten longer than the Sooners in the same season? I couldn't imagine a scenario like this in the past and I'm too lazy to GIS it.

The Sooners host Nebraska then travel to Texas A&M for a couple of gimme W's. Then business picks up when then they play Texas Tech at home and visit the house that T. Boone built for a little Bedlam action. Shouldn't Boone Pickens Stadium be wind powered?

You want to know the only person in America who trusts the OU defense? Brent Venables. Mix a little sodium pentathol in his drink and see if he still trusts the unit.

Sooner fans rejoice. As much as my friends try to tell me differently, you cannot win the BCS title every season. Even One-Pete Carroll at USC hasn't done it.

This is a wildly entertaining team. Sam Bradford is Oklahoma's biggest celebrity since Bill Hader. Sooner Nation should now focus on the Fiesta Bowl and hope they enter the game as the underdog. If that's possible.

The Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant put on a show at the BOK Center a few weeks ago. Why am I bringing this up now? It may be the only highlight this desolate team produces this season.

And with that, I'd like to extend the same offer to you, my reader. Get a Tulsan a roster spot with the D-League's Tulsa 66ers and I'll feature them right here. Write? Right.

On Saturday, Oct. 25, at Bixby High School, 601 S. Riverview Dr., the 66ers will hold open tryouts. Find the most athletic person you know and prod them into trying out. Give them the old Norman Dale pep talk.

Disclaimer: Any applicable fees will be paid by someone other than me. Tulsans not fit enough to mow their own lawn need not apply.