“Obviously, that part of it is solid.”

A couple of weeks ago, I pondered why Oklahoma seems to get a pass when it comes to the discussion of prospective national title contenders, given the Sooners’ recent track record in BCS games.

Here’s a reminder of that track record:

DEFENSELESS IN BCS
Oklahoma has given up an average of 41.8 points in its last four BCS games – all losses:
Season	Opponent	Bowl	Score
2003	LSU	Sugar	L, 21-14
2004	Southern California	Orange	L, 55-19
2006	Boise State	Fiesta	L, 43-42
2007	West Virginia	Fiesta	L, 48-28

Not pretty.  But Bob Stoops has the explanation for it.  It’s those pesky players.  You know, the ones he recruits and coaches.

“There’s a lot that happens between the Big 12 championship and the bowl game,” Stoops said. “We were without three starters. And we’ve got to do a better job, even if guys are subbing for them. But then you’ve got to manage those outgoing seniors who have already graduated and are entering the NFL.

“You’ve got juniors that are going into the NFL. You’ve got agents all over the place. There’s a lot that changes from the Big 12 championship to the BCS bowls. And obviously, we’ve got to do a better job of it here.”

These are apparently problems unique to Oklahoma, which I presume by this has played four straight BCS games against teams that had no players going pro.  So what does that say about Stoops’ coaching of late in the big game?

(h/t The Wizard of Odds)

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Strange bedfellowth

Lou Holtz and Jesse Helms? Creepy, man, creepy.  And there were consequences:

… A few years later, after Holtz had left for Arkansas, Helms looked to trade in on the favor, and asked Holtz to appear in a television campaign advertisement for his re-election to the U.S. Senate.

Here’s how Holtz explains it in his autobiography, “Wins, Losses and Lessons”:

“When he ran for the U.S. Senate … Jesse asked me to do an ad for him. I did, but when I got home, I felt uncomfortable. The politics of football is tough enough; injecting myself into a Senate race didn’t seem to make a lot of sense. So I called Jesse and told him how uncomfortable I felt. He understood, and the ad never aired.”

According to authors Orville Henry and Jim Bailey, who wrote the book “The Razorbacks: A Story of Arkansas Football,” Holtz’ support of Helms didn’t sit well at a Deep South school like Arkansas, still struggling to move past southern college football’s dark legacy of racism.

“Lou’s old friend Jesse,” they explain, “was conducting a one-man filibuster against the establishment of Martin Luther King Day while the Arkansas staff was calling black mothers trying to recruit their sons.”

Soon afterward, Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles called Holtz into his office and fired him. Holtz claims he wasn’t given a clear reason, but speculates in his autobiography that his filming of a Helms campaign ad factored strongly into the decision.

You think?