Can the Sooners keep on ticking?
Tick, tock....tick, tock...You hear that? That is the sound of the
2006 Sooner football season. It was wild year for Sooner fans. The ups
and downs, highs and lows of the season had many Sooner faithful in a
state of cardiac arrest. It all started with Bomar-gate in August, but
the Sooners responded to that. Coach Bob Stoops re-inserted 2005
starter Paul Thompson at quarterback, and the Schooner looked as if it
would stay it's course. Then came the fiasco that was the ending of
the Oregon game. I dare not rehash that. After a second consecutive
loss to Texas, it looked as if it couldn't get much worse for OU, but
it did. All everything running back Adrian Peterson broke his
collarbone and missed the remainder of the regular season. What did
this recipe for disaster spell? Well, for this Sooner bunch it spelled
winning 7 straight games after Peterson went down, a Big XII
Championship over long standing rival Nebraska, and a trip to the
Fiesta Bowl. The Sooner nation was once again on high, overcoming all
the odds and in the process gave the nation a peep that there will be
life after Adrian Peterson in the form of Allen Patrick. Then the
Fiesta bowl was actually played... After a 43-42 loss to Boise State
that many consider one of the greatest college football games of
all-time, the Sooners were left trying to figure out where all that
momentum went. Well they found out it hadn't went too far apparently,
as Stoops and his staff put together (on limited scholarships, mind
you) the #14 rated recruiting class in the country. Yes the Sooner
motto in 2006 should very well have been, "takes a lickin' and keeps
on tickin' ".
However, one has to worry if time is about to stop (or in the Sooner's
case, rewind back about 20 years). This Spring the Sooners will face
their biggest, most imposing hurdle from the 2006 season: the NCAA
infractions committee. While all the overall success of the 2006
season had the Sooner nation pleased, Bomar-gate still hangs over the
the program. And soon we will have all the answers from the situation
that started; closure to the 2006 season, if you will.
The Sooners have been called to meet before the NCAA infractions
committee, for the second time in less than a year. The prior meeting
took place in May, but the Sooners avoided major penalties. Although
the May '06 meeting had nothing to do with the football program, OU is
currently serving a probation for the May violations, and one has to
be fearful if these football findings will add to OU's current
situation. So now, the Sooner nation waits. The football program has
until March 8, 2007 to respond to the NCAA's allegations. And then,
the Sooner nation will wait again until the NCAA decides what, if
anything, will be done.
Where did the Sooners go wrong? OU failed by not keeping tabs on their
players' work situations. This has led to this mess. Whatever the
rationale is for not knowing about this, it isn't good enough. I
understand Stoops and his staff can't keep tabs on all their players
24 hours a day, and that at some point the student-athlete needs to
show some responsibility. But come on; There is no way this should
just slip under the radar as long as it did. However to OU's credit,
the players involved were immediately removed once knowledge of
Bomar-gate was discovered. OU could have easily taken the road so many
college football powers take, and make the kids pay the money back and
re-instate them. OU also imposed several sanctions of their own, which
again they didn't have to do. For that they should be commended. But
will it be enough? Will the Sooners get sanctioned for essentially
ratting itself out? One would hope not, and such a move would seem
very hypocritical by the NCAA. But hey, rules were broken and for that
OU will be addressed.
And as of right now, Sooner fans are still hearing the "tick, tock" as
they revel in early 2008 recruting success, taking 3 of the top
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