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National championship hopes ended well before loss to OSU

by Al Eschbach

You can mark down the date of Oct. 27 as the day Oklahoma lost its chance to
repeat as national champions. That was the day OU had its winning streak
broken by Nebraska. The loss to the Huskers wasn't what killed OU's hopes of
repeating as national champions, it was the season ending injury to Jason
White.

Without White at quarterback, the Sooners had no chance. What happened to OU
on Saturday against Oklahoma State shouldn't be that much of a surprise.
This offense has stalled many times with Nate Hybl at quarterback.

You need to look no further than the Texas game. OU doesn't win the Red
River Shootout if White doesn't replace the injured Hybl. The offense was
going absolutely no where against a bad Kansas defense the next week in
Lawrence. White came in and once again showed he was a play maker. After
White was hurt against the Cornhuskers, Hybl finished off the drive with a
short touchdown pass. Following that play, OU failed to score a point
against a suspect Nebraska defense.

There were struggles in the first quarter against a horrendous Tulsa
defense. The same could be said about Texas A&M and Texas Tech, Hybl never
looked good in the early going in all of those games. Against Oklahoma State
he looked nervous for four quarters. He was outplayed by a true freshman,
Josh Fields.

Sometimes when you lose you get a wakeup call. This offense struggled late
last year. But when you win a national championship you don't think there is
a problem. When you lose to a 3-and-7 Oklahoma State team, you know there's
a problem.

The Sooners have to find a way to be balanced. Zero yards rushing against
that weak Oklahoma State defense is as embarrassing as it gets. This offense
has to be retooled. You can't win championships if you can't pass the ball.
And you certainly can't win them if you can't run.

This year there was a quarterback controversy. Early in the year Hybl was
given the job. That was a mistake. Maybe the only mistake Stoops has made in
three years since he's been at OU. After the bowl game is over this year,
the Sooners need to make it clear that White is the man next season. They
also need to allow heralded freshman Brent Rawls to battle Hybl for the
backup spot.

And something an OU coach reminded me of this year about the offense. This
unit never did have a lead.

November 24 was one of the worst days in OU football history. But the reason
the Sooners lost the game was because of what happened on Oct. 27.

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