Is it better to be No. 1 Sooner, or later?
OCTOBER 30, 2000

Fans' View

AP Photo
Bob Stoops celebrates as time runs out against Nebraska.

Today, sports fan Steve Schindler congratulates the Sooners, but he wonders if the top ranking really is a blessing at this point.

I understand how excited you Oklahoma football fans are. Your previously third-ranked crimson Sooners just walloped the top-rated Nebraska Cornhuskers 31-14 Saturday and are nestled in the top spot of the college football rankings for now.

Congratulations are surely in order. No matter how much most Texans may boo you, we still respect you as a very worthy Big 12 opponent. After all, you pushed our Longhorns all over the field this year to the sorry tune of a huge 63-14 drubbing in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

It was 10 years ago that Oklahoma last enjoyed the taste of victory over Nebraska. It was 13 longer years ago that Oklahoma last led all of the college football world after winning a hard fought 17-7 grudge match over those same 'Huskers in the final game of the '87 regular season. That royal high only lasted a short time. The Sooners went down 20-14 to Miami in the Orange Bowl and ended up ranked third.

Now Sooner fans are delirious about their team's chances of heading back to their beloved Orange Bowl with a chance of finishing the season in the No. 1 spot. But have the Sooners sprung on their prey too soon? It's proven very difficult to hold on to that No. 1 ranking these last few years.

This might be harder to accomplish than the Sooners realize. It might be better to most folks that they lead in the polls early rather that late in the season. It seems way too easy to get bumped from that top spot in the late weeks of fall, and that tumble is always the cruelest of all. Take it from Bobby Bowden and his Florida State Seminoles. They chewed a ton of Tums last year after starting out in the No. 1 spot in the polls and holding on to it for the entire season. When was the last time that happened?

Look what happened to both Ohio State and UCLA in '98. In the early weeks of November, they both wrestled with that glorious No. 1 spot before finally succumbing to the aura of weak schedules and late-season losses. No. 1 finally was taken over by Tennessee for the rest of the regular season.

In '97, the college football world ended a long, hard-fought season unable to decide who was No. 1. That year, the coaches poll listed Nebraska at the top of the heap. The AP poll elevated Michigan to the top. Since both teams ended up winning their postseason bowl games, everybody just threw up their hands and gave a trophy to each.

So, how will these highflying Oklahoma Sooners fare for the remainder of this season? They already have defied all the odds and preseason predictions. No one outside of Norman gave the Sooners a chance of getting by three top teams such as Texas, Kansas State and Nebraska unscathed. Now they have flown by them all undefeated. The Sooners are the first team in NCAA pigskin history to knock off the two top-ranked teams in back-to-back weeks.

The Sooners have so many intangibles going for them. They have one of the best young coaches in the college game today in Bob Stoops. They have a legitimate Heisman candidate in Josh Heupel, who seems to have an uncanny sense of timing and rapport with his excellent receiving corps. And Oklahoma's much-maligned defense might be emerging as this team's most underrated ace in the hole.

Look closely at the remainder of the Sooners' 2000 season and you'll see Baylor, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. All are very beatable, and only the Aggies have a tentative hold on a top 25 ranking at No. 24. It remains to be seen if the ancient curse of the weak Big 12 schedule will come back to haunt the Sooners before season's end.

On Saturday, Stoops said, "It's not one of our goals to be No. 1 part way through the year. It has no bearing on anything we're doing." It sounds like Stoops is very aware of what a steep road is ahead for his Sooners.

For now, Stoops and his troops must concentrate on winning the Big 12 South and getting into the league championship game in December. And, just their luck, guess who probably will be waiting for them? Those very angry, revenge-minded Nebraska Cornhuskers. Then we'll find out whether it's better to be No. 1 Sooner, or later.

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