USC brought a physical brand of basketball to Lloyd Noble Arena Thursday night and almost bullied their way to a win. Oklahoma showed some concerns that they could be forced to make mistakes when a team bows up to them. I don’t want to call them a finesse team but the athleticism and physical play that the Trojans brought to the game almost threw Oklahoma off of theirs.  

USC’s plan was to hack Blake Griffin and try to muscle him around under the boards. It worked from the standpoint that Griffin only secured 6 rebounds (resulting in his first non double-double this season) but the big man still got his points, 25 of them.

Teams have tried several different things to slow Blake Griffin down this season but the Trojans took it to the extreme. Leonard Washington caused Griffin to take a short break at almost the mid point of the second half when he gave Griffin a shot to the groin. It almost worked as OU’s 11 point lead eventually dropped to just 1.

I think you could attribute more than Blake Griffin’s short absence to the USC comeback. First, give the Trojans credit for their resolve to fight back on the road by making things happen. Beyond that there is a short list of reasons that the Sooners could have lost this game.

• Under the Boards – Oklahoma lost the battle of the boards to USC by a slim margin, 25-28 but the more disturbing stat was the offensive boards. OU only grabbed five offensive rebounds. OU did have 11 second chance points but it could have been much more had they been stronger on the offensive glass.

• Second Half Shooting – Oklahoma’s shooting percentage dropped from 53.8% in the first half to 38.5% in the second half. Again, let’s give credit where it is due for the Trojans stiffening up on defense but part of the problem was 1-8 from beyond the arch in the second half. That tells me the Sooners had tired legs from the physical play.

• Defensive Breakdowns – USC’s shooting percentage jumped up from 43.3% in the first half to 60% in the second half including 4-4 from beyond the three point line. USC did a good job at creating their shots but they also had some easy looks as well.

• Missed Free Throws – In a close game you look at everything. Oklahoma left 8 points at the charity stripe tonight with an 18-26 performance. There weren’t any bigger than the ones by Cade Davis at the end of the game.

Now to be fair we should look at the other side because Oklahoma did after all win the game. That means that there were some things that they did do right in order to beat a very physical and athletic team.

• Points Off Turnovers – Oklahoma forced 14 USC turnovers which led to 16 Sooner points.

• Jump Shots – OU still has some work to do in this area but it was good enough to get by Thursday night. Austin Johnson was 7-12 from the floor including 3-7 from three point land. Only 22 of Oklahoma’s points cam in the paint and another 18 from the free throw line. That leaves 33 points resulting from spot up shooting.

• Bench Points – It wasn’t much but Oklahoma’s bench out scored USC’s 11-8. Remember in a close game we look at everything.

• Blake Griffin – He was the best player on the floor. What does it say about him when we are actually disappointed when he doesn’t log a double-double?

The good folks over at CFB Weekly had me back on this week to discuss the Big 12 Championship game against the Missouri Tigers. So when we weren’t discussing if I could understand how Longhorn fans feel or where I thought the Sooners would go if they were to get upset by the Tigers there was some discussion about Oklahoma’s defense against Missouri’s offense.

You can listen here. I come on at the 2:00 minute mark.

Tip Time: 6:00

Location: Lloyd Noble Center

TV: ESPN

Radio: KOKC AM 1520 in Oklahoma City, KMOD FM 97.5 in Tulsa

Oklahoma makes their stand in the Big 12/Pac 10 Hardwood Series tonight against the USC Trojans. The Trojans are off to a 5-2 start causing them to lose their #18 pre-season ranking. They have dropped games against Seaton Hall and Missouri this season while beating the likes of UC Irvine, New Mexico State, UT Martin and San Francisco.

Southern Cal is led in scoring by guard Dwight Lewis who averages 16.6 points a game. Lewis is shooting .494 from the field and has made a team-high 10 treys on 28 attempts.

My son has a Jr. High basketball game that tips off at 6:00 as well. Hopefully I’ll be back for the second half but feel free to keep the game thread going in my absence. Post all your comments here before, during and after the ball game.

Let’s face it. The Heisman Trophy doesn’t necessarily go to the best player in the country. Instead it usually goes to the player who has the best advertising campaign. While stats are important they really aren’t everything anymore. Voters want to know what your team’s record is and even where they would be without you playing. In other words it is becoming more of a popularity contest for the most valuable player on one of the best teams in the country instead of an award for the actual best player in the country.

Sam Bradford’s stats are eye popping but in today's football it won't be enough. Oklahoma’s super sophomore has passed for 4,080 yards and 46 touchdowns with still one game to go. Yep, that controversial birth in the Big 12 Championship could give “Sam the Man” a leg up on in conference competitor Colt McCoy in the Heisman race. The Oklahoma media relations department is taking full advantage of the situation as well.

“We actually haven’t had to do very much,” said Kenny Mossman, Oklahoma’s associate athletics director for communications. “Sam has pretty much promoted himself.”

Bradford’s leadership on the field has been second to none and as the trigger man for the Sooners high octane offense OU has already tied the single season mark for touchdowns and is only two more away from breaking the record for most points scored in a season, ever!

Earlier this week Bob Stoops cited Bradford as being the best quarterback that he’s ever coached. That includes national champion Josh Heupel and Heisman winner Jason White. However, it is his age, only being a sophomore, that has me concerned. There hasn’t been a habit made of giving the stiff arm trophy away to sophomores.

Tim Tebow broke that mold last season and Sam Bradford should be on his way to setting the trend this year. Tebow had the jump pass last year that everyone saw over and over again which no doubt was on voters minds. This year Bradford has the Stillwater flip. It’s a play that shows his toughness, determination and athleticism. You know the kind of stuff a Heisman winner is supposed to have, along with amazing stats.  

The great thing about the BCS controversy is that it has brought a huge boost in traffic here to the Machine. We’ve done our best to engage our friends from the south in debates over who really should be in Kansas City, why the Red Raiders should have been involved in the conversation, is the Cotton Bowl a neutral site and a few others. It really has been quite amusing but I’m starting to get a headache.

Fans from both sides are making great arguments and doing a solid job at standing their ground but for some reason for the last two days whenever I read the dialogue all I can think of is this:

Thank you to everyone who has posted this week. Please keep it up and enjoy the Machine. You are the ones who make this blog great!

One of the great SBN blogs out there is Rock M Nation which covers the Missouri Tigers. You might remember them from last year as we exchanged information for the Big 12 Championship Game in San Antonio. Well, both the Sooners and the Tigers are back in the title game again this year and so is Rock M Nation with some answers about the Tigers.

CCM: Missouri's offensive coordinator is on his way out the door. Oklahoma experienced this in 2003 with defensive coordinator Mike Stoops. Do you see it having any effect of the Tigers in the championship game? 

RMN: If I were to compile a list of reasons why I thought Missouri would struggle and/or lose in the Big 12 Championship to Oklahoma, I'm not sure Christensen's departure would crack the Top 25. Christensen has chosen to stick around for the Big 12 Championship as well as Missouri's bowl game, and even if he had not, his eight years at Missouri have pretty much made his system second nature to his players. Not to mention, his quarterback knows the offense almost as well as he does. I think it may be a bit of a motivator more than anything. Missouri isn't Oklahoma - it's not used to having its assistants be coveted and/or poached. Christensen's new job is validation that other programs want what Missouri is building. That's a huge boost of confidence for this program.

CCM: Despite being ranked second in the conference in both points allowed and points scored the Tigers dropped three games in conference. What is it that they are missing this season from last year's team?

RMN: That's been a huge enigma for all of us who follow Missouri. All the pieces should have been in place. I think the only thing that's been missing is the swagger and the "us against the world" mentality. It took a couple of weeks, but a few Missouri players finally admitted that they weren't as focused for the OSU game as they should have been since they had watched the Red River Shootout earlier in the day and knew they were playing for No. 1. That OSU loss really deflated the team, and what transpired in Austin was as painful of a football game as I've seen in a long time. Furthermore, Missouri's pass defense has fallen off the face of the earth from last year. Last year, if William Moore wasn't the best safety in the country over the last eight games, he was at least in the conversation. This year, he's gotten lost in the scheme while playing a lot of nickel back, and while he provides a major boost in run support, the unit really misses his contribution to the pass D over the top.

CCM: The talk of the town this week so far has been Oklahoma's vaulting over the Texas Longhorns into the conference championship game. What did you want to see happen? A rematch with the Sooners from last year or the Longhorns this year?

RMN: Honestly, the best thing that could have happened would have been for OSU to beat the Sooners and send Texas Tech to Kansas City. In the same way that Oklahoma and Stoops have the psychological edge over Missouri, Pinkel has that same edge over Mike Leach. I obviously can't speak universally for Missouri fans, but most of us wanted no part of OU or UT. Oklahoma's clicking on all cylinders right now, and we've already seen what Texas can do to Missouri.

CCM: Jeremy Maclin seemed to get a little banged up against Kansas on Saturday afternoon. What is his status for this game?

RMN: I've heard almost nothing on Maclin's health this week, so I assume he's good to go. It seemed like a weekly occurrence last year that he'd get shaken up, send us all into panic, and then be back five plays later. I haven't heard otherwise, so I'm guessing Maclin will be a full speed. The bigger concern is the health of Chase Coffman. The Missouri offense loses a dimension when No. 45 isn't healthy. Last year, Oklahoma dominated Missouri in the Big 12 Championship in part because Daniel had no security blanket on non-passing downs and because the Tigers had no go-to receiver in the red zone. Both of those roles belong to Chase Coffman, and both are vital to Missouri's offensive efficiency. Coffman is once again hobbled, but he says he should play at about 80 percent this week.

CCM: Todd Reesing threw for 375 yards and 4 touchdowns against Missouri on Saturday. What's the plan for stopping Sam Bradford this weekend?

RMN: I really don't know to be honest. Even when things seem to go wrong for Bradford, they seem to find a way to go right for Oklahoma. Tipped ball in Dallas? No problem, Broyles has it. Manny Johnson tips a ball straight up in the air? Gresham will take it and stroll in for a touchdown. Fumbled snap on the goalline? Bradford will casually pick it up and waltz into the endzone. I haven't heard any specifics about how Missouri will approach Bradford and Co. Usually, I'd say it's imperative to pressure Bradford, but defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus has gotten some serious heat for often his unit seems to have blitzes picked up and leave the secondary hanging out to dry. After watching Todd Reesing continually dodge his way out of pressure and find wide open receivers downfield, it ought to be interesting to see if Eberflus reverts to the bend-but-don't break. Given Oklahoma's redzone efficiency, it may be a bit of a death wish, but I can't imagine him repeating last week either.

CCM: Finally, how about a score prediction?

RMN: We're all hoping for the 2003 Kansas State formula. We're hoping the Big 12 North underdog upsets the unbeatable Oklahoma team in Kansas City despite a rough stretch in the middle of the season that cost it national title aspirations. I think Missouri ought to be able to put up points on Oklahoma, but unless Oklahoma commits several turnovers or stops itself, I don't see the Missouri defense being able to give the Tigers a shot to win. In the end, I'll say something along the lines of 48-34 in favor of Oklahoma.

If you are familiar with Brian Cook’s Blog Poll then you’ll know that his Wack Ballot Watchdog calls out the person who has ranked a team strangely or for the wrong motives.

As you know the Texas Longhorns passed up the Sooners in the Harris Poll this week. Some will disagree with this but much of the change in the poll was the result of the lobbying done by Mack Brown. Other than that the rest can be attributed to total ignorance. Need proof? Check out this blurb taken from Monday’s Daily Oklahoman.

Some have questioned the validity of the Harris Interactive poll, which has had a spotty run in its four years as being part of the BCS.

The skepticism could be valid.

True story from the Boone Pickens Stadium pressbox Saturday night.

I asked Harris poll voter Pat Quinn, the former Oklahoma State University sports information director, how he would vote OU and Texasif the Sooners won Saturday night.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Quinn said. “Doesn’t really matter.”

Really?

“I think Alabama and Penn State will probably play for the national championship,” Quinn said.

You do?

“They’re the only undefeated teams, aren’t they,” Quinn said.

Uh, actually, Penn State has a loss.

“Oh well,” Quinn said, “those Big Ten teams have a lot of votes.”

These are the guys helping determine who plays for the national championship! There’s nothing like credibility.

I’m not one to believe in the SI Jinx or the Madden Curse but I do recognize that something crazy happens when the Sooners play at Arrowhead Stadium. Saturday will mark the 7^th time that OU has played in the Big 12 Championship game. Of their previous six championship games four have been in Kansas City, one in San Antonio and one in Houston.

In Kansas City the Sooners have only outscored their opponents by 28 points but in the two games played in Texas the Sooners are +43 points over their opponents.

Oklahoma’s Big 12 Championship History

It’s that 35-7 loss to Kansas State that has left the bad taste in my mouth for Kansas City. Oklahoma has returned to the scene of the crime twice since then and have won by a combined score of 63-10. However, those wins were over lesser opponents than this year’s Missouri Tigers team. In fact when you look at the stats between the Sooners and the Tigers I find it to be a little too close for comfort.

So, is there a Kansas City curse? I have no idea but what I do know is that my worst moment in Big 12 Championship history was at that stadium. For that reason Arrowhead Stadium will always have a dark cloud over it.

For the 2008 college football season Oklahoma produced a Coach of the Year award, 9 all-conference first team members and 3 individual award winners. So why am I a little frustrated? Look at the awards and see if you can figure it out. My questions will follow.

A tie in voting created an additional offensive line spot on the first- and second-teams.
[r1] - Repeat first team selection from last season
**Unanimous Selection

Why do we need two Coaches of the Year? Either give it to Stoops or Leach but not both! I bleed Crimson and Cream but I honestly would give it to Leach.

Why are there 16 players on offense? Yes, I know that two of them are kick and punt returners but that still leaves 14 which is clearly 3 too many. Have we reached the point where we are afraid to offend someone by leaving a player off? Have coaches protest and constant complaining reached so far that we really can’t come up with the 11 best offensive players in the conference?

Why are there 14 players on defense? See above argument!

Where is Brian Jackson? I’ll admit that he probably isn’t a first teamer but he’s got to be a second teamer, right?

How does the offensive lineman of the year not make the first team offense? This is my biggest complaint and the real reason that I am fired up. How does this team have any credibility at all? There’s even six offensive linemen on the team for crying out loud! Out of 14 players on offense they couldn’t find room for the offensive lineman of the year.

After making their way through the NIT Tip Off Tournament Oklahoma’s men’s basketball jumped from #11 in last week’s poll to #6 this week. Led by Blake Griffin’s 25.7 points and 19.2 rebounds per game the Sooners are off to a 6-0 start.

AP Top 25