ok. let's get back to topic. -M

I know USC doesn't have names. I'm pretty sure Purdue doesn't. There's a few more, but I can't think of them right now.

I prefer the names also. There were only a handful of times I felt like I needed them for myself. However, there were many, many times I wished the names were there for my wife's sake.

Notre Dame.. and didn't Miami go without for awhile? Or maybe they took them away?

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hehe. we really don't care what their names are you know, she probably only does that to annoy you. or she wants to match a name to the tush.

Have you seen my tush? Why would she want to look elsewhere?

I heard from a very unreliable source that last year the names were missing because of a screw up and they didn't want to admit it. Seems very unlikely to me, but has anyone else heard this rumor?

Nah, that's just a rumor. The original reason given was the new style of jerseys the Sooners wore last year were cut differently and didn't allow room on the back for a nameplate. Once everyone called BS on that, Coach Stoops came clean and said he did it because he wanted the team to know the name on the front of the jersey meant a lot more than the name on the back of the jersey. In any event, looks like the names are back and the team will be wearing different jerseys this year (thank goodness, last year's were hideous).

Let's also not forget that college football has no prohibition on players sharing jersey numbers so long as they aren't on the field at the same time.

Nice link. Leave it to a friggin' aggie.


Yeah, tx didn't care those 5 years we beat 'em. Especially 65-13. When you see the coaches and players interviewed about the game they say it's just another game. Daryl Royal wasn't upset at all that Switzer owned him. OU/tx is nothing special to those who go to school south of the Red River that's why so few of them bother traveling to the game. You're absolutely right. You've opened my eyes.

I moved here from Austin and let me tell ya, it ain't easy being an OU fan in Austin! Thank god I had a couple of other OU buddies there but I heard about it non-stop everywhere I went. I rarely dared to wear an OU shirt and that was only when I was with my other OU peeps so there was safety in numbers.

I grew up going to games during the Wilkinson years and a real fan could identify the players by their numbers.
Maybe the problem is the quality of education in Okla, but that is another thread

I have to say, I'm a rather large OSU fan, but I don't bash upon any of the other teams. I understand the interstate rivalry, and it's great, but I just wish people could leave it at that one day.

As per the jersey topic, from what I can recall from Stoops pre season press conference last year was something to the effect of he wanted the players not to worry about the name on the back of the jersey because everyone in college was getting to the point it was all about names, not the teams. The game is a team sport, you may have 1 star player, but if you don't have the rest of the team to support him, he will never be any good.

I.E. if A. Peterson didn't have the offensive line he had, he wouldn't have been able to do anything. Then if OSU didn't have the line they had, Reid wouldn't have been able to pull of what little success (I'm a Wood's fan, made a mistake putting Reid at QB) he had last year in the season either. Any way you look at it, I like no names on the jersey, it makes you look at the bigger picture,the actual team. Heaven forbid you may have to actually "know" the numbers on your favorite team that you are so "die hard" about.

Pfft! I suspect the problem lies more with a murky memory of the Wilkinson era rather than the general education level of our state.

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Albert Einstein

Ah.. so you are the consumate football expert. That makes you smarter than all of the draft pros who chose Peterson as the first running back in the draft, eh? I guess you're way better at judging talent than they are. I guess you're smarter than the Vikings who just promised 20 million+ dollars to a running back who was only decent because of his line, eh?

And compared to the OSU football staff, you must be freaking brilliant when it comes to judging QB talent. Reid had an excellent year considering his supporting cast. If Gundy, et al think he's a better QB, what makes you a better judge of talent? Heck.. Woods wouldn't even be 2nd team -- maybe not even 3rd!

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No, I'm just simply stating that football is a team game. It doesn't matter how good the running back is if you don't have a line up front that can't keep you from getting pummled into the ground. I never said A.P. didn't have talent, but they had the line that allowed him to use his talent. After the first initial 5-7 yards it's all talent on their part and what they can do, but to get that momentum going, they must first have a good line.

Well yes, the line is important. But so is a running back who can get yardage and a QB who throws to his own team.

But to say that a player is only good because of their line in A.D. or Reid's case is just not accurate. Those guys are good on their own.

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I know a lot of (honest) osu fans who would argue with your statement that Reid has proved his worth.

His efficiency numbers speak for themselves.

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i see. given that logic, the best ncaa quarterback of 2006 was colt brennan of the hawaii rainbow warriors.

-M

Colt Brennan doesn't suck -- he's a dark horse on many preseason Heisman prognosticators' lists. He's high up on a lot of NFL watch lists, and is widely regarded as the most talented non-BCS player this year.

And Hawaii is the favorite to beat out Boise State this year for the WAC championship.

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Reid didn't prove his worth until 2006:

From okstate.com:
Football - Roster - Official Website Of Oklahoma State Cowboy And Cowgirl Athletics

Bobby Reid:

PASSING....Att..Cmp..Int..Yds..TD..Lg..Pct
2005..........108..52......4....602....2...49..48. 1
RUSHING....Att..Yds..TD..Lg
2005...........61...139...0....28


Donovan Woods:

PASSING....Att..Cmp..Int..Yds..TD..Lg..Pct
2004..........187....97....5...1628..13..68..51.9
2005...........32.....17....0...163....1...23..53. 1
RUSHING....Att..Yds..TD..Lg
2004..........123..436...10..35
2005...........12...63.....1...18

From ESPN.com:
ESPN - Bobby Reid Stats, News, Photos - Oklahoma State Cowboys - NCAA College Football

Bobby Reid:

PASSING....Att..Cmp..Int..Yds..TD..Lg..Pct
2006..........267.148.....11..2266..24...75..55.4

Check out ESPN Ivan Maisel's pick for the BCS Championship

Allstate BCS Championship Game
(BCS No. 1 vs. BCS No. 2) USC vs. Oklahoma

Chance for redemption....Or a chance to get ragged on for 3 more years!

If it does come true...Here is to hoping Leinart is on the sidelines and Ryan Reynolds runs out of bounds and accidentally takes him out

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far be it from me to say that brennan sucks. the point is that stats bely many important factors such as the strength of opponents played, how well a player's abilities compliment a given coach's strategy and the skills of a player's teammates. i'm not saying that reid is a bad player, either, i'm just saying that one can rely too heavily on numbers when judging a player's ability... the data can sometimes make for incorrect conclusions.

-M

When comparing two players on the same team, those numbers can be extremely reliable since almost all the variables you just described are the same.

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All I know is every osu fan I know (unfortunately, I know many) still believes Reid is not the best qb on the team.