Despite adversity, Oklahoma on verge of Big 12 title

	Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops says this has been his most enjoyable season in Norman. Darren Carroll/SI
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Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops had led the Sooners to a national championship, four 12-win seasons and five top-10 finishes. Three of his teams reached the BCS national championship game, and three different players from those teams finished second or better in the Heisman Trophy voting.

The 2006 Sooners have yet to crack the top 10 of the BCS standings. It's possible that not one of their current starters will wind up earning All-America honors. Yet on Saturday, Oklahoma has a chance to earn its fourth Big 12 championship in seven years.

Has this season been Stoops' best coaching job yet?

"I wouldn't argue that one bit," OU defensive coordinator Brent Venables said this week. "All things considered."

A quick refresher on those "things:"

• On Aug. 3, just days before the start of training camp, incumbent starting quarterback Rhett Bomar and projected starting guard J.D. Quinn were dismissed from the team for accepting illegal benefits from a local car dealership.

• On Sept. 16, Oklahoma loses a last-second heartbreaker at Oregon after officials mistakenly award the Ducks the ball on a late onside kick that replays show (and the Pac-10 later confirms) the Sooners recovered.

• On Oct. 7 at the Cotton Bowl, the Sooners are outscored 21-0 in the second half against Texas and lose 28-10, dropping their record to 3-2 and ceding control of the Big 12 South to the Longhorns.

• Finally, in a 34-9 win at Iowa State the following week, star running back Adrian Peterson breaks his collarbone while diving into the end zone for Oklahoma's final touchdown and misses the rest of the regular season.

A strange thing happened, however, on the Sooners' path toward certain destruction: They never lost another game. Behind a career-backup quarterback who had been moved to receiver just last year (Paul Thompson), two backup tailbacks (sophomore Allen Patrick and freshman Chris Brown) and a defense that hadn't played to its potential the first five weeks, Oklahoma reeled off seven straight victories after the Texas loss. The Sooners won handily at Missouri. They pulled out a 17-16 thriller at Texas A&M. And last weekend, with an unexpected championship-game berth on the line, they held off rival Oklahoma State 27-21 in Stillwater.

Now, after weathering the storm to reach a conference-title date with 9-3 Nebraska, the participants can look back and, while not yet celebrating, at least reflect.

"It's been one of [our] most enjoyable [seasons] for sure," said Stoops. "Our assistants have done a great job of working through all the changes we've had on personnel. Our players have never flinched, regardless of the circumstances."

"It's a tribute to coach Stoops -- you never saw a sense of panic," said Venables. "I remember going into that locker room prior to our meeting with the players after the announcement about Bomar and Quinn. There were a lot of players that needed some direction. They bought into everything [Stoops] said."

Making OU's 10-win regular season that much more gratifying was that it came on the heels of a highly disappointing 2005 season in which the Sooners, following two straight national-title game appearances, slipped to 7-4. When '06 got off to a similarly discouraging start, fans and media openly wondered whether Stoops' once-dominant program had lost its edge.