DeMarco Murray and Oklahoma lead the nation at 61.5 points per game and are third in total offense at 562.3 yards per game. AP

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Am I the only one who has visions of Oklahoma's 2003 and '04 BCS title-game meltdowns when I see these 60-plus point efforts from the current Sooners? Everyone's pretty high on Sam Bradford, the receiving corps and the tailback crew. Yet, the last two years that the Sooners were putting up 500-plus yards of offense per game (against largely inferior Big 12 opposition), they got mauled when they came up against athletic, dominant defenses such as those that LSU and USC seem to have (again) this year.
--John, Seattle

The Sooners' dominance so far does remind me very much of that 2003 season when OU absolutely steamrolled through the regular season, scoring 50 or more points on seven occasions (including a 65-13 rout of Texas and 77-0 whitewashing of Texas A&M) and dredging up all kinds of "best of all-time" speculation. You never know, but the way things look now, I don't see anyone on this year's Big 12 schedule touching them, either. But like you said, that doesn't necessarily mean anything come December or January. Which is why it's important to point out two noticeable differences that are already evident between that team and this team.

For one, the stigma from the way those two seasons ended still very much hovers over Oklahoma, which is why, despite their extraordinary start, I don't hear too many commentators trumping the Sooners as unbeatable like they did back then, nor have I heard anyone yet suggest they might actually be better than USC or LSU. Even a blowout of Texas isn't likely to change that. However, it may well be that this year's OU team is better suited for those types of opponents than its predecessors. As you said, those teams' title-game downfalls were a direct result of facing elite defenses that disrupted the Sooners' offense in a way their Big 12 opponents couldn't. But in this case, Oklahoma already faced one of the fastest and most athletic defensive fronts in the country when they played Miami a couple weeks back, and they passed that test with flying colors.

So I wouldn't necessarily assume what happened three or four years ago is indicative of what would happen this time -- nor, however, would I assume that OU, or anyone else, is unbeatable.

Stewart, what do you think about the fact that fans and writers are almost completely divided regarding Mike Gundy's outburst? Writers and media members are quick to condemn Gundy and point out that the reporter can say whatever she wants with no consequences, while fans are glad to see the media get a little heat for irresponsible writing. Do coaches not have the same right to state their opinion as the press? Or should they keep their mouth shut and let the almighty media do their job?
--Jeff, Boise, Idaho

As I wrote on Sunday, Gundy's general point about treating college athletes differently than pros -- one which might have been taken seriously if not for all the SCREAMING, STARE DOWNS and FINGER POINTING -- is a valid one. But let's not kid ourselves about the real reason much of the public is siding with Gundy. It's certainly not lost on me, a columnist, that there's a wide-spread resentment amongst most college football fans toward the media. I'm sure for many people it was a treat to watch a football coach put one of us "know-it-all" writers in his/her place. Because that's the only possible explanation why Gundy -- not Joe Paterno or Bobby Bowden, mind you, but career 13-15 coach Mike Gundy -- could perform such a bizarre act and somehow come out of it the hero.

You'll have to excuse me if I don't buy that most of the people empathizing with Gundy are doing so out of genuine concern for the treatment of college athletes. If fans are really so sensitive to personal "attacks" on players, then how come I can go on any message board of any disgruntled fan base right now and find criticisms of certain players that are 100 times more scathing than anything Jenni Carlson wrote about Bobby Reid? Some of the most vicious posts are often directed at recruits -- high school kids! -- who spurn someone's school. These people are doing the same exact thing Gundy says he's so peeved about (and even worse, anonymously), and they're doing it in a public forum. How is that any less hurtful or embarrassing to the player and/or his family?

And what about those stories we always hear about some kicker who misses the game-winning kick or a tight end who drops a wide-open touchdown and gets flooded with nasty phone calls and e-mails. That doesn't sound to me like a case of people acknowledging that the guy's "just a kid." As to Gundy's insinuation that a writer shouldn't dare question a player's attitude -- coaches themselves do so publicly all the time as motivation. Was there any outrage when Urban Meyer called his tailbacks "trash" in the spring of 2006? Of course not -- Gators fans ate it up. However, if a local columnist had suggested the same thing ... oh man, would there have been hell to pay.

I understand the media paranoia out there, I do. College football is the only major sport where the media plays an active role in determining the outcome. However, there's a major distinction between "irresponsible writing" and "having an opinion." Ninety-five percent of the time, what fans consider to be "bias" or "unprofessionalism" is simply a writer expressing an opinion that happens to be unfavorable toward that fan's team. Jenni Carlson is a columnist. Her job is to state her opinion. And while this particular column had its share of flaws (mainly that she didn't attribute her descriptions of Reid's "problems" to a definitive source), the tone was so tame compared to others I've read in the past (Florida writers calling ex-Florida State QB Chris Rix a "bonehead" in print, for example) that I'm guessing most readers would never even have batted an eye if not for Gundy's rant. But because so many fans have so much pent up resentment toward their local columnists (because, as is their job, they've undoubtedly expressed unfavorable opinions toward their favorite team at some time), they probably found some sort of justice in watching Gundy call her out like that. Should he have "kept his mouth shut?" No, not if he genuinely feels the player was wronged. But I can think of any number of more professional ways he could have voiced his displeasure.

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