College Football
Thursday, December 30
Sooners have shed the loser tag
Associated Press

SHREVEPORT, La. -- It wasn't too long ago that Oklahoma's football team was so successful, its fans got bored with going to Miami for the Orange Bowl every year.

Bob Stoops
Oklahoma has experienced a resurgence under first-year coach Bob Stoops.

No one associated with Oklahoma is complaining about traveling to Shreveport, site of Friday night's Independence Bowl game against Mississippi. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 25,000 to 30,000 Oklahoma fans are expected for the Sooners' first bowl appearance since 1994.

"It just shows you that they love this team, these guys and their love for football," coach Bob Stoops said Thursday. "They have a lot of pride in this program."

Stoops and this team have helped restore some of that pride. Oklahoma has won six national championships and has played in 32 bowl games, but hasn't been a national force since the late 1980s. Before Stoops arrived, Oklahoma had gone five years without a winning season and was particularly dismal the previous three years, going 12-22.

Oklahoma went 7-4 this year and sold out every home game for the first time since 1987.

"This year has made me not think as much about last year," said senior receiver Brandon Daniels, who struggled at quarterback in 1998 but this season led the team with 50 receptions and led the nation in kickoff returns. "It's been a thrill this year."

The biggest change for Oklahoma has been on offense, where the Sooners installed a system that relies on the pass first and the run a distant second. Quarterback Josh Heupel has set 13 single-season school records, including pass attempts (500), completions (310), passing yards (3,460) and touchdowns (30).

"The scheme is never as big a difference as everybody makes it out to be," Mississippi coach David Cutcliffe said. "It's players, and putting your players in a position to make plays.

"The key is a coach being able to recognize the weapons he has and being able to put those weapons to use. I think Oklahoma has done a great job of doing that in one year."

Ole Miss (7-4) has its share of playmakers, starting with the running back combination of Joe Gunn and Deuce McAllister. Gunn ran for 951 yards and McAllister had 809, and each averaged more than 5 yards per carry.

They are complemented by quarterback Romaro Miller, who completed 54 percent of his passes and threw 14 touchdowns. But unlike Oklahoma, the Rebels try to establish their running game first, then mix in the pass.

Ole Miss is unlike Oklahoma when it comes to bowl experience as well. Only one member of the Sooner team -- sixth-year senior Jay Smith -- has made a bowl trip. This is Mississippi's third straight postseason game and its second consecutive visit to the Independence Bowl.

The Rebels had a chance to play in a more high-profile game, but finished the season with two straight losses, each by three points. Cutcliffe said that once the bowl bids were extended, he talked with his players about avoiding a letdown. Now he says he is confident they will match Oklahoma's emotion on Friday.

"If you're a competitor and the whistle blows, you better be ready to play," he said.

Both coaches said their players should be excited about playing in the final bowl game of the millennium.

"It'll be one of those trivia questions 50 years from now, who played in the last game," Stoops said. "And most importantly everyone will ask who won the last game. Certainly, we're part of history so it is special."

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