NORMAN —
There are multiple facets to every bowl game, but the hardest to gauge and predict is whether teams are excited to be playing. It’s a question that doesn’t usually get answered until the game gets going.
Oklahoma, however, answered the question several times since it received its official invite to the AT&T Cotton Bowl.
It had to because the last time this team played it thought the next destination would be the Sugar Bowl. That spot in a BCS bowl game was eliminated when Northern Illinois rose to No. 15 in the final BCS standings and locked up an at-large berth.
Few saw it coming on Dec. 1, after OU had beaten TCU to finish the regular season at 10-2 and with a share of the Big 12 championship.
“It took us by surprise, but we can’t control what happens with the BCS,” OU defensive end David King said. “The only thing we can control is winning and losing. A lot of people were a little upset that we didn’t get the Sugar Bowl bid. It happens, but we’re over it now. We have a new challenge. We have a better game than if we were going to the Sugar Bowl and playing Florida.”
In terms of raw interest, it’s hard to debate King’s thinking. The matchup between the Sooners and No. 10 Texas A&M (10-2) on Jan. 4 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, is one of the most highly anticipated of the bowl season. There’s the element of pitting two former conference rivals against each other in game within an easy drive of both campuses.
It doesn’t hurt that OU will be going against the Aggies’ Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel.
Fan interest hasn’t been a problem. Tickets flew out of the box office. Last week, Cotton Bowl president Rick Baker said this game would likely break the game’s attendance record.
Still, players and fans relish the chance to spend some time in a vacation destination that it typically doesn’t visit. OU hadn’t played in New Orleans since the 2003 national championship game.
The Cotton Bowl will be OU’s third game in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex this season.
Everyone, however, wasn’t caught off guard.
“I’m kind of one of those people that weighs on the negative side all the time, so I didn’t expect to go to the Sugar Bowl,” OU wide receiver Kenny Stills said. “I felt like this was gonna happen, so I wasn’t too down about it. I was excited about going to Dallas. I love playing in ‘Jerry’s World,’ so it’s not a negative thing for us. It’s a huge game for us to get to play against the Heisman Trophy winner and a great team.”
The Sooners have said all the right things since receiving the Cotton Bowl bid. They’ve embraced everything the game has to offer.
“Did we want to go to a BCS game? Absolutely. Who doesn’t want to go to a BCS game? But that’s not the way it turned out for us,” OU quarterback Landry Jones said. “If you look at all the other BCS games because of automatic qualifiers and all those sorts of things, this might be one of the top two or three games in the country. I know there’s a lot of hype behind it. I know our team, and I’m sure Texas A&M, is extremely excited about this game. It’ll be a great game. It’ll be good for college football.”
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Sooners excited to meet Texas A&M in Cotton Bowl
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Workman's blasts cranks UCO's engine; Bronchos cruise to 5-2 win
Nicole Workman’s solo home run gave Central Oklahoma a lead it would never relinquish and the No. 19-ranked Bronchos went on to topple Winona State 5-2 in the first game of the NCAA Division II Central Super Regional Friday night at the Edmond North High School Softball Complex.
Workman blasted her 14th homer of the season to lead off the second inning, with UCO adding three runs in the third and one more in the fifth to take a commanding 5-0 lead before the Warriors created some anxious moments in their final at bat.
WSU scored two runs and had runners on second and third on with just one out in the top of the seventh, but Kalynn Shrock got the final two batters to close out her fourth straight complete-game outing of the postseason and put the Bronchos in control of the best-of-three series. -
Richters rip competition at KickingBird
The KickingBird 2-man scramble was won by Jeff and Josh Richter, finishing with a 57.9 on May 11.
Jeff Jester and Kevin Wright wrapped up second-place honors with a 59.9 and Rick Morales and Ronnie Roberts placed third (60.1).
In the second flight, the top score was 60.4 by Jerry Bernhardt and Ted Carter. Picking up silver was the tandem of Jerry Fuller and Ramona Jacobi (61.2) and the third-place squad was Dyke Hoppe and Mark VanSickle at 62.0.
Morales was closest to the pin on No. 6 and Jeff Richter landed a dart on hole 14. -
Eagles' season finished; Lopez earns national honor
Southeastern, Fla. eliminated Oklahoma Christian 4-0 om the National Christian College Athletic Association World Series in Mason, Ohio today to advance to the tournament semifinals, while OC closes at 26-26.
OC would have advanced to the semifinals with a win, but completed a terrific turnaround from an 8-34 season in 2012. The Eagles made only the second national-tournament appearance in the program's history, with the other coming in 1972, when OC finished third in the NAIA World Series. -
Multiple baseball camps offered in Edmond
Edmond Schools baseball coaches Kyle Roberts (Edmond Memorial), Jeff Shafer (Edmond Santa Fe) and Karl King (Edmond North) will instruct the Edmond All-Star Baseball Camps starting May 28 at Edmond North High School.
A pair of all-skills camps will take place for kids ages 5 and older from May 28-31 and June 3-6. Times are the same, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
On June 7, a pitcher/catcher camp will be offered for ages 8 and older with the identical time frame. Cost is $35 for the pitcher/catcher camp and $125 for the all-skills camp.
For further inquiries, contact Karl King at 863-3570. -
Arthur Hills eating up Bronchos
Central Oklahoma’s struggles continued at the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla. Friday.
The Bronchos made 10 double bogeys and two triple bogeys en route to a season-high 329 score on the rugged 6,228-yard, par-72 Arthur Hills Legends Course at LPGA International, leaving UCO in 10th place with a three-round total of 975.
Nova Southeastern has an 881 total heading into Saturday’s final round, giving the four-time defending champion Sharks a one-shot lead over second-place Lynn. -
Bronchos will make 12th appearance in national golf championship Monday
No. 18-ranked Central Oklahoma will make its 12th appearance in the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships in Hershey, Pa. next week.
The 54-hole stroke play portion of the tournament runs Monday-Wednesday at the 7,061-yard, par-71 Hershey Country Club East Course, with the top-eight teams from the 20-team field advancing to match play. -
Online registration for 2013 UCO Endeavor Games now open
Registration is now open online for athletes and volunteers for the 2013 University of Central Oklahoma Endeavor Games, June 6-9, the nation’s largest multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities.
Athletes of all ages or sporting experience are invited to register for the event. Community members are also encouraged to register to volunteer with more than 300 volunteer opportunities available.
Similar to the summer Paralympic Games, athletes may register for multiple adaptive sports, which include cycling, indoor archery, outdoor archery, powerlifting, sitting volleyball, shooting, table tennis, track and field, wheelchair basketball, and, for the first time at the UCO Endeavor Games, paratriathlon. The paratriathlon will be limited to athletes over the age of 16 with previous paratriathlon experience. -
Deer Creek drops Carl Albert again for state title
They did it again.
The Deer Creek girls soccer team knocked off rival Carl Albert in the Class 5A state soccer title game for the second consecutive season.
The Lady Antlers, led by freshman Lauren Haivala’s two goals, topped the Titans 2-1 May 10 at Noble High School.
On May 7, Deer Creek blanked Tulsa Edison 2-zip in the semifinals for a chance to play for its fourth state championship in girls soccer. -
UCO to host US women's sitting volleyball team's exhibition matches against Russia
The University of Central Oklahoma will host five exhibition matches of the U.S. Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team versus the Russian National Women Sitting Volleyball Team beginning tonight at 10. Matches continue on Saturday at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. and a single match on Sunday at 9 a.m.
This will be the first time the Paralympic silver medaling Team USA has faced Russia since 2011. According to Head Coach Bill Hamiter, these matches will serve as preparation for the Sitting Volleyball World Championships in 2014.
Team USA will be available after each match to meet with fans and sign autographs.
All exhibition matches are free and open to the public. -
Impact-making Graves inks with OBU
When a basketball team goes 80-3 over the years a player was there, that athlete has made a profound impact on that particular program.
Not only did she/he leave a legacy athletically to have that type of success in Class 6A, but left a mark in a leadership capacity as well.
Cameerah Graves, Edmond Santa Fe’s standout guard who led 6A in assists her senior season with 129, signed a letter of intent with Oklahoma Baptist University last week. - More Sports Headlines
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