Bigger game for OU than you might think

The season really begins Saturday for fourth-ranked Oklahoma.

Sure, the Sooners looked sharp for a half during their walk over Chattangooga last week. But the Bearcats (1-0) are a much better team than OU fans might think and at first glance certainly better than the 3-touchdown spread the books have posted.

At his press confernce this week, Cincy coach Brian Kelly pumped the Sooners, but also expressed confidence in the team he's bringing to Norman for the ABC-featured kickoff (2:30 p.m.).

"This is fun," Kelly said. "This is what you do this for. You want to coach a team to go to Oklahoma. You want to go into that environment. It doesn't get any better than that.

"I like the talent that we have on defense (9 seniors). I'm not scared. I'm excited about putting the guys that we have on the field against Oklahoma and letting us go after it and see what happens.

"We have to play well," he said. "We know that. But we've got a great opportunity that we want to take advantage of. We're going to put a lot of veterans on the field. We're not going in there with a team that's inexperienced and has never been in this environment before. I like our chances."

Sounds like he's either trying to boost his team's confidence with those kinds of public comments--rather than poormouthing--or he really believes what he's saying. Bet on the latter.

But the fact that Cincinnati is a worthy opponent hasn't escaped notice in Norman. Quarterback Sam Bradford noted Tuesday that the Sooners had an especially spirited practice to open game week.

"There was a lot of intensity," Bradford said. "We know this is a big game. It's something we've talked about all summer.

"We've known they're coming in here. We've known they've had us marked on their calendars for quite a while now. So we know this is a very big game for them, and it's also a very big game for us."--Mike Jones.

Comments

[NDNMick]

The past few seasons the Sooners have proven time and time again that they can loose focus and end-up in the L-column.OU needs to keep in mind that they are somewhat(SOMEWHAT)like the Dallas Cowboys as far as how other teams view them..regardless if they(OU)are ranked in the Top 5,Top 25 or not even ranked a WIN against OU has opposing teams licking their chops waiting to get after them so much that it really dosent matter which confrence they rep. every game is bigger than the last for the Sooners if they want a shot at the Big 12 Title or the (Myth)BCS Championship.OU fans can either be humble or talk all the smack they want but it means little because all that matters is how Bob Stoops keeps his players FOCUSED through-out the season. Every Game is Bigger than the last for the 2008 OU Sooners.

GO SOONERS!!