For some, the confusing Oklahoma football season of 2021 became more apparent in the afternoon of November 28th. That was the day Lincoln Riley left the Sooners for Southern California.
Oklahoma, which was number two in the Associated Press poll before the season, never found its high gear. The Sooners, in their honor, maneuvered to a 9-0 start, but only with a series of close calls: 40-35 over Tulane, 23-16 over Nebraska, 37-31 in Kansas State, 55-48 over Texas, 35- 23 in Kansas after falling behind in the fourth quarter.
Soon enough, the narrow victories were replaced by narrow (or less narrow) defeats: 27-14 at Baylor, 37-33 at OSU.
During the season, some wondered what was wrong. After Riley drove it to Los Angeles, some say they know what was wrong.
A distracted coaching staff.
And Chris Low’s recent espn.com story about Spencer Rattler, who moved from Oklahoma to South Carolina, adds credibility to the theories.
Tight-end Austin Stogner, who moved to South Carolina with Rattler, especially acknowledged the uncertainty. Do you remember Bedlam Week with all the Louisiana State rumors about Riley?
“It was weird, all the LSU rumors, and coach Riley never addressed them,” Stogner told Low. “It became a distraction for the last match.
“But there was nothing about USC before we all went to the meeting. He kept it a secret. It’s hard to believe it all happened in 12 hours, as he said.”
Well, of course it did not happen in 12 hours. We are not a bunch of imbeciles.
But Stogner has a valid point. The idea that players are immune to rumors and speculation? It’s silly.
Some players may not care what their coach does. I can believe that. But pretty much all players are aware of the rumor mills powered by social media.
I do not know what distractions look like. I do not know how it affects a football training or even a football match. I do not know for sure do affect a team.
But as I have written, a friend who was considering a major career move told me that such a decision consumed many of his waking minutes. Why would it not be the same for a football coach?
Heck, the Sooners deserve credit for creating an 11-2 season. All the close matches. A trainer with lipstick on the collar. A quarterback switch that football has rarely seen where the established, Rattler, steps out of the Heisman Trophy candidacy, and novice Caleb Williams steps in.
The Bronx Zoo Yankees had a bit on the 2021 Sooners.
No reason Rattler should have been a happy camper. And he clearly was not.
Low reported that Rattler spoke cautiously, but called the environment “toxic” and said, “It’s going to be a story for later. I don’t want to go in depth with it, but it was out of my control.
“All I can tell you is that we were undefeated at the time I was benched. We won one (Big 12) championship the year before and had to win another one. I could go on and on.
“We had a fantastic summer and as soon as the season started we had a competitive first pair of matches and did not play up to par. I just feel like we have not had enough time to tinker during the season. The triggers were drawn too fast, and because of that we lost two matches and did not win another championship. ”
It’s a revisionist story. Yes, Oklahoma was undefeated (6-0) when Williams was handed the starting reins. But Oklahoma was undefeated because Riley pulled Rattler in the Texas game, and the rookie collected the Sooners from a 28-7 deficit to beat the Longhorns.
No one but the residents of Rattlerville think Riley was quick on the trigger.
Rattler was bubbling noticeably in September by fans, then came the coaching drama and it became a completely crazy season.
“Either way, it was time for both of us to go, even though (Riley) would have stayed,” Stogner said. “And through it all, I do not know how Spencer could have handled things better. He was there every day to get better and competed in practice. It’s funny how a 21-year-old handles it much better than some of the fans out there. on Twitter handles losses. ”
This is nothing new. Lots of fans have never handled losses well and social media allows them to show their immaturity.
But the fans are not always wrong. Sometimes they notice a problem, and something was definitely wrong in Norman last fall.
Berry Tramel can be contacted at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com.
