Alright, so West Virginia’s 48-28 dismantling of Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl provided a perfect example that most of the so-called “experts” don’t always know what they’re talking about. I’m certainly nowhere near expert-status, but I must admit that I thought Oklahoma would roll all over West Virginia Wednesday night, too. Unless you were a Mountaineer fan, why wouldn’t you think the Sooners would roll?
Let’s run over the check list:
1. Big 12 school playing a Big East school.
2. Some pundits believed that Oklahoma was the best team in the country, regardless of where they were ranked.
3. Some (or is it, most?) pundits believed that West Virginia was a fraud and should have never been ranked in the top 10.
4. West Virginia ran a gimmicky offense that certainly couldn’t move the ball against the big, fast, powerful Oklahoma defense.
5. West Virginia didn’t even have a coach.
Okay, so Oklahoma wins by 45 points, right? Wrong. Never underestimate a team with something to prove and that feels betrayed (not too mention, united) because their head coach left them high and dry after their biggest loss of the season. The supposed difference in conferences, speed and everything else flies out the window at kickoff. In the end, you still have to play the game.
By the way, if Oklahoma gets an invite to the Fiesta Bowl next year, they should just decline it and move on. Even if it means playing in the Tampax.com Bowl against Rice, it’s still better than being embarrassed on a national stage for a third year in a row.
