Big 12 Sports Blog by Big 12 Fans

Pat White and West Virginia’s offense was just too much for a depleted Oklahoma defense last night as the Mountaineers trounced the Sooners 48-28 in the Fiesta Bowl. 

Oklahoma was missing starters Reggie Smith (injury), Lendy Holmes (academic ineligibility), and DeMarcus Granger (sent home for shoplifting), and the Mountaineers capitalized, rushing for 349 yards and totaling 525 yards. 

It was the Sooners’ fourth straight loss in a BCS bowl game.  There was one bright spot in the loss, however, in junior wide receiver Quentin Chaney, who came into the game with only five catches for 56 yards and one touchdown on the season, but caught four passes for 129 yards and a touchdown last night. 

Tonight, 11-1 Kansas looks to cap their storybook season with a happy ending as they take on ACC champion Virginia Tech (11-2) in the Orange Bowl. 

It’s a two-score game yet again, as Oklahoma quickly drove down the field, with Bradford hooking up with Iglesias on a 15-yard score to close the deficit again.

It’s now 41-28 West Virginia with 10 minutes to play. A quick stop for the Sooners is a must.

Just as I say that, the Mountaineers may have just sealed the win, as Devine goes 65 yards for a score.

It’s 48-28 with nine minutes to play, and OU is now in need of a minor miracle, or to at least come up with a couple of quick-strike scores of their own, along with a turnover or two..

As quickly as Oklahoma got themselves back in the game, they may have lost it.

After the questionable onside kick call that backfired, and the resulting touchdown by West Virginia, a penalty on the kickoff gave the Sooners bad field position, and after a three-and-out, the Mountaineers needed only three plays to get into the end zone, with receiver Darius Reynaud scoring on a 30-yard run.

34-15 Mountaineers at the end of the third. The Sooners aren‘t going to lay down though, as Juaquin Iglesias just returned the kickoff near midfield, and the Sooners are already inside the West Virginia 30 after a pass interference penalty.

Oklahoma got off to a slow start, falling behind 20-6 at halftime to West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl, but it looks like the Bob Stoops lit a fire under his guys in the locker room, as they’ve stopped the Mountaineers on two straight possessions coming out of the locker room, and trimmed the deficit to 20-9 with a Garrett Hartley field goal on their first offensive possession.

The Sooners were down 28-10 in the third quarter against Boise State in last season’s Fiesta Bowl, and came back to take a 35-28 lead before losing 43-42 in overtime, so there’s plenty of time and plenty of fight left in OU.

They’re moving the ball yet again, and are already at the West Virginia 15. Make that the 1-yard line after Chris Brown just broke off a 14-yard run, and now they’re into the end zone as Brown finished off the drive by getting in from one yard out to make it 20-15 with 6:27 to go in the third.

Oklahoma went for the two-point conversion and didn’t get it, but they’ve quickly tightened this one up. The onus is now on the Mountaineers to get something going on offense, and for the defense to start getting to Sam Bradford like they did in the first half, when they sacked him three times.

That blocked field goal at the end of the first half, when WVU could’ve gone up 23-6, was a real momentum swinger, because it put a good capper on a subpar first half on both sides of the ball.

OU just gave back all the momentum they’d gotten by attempting an onside kick that West Virginia recovered, and with the short field, the Mountaineers fully capitalized, as freshman running back Noel Devine went 17 yards for a touchdown, and it’s 27-15 West Virginia with 3:40 to go in the third.

Time for the Sooners to respond.

The Oklahoma Sooners would like to wash away the memory of their early 2007 BCS Bowl game, a 1-point OT loss to Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. With another Fiesta Bowl berth on January 2, 2008, the Sooners will have that chance as #4 Oklahoma faces #9 West Virginia. The College Sports Fans Fiesta Bowl preview has al of the info you need to be ready for this fantastic match-up of two teams who were in contention for the National Championship all season.

This week could have been one of great celebration for Missouri. But, on the way to the national championship game, Oklahoma happened. And, instead of playing Ohio St. for the national title, the Tigers will have to settle for the Cotton Bowl (which isn’t too shabby, but come on, national championship or Cotton Bowl? No contest!), while seeing their fiercest rival - who they beat the previous week - play in a BCS bowl.

After Oklahoma’s 38-17 win over Missouri in the Big 12 title game, you could say order was restored after Mizzoui and Kansas dominated headlines recently, and rose past the Sooners in the national polls. But, even though OU wasn’t a national title contender anymore, they certainly played spoiler to Missouri’s hopes, and got a BCS berth out of it.

Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas are three of the eight Big 12 members to be playing in the postseason. OU will look to reverse last year’s disappointment in the desert when they play Big East champ West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2. Kansas, a BCS first-timer, will take on ACC champ Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl the next day. As for their unhappy rivals, they’ll have to find a way to slow down Darren McFadden as they tangle with Arkansas on New Years’ Day.

As for the other matchups…

Gator Bowl (Jan. 1): Virginia (9-3) vs. Texas Tech (8-4)
Insight (Dec. 31): Oklahoma St. (6-6) vs. Indiana (7-5)
Independence (Dec. 30): Colorado (6-6) vs. Alabama (6-6)
Alamo (Dec. 29): Penn St. (8-4) vs. Texas A&M (7-5)
Holiday (Dec. 27): Arizona St. (10-2) vs. Texas (9-3)

There are a lot of intriguing matchups in the mix - Arkansas-Missouri because of the regional implications, Arizona St. and Texas because the Holiday Bowl is always a treat, and promises to be again, with two excellent offensive teams on display - I’ve always thought that the game could be on a different day, but with it being the only bowl game on the 27th, it’s got the spotlight to itself, which it deserves), and Penn St. and Texas A&M because of the two big names looking to finish disappointing seasons on a high note.

The regular season may be over, but the season is far from it. So, superglue yourself to your sofa, load up on the Tostitos and your favorite beverages, put the pizza places on speed dial, and get ready for a bowl seasons that, if it’s anything like the regular season was, will be worth watching all the way through.