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Once a week we'll start sending our Subscriber Plus updates to our free
email list as well as our subscriber email list. The following is a Subscriber Plus update. National championship hopes ended well before loss to OSU by Al Eschbach You can mark down the date of Oct. 27 as the day Oklahoma lost its chance to repeat as national champions. That was the day OU had its winning streak broken by Nebraska. The loss to the Huskers wasn't what killed OU's hopes of repeating as national champions, it was the season ending injury to Jason White. Without White at quarterback, the Sooners had no chance. What happened to OU on Saturday against Oklahoma State shouldn't be that much of a surprise. This offense has stalled many times with Nate Hybl at quarterback. You need to look no further than the Texas game. OU doesn't win the Red River Shootout if White doesn't replace the injured Hybl. The offense was going absolutely no where against a bad Kansas defense the next week in Lawrence. White came in and once again showed he was a play maker. After White was hurt against the Cornhuskers, Hybl finished off the drive with a short touchdown pass. Following that play, OU failed to score a point against a suspect Nebraska defense. There were struggles in the first quarter against a horrendous Tulsa defense. The same could be said about Texas A&M and Texas Tech, Hybl never looked good in the early going in all of those games. Against Oklahoma State he looked nervous for four quarters. He was outplayed by a true freshman, Josh Fields. Sometimes when you lose you get a wakeup call. This offense struggled late last year. But when you win a national championship you don't think there is a problem. When you lose to a 3-and-7 Oklahoma State team, you know there's a problem. The Sooners have to find a way to be balanced. Zero yards rushing against that weak Oklahoma State defense is as embarrassing as it gets. This offense has to be retooled. You can't win championships if you can't pass the ball. And you certainly can't win them if you can't run. This year there was a quarterback controversy. Early in the year Hybl was given the job. That was a mistake. Maybe the only mistake Stoops has made in three years since he's been at OU. After the bowl game is over this year, the Sooners need to make it clear that White is the man next season. They also need to allow heralded freshman Brent Rawls to battle Hybl for the backup spot. And something an OU coach reminded me of this year about the offense. This unit never did have a lead. November 24 was one of the worst days in OU football history. But the reason the Sooners lost the game was because of what happened on Oct. 27. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------- So why aren't you a Sooners Illustrated subscriber? If you aren't already a subscriber and would like to receive a full year of the best Sooner coverage around, just call 800-467-6532 or sign up online at https://mocha.site-secure.net/saysports/soonersindex.htm . 17 slick issues and weekly email updates for only $44.90 a year.
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