Karsceal Turner – I Got NEXT!
I waited as long as I could before composing this piece. The majority, if not all my readers know that I hail from the great state of Oklahoma. It’s a good thing I didn’t write it after the game Monday night because the column would be riddled with enough Anglo-Saxon words to make my Uncle, the Reverend blush…or not, since he too is an Oklahoma Sooners fan. A fellow colleague asked me to remain objective. I’ll certainly try.
Here’s the skinny, the Oklahoma Sooners (8-5) were bashed by the 17th ranked Clemson Tigers in the Russell Athletic Bowl by a score of 40-6. Five turnovers certainly helped the Tigers’ cause. The Sooners were scoreless until the final seven minutes of the action. This was the first time I’ve been blessed (or cursed) to cover a game for my home-town team. I have been a Florida resident 23 out of 43 years on Terra….by way of the “Sooner State”, but don’t you ever get it twisted.
Before the peanut gallery starts with the jokes, let me ask you if YOUR team even rated a Bowl game? There were 39 bowls and 78 teams whom represented their respected conferences. This list is located at: http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/schedules/bowls I didn’t feel like taking up space by listing it. The question is, is your team one of the 78 and did they win? If not, have a cup of tea, sit down and shut it up.
Oh, and before my Floridian people start with their jokes, the “Sunshine State” offered two ACC teams this year in Florida and Florida State. The Big 12 offered six. This isn’t a conference competition, I’m simply stating some current facts. BTW, Seminoles fans, you’ll recall how the Sooners bashed FSU (ACC) for the 2001 championship…yes? Last year, they handled Alabama (SEC) in the Sugar Bowl in 2013. Now, since we can’t live in the past, let us move on shall we?
Piss-poor performance by the Sooners, Excellent execution from the Tigers
The 2014 Russell Athletic Bowl game was against an ACC opponent in Clemson (10-3) and it was not at all pretty. The feeling of being in the newly renovated Citrus Bowl amongst people clad in Crimson and Crème was almost overwhelming, especially since I never had the opportunity to attend one growing up. Still, there was an abundance of Orange in the stadium since Clemson is about seven hours away compared to over 20 for OU, (I’ve traveled it). I loved seeing the “Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band” play the fight song- over and over and over. I soaked in the atmosphere, which is a far cry from what I’m used to when covering the Florida Classic, and then I went about the business of covering the game, after getting some choice pictures with the OU cheerleaders. I appreciated that nifty from Bowl officials too.
While cruising the sidelines and taking in the sights (check Instagram for to see my “selfies”), I felt right at home, the weather was great. However, my delight turned to disgust very quickly. After watching the Sooners turn the ball over twice in the first half, both times resulting in touchdowns for the Tigers, I retired to the Press Box to stuff my face and my sorrows in that great spread. I was like ‘man are they serious with this?’ It was written on my face as I sat in the press box with a “Sooner Magic” Tee shirt on in the midst of a bunch of South Carolinians. Dammit, there was no magic for the Sooners that game although Clemson was a six and a half point underdog. Clemson quarterback Cole Stoudt threw for three touchdowns and ran for another.
The Tigers, which came in ranked No. 1 in the nation in total defense, held the Sooners’ offense to just 275 yards. Clemson was efficient in all phases but also was the beneficiary of three early Sooners turnovers in building a 27-0 halftime lead. A 47-yard interception return for a touchdown by Ben Boulware was part of a 17-point first quarter. It was over then Clemson took that 17-0 lead after one quarter, with the defense contributing that ugly 47-yard INT return for a score.
Most of the Oklahoma section of the announced crowd of 40,071 bounced after halftime to return to their respective hotels. I recall saying to a few “we’ll be back”. After the travesty ended, I was the first media person on the shuttle back to the Rosen Plaza Hotel. It was a long, long ride. Thus ends my football coverage for 2014, on to hoops action, the name of the column is I Got NEXT!
