Late Night Rips on Stoops, Peterson and verbals

Stoops smart but lacking credibility

It's difficult to say much bad about Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, who has gone from highly-respected college assistant to one of the best head coaches in the game. A national championship on the resume really screams scoreboard for those on the other side of the fence.

However, his comments this week on the impact of running back Adrian Peterson's loss to injury seems as dishonest as necessary.

Yes, Stoops needs to accept the loss of one of the best backs, if not the best, in school history, but dismissing his absence as anything but major makes the Black and Gold shake its' head in disbelief.

In an article by Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post, the Sooners' boss says "No one here in our program feels it will hold us back."

What?

Didn't this Peterson dude run for 3,968 yards in an injury-plagued two-and-a-half seasons? It's not like the guy was Joe Ordinary. He was a dominant collegian. No matter who steps in, they aren't going to be Peterson.

Think CU is not breathing easier this week? Think OU is going to run for 200 yards plus on Saturday? Not saying the Sooners can't run the ball now and that they don't have talented players ready to be excellent players. But I am saying they aren't Peterson.

Colorado coach Dan Hawkins knows Oklahoma's backups can ball but trust me, he's sleeping a little better this week. Terribly unfortunate loss for the Sooners and extremely disappointing for Peterson, a future multi-millionaire, but the Buffs catch a break in a season of lacking them.

B.G. Brooks of the Rocky Mountain News also delves into this story, quoting Stoops as saying it's business as usual in Norman.

"There won't be a lot of change," he said. "Maybe some, but overall, not really.

"We like what we're doing and we like the way we're playing."

I admire Stoops self-assurance and commitment to his backups but man, he's overselling it. Hey, you know, Peterson was just like any other dude off the street. Yeah, he was alright and all, but nothing special, that's why we spent all those hours and money recruiting his average back end.

CU verbals remain steady

Colorado continues to get verbals from prep players nationwide, with Florida and California the latest two states showing up black and gold.

Local papers are reporting that the Buffs get the attention of Anthony Wright of Compton, Ca. and offensive lineman Mike Iltis out of Florida.

Look at the efforts on the road and one thing is standing out to me. CU is doing all it can to rebuild the offensive line. It also continues to stock big backs behind it. Throw in some quarterbacks for depth. What still needs to be addressed is help at wide receiver. No reason to doubt the coaching staff won't close some deals at that position.

Defensively, more pass-rushing help is needed.

Plati Mines Nuggets on CU-OU

Anyone who has ever had a copy of a CU media guide in his hand knows the depth of information that sports information director Dave Plati digs up and reveals. So how about something for this week's tilt with Oklahoma.

The winner in the series has scored 20 or more points 35 times in the last 36 games. That would sound like no risk money on the Sooners but the Buffs have shown the spark plugs have been replaced in their offense the last couple of weeks, maybe they can stay in the game.

Goes to show you

Dempsey also wrote a story on some coaches brought back from the dead. Missouri's Gary Pinkel and Texas A & M's Dennis Franchione, both all but buried are now flying high.

The interesting thing about this story is it reminds me of some coach down south a few years ago, sitting on the hot seat, when all of a sudden his team goes unbeaten. Next thing you know, he's considered cemented in his position at head coach.

Name...Tommy Tuberville of Auburn.

Point, amigos?

The winds change quickly, blowing different directions all the time and one has to ride out the inevitable hard times. Look at Bill Cowher of the Pittsburgh Steelers or Joe Paterno at Penn State. Both were have said to have lost it before the Steelers come back strong and eventually win a Super Bowl and before Paterno led the Nittany Lions to an outstanding season a year ago.