Did Coach Stoops Open Up the Can of Quit?

Coach Bob Stoops: Men, we are trailing 36-27 with a little more than 2:24 left in the game.  I know we have owned Missouri in the past, but I am not sure if we can pick up this 4th down and 10, from our own 7 yard line.  We are going to punt the football even though every instinct in me says to give you all a shot at converting this 1st down and hopefully winning this football game. 

Team:  Um, Coach?  We have never quit on anything related to a football game in our lives, much less here at OU. Why do you want to punt here?  Come on Coach!

Coach Bob Stoops:  Men, I know you do not understand, but I need you to trust me.  It is not that I do not have faith in your abilities, but if we do not get this first down and Missouri scores, we will lose by 16 points and the result will make this loss appear worse than it actually will be. 

Team:  So, you really want us to quit coach?  You honestly do not believe we can pull this one out?  All we need is a field goal and a touchdown.  With our offense, we have a shot!  Plus, we have plenty of time! 

Coach Bob Stoops:  Men, all of you are warriors.  To try and win this battle may actually cause us to lose the war. 

Welcome to the new era of "strategic quitting" in college football's BCS era.  Let me explain...


The BCS holds on ever so tightly to this fraudulent veil of the regular season and how "Every Game Matters."  Oh really?  The above parody on this past weekend's contest between Mizzou and OU did not get played out on the sideline as I referenced here.  However, the spirit of "working the system" that is in place to determine who plays for college football's national championship was the driving force behind Coach Stoops' decision to basically have his team quit in a conference game that they could have possibly won.  Sure, the odds were against them.  However, were a true playoff format in place for college football, that tactical decision never becomes a reality and OU actually plays the final 2:24 of the game in competitive fashion.

Stoops' bet is a simple one:  He knows Alabama has one loss and that loss was by 14 points, on the road, to a conference foe in South Carolina that just lost to lowly Kentucky, thus turning that blemish possibly into a raging North Star pimple on the nose of the Alabama Crimson Tide.  Stoops is preparing for the politicking, which may be necessary to reach the BCS National Championship Game, that has taken over college football most seasons.  "Our loss was not as bad as your loss and here is why."  Sadly, this may become the new norm and reality for college football until sensibility, fairness, and transparency returns one day in the future.  When this occurs, Coach Stoops can actually do what all of Sooner Nation wanted him to do when he finds himself in this same situation again:  try and win the damn game, coach.