OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford’s season, and perhaps even his career, at Oklahoma might be finished after he re-injured his throwing shoulder.
Still, coach Bob Stoops isn’t ready to give up on a season in which the Sooners’ goal of a national title has vanished. Even a Big 12 championship is a long shot now.
“It’s a little early for that, but in the end it’s been a different year. We haven’t had a lot of these, and there’s no denying we’ve had a lot to overcome,” Stoops said. “Not only can you talk about injuries, but when they’re to the guys that they were, that’s the hard part.
“But it doesn’t matter. We’ve got a season to play and we’re not far off. That’s been obvious. Even with what’s happened, we’ve fought hard in these games and we just need to be a little bit better.”
No. 3 Texas, also missed the majority of the Sooners’ one-point loss at Miami with a hairline fracture in his left shoulder blade.
Stoops said Sunday that the team didn’t expect any update on Bradford’s status until at least Thursday.
“Our team is not about making excuses,” defensive captain Gerald McCoy said. “When somebody goes down, that’s why we have good players to step in. We played well all the way through. It’s just sometimes we don’t come out on top.”
Stoops said all is not lost for the Sooners, who are seeking their fourth straight Big 12 championship. Two of the last three years, Oklahoma has overcome a loss to Texas in the Red River Rivalry and still won the league title. It’ll be more difficult this year than last year, when the Sooners won a three-way tiebreak over the Longhorns and Texas Tech based on the BCS standings.
The Longhorns would almost certainly have to lose two of their five remaining conference games to open the door for the Sooners.
“This is my 11th year here and for whatever number of years between us, the person who’s won this game hasn’t been the one in the Big 12 championship game,” Stoops said. “Obviously, it’s made it more difficult for us and the situation we’re in, but in the end, it’s a long season. You never know what could happen.”
ke a new approach with players to keep them working hard.
“When you’re not (winning), you’ve got to instill confidence and obviously you’ve got to put the facts in front of them – what they are, why we’re at the point where we are,” Venables said. “Obviously, I think we’ve got enough smart, strong-minded guys that they recognize that we’re still a very good team, that we’re a few plays away from being in a much better position.”
Should players get discouraged by their goals falling by the wayside, Oklahoma’s schedule could take its toll. The Sooners play three of their next five games on the road, starting this Saturday at No. 24 Kansas. Trips to Nebraska, which fell out of the rankings this week, and No. 21 Texas Tech also loom.
Bradford, meanwhile, planned to visit with doctors and his family while assessing his future. He passed up the chance to enter the NFL draft early this year to instead pursue a national championship with the Sooners, who he grew up rooting for.
After getting hurt just two drives into the Texas game, the questions surfaced about whether Bradford tried to come back too soon. Stoops pointed out Bradford had a strong week of practice and even his longest throw in warmups looked pretty.
“That’s fair to say, though,” Stoops said. “I’m not sitting here complaining because he’s hurt again. In the end, we were going with good information from doctors. He understood the entire situation.
“Sam’s a bright, bright young guy. He knows what he wants. Unfortunately, it just hasn’t worked out very well.”
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