Is it possible to look at an 11-win season that includes a Big 12 Conference championship as a disappointment? That’s the question Oklahoma will ponder in the offseason.

Few were in the mood following Wednesday’s 48-28 loss to West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl.

“You just have to move on to the next season,” linebacker Curtis Lofton said.

It’s likely that the answer will be yes. Because there’s a strong belief that the 2007 Sooners will be remembered for what they didn’t accomplish rather than what they did. That’s what happens when a team doesn’t reach its full potential.

Highs and lows

The highs started with the emergence of quarterback Sam Bradford in September. OU had an offense full of veteran players. The only question was who would run it.

By season’s end, he put together the best campaign of any freshman quarterback in NCAA history. He set the freshman record for touchdown passes with 36 and led the country in passing efficiency at 176.5.

“The guy is so young and he has so much more that he’s going to get better at that he’s going to be incredibly special,” OU coach Bob Stoops said.

For a position that was supposed to be a question mark, OU answered it quickly and began racing up the poles throughout September. Lopsided wins over North Texas, Miami, Utah State and Tulsa shot the Sooners up to No. 3 in the national polls.

Talks of a national championship season broke out before Big 12 play began and were well warranted.

Offensively, it was an incredible season for OU. It scored more touchdowns than any team in the program’s rich history (80) and came close to establishing the mark for points in a season (592).

But OU found out as Big 12 play began that as Bradford went so did the rest of the team. He faced his first adversity in the conference opener at Colorado and it led to a stunning 27-24 loss.

Bradford averaged three touchdown passes in OU’s 11 wins and one in the Sooners’ three losses. Still, the Sooners righted the ship and beat Texas and assume control of the Big 12 South.

They were able to keep control of it despite a late-season loss at Texas Tech that was set in motion by Bradford suffering a concussion on OU’s first offensive snap.