Stoops won it all coaching under Steve Spurrier at Florida. He came to Norman and two seasons later claimed the program’s seventh national championship.

“Yeah, initially I thought they were pretty easy,” he said to laughs at Wednesday morning’s press conference. “And then you lose one and you realize they’re not that easy.”

Only now he’s lost two of them and back-to-back Fiesta Bowls, even as a heavy favorite over Boise State and West Virginia.

Now this.

This question also made the rounds.

Tonight’s winner becomes the first head coach to claim two BCS national championships. What would that mean?

“Well, nothing,” Stoops said, “unless we’re the one that wins it.”

Wrong.

Winning will mean plenty. Should it happen, it will feel like everything. National championships don’t grow on trees and it would be the Sooners’ eighth.

But losing will hurt so much more.

The price of greatness is high when all it yields is second place. It’s still higher when you keep returning to the same place only to fail. It’s still higher when you’re once again looked upon as the not-so-great pretender.

OU needs to win this game.

Clay Horning

366-3526

cfhorning@normantranscript.com