Facing fourth-and-6 at its own 48, Stoops had OU fake a punt and darn if Mike Knall didn’t look like an old high school running back, but he came up a yard short and OU handed the ball over leading 28-27 3 minutes short of the fourth quarter.

Then, trailing 38-35, less than 7 minutes from the end and down to their last down at their own 46, the Sooners needed 2 yards to earn another four.

Knall entered the game. He punted.

Bad call.

Once, everything Stoops touched turned to gold.

Now, going back to an attempted onside kick against West Virginia at last season’s Fiesta Bowl, a decision every bit as ill-conceived in real time as in retrospect, in those moments a coach can roll the dice or play it safe, take the path more worn or the one less traveled, Stoops’ moment of truth has not only proven false, but wrong, too.

Trying to explain the fake punt, Stoops said he felt a chance to arrest momentum by maintaining possession and “you’re already without Ryan Reynolds.”

All true, but the Sooners still led and were in position to stick the Longhorns deep. Had they, Texas might have punted more than once the first 29 minutes of the second half. Instead, six plays later, Hunter Lawrence kicked a field goal and Texas led 30-28.

It only got worse.

If Stoops is excused for allowing Knall to relive his tailback days at Scottsdale’s Chaparral High, he can’t be 9 minutes later when all reason in the universe dictated OU’s chances of getting 2 yards on its next play and 52 more before running out of downs had to be better than keeping Texas from driving the field from any distance.

But Stoops’ choice was to put everything on an overworked and shorthanded defense he’d already given a vote of no-confidence to in the third quarter.

Did he think about going for it?

“Probably should have,” he said.

Had he, he would have given what was working for OU — Sam Bradford and the offense — a chance to write the story. Instead, this is the story.

It’s about a coach and a team that might still return to the Big 12 title game, maybe even a BCS title game, because stranger things have happened, even if a Mack Brown-coached underdog Texas team beating OU is plenty strange enough.