I almost asked Bob Stoops when he decided to throw Sooner fans under the bus. Instead, I asked him why he thought they were so quiet.

“That’s enough of this stuff,” he said.

Like we were egging him on.

He said some of the same stuff Monday but I guess you had to be there. Stoops apparently thought so because he raised the ante one question after another until I jumped in and he decided to shut it down.

He said he really hoped “our people will take an interest in not just cheering when we’re going into the end zone, but actively cheering and making noise when they’re trying to communicate and hopefully take away something they’re trying to do.”

Asked about the difference between Florida and Oklahoma crowds, he said “they’re much more vocal and interactive in influencing the game … and loud even before you make a big play.”

Then he was asked if a Sooner crowd had ever really been “a 12th man” and couldn’t come up with anything (“I’m sure there has been,” is what he said. “You guys have been at all the games”). Then he said other teams don’t have to use silent counts at Owen Field. Then he refused to answer my question.

Fair enough, but it’s not really the issue.

The issue is that it’s never been like this before.

Every game is big around here. Some are bigger than others. Some are still bigger. And some are Texas. This is the first time since Nebraska came to Norman in 2000, also after a Sooner off week, it feels bigger than Texas for something about to happen at Owen Field.

It’s so big you’ve got the home coach taking on the crowd like he used to take on Les Miles. It’s so big you’ve got ESPN Game Day on the way to campus, the television, radio and Internet editions. It’s so big the national title hangs in the balance for Texas Tech and maybe Oklahoma.

Two years ago, the last day of the regular season, OU had to beat Oklahoma State to have any shot at reaching the Big 12 championship game. The Sooners also needed Texas A&M to beat Texas. It happened.

Other times OU hasn’t needed the help, only to win. Those games are plenty big, too. Yet never before has everything seemingly been on the line for the Sooners, and still the opponent has more to lose. Because that’s where Texas Tech will be Saturday.

Tech appears to be in the driver’s seat. Tech needs only to win. Tech is where OU was last year in Lubbock, its path to the national championship game already clear. But all that means is the Red Raiders have farther to fall. Conceivably, the three-way tie scenario that would leave everything to the BCS formula, could give any one of the South’s big three the nod, but nobody believes it will be Tech.

A must win for both teams, the Sooners are hoping for what’s on the other side, but the Red Raiders already know. Not that any of that will matter to the 85,000 on hand Saturday night, though Stoops’ challenge probably will.