ESPN.com - Could 'Big Game Bob' be reborn tonight?

ESPN.com: Oklahoma Sooners

Friday, January 4, 2013
Could 'Big Game Bob' be reborn tonight?

By David Ubben

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Bob Stoops earned the name in his first few years as the head Sooner, when it seemed like Oklahoma kept racking up wins when they truly mattered.

In recent years, that name has taken a hit, but tonight, we might see another chapter written. Oklahoma is certainly good enough to win this game, but Stoops' biggest complaint over the years is that when he wins "big" games, they're suddenly not so big in retrospect.

He's got a point, but that won't be a problem tonight. He's got a huge stage and a packed house and two teams in the top 11. He's facing one of the nation's hottest teams with the uncontested hottest player in the country. With a win, he would earn a whole lot of respect from his Big 12 brethren for knocking Big 12 expat Texas A&M off its perch after a strong first season in the SEC.

Stoops is 11-2 against the Aggies, and defensive coordinator Mike Stoops has had a month (and a lot of great athletes) to prepare to try and stop Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel.

There's no debating this one: Tonight is a big game. Texas and Oklahoma State are rivalry games, but they combined for just 15 regular-season wins. Oklahoma's other truly big games this year came at home, and the Sooners lost them both.

If Stoops' Sooners can break that trend tonight, you can expect a very different attitude surrounding the program heading into 2013.

Stay tuned. I'll be tweeting along in-game commentary once kickoff nears alongside SoonerNation's Jake Trotter and ESPN Dallas' Richard Durrett, so follow along. Enjoy the game, and we'll have plenty of coverage on the blog and on Twitter throughout the night.