Out of yesterdays paper...................................................................OU coach offers no excuses
DAVE SITTLER World Sports Writer
01/23/2004
Tulsa World
The no-excuse policy Bob Stoops established in his postgame press conference after Oklahoma's 21-14 loss to Louisiana State in the Sugar Bowl remains in effect nearly three weeks after the Sooners lost the national championship game to the Tigers.
But OU's football coach did reveal Thursday that Heisman Trophy winning quarterback JASON WHITE entered the Jan. 4 game in New Orleans with an injury to his throwing hand and sustained a broken toe during the loss in the Bowl Championship Series game at the Superdome.
Stoops also adamantly defended both his quarterback and his decision not to make a change at the position during the game even though White had his worst outing of the season.
In a telephone interview from the airport in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where he was catching a flight to Dallas, Stoops said the right-handed White sustained a sprain in that hand in No. 1-ranked and unbeaten OU's 35-7 upset loss to No. 13 Kansas State in the Big 12 Conference championship game in Kansas City, Mo., on Dec. 6.
White, who became the 69th Heisman winner after throwing 40 touchdown passes and just eight interceptions during the regular season, struggled in both the Big 12 and national title games.
White completed 27-of-50 passes for 294 yards, two interceptions and no touchdowns against K-State. LSU held the Sooner senior to just 13 completions in 37 attempts for 102 yards and no touchdowns, while returning one of two interceptions for a touchdown.
Stoops confirmed that White has had the injured hand in a cast for the past two weeks. He also said that his quarterback has his left foot in a cast to protect his broken big toe and recently underwent surgery to remove some scar tissue from his right knee.
Asked if the sprained hand affected White's performance against LSU, Stoops said: "I'm not going to say that, because everyone (critics) will say, 'Well, there's his excuse.' "
"Jason hasn't said a word (of excuse) about it and we haven't. Obviously, (his hand) is in a cast, so it wasn't great. It's a sprain in his hand that he's had since the Big 12 championship. But the kid is tough and he fought his butt off, regardless."
DAVE SITTLER World Sports Writer
01/23/2004
Tulsa World
The no-excuse policy Bob Stoops established in his postgame press conference after Oklahoma's 21-14 loss to Louisiana State in the Sugar Bowl remains in effect nearly three weeks after the Sooners lost the national championship game to the Tigers.
But OU's football coach did reveal Thursday that Heisman Trophy winning quarterback JASON WHITE entered the Jan. 4 game in New Orleans with an injury to his throwing hand and sustained a broken toe during the loss in the Bowl Championship Series game at the Superdome.
Stoops also adamantly defended both his quarterback and his decision not to make a change at the position during the game even though White had his worst outing of the season.
In a telephone interview from the airport in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where he was catching a flight to Dallas, Stoops said the right-handed White sustained a sprain in that hand in No. 1-ranked and unbeaten OU's 35-7 upset loss to No. 13 Kansas State in the Big 12 Conference championship game in Kansas City, Mo., on Dec. 6.
White, who became the 69th Heisman winner after throwing 40 touchdown passes and just eight interceptions during the regular season, struggled in both the Big 12 and national title games.
White completed 27-of-50 passes for 294 yards, two interceptions and no touchdowns against K-State. LSU held the Sooner senior to just 13 completions in 37 attempts for 102 yards and no touchdowns, while returning one of two interceptions for a touchdown.
Stoops confirmed that White has had the injured hand in a cast for the past two weeks. He also said that his quarterback has his left foot in a cast to protect his broken big toe and recently underwent surgery to remove some scar tissue from his right knee.
Asked if the sprained hand affected White's performance against LSU, Stoops said: "I'm not going to say that, because everyone (critics) will say, 'Well, there's his excuse.' "
"Jason hasn't said a word (of excuse) about it and we haven't. Obviously, (his hand) is in a cast, so it wasn't great. It's a sprain in his hand that he's had since the Big 12 championship. But the kid is tough and he fought his butt off, regardless."
