Sooners DE Birdine fires first shot, calls USC 'average'
Dec. 21, 2004
SportsLine.com wire reports
Not sure how much of an effect this wiill have on the game but definitely bulllentin board material. I believe the key to the game will come down to the offensive lines that is where OU had problems last year and from what I have been hearing after watching alot of film on USC the def front 7 is salivating at the thought of facing USC off line. In a surprising statement Bob Stoops himself said " USC has never seen a team like us" It's hard to believe that OU is not favored in this game. I believe the points are the wrong side and apparently the players of OU believe the same.
If anyone has heard any responses from USC I would love to see them posted. Thanks.
NORMAN, Okla. -- Get the bulletin board ready: Oklahoma defensive end Larry Birdine thinks Southern California's offense is "average."
Birdine made that known Tuesday in a series of statements that showed he wasn't all that impressed with the offense the No. 1 Trojans will bring to the Orange Bowl to face the Sooners on Jan. 4.
"I feel like they're, I'd say, a one-and-a-half-man team," Birdine said. "I want to respect them just because I have to play them, but then I watch them on tape and everything, and I realize that they're an average team."
Birdine repeatedly praised Reggie Bush, the Trojans' All-American all-purpose player who returns punts, lines up as a tailback and wide receiver, and finished fifth in the Heisman voting.
But Birdine had little positive to say about Bush's teammates on offense, particularly quarterback Matt Leinart.
"Besides Reggie Bush -- he's a great athlete, he's a fast back, he makes plays or whatever -- but nobody else stands out to me," Birdine said.
"Matt Leinart, he's the Heisman Trophy winner, but he hasn't been driving them -- or he hasn't been winning games. Up 'til the last four or five games, Reggie Bush has been their difference-maker.
"We feel like if we take Reggie out of the game, we're gonna win."
Birdine doesn't think Leinart should have won the Heisman -- and that's not just because he was rooting for OU teammates Adrian Peterson and Jason White, who finished second and third.
"If anybody should have won it from USC, it should have been Reggie Bush," Birdine said. "I don't think that (Leinart) was the best quarterback. (Utah's) Alex Smith -- he was better than Matt Leinart. I don't think Matt Leinart should have won."
Birdine later added: "He's definitely overrated. Like I said, he's a good quarterback, but he's not a Heisman-winning quarterback."
Birdine said he realized he could be providing USC with motivational material and said his opinions didn't necessarily reflect the mind-set of the team.
"I don't know if that's the mood in the locker room," Birdine said. "I ask some guys and they say, 'They're good.' I haven't seen them on defense, but if our offense don't turn the ball over and their offense can't score, then I believe we're going to win the game."
Dec. 21, 2004
SportsLine.com wire reports
Not sure how much of an effect this wiill have on the game but definitely bulllentin board material. I believe the key to the game will come down to the offensive lines that is where OU had problems last year and from what I have been hearing after watching alot of film on USC the def front 7 is salivating at the thought of facing USC off line. In a surprising statement Bob Stoops himself said " USC has never seen a team like us" It's hard to believe that OU is not favored in this game. I believe the points are the wrong side and apparently the players of OU believe the same.
If anyone has heard any responses from USC I would love to see them posted. Thanks.
NORMAN, Okla. -- Get the bulletin board ready: Oklahoma defensive end Larry Birdine thinks Southern California's offense is "average."
Birdine made that known Tuesday in a series of statements that showed he wasn't all that impressed with the offense the No. 1 Trojans will bring to the Orange Bowl to face the Sooners on Jan. 4.
"I feel like they're, I'd say, a one-and-a-half-man team," Birdine said. "I want to respect them just because I have to play them, but then I watch them on tape and everything, and I realize that they're an average team."
Birdine repeatedly praised Reggie Bush, the Trojans' All-American all-purpose player who returns punts, lines up as a tailback and wide receiver, and finished fifth in the Heisman voting.
But Birdine had little positive to say about Bush's teammates on offense, particularly quarterback Matt Leinart.
"Besides Reggie Bush -- he's a great athlete, he's a fast back, he makes plays or whatever -- but nobody else stands out to me," Birdine said.
"Matt Leinart, he's the Heisman Trophy winner, but he hasn't been driving them -- or he hasn't been winning games. Up 'til the last four or five games, Reggie Bush has been their difference-maker.
"We feel like if we take Reggie out of the game, we're gonna win."
Birdine doesn't think Leinart should have won the Heisman -- and that's not just because he was rooting for OU teammates Adrian Peterson and Jason White, who finished second and third.
"If anybody should have won it from USC, it should have been Reggie Bush," Birdine said. "I don't think that (Leinart) was the best quarterback. (Utah's) Alex Smith -- he was better than Matt Leinart. I don't think Matt Leinart should have won."
Birdine later added: "He's definitely overrated. Like I said, he's a good quarterback, but he's not a Heisman-winning quarterback."
Birdine said he realized he could be providing USC with motivational material and said his opinions didn't necessarily reflect the mind-set of the team.
"I don't know if that's the mood in the locker room," Birdine said. "I ask some guys and they say, 'They're good.' I haven't seen them on defense, but if our offense don't turn the ball over and their offense can't score, then I believe we're going to win the game."
