Former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops has been making some very unpopular decisions as of late.
It started when he picked Oklahoma State to beat Oklahoma, which would eliminate the Sooners from the Big 12 title game. A pick that turned out to be correct, as the Cowboys bested the Sooners 37-33 and have a chance to make it to the College Football Playoff with a win over Baylor in the Big 12 Championship.
His picking of Oklahoma State was not the only the only thing that seemed out of the ordinary, as he was actually complimentary of Texas after their win over Kansas State. A win that ended a historically long losing streak for the program at six games.
Stoops spoke highly of the struggling team on Fox Sports’ postgame show on Friday after the victory.
I’m glad to see them win,” Stoops explained. “I know you guys don’t believe me. I do mean it, believe me. Their defense didn’t surrender a point in the second half. That’s been a big issue for them. They scored in the second half. That’s been an issue as well. They played a good, solid game in the second half that they haven’t in the previous six games. Now all of that being said, they’re still 5-7. They still had a six-game losing streak, so it didn’t all go away today beating a seven-win K-State team.”
Whether he was actually glad only he knows, but there were some bright spots in the game for Texas, who badly needed a win to stop the ship from sinking. Now that their season is over, Texas’ coaching staff needs to recruit as hard as possible in order to take a leap next year. Whether it is getting talent from the portal or the high school ranks, the roster needs a full rebuild.
Sarkisian is accounting for around 33 new new scholarship players, and for his tenure to go well, he will need a majority of them to contribute. If he does not get players that are able to contribute immediately, morale victories from people like Bob Stoops will start to turn into people calling for his job.