SOONERS MUST MAKE OLE MISS, SEC PAY FOR THE DISRESPECT

Greg Sankey can move the kickoff. He can tell Oklahoma when to show up. According to OU athletic director Roger Denny, he can even threaten the Sooners with a forfeit if they refuse.

What he cannot do is make Oklahoma roll over for Ole Miss.

That part is up to the Sooners.

And after the way this weekend has been handled, they ought to have something to say about it from the opening snap until the clock hits zero.

Go win the damn football game.

The SEC moved Oklahoma’s home game against Ole Miss to Sunday at noon Central after the Rebels’ travel plans were disrupted by Friday’s nationwide FAA ground stop. Denny said Oklahoma strongly objected and was told failing to play at the directed time would result in a forfeit. OU’s announcement

Think about who got put on the receiving end of that threat.

The school waiting at home. The team ready to play. The fans who bought their tickets, booked their rooms and arranged their weekends around a Saturday football game in Norman.

Ole Miss had the travel problem. Oklahoma got the ultimatum.

That is a hell of a way to treat a conference member.

Yes, the ground stop created real problems across the country. Nobody needs to pretend otherwise. But other programs were scrambling to find solutions, too. Auburn turned to buses. Games had their start times adjusted. The disruption was national; the burden of this particular solution landed squarely on Oklahoma and its fans. Associated Press

The league owes those people a better explanation than an order to be there Sunday.

Why couldn’t a later Saturday kickoff work? What alternatives were exhausted? Why was moving an entire home crowd’s weekend the acceptable answer?

Those are reasonable questions. Asking them does not mean Oklahoma fails to understand an emergency.

It means Oklahoma understands who is paying for the response.

For some fans, this was their one trip to Norman all season. They saved for it. They made arrangements at work. They planned to check out of a hotel Sunday morning and head home.

Now kickoff is arriving about the time they expected to be leaving.

Another hotel night costs money. Changing a flight costs money. Missing work has consequences. Some people simply cannot stay, no matter how badly they want to.

You cannot manufacture another day in somebody’s weekend by sending out a statement.

And you sure as hell should not treat their investment like an afterthought.

There is a football cost, too. Oklahoma now has one fewer day between this game and Texas A&M. Ole Miss also loses a day before its next game, but the Rebels are preparing for Wofford. Those are different assignments, regardless of how neatly the league can explain that both teams moved together. Ole Miss schedule

So, yes, I think Oklahoma has every right to be angry.

I also think some people are pointing that anger in the wrong direction.

I’m not blaming Denny for refusing to hand Ole Miss a win without making the Rebels earn it. He made Oklahoma’s objection public. He spelled out the threat. Calling the commissioner’s bluff might sound satisfying, but a forfeit gives the opponent exactly what it came for.

Make Ole Miss play for it.

Then make the Rebels regret getting another day to prepare.

And spare me the idea that the answer is to pack up and leave the SEC, RJ Young. I understand why people are saying it. I’m angry, too. But Oklahoma has championships to pursue, and I still believe competing in this conference puts the program in a position to build toward them.

That does not require chanting “SEC” or pretending the conference office always has Oklahoma’s interests at heart.

I root for Oklahoma. The league can handle its own public relations.

The Sooners need to handle their business.

That starts with refusing to turn a legitimate grievance into another explanation for a bad performance at home.

This team showed something in Gainesville. In Jason Witten’s first game calling the offense, Oklahoma beat Florida 23–7, held the ball for 37 minutes and 50 seconds and rushed for 144 yards. There was a plan. There was some patience. There was an offense capable of giving its defense a chance to breathe. OU game notes

Good. Now do it again.

Witten still has plenty to prove. One encouraging Saturday does not settle the permanent offensive coordinator job. Ole Miss has film now. Pete Golding can study what Oklahoma leaned on, identify tendencies and make Witten answer a different set of questions.

Can he adjust when the first answer stops working? Can the offensive line move people again? Can the running backs trust what is developing in front of them? Can John Mateer settle in and run the offense in his own stadium?

Those are the things that matter once the game starts.

The same goes for Brent Venables’ defense.

Against Trinidad Chambliss, anger without discipline can get you beat. Fly past the quarterback, lose the edge and give him an escape lane, and all that emotion becomes a long afternoon chasing somebody you should have kept in the pocket.

Squeeze it. Make him operate in a smaller space. Finish when the opportunity is there.

Oklahoma needs controlled aggression for four quarters. Make the tackle. Get off the field. Give the offense another possession.

And when the offense gets it, do something with it.

There is still plenty to play for. Witten is auditioning. Players are building film for the next level. Younger guys are establishing what their roles can become. This program needs evidence that Gainesville was the beginning of something it can sustain.

I’m tired of hearing that the season is over because the biggest goals have become harder to reach.

Every snap still belongs to somebody’s career. Every remaining game tells us something about where this program is headed.

Sunday ought to tell us Oklahoma knows how to respond.

For the fans who can make it, bring the noise. Make communication difficult. Make the Rebels earn every yard in the Palace.

Keep it directed at the field. Ole Miss fans in the stands did not make the commissioner’s decision. Nobody needs to embarrass the university by going after people who bought a ticket.

But hospitality between the whistles?

The Sooners have extended enough of that.

I’ve said it before: They judge pigs at fairs. Waiting for college football to become fair is a good way to stay disappointed.

Oklahoma should keep demanding answers about how this decision was made. Its fans deserve them.

The players have a more immediate assignment.

Ole Miss wanted to play Sunday. The SEC ordered Oklahoma to accommodate it.

Fine.

Be ready at noon.

Then make them wish they had played Saturday.