now it's their turn to whine

A great Duck victory today over Oklahoma. Of course the Sooners, along with the national commentators who look for quick & easy talking points, will focus on the onside kick review that was "given" to Oregon. But Oklahoma should have had the game beyond doubt by that point; instead, they left it within Oregon's reach. The refs may have — may have — blown that call and opened the door for the Ducks, but it was Oregon that made the plays in the last minute and Oklahoma that fell short.

The ways Oklahoma blew it:

• too few points off turnovers: Oregon lost 2 fumbles and had 2 interceptions; Oklahoma turned these in 13 points. convert just one of those field goals into a touchdown, and that's a Sooner win.
• failure to get the final touchdown: leading 30-20, Oklahoma ran the ball down Oregon's throat to the 2 yard line. Result? Field goal. Adrian Peterson, who was almost unstoppable in the 4th quarter, came up gimpy on his final run. Sooner coach Bob Stoops settled for a field goal rather than take any risk in going for the jugular and the terminal touchdown. He obviously thought Oregon, and Dennis Dixon, were toast. Very bad assumption.
• did not recover onside kick. The ball bounced high and right at one of the Sooner "hands" team — and the guy pulled back! He did not go aggresively for the ball; in baseball terms, he let the ball play him. It became an error, and that was the beginning of the end.
• blew an easy 44-yard field goal. 44 yards is short. Their kicker had made a 41-yarder earlier; any decent kicker at a Top 20 school should make kicks like that, especially with the game on the line. Either the kicker sent it low, or the line imploded, or Blair Phillips, the Duck linebacker who got the hand on the ball, just refused to be anything less than Superman on the final play of the day. Probably a mix of all three.
  

Oklahoma will spend the rest of the year blaming the officials. But the game was theirs for the taking. They choked, and the Ducks proved to be the better team. This game wasn't lost by Oklahoma; it was won by Oregon.

One final thing. The Sooners' second touchdown? The refs missed a push-off by the wide receiver. It was subtle but not on replay; it was what allowed the touchdown. If the refs get that one right, Oklahoma probably doesn't score, the Ducks have the necessary momentum to remain ahead, and Oklahoma doesn't have to go home feeling sorry for itself.

But they will.