Spotlight shifts off Lincoln Riley’s tale
NORMAN — Nineteen minutes into Lincoln Riley’s news conference Monday, someone got around to asking Riley about his head coaching debut.
Almost three months of nothing but talk of Riley and Bob Stoops, how the Sooners had a new horseman, and suddenly, the topic goes cold turkey. Must
be something else that has commandeered our attention.
Ohio State week has arrived.
The Sooners and Buckeyes share Ohio Stadium on Saturday night for the first time in 40 years. This would be a big deal no matter the tenure or age of the Oklahoma coach. Riley turns 34 years old Tuesday. Birthday celebrations can wait until next week, preferably if Riley returns from the Eastern Time Zone victorious. Honeymoons can be short in Soonerville.
“It definitely feels different than a normal game,” OU safety Steven Parker admitted. “Whenever you play these type of games — these really
big games — it’s almost like you feel extra loose ... it’s like your blood has been going or your adrenaline has been going all week.”
Think of it this way. That epic 1973 OUSouthern Cal game? The 7-7 tie? We remember that game for Joe Washington’s incredible punt return and 210-pound Mike Struck filling for Lee Roy Selmon, for the anguishing missed field goals and the all-time gladiators who graced the field. The other Selmon brothers. Lynn Swann. Rod Shoate. Anthony Davis. Little Joe. Pat Haden. Steve Davis. Richard Wood. Tinker Owens.
Lost in the grandeur of it all was that game in the Los Angeles Coliseum was just the second in charge for a young coach. Barry Switzer was 35 years old that Saturday night in South Central
L.A. His youth and newness were a story the week before at Baylor, but not against USC and heck, rarely ever again, considering Switzer won his next 29 games after that tie.
There will be no tie in the Horseshoe; NCAA rules have banished Solomon to the sidelines. And the Life of Riley takes a backseat as crimson and scarlet clash.
“I hope,” Riley said Monday high above Owen Field. “You’re right. All that other stuff doesn’t matter right now. It’s about going and preparing. We’re going to play a great football team in a great environment, so the attention doesn’t need to be on me. It needs to be on our players, because they’re gonna be the ones that decide this thing.”
Oh, the spotlight will remain on Riley. It’s just that his age and his Muleshoe charm and the
Oklahoma tradition of promoting prodigies are of no consequence this week. This week, it’s all Riley vs. Urban Meyer. Sooners vs. Buckeyes.
“When it comes down to it, it’s about winning your individual battles,” said Baker Mayfield, who in two-plus years as the Sooner quarterback has become quite accustomed to stages this big. “I guess that starts in the trenches, receivers have to make competitive plays against their DBs, our running backs have to make plays in open space against their linebackers. When it comes down to it, whatever name or headline you want to put on the story, it’s still football.”
Riley has shown no sign that the moment will be too big for him. He’s not your typical 33-year-old (or 34, depending on when you read this). Oops. That’s off-subject. Riley’s readiness for this showdown
is beside the point.
The game is here, with massive stakes, promising memories to last a lifetime that have nothing to do with the novelty of Oklahoma’s coach.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at (405) 760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com.
He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. You can also view his personality page at newsok.com/berrytramel.