Is it just me, or is Barry Switzer dead?

Was anyone else unnerved by the digital insert of a lifeless Barry Switzer between Eddie George and Jimmy Johnson? That was just one of the many, many problems I had with the broadcast last night. It was an awful viewing experience, from the constant TV timeouts, the clock problems, the commercials from 2003 (even a lawyer ad? what?), the drab commentary, etc. And as bad as it was to watch, it must have been a nightmare to play. These 18-22 yr old kids were so jacked up for this game, and then we made them take 5 minute breaks every couple of plays. Through all of this, the teams still managed to give us a great game down to the final minutes. More on the game after the jump...

With neither team able to build a rhythm, as cliche as it sounds, the systems for both teams broke down and it came down to playmakers.

Tebow scored that second touchdown by himself, after looking more nervewracked than I'd ever seen him before in the first half. He just didn't look like himself out there, not because of the interceptions, but just his demeanor, the energy wasn't there until that second touchdown drive. Then, as a friend wrote to me, "mark, tebow having fun at 5:50 in the third."

Then Percy showed what an amazing talent he is. Oklahoma ties the game up at 14, and then Percy becomes Percy, the most electrifying player in college football. He scoots for 60 yards on two plays before you realize anything has happened. But then, as is always the case, the only thing that can slow him down is injuries, and he just finds ways to get hurt.

Finally, there were the playmakers on defense. Carlos Dunlap had his official coming out party. Major Wright set the tone with a few hits, one which I had to watch on slow motion multiple times (yes it was pass interference but only by a second, you never make that call). Brandon Spikes made some huge tackles, including a play where he took down the tackler AND the ball carrier (he also stayed in the refs faces regarding the constant holding on OUs part, no complaint, but is OU always that dirty?) And finally, Ahmad Black, the recruiting mistake, the guy too slow to ever play at Florida, won the national championship by literally stealing the football out of an out stretch Oklahoma players hands. That was your ball game.

Other random thoughts:
- Bradford is much better than I ever imagined. Doesn't get rattled at all, made some great plays.
- But OUs offense is far from the greatest of all time, we can now see that the Big 12 creates incredibly infalted numbers.
- It should be clear to everyone, that over the past 3 years, no conference has come close to the SEC. There are other elite teams, but there is only one elite conference (for now).

On the scale, this is a Mr. Two-Bits.