Kevin Sherrington

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NORMAN, Okla. – In the shifting dynamics of Texas-OU, the subject of a "brain drain" gets a lot of traction at Oklahoma these days.

Over Bob Stoops' 11 seasons at OU, five of his assistants – Mike Leach, Mark Mangino, Mike Stoops, Chuck Long and Kevin Sumlin – have taken Football Bowl Subdivision head coaching jobs. Other than Kansas State's Bill Snyder – who's produced seven, including four on Stoops' coaching tree – no other current head coach has mentored as many. Certainly not three who have been as successful as Leach, Mangino and Sumlin.

And now that the coach formerly known as "Big Game Bob" has lost five straight BCS bowls and three straight national title matches and six of 10 bowls and three of four against Texas and two of five games this season, not to mention that he's 16-14 outside the state of Oklahoma dating to the USC debacle, it seems like more than coincidence.

Bob Stoops isn't the genius. His former assistants were.

Hence, brain drain.

This seemed like a pretty good theory to me, too, until it was fouled up by actual logic.

First, let's start with this season's 3-2 record, a hot topic in Oklahoma.

Not that Stoops needs any defenders, as this is one of his favorite pastimes, but the losses were by one point each to good teams. One at a neutral site; the other in Florida.

The better part of both losses came with a freshman at quarterback. Because of injuries, Stoops has started nine different players in an already inexperienced offensive line. He also lost one of the nation's best players with a season-ending injury to tight end Jermaine Gresham.

Question: Even still, isn't it fairly safe to assume that a Heisman quarterback, Sam Bradford, would have been worth at least a couple extra points in a pair of losses?

Better question: If the Sooners had played a softer schedule, something, say, like Texas', might Oklahoma also be undefeated?

Answer: The stomp-a-stooge approach wasn't spawned by the BCS, but it didn't do anything to stop its spread, either. Most schools won't do what Texas did when it played Ohio State home-and-home. Conference schedules are difficult enough without risking BCS chances on what could have been laughers instead. Aw, but don't get me started on the BCS.

The fallout from his tough schedule prompted me to ask Stoops if there were any benefits to it going into Texas-OU week.

"I would prefer going into it 5-0," he said. "In the end, I don't like the situation we're in."

Neither do his detractors. If they're not complaining about numbers posted above, they're ripping Stoops' offensive coordinator, Kevin Wilson.

This is the same offensive coordinator named last season as the nation's top assistant. And the same guy forced to dumb down his offense this year for a freshman quarterback.

You could make a case that OU's current cast isn't as good as past staffs. But, with one exception, it's good enough. And the exception is the hole left by the head coach's little brother.

Bob relied on Mike's unfailingly aggressive game-time input. They had great chemistry. Of all Bob's assistants, Mike might have been best equipped to challenge the head coach.

But even Mike's loss isn't enough to explain some trends, such as losing three of four to Texas, which is primarily the result of Mack Brown's progression as a head coach.

Even while losing five straight to OU, Brown started trading up in defensive coordinators, from Carl Reese to Greg Robinson to Gene Chizik to his best yet, Will Muschamp.

The result: The coaching staffs of two old rivals have met in the middle, with talent now the deciding factor.

As for how all this explains Stoops' other negative trends, well, that's a column for another day. And soon, at that.