Sooners Arrive, Pitch ‘Finish’ Line

The Oklahoma Sooners arrived Monday afternoon, stepping off the plane to music, dancers, an orange carpet and Orange Bowl executives bearing gifts.

Lest they forget the reason for their visit, Coach Bob Stoops had his players in pads and helmets at a nearby college a few hours later.

“We’re here to enjoy Miami and everything the bowl has to offer

The evening practice, held amid cool temperatures and blustery skies, lasted only an hour or so, ending with conditioning drills.

“It wasn’t real strenuous,” Stoops said. “It just gets us started. That way, everything is in place and ready to go tomorrow.”

If the workout did not deliver a message, then recent memory should do the trick.

Oklahoma went through most of last season undefeated only to lose in the Big 12 Conference championship and again in the bowl championship series title game at the Sugar Bowl.

This season, the players adopted “Finish” as their motto.

“We know what happened last year,” quarterback Jason White said. “We know we didn’t play well and we’re prepared better this year.”

Stoops said: “That’s still an issue. They want to finish. They want to rectify what happened.”

If nothing else, the Sooners are returning to familiar surroundings. This marks a record 18th appearance in the Orange Bowl dating to a 17-0 loss to Tennessee in 1939. This is also their sixth trip to Miami in the last 20 years and, in most of those games, they have played with much at stake.

Victories over Penn State in 1986 and Florida State in 2001 gave them national titles.

Loses to Washington in 1985 and Miami in 1988 cost them a shot at two more titles.

“We’re used to playing in big games,” defensive back Antonio Perkins said of the matchup with top-ranked USC on Jan. 4. “We enjoy competing against great teams.”

Oklahoma is slated to begin full practices today.