What did we think/hope would happen?

It looked like in early August that OU finally had quality OL depth that would go ten deep allowing OU to keep their OL fresh.

Starting tackles would be Darryl Wlliams and Lane Johnson with Tyrus Thompson providing depth. Starting guards would be Tyler Evans and Gabe Ikard with Bronson Irwin, Adam Shead and Nila Kasitati providing depth. Starting center would be Ben Habern with Ikard as the primary backup Derek Farniok would get some reps at tackle during blowout time. Freshman center Ty Darlington would redshirt.

What did we think/hope would happen?

There was no position that had more uncertainty for Oklahoma than receiver in the preseason. Kenny Stills was the only returning contributor. The roster was in flux: Courtney Gardner turned out to be ineligible; Jaz Reynolds and Trey Franks were still suspended; and transfer Jalen Saunders from Fresno State was going to have to sit out a year.

Justin Brown transferred in from Penn State and immediately seized a starting spot. The Sooners also had a young trio of Trey Metoyer, Sterling Shepard and Durron Neal hoping to crack the rotation. Metoyer had a big spring and August camp, and he looked like a star in the making.

“If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, wouldn’t it be a Merry Christmas?”

I remember Don Meredith making that quote on Monday Night Football years ago when explaining how the outcome of a football game might have been had certain plays been made. The same quote pertains to the 2012 Oklahoma Sooners, as a handful of plays could have produced an undefeated season and a bid to the BCS Championship.

Some may ask why am I drudging up some stuff to piss fans off about the two losses this year, but if not for a few “straws that broke the camel’s back,” the Sooners had a damn good year.

What did we think/hope would happen?

JUCO transfer Brannon Green and freshman Taylor McNamara would provide enough of a threat to keep a tight end on the field.

For the fullback position, OU would finally use Trey Millard consistently as a weapon in the running and passing games.

Expectations were high for the Sooners to repeat as national champions 11 years ago even though Josh Heupel’s graduation had left a vacancy at quarterback. Nate Hybl and Jason White shared duties under center to lead OU to seven straight wins before dropping a 20-10 decision to Nebraska. White injured his knee in that game and Hybl took over the rest of the season.

The Sooners won the next three but were upset by Oklahoma State in the season finale. This put No. 10 Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl to meet unranked Arkansas on New Year’s Day with a 10 a.m. kickoff. OU had never played in the Cotton Bowl Classic in the bowl’s 66-year history.

The defense was suffocating that year—the best of the Bob Stoops era—with guys like Rocky Calmus, Teddy Lehman, Tommie Harris, Jimmy Wilkerson and Roy Williams. The D allowed 13 points and 246 yards per game.

We've been counting down college football's biggest dumpster fires week by week. With the season now over, the time has come to take stock of all the flaming piles of garbage and figure out who left the largest smoldering heaps of refuse.

1. Colorado football (and coaching search)

No program has sustained the level of awfulness that CU has been able to achieve this year. The descent truly began with a 69-14 loss to San Jose State and was maintained through a five-game conference stretch where the Buffaloes lost by an average of 52 to 10.

What did we think/hope would happen?

The RB position would be shared by a healthy Dominique Whaley and newcomer Damien Williams. Brennan Clay would be used primarily in a third-down role. Roy Finch would be used primarily as a slot wide receiver.

If any injuries issues occured, Oklahoma could pull the redshirt off of impressive freshman Alex Ross.

Justin Brown, we hardly knew ye. Thanks for some great memories in your short stint as a Sooner.

Who could forget his 90-yard punt return against Kansas? Brown stretched out and dove four yards into the end zone. He also caught a 52-yard pass from Landry Jones to set up a fourth quarter touchdown for a 52-0 lead.

Brown had an electric game in his home debut against Florida A&M. He returned a punt 43 yards to set up OU’s second touchdown, caught a 51-yard pass to set up the Sooners’ third score and had a 62-yard punt return to the FAMU 8-yard line setting up Oklahoma’s fourth TD.

Ever since Oklahoma's final game against TCU wrapped up, I've been trying to decide if this season should be considered a success for the Sooners.

It was fun. OU overcame plenty of adversity to win 10 games and managed to pull out some nail-biters. The only losses came against teams that went a combined 23-1. And the Big 12 claims the Sooners won another conference championship.

I guess the most appropriate mark I could give these Sooners on their year-end evaluation would be "meets expectations." In fact, this is exactly where I expected they would end up in the first place.

Let’s get to it: Justin Manning chose Texas A&M. It’s a huge blow for Oklahoma's recruiting, mainly due to the fact that he was probably the best defensive tackle in Texas. There are very few elite DTs in Texas this year (Manning and UT verbal A’Shawn Robinson). There are none in the state of Oklahoma, again.

Manning was not going to be a freshman star like Tommie Harris, but after a redshirt year, he could be a factor as a 3-technique DT in OU’s scheme. Of course, there’s also a downside with Manning. He’s not overly big – would he maintain his speed and explosiveness after adding some weight?

The situation with Manning illustrates a number of  real concerns for OU's recruiting: