Not sure I've seen it in on the boards yet. Just thought it'd be helpfull to those playing the Orange Bowl.
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Oklahoma DE Birdine calls USC 'average'
By JEFF LATZKE, Associated Press Writer
December 21, 2004
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- Get the bulletin board ready: Oklahoma defensive end Larry Birdine thinks Southern California's offense is ``average.''
Birdine made that known Tuesday in a series of statements that showed he wasn't all that impressed with the offense the No. 1 Trojans will bring to the Orange Bowl to face the Sooners on Jan. 4.
``I feel like they're, I'd say, a one-and-a-half-man team,'' Birdine said. ``I want to respect them just because I have to play them, but then I watch them on tape and everything, and I realize that they're an average team.''
Birdine repeatedly praised Reggie Bush, the Trojans' All-American all-purpose player who returns punts, lines up as a tailback and wide receiver, and finished fifth in the Heisman voting.
But Birdine had little positive to say about Bush's teammates on offense, particularly quarterback Matt Leinart.
``Besides Reggie Bush -- he's a great athlete, he's a fast back, he makes plays or whatever -- but nobody else stands out to me,'' Birdine said.
``Matt Leinart, he's the Heisman Trophy winner, but he hasn't been driving them -- or he hasn't been winning games. Up 'til the last four or five games, Reggie Bush has been their difference-maker.
``We feel like if we take Reggie out of the game, we're gonna win.''
Birdine doesn't think Leinart should have won the Heisman -- and that's not just because he was rooting for OU teammates Adrian Peterson and Jason White, who finished second and third.
``If anybody should have won it from USC, it should have been Reggie Bush,'' Birdine said. ``I don't think that (Leinart) was the best quarterback. (Utah's) Alex Smith -- he was better than Matt Leinart. I don't think Matt Leinart should have won.''
Birdine later added: ``He's definitely overrated. Like I said, he's a good quarterback, but he's not a Heisman-winning quarterback.''
Birdine said he realized he could be providing USC with motivational material and said his opinions didn't necessarily reflect the mind-set of the team.
``I don't know if that's the mood in the locker room,'' Birdine said. ``I ask some guys and they say, 'They're good.' I haven't seen them on defense, but if our offense don't turn the ball over and their offense can't score, then I believe we're going to win the game.''
Birdine also made the case that second-ranked Oklahoma faced tougher competition in the Big 12 than USC did in the Pac-10.
Not surprisingly, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops had a far different take on USC.
He called tailback LenDale White a ``great, great player'' and said the Trojans' receivers were ``very good; I'm going to say that about every position on their team.''
Asked about Leinart's positives and negatives, Stoops said the Trojans' quarterback was ``very wise and smart the way he plays and the way he's coached. He makes very few poor decisions. He's a great decision-maker. He has a great arm, he's very accurate. He's got the poise you look for in the pocket.
``The criticism: He's not a great option guy. He's got everything you look for, and he's a guy we recruited hard.''
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Oklahoma DE Birdine calls USC 'average'
By JEFF LATZKE, Associated Press Writer
December 21, 2004
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- Get the bulletin board ready: Oklahoma defensive end Larry Birdine thinks Southern California's offense is ``average.''
Birdine made that known Tuesday in a series of statements that showed he wasn't all that impressed with the offense the No. 1 Trojans will bring to the Orange Bowl to face the Sooners on Jan. 4.
``I feel like they're, I'd say, a one-and-a-half-man team,'' Birdine said. ``I want to respect them just because I have to play them, but then I watch them on tape and everything, and I realize that they're an average team.''
Birdine repeatedly praised Reggie Bush, the Trojans' All-American all-purpose player who returns punts, lines up as a tailback and wide receiver, and finished fifth in the Heisman voting.
But Birdine had little positive to say about Bush's teammates on offense, particularly quarterback Matt Leinart.
``Besides Reggie Bush -- he's a great athlete, he's a fast back, he makes plays or whatever -- but nobody else stands out to me,'' Birdine said.
``Matt Leinart, he's the Heisman Trophy winner, but he hasn't been driving them -- or he hasn't been winning games. Up 'til the last four or five games, Reggie Bush has been their difference-maker.
``We feel like if we take Reggie out of the game, we're gonna win.''
Birdine doesn't think Leinart should have won the Heisman -- and that's not just because he was rooting for OU teammates Adrian Peterson and Jason White, who finished second and third.
``If anybody should have won it from USC, it should have been Reggie Bush,'' Birdine said. ``I don't think that (Leinart) was the best quarterback. (Utah's) Alex Smith -- he was better than Matt Leinart. I don't think Matt Leinart should have won.''
Birdine later added: ``He's definitely overrated. Like I said, he's a good quarterback, but he's not a Heisman-winning quarterback.''
Birdine said he realized he could be providing USC with motivational material and said his opinions didn't necessarily reflect the mind-set of the team.
``I don't know if that's the mood in the locker room,'' Birdine said. ``I ask some guys and they say, 'They're good.' I haven't seen them on defense, but if our offense don't turn the ball over and their offense can't score, then I believe we're going to win the game.''
Birdine also made the case that second-ranked Oklahoma faced tougher competition in the Big 12 than USC did in the Pac-10.
Not surprisingly, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops had a far different take on USC.
He called tailback LenDale White a ``great, great player'' and said the Trojans' receivers were ``very good; I'm going to say that about every position on their team.''
Asked about Leinart's positives and negatives, Stoops said the Trojans' quarterback was ``very wise and smart the way he plays and the way he's coached. He makes very few poor decisions. He's a great decision-maker. He has a great arm, he's very accurate. He's got the poise you look for in the pocket.
``The criticism: He's not a great option guy. He's got everything you look for, and he's a guy we recruited hard.''
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