Underdog status nothing new to Oklahoma

MIAMI (AP) _ Oklahoma enters the Orange Bowl as the No. 1 team in the country, unbeaten and without much respect from the oddsmakers. <br><br>So what else is new? <br><br>``If the oddsmakers were determining

Friday, December 29th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

MIAMI (AP) _ Oklahoma enters the Orange Bowl as the No. 1 team in the country, unbeaten and without much respect from the oddsmakers.

So what else is new?

``If the oddsmakers were determining our fate, we'd be 7-4 this year or 8-3, whatever. That's why you go play the game,'' coach Bob Stoops said Thursday. ``And as you guys know, those oddsmakers have been known to set traps, too. So beware.''

The Sooners (12-0) are listed as 12-point underdogs to No. 3 Florida State in next week's national championship game.

``I still don't see many people who are giving us any respect,'' receiver Josh Norman said. ``We're a fluke.

``Y'all can call us a Cinderella story if you want to, but this team doesn't think it's no Cinderella story. We always believed in the team and the system and we always knew our abilities.''

In Oklahoma's first major test of the season, against Texas in Dallas, the 10th-ranked Sooners were 3-point underdogs to the 11th-ranked Longhorns. Oklahoma won the game, 63-14.

A week later, on the road against No. 2 Kansas State, the eighth-ranked Sooners again were underdogs. The wound up leading by as much as 38-14 in the second half and won the game, 41-31.

Top-ranked Nebraska visited Norman two weeks later for a game against the then-third-ranked Sooners. Nebraska was a slight favorite and took a 14-0 first-quarter lead. But Oklahoma dominated the rest of the game, scored 31 straight points and won 31-14 to move to No. 1.

``We've been underestimated the whole season,'' safety Roy Williams said. ``We're used to it. We're not worried about it.

``It's motivation. Hands down, it is motivation. We're going to take that into every practice and prepare for it.''

Stoops, though, said he would not use the point spread as a way to try to motivate his team.

``Our guys just won the Big 12 championship and we're getting ready for a national championship and playing a great team. That's motivation enough,'' he said.

If Oklahoma finished the season as strongly as it played during that three-game October stretch, the line might be smaller. But instead, the Sooner offense struggled down the stretch. Oklahoma had to rally from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win at Texas A&M, then held off Texas Tech before closing out the regular season with a 12-7 victory against Oklahoma State.

The general feeling also is that Florida State has more talent on both sides of the ball than Oklahoma.

``They have great athletes, but we didn't get here just through being smart,'' Norman said. ``We've got talent on this team. We've got great players on this team. We've made plays all year and we're not planning on not making plays in this game.''

One of the Sooners' more gifted athletes is linebacker Torrance Marshall, whose 41-yard interception return for a touchdown gave Oklahoma the lead against A&M.

``It doesn't matter to me if we're underdogs or we're projected to win,'' he said. ``The game is still going to have to be played to decide that.''

Unlike his players and most of his coaches, Stoops has seen Florida State up close. He coached against them four times, winning two and losing two, during his time as defensive coordinator at Florida.

``I think we match up, really, across the board in a good way,'' he said.

``All we need to do is play like we've played all year. If we play like we're capable, that'll be enough.''