Thursday Bolts – 12.31.15

Ivan Maisel of ESPN.com: “That applies to cotton bolls and orange blossoms, to a coach like Bob

Stoops of Oklahoma, now tied with Kirk Ferentz for the longest tenure of any FBS coach (17 seasons) and a coach like Saban, who kept uprooting himself until he found a home in Tuscaloosa. And it applies to a coach like Dantonio, who has bloomed in East Lansing even as the college football sun is only just beginning to shine on the Spartans. When the New Year rings in, that sun will be much brighter on two of these campuses.”

Jason Kersey of NewsOK: “Oklahoma and Clemson enter Thursday’s national semifinal as extraordinarily similar teams, both on the field and on paper. Both had an All-America, Heisman candidate at quarterback who can move. Both are starting a true freshman offensive tackle. Both played in the Russell Athletic Bowl last year. There’s the Brent Venables factor. So is it any wonder that No. 1 Clemson and No. 4 Oklahoma — who will meet at 3 p.m. Thursday in the Orange Bowl — were built quite similarly on the recruiting trail?”

Jenni Carlson: “And here the Sooners stand, two wins from a national championship. Excitement bubbles from all corners of Sooner Nation. Sure, that happens when you have a chance at coveted hardware, but this year, the joy has been magnified by the unexpected nature of it all. Only 367 days have passed since that Russell Athletic Bowl beatdown, but it seems like eons ago. Or does it?”

David Hale of ESPN.com: “In the run-up to the game, neither Oklahoma receiver Sterling Shepard nor Clemson cornerback Mackensie Alexander would take the bait offered by reporters hoping for some trash talk. But make no mistake, it’s coming. Alexander demurred during media day, but when asked his thoughts on Shepard, he simply offered: “He’s No. 3. He’s 5-10. And he plays for OU. There’s nothing for me to say about him.” Shepard didn’t offer much more respect for Alexander. “If he thinks he’s one of the top corners, so be it,” Shepard said. Sound like that matchup might get a bit chippy? Yeah, we think so, too.”

Jon Solomon of CBSSports.com: “Oklahoma’s running game — with Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon — has been dominant during its seven-game winning streak with the pair averaging 216.5 rushing yards per game. Clemson has a physical front seven that’s difficult to move. Defensive end Shaq Lawson led the country in tackles for loss with 22.5. Some Oklahoma players have said they don’t think Clemson’s defense is as good as last year. For all the understandable talk about the star quarterbacks, long layoffs sometimes can leave passing games rusty. The rushing attacks may end up being just as important as the passing game.”

Nancy Armour of USA Today: “But anyone who has watched Stoops for any length of time could see. Stoops is not a reactionary coach. He doesn’t switch schemes each season, doesn’t veer from one philosophy to another. He’s not prone to rages, and he’s not concerned with what’s being said on social media. (In the stands, either. Remember his “So what?” comment that so enraged fans after the 2014 loss to Baylor?) Or, as Mike Stoops put it, his brother never loses his sense of balance.”