That denied Ferguson the chance of a third title in the Champio

NORMAN, Okla. -- A wacky weekend in college football renewed Oklahomas seemingly dormant playoff hopes.Oklahoma has rallied from a rough start to the season, and losses by Clemson, Michigan, Washington, Texas A&M and Auburn last Saturday opened up the field for the Sooners to possibly claim one of the four spots in the College Football Playoff if they keep winning. The eighth-ranked Sooners (8-2, 7-0 Big 12) will travel to No. 10 West Virginia (8-1, 5-1) Saturday night with a chance to claim a share of the Big 12 title and remain alive for a second straight playoff berth.Were not looking into that, Oklahoma linebacker Jordan Evans said of the playoff. We see it. Some guys in the back of their mind, maybe. But it doesnt matter if we dont handle our business.Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said he doesnt worry too much about other results, though he enjoyed Iowas 14-13 win over Michigan. He played at Iowa and later became an assistant coach there.Im rooting for the Hawkeyes, Stoops said. Absolutely. A big congrats to them. Outside of that, Im not sitting there with my pompoms out.Oklahoma seemingly had no path back to the playoff, but since their early losses to Houston and Ohio State, they have won seven straight. In Big 12 play, the Sooners are averaging 48 points and 591.1 yards per game, both tops in the league.I think we have a ton of guys that were real with themselves, a coaching staff that was real with themselves, offensive tackle Orlando Brown said. Weve all taken it upon ourselves individually, as a group, as a team, as a university, to see what we had to get better at. What we were doing bad, what we were doing good -- we took them and we went from there.The Sooners beat then-No. 25 Baylor 45-24 last Saturday , and West Virginia and Oklahoma State, Oklahomas final two opponents, provide opportunities for quality wins late in the season.All that matters is what weve been doing each and every week, Stoops said. Well be our best Saturday night. Eight Eastern, seven Central, and well be ready to play our best game. Next week will be a different week.Even after the Sooners started winning, a playoff slot wasnt even a thought after the Sooners gave up 854 yards in a 66-59 win over Texas Tech .Only reason I think it (Texas Tech game) was good is we were still able to come out with a win in that game, Evans said. Weve kind of flipped our defense around. It was a good wakeup call for us.Since then, Oklahoma has allowed 51 points combined in wins over Kansas, Iowa State and Baylor. The Sooners have risen to No. 3 in the Big 12 in scoring defense and total defense, No. 2 in pass efficiency defense and No. 1 in rushing defense.It has been a complete U-turn from that game, Evans said. Our intensity, our effort -- guys are making more plays. The number one thing is guys are having more fun doing it. Guys are wanting to get back out there each and every Saturday and wanting to get to practice on Monday to get better and to keep it going.---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP Paul Millsap Nuggets Jersey . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2. Malik Beasley Jersey . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. http://www.authenticnuggetsproshop.com/Will-Barton-Jersey/ .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Allen Iverson Jersey . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Alex English Nuggets Jersey . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary.CARRINGTON, England -- Alex Ferguson is looking forward to a retired life of luxury holidays, watching horse racing, enjoying good wines and perhaps studying languages. Before that, though, theres one final challenge to overcome -- beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday in his 1,500th and last game as Manchester United manager. "One thousand five hundred matches -- its quite incredible," Ferguson said Friday, shaking his head in wonder at his own longevity. The end of the road in Fergusons 39-year coaching career comes at The Hawthorns, an unassuming stadium in central England. He has already had one emotional farewell -- at Old Trafford on Sunday after a 2-1 win over Swansea that marked his final home match as United manager. On that occasion, there was a guard of honour, a five-minute speech to fans and relentless waving of red flags by United supporters who cant quite believe their manager of nearly 27 years is stepping aside. Theres also been Uniteds trophy parade through the streets of Manchester on Monday, when tens of thousands of people came out in force for one more glimpse of the legendary man and his Premier League title-winners. This weekends match promises to be another tear-jerker, although all Ferguson wants is a win. Its typical of him. "Every team wants to win their last home game -- thats a fact of life," said Ferguson, who was named the Premier Leagues manager of the year on Friday. "And also I want to win this one more than last weeks even." His coaching life began in 1974, with unheralded East Stirlingshire in the Scottish lower leagues. Ferguson remembers having "eight players and no goalkeeper." Now he has six goalkeepers and around 100 players to oversee. "Its a different life," Ferguson acknowledged. "Change is inevitable -- you have to manage that. "There have been big changes in this club in terms of number of staff, sports science, modern technology has come into it. When I started as a manager there were no agents, media was different then too. ... The changes are all there, integrated over a long period. But I dont think Ive changed much." Things are set to change in Fergusons life, however. No more getting up in the early hours and being the first person into Carrington, Uniteds vast and impressive training complex in west Manchester. No more picking teams, coaching world-class players, doing draining media duties. But that doesnt mean hell bee enjoying regular 10-hour sleep-ins, as he did after the parade on Monday.dddddddddddd "Its the first time in my life that Ive had 10 hours sleep -- (wife) Cathy kept making sounds round about me," Ferguson said. "I think she was just checking to see if I was alive." Fergusons new life will likely see him having a closer involvement in his second passion of horse racing and spending more time with his family and on holiday, particularly to his favourite destinations of New York and the south of France. Hes then scheduled to have hip surgery in July. "Im driven to take on some challenges and some other things right away," he said. "Ive got a league managers meeting on Monday, Im going to Newmarket (for horse racing) on Tuesday and Wednesday ... Im going on holiday on June 4, its the (English) Derby on June 1, Im going on holiday for a month. "Then Im having the operation, then Ive got the recuperation, then the season starts. So were all right." Ferguson, who will become a director at United once he passes on the reins to new manager David Moyes, made his decision to quit coaching last Christmas, in the wake of the death of his wifes sister. He said Friday he has no regrets, not even after the dejection he felt following Uniteds exit at the hands of Real Madrid in the Champions League in March, when winger Nani was controversially sent off with United ahead on aggregate in the two-legged match. That denied Ferguson the chance of a third title in the Champions League, a competition in which he has always acknowledged United has underperformed for a club of its stature. "I made my mind up long ago and that was it ... you cant be successful without disappointments, I think disappointments are good for you," Ferguson said. "Its a challenge to you and for your players character to recover and I think weve been doing that over the years." Ferguson was given a standing ovation at his final news conference Friday. He received a cake with a hairdryer made of icing on top, in reference to the so-called "hairdryer treatment" he dished out to players at halftime of matches. Thats just one of the many things Ferguson will be remembered for. "The memories are all there, 26 years at Manchester United is fantastic," Ferguson said. "The day I came here was a privilege and the day Ive left will be an honour. Im lucky to have been here that long." ' ' '