Sugar Bowl Notebook

Most kickers dream of the opportunity to boot a game-winning field goal in the final seconds of a bowl game. Oklahoma's Trey DiCarlo will just as soon watch from the sidelines.

"I don't think it will come down to that. I hope it doesn't. If it does, I'll stay true and I'll be there," DiCarlo said in anticipation of Sunday's Sugar Bowl against Louisiana State. "I like to see our team score touchdowns rather than field goals."

DiCarlo is just another in a long line of offensive weapons for Oklahoma. The sophomore has made 86.4 percent of his field goals this season (19-of-22), which was good enough to be named one of three finalists for the Lou Groza Award as the best kicker in the country.

Sooner Sugar Bowl Central

DiCarlo, the son of a former professional soccer player, was heavily recruited by dozens of Division I-A colleges while at Creekview High School in Carrolton, Texas. He signed on with the Naval Academy to play both soccer and football, but developed cold feet shortly before his induction ceremony.

"I just had a change of heart and I don't think I was ready for it," said DiCarlo, who returned home and plotted his next move.

Most schools were out of scholarships and his father, Rick, started making cold calls to schools. There was help from Sooners receiver Travis Wilson, his high school teammate, who kept reminding Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops that his friend was looking for a place to kick.

Oklahoma had already reached its NCAA-sanctioned roster limit, but Josh Roberts, the Sooners' incoming freshman kicking recruit, never showed up on campus. That left Stoops in a bind and he summoned DiCarlo.

"We had three or four guys who were kicking off the ground and hitting spirals," Stoops. "That's hard to do, and when Trey kicked it end-over-end, I smiled a bit."

DiCarlo made an immediate impact, making 16-of-22 field goals as a freshman. He was even better this year, although he did miss a pair of field goals in the Big 12 Conference title game loss to Kansas State.

"The first one was a technical error and the second one I got nervous and punched it," DiCarlo said. "What are you going to do? I put it behind me."

STOOPS FOR GOVERNOR
If Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops ever decides to follow the path of former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne and go into politics, he could hire Sooners defensive lineman Dusty Dvoracek as his campaign manager.

"In Oklahoma, he could probably win governor or whatever he wanted," Dvoracek said. "He's definitely the highest-level person in that whole state. If you live in Oklahoma, you know who Bob Stoops is."

A few decades ago, legendary Oklahoma football coach Bud Wilkinson tried his hand at politics but lost in his bid for a U.S. Senate seat.

As for now, Stoops is perfectly content with football and Dvoracek doesn't mind one bit.

"He's a god. I think he's looked upon the same way by his players," Dvoracek said. "He's awesome. We love playing for him. He's the best."

HEY NICK, SMILE FOR THE CAMERA
LSU coach Nick Saban often is compared to New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, his former boss with the Cleveland Browns. Like Belichick, Saban has a stoic approach that can mask a sharp, sarcastic wit.

"Everybody needs to clarify I'm a very happy person. Happily married for 32 years, two wonderful children," said Saban, the defensive coordinator for the Browns under Belichick from 1991 to 1994. "I've never had the opportunity to coach a football team that was more fun to be around or that I've been prouder to be around of than the team I have right now. If I look unhappy, than I apologize. I've never been more happy than I am now. I wish I naturally smiled."

IN LIVING COLOR
As the top-ranked team in the final BCS standings, Oklahoma will wear its dark home jerseys in Sunday's game. Louisiana State, located just a 45-minute drive away from the Superdome, will wear its road white uniform.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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