If David did it, then why can’t the Falcons?

The BG football team is going in against what appears to be an invincible opponent in the Oklahoma Sooners, and a 32.5 point spread is enough to put the Falcons in the role of David.

After all, the Sooners return a slew of talented players and one of the most intelligent coaches in the nation.

Head coach Bob Stoops won coach of the year in 2000.

Quarterback Jason White is just the seventh player in NCAA history to have a shot at winning back-to-back Heisman Trophies.

On top of this, they have 11 other players who are on the watch list for 10 other national awards for player of the year at their respective positions.

Add all of this to the fact that they finished the 2003 season with 12 wins. And while they did lose their final two games, they still make a nearly impossible-to-defeat team.

“You look at the team that won 12 straight games,” BG head coach Gregg Brandon said. “They have 10 of those guys back on offense and 7 or 8 on defense. It is going to be one heck of a challenge.”

It isn’t just Bowling Green that has to worry about Oklahoma’s dominance; every team that faces them knows they’re in for a dogfight. The Sooners destroyed last year’s opposition, outscoring them by 28 points per game.

And most of their games are against top-of-the-line opponents.

The Sooners beat UCLA 59-24 in a game that saw Antonio Perkins set several single game return records.

They devestated arch-rival Texas 65-13, turning the rivalry into a walk in the park.

Top-25 team Oklahoma State stood no chance as they lost 52-9.

And the most historic of beatings saw Texas A’M as the victim, as they were steamrolled by Oklahoma 77-0. The Sooners downed the ball on the one yard line in the fourth quarter to avoid scoring 100, a feat Texas A’M’s defensive coordinator said was a definite possibility.

For a small-time Mid-American Conference team, these scores are a death sentence.

But the Oklahoma mystique and the ominous task of playing at Oklahoma Memorial Field doesn’t seem to be something that is bothering the Falcons.

“It’s what you make of it,” Brandon said. “The game is played between the lines. It is going to be won or lost on the field. Not in the stands.”

The Falcons have a thing or two working for them as well. Their experience rivals the best of teams in the nation and they have proved their ability to win in big games.

“We have 16 [starters] back from last year,” Center Scott Mruczkowski said. “Nine on offense and the other two guys were at [big games]. We’ve played in games like that at Ohio State and Purdue.”

The Falcons have another glaring advantage going in, they have had all summer, and then some, to prepare.

“We’ve been preparing since January for these guys,” Mruczkowski said. “I know their defensive line like they know their defensive line.”

BG wideout Charles Sharon said the off-season has helped his preparation for the game as well.

“It’s really helped out,” he said. “We’ve studied film, studied their defense, their players, we know almost everything. They’re pretty solid, but we’ve played teams with the same talent.”

The Falcons have another strength and that is their wide receiving corps, which Foxsports.com has rated as the third best in the nation. And with five players that amassed over 25 catches last season, they give quarterback Omar Jacobs a lot of options in his first college start.

“There has been four or five of us that have been playing for four years,” Sharon said. “So we’re really in sync with each other.”

While this version of Goliath appears to be of the same strength as the original, it appears that this year’s David has a few more rocks to sling.