Bradford worried about Florida's defense, not Heisman jinx

Jan 6, 2009 - 11:40 PM By Jim Ralabate PA SportsTicker College Football Editor

Heisman Trophy winners certainly have not fared well in the national championship games over the last few years.

From Chris Weinke to Reggie Bush, from Jason White to Troy Smith, the BCS title game has provided the stage for a disastrous tumble from the Heisman podium.

But don't talk about the Heisman jinx to reigning winner Sam Bradford, who knows a thing or two about superstitions.

After all, the record-setting quarterback has worn the same pair of socks for each of Oklahoma's games this season.

"If you saw them, they're really not like socks anymore," Bradford said. "They're like pieces of thread everywhere. We're still wearing those this week, though."

Bradford has had to answer many questions this week as he prepares to lead the top-ranked Sooners into Thursday's BCS championship game against Florida.

Perhaps the No. 1 question facing the redshirt sophomore is: Which trend will win out, the Heisman jinx or the lucky socks?

The case for the former is staggering, as reigning Heisman Trophy winners have gone 1-5 in national title games since the 1998 inception of the BCS. The only player to hoist both the Heisman and national championship trophies in the same season was USC's Matt Leinart, who took home the hardware in 2004.

Just don't talk about those odds with Bradford.

"I think if you give time to (thinking about the Heisman jinx), then you bring yourself down," he said. "You don't need to think about negative things. I think I'm just going to prepare like a normal game."

The preparation obviously has paid off so far for Bradford, who led the FBS with 48 touchdown passes while throwing for 4,464 yards - both single-season school records.

Most of those numbers, however, came against teams from the Big 12 Conference, where playing defense often was optional. The speedy Gators will undoubtedly present a much more daunting challenge to Bradford and the high-powered Sooners.

"It's probably one of the best, if not the best defense we'll face all year," Bradford said. "They're very athletic, they're very fast. Their front four are great, they push the pocket. We're going to have to be ready."

Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops also marveled at Florida's defensive speed and admitted that the Sooners will need to protect Bradford in order to avoid turnovers against the Gators.

However, Stoops is more worried about Bradford's blind side than his mind-set. The longtime Oklahoma coach believes Bradford is too humble to burden himself with expectations or jinxes.

"(Bradford) realizes, 'Hey, I've been blessed with this,'" Stoops said. "He's going to use it the right way as opposed to looking at it as something that's a burden.

"I think he's just looking at (the post-Heisman attention) in a positive way, that he's been blessed with something special. He's got a great message."

And he's got his lucky socks.