NORMAN, Okla. -- With the BCS standings in the back of his mind, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said Tuesday he decided an against-the-odds comeback at Missouri over the weekend wasn't worth risking a more lopsided loss.

Stoops stood by his decision to punt with less than 2½ minutes remaining and the Sooners down nine points. The polls were on his mind at the time.

"That's a part of it," Stoops said, reiterating a position he first took a day earlier after practice. "I don't know where it will lead, but I thought, 'The guys have played hard here. We're in this situation. It's not where you want to be.'

"I've never done it before, but I thought, 'You know what? There's still a bunch of games to be played. Who knows what can happen?' Heck, LSU got in it a few years ago with two losses, right? Some people don't see the game, only look at the score, as they vote. Right or wrong, that's what I did."