Sooners Prepare For The 24th Sanford Independence Bowl

Dec. 9, 1999

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Back In The Bowl Picture
After four straight holiday seasons with no postseason action, the Oklahoma Sooners are back in the bowl spotlight. The Sooners will make their 33rd bowl appearance by playing in the 24th Sanford Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La. The Sooners will face the Rebels of Ole Miss, a team that finished 7-4 overall and 15 points from an undefeated season.

OU enters its first postseason action since 1994 with a record 7-4 overall and 5-3 in the Big 12 Conference. Predicted to finish fifth in the Southern Division of the league, OU tied for second with Texas A&M and Texas Tech.

The Sooners are fresh off a huge 44-7 win over intrastate rival Oklahoma State in the season finale on Nov. 27. The game was close midway through the second quarter before the Sooners scored 30 unanswered points over the remaining 37 minutes.

Oklahoma scored just about any way possible -- by air (Heupel to Brandon Daniels and Curtis Fagan), by run (Seth Littrell), by foot (Tim Duncan field goal), by defense (Mike Woods interception return) and by special teams (J.T. Thatcher punt return).

On defense, the Sooners had one of their best performances of the season, keeping their opponent out of the end zone for the third time in '99. (OSU scored on an interception return.)

How dominant were the Sooners on defense against OSU? Of 16 Cowboy possessions, only five crossed into OU territory and none advanced past the Sooner 30-yard line. The Sooners also held OSU to seven (of 16) possessions that gained 10 yards or less.

About The Rebels
If there's a college football team that's closer to a undefeated season but doesn't have it, let's see it. The Ole Miss Rebels make their second straight appearance in the Sanford Independence Bowl with an overall record of 7-4, but just 15 points from 11-0.

The Ole Miss offense is paced by the trio of quarterback Romaro Miller and running backs Joe Gunn and Deuce McAllister. Ending his junior season, Miller has connected on 54 percent of his passes (147 of 270) for 1,999 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Gunn and McAllister are the most dangerous running tandem the Sooners have faced this season. With a combined 1,760 yards and 17 touchdowns rushing, the duo has accounted for 88 percent of the Rebels' rushing yards and 89 percent of their rushing touchdowns. Defensively, the Rebels are led by defensive tackle Kendrick Clancy who was named the Defensive Player of the Game in the Independence Bowl last year. In the win over Texas Tech, Clancy had seven total tackles and four tackles for loss. This season, he leads the team in tackles for loss (18) and sacks (7).

1999 Schedule & Results

9/4	at Memphis	W	3-0
9/11	Arkansas State	W	38-14
9/18	Vanderbilt	L	37-34 OT
9/25	at Auburn	W	24-17 OT
10/2	at S. Carolina	W	36-10
10/9	Tulane	W	20-13
10/16	Alabama	L	30-24
10/30	at LSU	W	42-23
11/6	Arkansas	W	38-16
11/20	Georgia	L	20-17
11/25	at Mississippi St.	L	23-20

The History of Independence
The Independence Bowl was played for the first time on Dec. 13, 1976, inside its one and only home, Independence Stadium.

During the 23 years this bowl has been in exsistence, four current Big 12 teams have participated in the game. Overall, the current Big 12 teams have combined for a 1-4 record.

Here's a look at the rich history of the Independence Bowl to date:

Year	Results
1998	Mississippi 35, Texas Tech 18
1997	LSU 27, Notre Dame 9
1996	Auburn 32, Army 29
1995	LSU 45, Michigan St. 26
1994	Virginia 20, TCU 10
1993	Virginia Tech 45, Indiana 20
1992	Wake Forest 39, Oregon 35
1991	Georgia 24, Arkansas 15
1990	Louisiana Tech 34, Maryland 34
1989	Oregon 27, Tulsa 24
1988	S. Mississippi 38, UTEP 18
1987	Washington 24, Tulane 12
1986	Mississippi 20, Texas Tech 17
1985	Minnesota 20, Clemson 13
1984	Air Force 23, Virginia Tech 7
1983	Air Force 9, Mississippi 3
1982	Wisconsin 41, Kansas St. 3
1981	Texas A&M 33, Oklahoma St. 16
1980	S. Mississippi 16, McNeese St. 14
1979	Syracuse 31, McNeese St. 7
1978	E. Carolina 35, Louisiana Tech 13
1977	Louisiana Tech 24, Louisville 14
1976	McNeese St. 20, Tulsa 16

Sooners Against The SEC
There isn't a great deal of recent history between the Sooners and the Southeastern Conference. The last time the Sooners faced a team from the SEC was Arkansas in the 1987 Orange Bowl.

The Sooners have never faced Ole Miss on the football field, but has a 16-6-3 combined record against the SEC teams of Alabama (0-1-1), Arkansas (10-3-1), Auburn (1-0), Kentucky (1-1), LSU (1-0), Tennessee (1-1) and Vanderbilt (2-0-1).

Mississippi is one of three SEC teams facing a team from the Big 12 Conference in this bowl season. Since 1939, Big 12 members have built a 41-28-3 (.590) advantage against teams from the SEC.

Bowling With The Sooners
The Independendce Bowl will mark the 33rd time that Oklahoma has appeared in a postseason bowl game. The 33 bowl appearances stand as the eighth most in NCAA history. Here are the schools with the most bowl apearances:

	1. Alabama	50
	2. Tennessee	40
	Southern Cal	39
	4. Texas	39
	5. Nebraska	38
	6. Penn State	37
	7. Georgia	35
	8. Oklahoma	33
	9. Ohio State	31
	Michigan	31
	LSU	31

In the category of most bowl victories, Oklahoma stands fifth all-time with 20, most of any Big 12 Conference school. Check out the all-time bowl winners:

	1. Alabama	28
	2. Southern Cal	25
	3. Penn State	22
	Tennessee	22
	5. Oklahoma	20
	6. Georgia Tech	19
	7. Nebraska	18
	Texas	18
	9. Georgia	17
	10. Florida State	16
	Mississippi	16

As far as winning percentage goes...
the Sooners stand fourth all-time among programs who have participated in 20 or more bowls. Take a look:


Team	Record	Pct.
1. Georgia Tech	19-8-0	.703
2. Penn State	22-11-2	.657
3. Southern Cal	25-14-0	.641
4. Oklahoma	20-11-1	.640
5. Florida State	16-9-2	.629
6. Alabama	28-18-3	.602
7. Mississippi	16-11-0	.592
8. Notre Dame	13-10-0	.565
9. Tennessee	22-17-0	.564
10. Clemson	12-10-0	.545

Bob Stoops -- The Sooners' Head Coach
Bob Stoops is finishing his first season as the Sooners' head coach and he has the nation paying attention to the rebuilding efforts taking place in Norman.

With a reputation as one of the top defensive coaches on the college level, Stoops was named as the Sooners' 21st head football coach on December 1 of last year. Prior to accepting the position, he played a key role in the nationally ranked football programs at Kansas State and Florida.

In just one year, Stoops has installed the attitude and discipline necessary to lead the Sooners to their first winning regular season and bowl appearance since 1994. For his efforts, Stoops was recognized as the Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year by The Dallas Morning News and The Sporting News.

Stoops is just the fourth Oklahoma head coach to lead his team to a bowl appearance in his first season. Only Jim Tatum (1947 Gator), Gomer Jones (1965 Gator) and Chuck Fairbanks (1968 Orange) have accomplished this feat.

Stoops, who turned 39 on Sept. 9, spent the previous three seasons as the assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and secondary coach at the University of Florida. During his tenure with the Gators, Stoops helped Florida to a combined 30-5 record, a national championship, one SEC championship and three bowl games. In each of his three seasons, the Gators ranked among the nation's top 15 teams in total defense and top 20 in rush defense.

Prior to Florida, Stoops spent seven seasons (1989-95) at Kansas State University assisting in one of the most impressive turnarounds in college football history. During his final four seasons in Manhattan, KSU posted a 35-12 record and played in three bowl games.

His 1995 defensive unit led the nation in total defense, ranked second in scoring and had all four defensive backs named to the All-Big Eight Team. During his time as defensive coordinator at both schools, the defense ranked among the best in the nation. The Gator defene was instrumental in Florida winning the national championship in 1996.

Career Coaching Record

Year	Program	Title	Record	Bowl Appearance
1983	Iowa	Volunteer	9-3	Gator Bowl, Lost to Florida (14-6)
1984	Iowa	G.A.	7-4-1	Freedom Bowl, Beat Texas (55-17)
1985	Iowa	G.A.	10-2	Rose Bowl, Lost to UCLA (45-28)
1986	Iowa	G.A.	9-3	Holiday Bowl, Beat San Diego St. (39-38)
1987	Iowa	G.A.	10-3	Holiday Bowl, Beat Wyoming (20-19)
1988	Kent State	Asst. Coach	6-5	None
1989	Kansas St.	DB Coach	1-10	None
1990	Kansas St.	DB Coach	5-6	None
1991	Kansas St.	Def. Coord.	7-4	None
1992	Kansas St.	Def. Coord.	5-6	None
1993	Kansas St.	Def. Coord.	9-2-1	Copper Bowl, Beat Wyoming (52-17)
1994	Kansas St.	Def. Coord.	9-3	Aloha Bowl, Lost to Boston College (12-7)
1995	Kansas St.	Def. Coord.	10-2	Holiday Bowl, Beat Colorado St. (54-21)
1996	Florida	Def. Coord.	12-1	Fiesta Bowl, Lost to Nebraska (62-24)
1997	Florida	Def. Coord.	10-2	Sugar Bowl, Beat Florida State (52-20)
1998	Florida	Def. Coord.	10-2	Florida Citrus Bowl, Beat Penn St. (21-6)
1999	Oklahoma	Head Coach	7-4	Independence Bowl
Totals	17 years	in coaching	136-62-2	7-4 (Bowl Record)

Sooner Big 12 Award Winners
Here's a list of the awards OU players have received during this '99 season:

Josh Heupel
Big 12 Conference Offensive Newcomer of the Year
Second-team All-Big 12
Two-time Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week
Five-Time Southwestern Bell Big 12 Fans Player of the Week

Rocky Calmus
First-team All-Big 12 (AP/Dallas Morning News)
Second-team All-Big 12 (coaches)

Brandon Daniels
First-team All-Big 12 Kick Returner (Dallas Morning News)
Second-team All-Big 12 Returner (coaches)
Second-team All-Big 12 Receiver (Dallas Morning News)

Jarrail Jackson
Secon-team All-Big 12 Receiver (Dallas Morning News)
Third-team All-Big 12 Receiver (coaches)

Stockar McDougle
First-team All-Big 12 (AP)

Matt O'Neal
Third-team All-Big 12 (coaches)

The First-Year Head Coaches
OU's Bob Stoops is one of 20 new head coaches on the Division I level this season. Of those 20, Stoops is one of 10 who accepted the title change after serving as an assistant coach last year.

Here is the list of the new coaches, their programs and the current overall record. Coaches in bold are in their first season as a head coach.

Coach	School	Record (Pct.)
Jack Blacknell	La. Tech	8-3 (.800)
Bob Stoops	Oklahoma	7-4 (.636)
June Jones	Hawaii	7-4 (.636)
Terry Hoeppner	Miami, Ohio	7-4 (.636)
David Cutcliffe	Mississippi	7-4 (.636)
Rick Neuheisel	Washington	7-4 (.636)
Gary Barnett	Colorado	6-5 (.600)
Dennis Erickson	Oregon St.	6-5 (.545)
Tommy Bowden	Clemson	6-5 (.545)
Tommy Tuberville	Auburn	5-6 (.454)
Bobby Keasler	NE Louisiana	5-6 (.454)
John Robinson	UNLV	3-8 (.300)
Chris Scelfo	Tulane	3-8 (.272)
Randy Walker	Northwestern	3-8 (.272)
Carl Franks	Duke	3-8 (.272)
Andy McCollum	M. Tenn.	2-9 (.181)
Jerry Baldwin	SW Louis.	1-10 (.100)
Kirk Ferentz	Iowa	1-10 (.100)
Kevin Steele	Baylor	1-10 (.100)
Lou Holtz	S. Carolina	0-11 (.000)

The Best Freshman Receivers
OU's record-setting seasonhas been sparked by the play of true freshmen Antwone Savage and redshirt fresman Damian Mackey, Curtis Fagan and Trent Smith. All have made a strong bid to become the top freshmen receivers in OU history. Here's a look at the top freshmen heading into this contest:


Player (Season)	No.	Yds	TD
1. Antwone Savage ('99)	31	426	1
2. Curtis Fagan ('99)	30	382	2
3. Damian Mackey ('99)	28	319	4
4. Derrick Shepard ('83)	19	314	2
5. Jim Owens ('46)	19	262	3
6. P.J. Mills ('92)	18	296	1
Trent Smith ('99)	18	175	2

With his 31 catches this season...
Antwone Savage breaks the OU record for most catches in a single season by an OU first-year player. Eddie Hinton had owned the record with his 26 receptions during the 1966 season (1966 was his sophomore season since freshmen were not eligible at that time).

OU Football - Really Catching On
The Sooners' high-powered offense features several receivers and tight ends who are heading toward the end of their first collegiate season. During the regular season, 11 first-year players have combined for 138 (of 310 receptions) for 1,637 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Here's a look at the first-year receivers and their progress this season.

Player	Pos.	No.	Yards	TD
Antwone Savage	WR	31	426	1
Curtis Fagan	WR	30	382	2
Damian Mackey	WR	28	319	4
Trent Smith	TE	18	175	2
Andre Woolfolk	WR	11	129	1
Quenton Griffin	RB	11	107	1
Julius McMillan	WR	4	41	1
Ryan Daniel	WR	2	44	1
Michael Jackson	WR	1	9	0
Tim Duncan	PK	1	4	1
John Connor	WR	1	1	0
Totals		138	1,637	14

Other Rookie Tidbits

In the second half against Louisville, the trio of Curtis Fagan, Damian Mackey and Antwone Savage combined for 10 catches for 167 yards and two touchdowns.

During the 17-point, 231-yard first half against Texas, rookies Savage, Fagan, Mackey and Trent Smith accounted for 96 yards and one touchdown. Savage ended the game with an OU freshman receiving record with six catches overall and became the first Sooner to reach the century mark in receiving yards this season.

Against 10th-ranked Texas A&M, Savage, Fagan and Smith accounted for nine catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns.

Versus Missouri, Sooner rookie receivers recorded 17 (of 27) receptions for 198 yards and one touchdown. Savage, Fagan and Mackey combined for 13 catches for 138 yards and a TD.

The rookies hauled in 11 of 24 passes on a day that the rushing game tok the spotlight against ISU. Fagan, Quenton Griffin and Savage combined for 10 catches, 94 yards and one TD.

Six rookies (Mackey, Fagan, Griffin, Savage, Woolfolk and Smith) recorded 13 catches for 152 yards and a touchdown in the loss at Texas Tech. It was the most yards posted by OU's young receivers since the Texas contest.

Against Oklahoma State, the Sooners' young hands accounted for 11 of 22 catches and 174 of 287 passing yards. Fagan recorded the longest TD reception of the year for OU with a 73-yard scoring strike from Heupel.

Making The Most Of Opportunities
If there was ever an example of sharing the wealth, it would be the passing offense of the Oklahoma Sooners. Five times this season, OU finished a game with at least 13 different players catching at least one pass. Against Texas A&M, the Sooners had a school-record 14 players post at least one reception.

So far this season, 20 different players (10 receivers, six running backs, three tight ends and one kicker) have registered at least one catch and 16 different players have recorded at least one touchdown reception.

Sooner receivers have made the most of their opportunities with 1,849 yards after the catch (YAC) this season (168.1 ypg). Here is a list of the OU receivers and the yards they've earned this year following the catch:


Player	Pos.	Rec.	YAC
Brandon Daniels	WR	50	287
Antwone Savage	WR	31	255
Jarrail Jackson	WR	44	216
Curtis Fagan	WR	30	210
Damian Mackey	WR	28	152
Michael Thornton	RB	21	146
Josh Norman	RB	16	134
Quenton Griffin	RB	11	90
Chris Hammons	TE	17	86
Trent Smith	TE	18	66
Seth Littrell	RB	13	47
Andre Woolfolk	WR	11	46
Matt Anderson	TE	8	32
Reggie Skinner	RB	10	30
Julius McMillan	WR	4	18
Johnnie Balous	RB	2	17
Ryan Daniel	WR	2	10
Michael Jackson	WR	1	5
Tim Duncan	PK	1	1
John Connor	WR	1	1

Nobody Does It Better Than Heupel
OU quarterback Josh Heupel was named Big 12 Conference Offensive Newcomer of the Year after destroying numerous school and conference passing records.

Heupel finished his first regular season at OU by hitting 69 percent of his passes (22-32) for 287 yards and two touchdowns against Oklahoma St. It was the perfect ending to a near perfect regular season for Heupel, who continues to distance himself from past Sooner greats on almost all of OU's passing record lists.

With school single-game standards for passing yards (429), total offense (410) and touchdown passes (5) already in hand, Heupel has now begun his assault on career records.

In just one season, Heupel has set single-game school marks for completions (37), passing attempts (58), passing yards (429) and total offense (410). He also owns school marks for touchdown passes in a single game (5), back-to-back games (8), three games (13) and season (30).

He also owns the school single-season standards for attempts (500), completions (310), passing yards (3,460), percentage (.620) and total offense (3,362). Here's what he has done in just 11 games at OU:


Single-Season Attempts
Player (Season)	Att.
1. Josh Heupel ('99)	500
2. Garrick McGee ('94)	284

Single-Season Completions
Player (Season)	Comp.
1. Josh Heupel ('99)	310
2. Garrick McGee ('94)	149

Single-Season TD Passes
Player (Season)	TD
1. Josh Heupel ('99)	30
2. Cale Gundy ('93)	14

Single-Season Completion Percentage
Player (Season)	Pct.
1. Hugh McCullough ('38)	.642
2. Josh Heupel ('99)	.620
3. Cale Gundy ('93)	.593


Single-Season Passing Yardage
Player (Season)	Yards
1. Josh Heupel ('99)	3,460
2. Cale Gundy ('93)	2,096

Single-Season Total Offense
Player (Season)	Yards
1. Josh Heupel ('99)	3,362
2. Cale Gundy ('93)	2,291

A Career Of A Season
There are very few programs with a history like OU's that has a player post single-season numbers so great that career records are threatened. Well, Josh Heupel did just that. In just 11 games he has posted numbers this season that have taken past OU signal-callers a career to compile. Take a glance at where the first-year Sooner stands against the best OU seen.

Career Attempts
Player (Seasons)	Att.
1. Cale Gundy ('90-93)	751
2. Josh Heupel ('99)	500


Career Completions
Player (Seasons)	Comp.
1. Cale Gundy ('90-93)	420
2. Josh Heupel ('99)	310


Career TD Passes
Player (Seasons)	TD
1. Cale Gundy ('90-93)	35
2. Josh Heupel ('99)	30


Career Completion Percentage
Player (Seasons)	Pct.
1. Hugh McCullough ('37-38)	.642
2. Josh Heupel ('99)	.620


Career Passing Yardage
Player (Seasons)	Yards
1. Cale Gundy ('90-93)	6,142
2. Bobby Warmack ('66-68)	3,527
3. Josh Heupel ('99)	3,460

Check Out Some More Heupel Hype

Heupel joins former Colorado quarterback Koy Detmer as the only Big 12 Conference quarterbacks to ever record more than 400 yards passing twice in a season. Detmer posted 400 or more yards three times during the 1996 season.

As far as Big 12 quarterbacks and the number of 300-yard passing games in their careers, Heupel currently ranks first with seven. Right behind him are Major Applewhite (Texas) with six and Koy Detmer (Colorado) with four.

With 30 touchdown passes to his credit, Heupel takes over the Big 12 Conference record (previously held by Michael Bishop of Kansas State 23 in 1998). The Oklahoma record for touchdown passes in a career is 35 by Cale Gundy.

His five rushing touchdowns this season represent almost a third of the team total and are the most by a Sooner QB since Eric Moore recorded five in 1997. Against Texas A&M, Heupel had five carries for five yards and three touchdowns.

With three passing and three rushing TDs versus A&M, Heupel accounted for six touchdowns in one game for the second time this season. Against Louisville, Josh threw for five TDs and ran for one.

Heupel has completed touchdown passes to 16 different receivers this season, another school record. The previous record total was nine different receivers in 1996.

Heupel is the first player in the history of OU football to pass for more than 3,000 yards and collect more than 3,000 yards of total offense in a season.

With the conference record for touchdown passes already in his pocket, Heupel has now won the battle with Major Applewhite (Texas) for the other major passing records for a single season. Here is where the number stood at the end of the regular-season.

Season Attempts

Heupel:	500, 1999 (11 games)
Applewhite:	467, 1999 (13 games)
Big 12:	374, Todd Bandhauer, Iowa St., '97
Big 8:	408, Mike Norseth, Kansas, '85
SWC:	354, Billy Joe Tolliver, Texas Tech, '88

Season Completions

Heupel:	310, 1999 (11 games)
Applewhite:	271, 1999 (13 games)
Big 12:	208, Koy Detmer, Colorado, '96
Big 8:	234, David Archer, Iowa St., '83
SWC:	216, Robert Hall, Texas Tech, '93

Season Passing Yards

Heupel:	3,460, 1999 (11 games)
Applewhite:	3,349, 1999 (13 games)
Big 12:	3,156, Koy Detmer, Colorado, '96
Big 8:	2,995, Mike Norseth, Kansas, '85
SWC:	2,894, Robert Hall, Texas Tech, '93

Season Completion Percentage

Heupel:	.620, 1999 (11 games)
Applewhite:	.580, 1999 (13 games)
Big 12:	.618, Tony Lindsay, Oklahoma St., '97

Daniels Is Double Trouble
Senior Brandon Daniels is one of those players who has to be feared twice as much. As a wide receiver, Daniels led the squad in catches with 50, becoming just the second OU player ever to record 50 or more receptions in a single season.

The other threat comes when Daniels is back waiting for a kickoff. He finished the '99 regular season No. 1 in the nation in kick return average (31.8). For his efforts he earned first-team All- Big 12 honors and was named a semifinalist for the Special Teams Player of the Year.

Against Notre Dame, Daniels posted returns of 89, 43, 68, 22 and 7 yards. His 89-yard return for a touchdown stands as the fourth- longest kickoff return in school history. The 229 yards in kickoff returns against Notre Dame smashed the old OU record of 133 by Stanley Wilson in 1982 and the Big 12 record of 186 by Ben Kelly (Colorado) in 1997.

Single-Season Kickoff Return Yards

Player (Season)	Ret.	Yds	Avg.
1. Brandon Daniels ('99)	16	508	31.8
2. Everette Marshall ('69)	18	386	21.4

Single-Season Kickoff Return Average

Player (Season)	Ret.	Yds	Avg.
1. Buster Rhymes ('80)	8	283	35.5
2. Brandon Daniels ('99)	16	508	31.6

Career Kickoff Return Yards

Player	Ret.	Yds	Avg.
1. Buster Rhymes	46	1,037	22.5
2. Eddie Hinton	41	845	20.6
3. Jarrail Jackson	48	842	17.5
4. Brandon Daniels	33	787	23.8
5. Joe Washington	39	728	18.7
6. P.J. Mills	38	718	19.0

Career Kickoff Return Average

Player	Ret.	Yds	Avg.
1. Lance Rentzel	16	415	25.9
2. Brandon Daniels	33	787	23.8
3. Jack Mitchell	29	665	22.9
4. Buster Rhymes	46	1,037	22.5

Plenty Of Action For Jackson
Senior receiver/punt returner Jarrail Jackson has been having the best season of his career at OU.

Entering the season with 23 career catches, Jackson currently ranks second on the squad with 44 catches for a team-leading 583 yards and six touchdowns. His six TD catches ties him with Eddie Hinton for the single-season record at OU.

As a punt returner, Jackson entered the season as the Sooners' career leader in returns and yards. Jackson finishes his career with 125 career punt returns for 1,241 yards (9.9 avg.) and two touchdowns.

Against Missouri, he broke the school record for most punt return yards in a game (109 by Greg Pruitt) with 146 on six tries (24.3 avg.).

It was recently discovered that Jackson ranks sixth on the NCAA career punt return yardage list. Here's what the list looks like:

NCAA Career Punt Return Yards

Player (School)	Yds
1. Lee Nalley (Vanderbilt)	1,695
2. Tyrone Thurman (Texas Tech)	1,466
3. David Allen (Kansas St.)	1,448
4. Lindy Berry (TCU)	1,380
5. Tony James (Mississippi St.)	1,332
6. Jarrail Jackson (Oklahoma)	1,241
7. Ledel George (N.C. State)	1,191

As far as all-purpose yards are concerned, J.J. ends his OU career ranked 14th on the OU career list (3,145). Here are some of the Sooners just head of him in the OU record book:

Career All-Purpose Yards
Player (Seasons)		Yds
1. Joe Washington ('72-75)		5,783
2. Steve Owens ('67-69)		4,146
3. De'Mond Parker ('96-98)		4,125
4. Greg Pruitt ('70-72)		3,990
5. Billy Sims ('75-79)		3,702
10. Billy Vessels ('50-52)		3,264
13. James Allen ('93-96)		3,171
14. Jarrail Jackson (1996-)		3,145

Getting Better With Time
The Sooner defense has been making steady progress toward becoming a force within the Big 12 Conference. With a new scheme in place, OU has showed signs of being one of the best defensive units in the nation. Here are some highlights from the season.

After going almost eight seasons without a shutout, the Sooners have tossed two this season (Indiana State and Missouri) and kept Oklahoma State out of the end zone as well. It's the first time since 1987 that OU has held two opponents scoreless.

Oklahoma is one of seven Big 12 schools that have pitched a shutout this season. However, the Sooners are in an elite class with Nebraska and Kansas State as the only league schools to have more than one.

Baylor recorded 202 yards of total offense, but 83 of those came on the Bears' fourth quarter scoring drive. The OU defenders also allowed the BU offense minus three yards (on just six plays) during the third quarter.

OU allowed Louisville 249 yards of total offense in the first half, then the Sooners' defense held the Cardinals to 137 yards in the second half, 78 of which came on their second drive of the third quarter.

The Sooner defense held Texas A&M (which was averaging more than 440 yards per game) to only 230 yards the entire night, including just 64 yards rushing.

In the last four games of the regular season the Sooners were tough to run against. Take a look:

	Average	Held To
Opponent	Coming In	By OU
Missouri	190.7	105
Iowa State	228.7	57
Texas Tech	150.8	100
Oklahoma St.	161.7	83

Iowa State running back Darren Davis...
who ranked fifth nationally (140.0 ypg) when he faced the Sooner defense, gained just 53 yards on 17 carries versus OU. He picked up 25 yards of his total on one run and had just four carries all day with positive yardage.

The Sooners have 15 interceptions this season, the most since picking off 17 in 1993.

Through the regular season, OU's opponents have run 774 plays and 351 of those (45.3%) have resulted in zero or minus yardage.

The Sooner defense has recorded minus yardage 130 times this season, including 15 times against Oklahoma State in the season finale.

Of the 774 plays run against OU this season, only 100 (12.9%) have been for 10 or more yards.

Oklahoma has allowed its opponents to convert just one of 10 fourth down tries this season. OU's foe has failed on seven straight fourth down attempts.

The Sooners have allowed just 27 points (three TDs and two FGs) in the first quarter this season.

After finishing seventh in the Big 12 Conference (36th nationally) a year ago in scoring defense (20.8 ppg), OU currently stands third in the league and 16th nationally with a 18.4 opponent scoring average.

Oklahoma has been one of the toughest teams in the Big 12 Conference inside the red zone in '99. OU finished the regular season ranked third among red zone defenses, allowing opponents to convert just 60 percent (20 of 33) of their possessions inside the Sooner 20.

Inside Big 12 play, the Sooners finished third in the league in defensive scoring with a 18.3 average. Nebraska topped the league with a 15.5 average. Here's a look at the entire Big 12 in defensive scoring (league games only):

Team	Points	Avg.
Nebraska	124	15.5
Kansas State	137	17.1
Oklahoma	147	18.3
Texas	151	18.9
Texas A&M	172	21.5
Colorado	176	22.0
Texas Tech	213	26.6
Oklahoma State	229	28.6
Kansas	242	30.2
Missouri	292	36.5
Iowa State	224	28.0
Baylor	347	43.3

A New Marshall In Town
Junior linebacker Torrance Marshall was named the Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year by The Dallas Morning News for a very good reason. He's has left a lasting impression in the Oklahoma football history book. A starter in all but one game, Marshall finished the regular season third on the squad in tackles (97) but it's his tackles for loss that everyone has noticed. Marshall has 17 tackles for loss for 49 yards, tying the school single-season record set by Brian Bosworth in 1986.

Marshall also leads the squad in sacks with seven for -31 yards.

Getting A Piece Of The Rock
Sooner sophomore linebacker Rocky Calmus has been a constant on the defensive front for OU this season. A starter in all but one, Calmus has played all but a handful of downs and leads the team with 114 total tackles, 76 of which are unassisted.

Calmus has recorded 10 or more tackles in all but four games. Against Colorado, he tied the school record (previously held by Brian Bosworth vs. Miami in 1986) for tackles in a game with 22 (12 solo).

In the regular season finale against Oklahoma State, Calmus played with a broken bone in his leg. Despite horrible pain, the All-Big 12 linebacker recorded nine tackles and one sack.

In the category of tackles for loss by a linebacker, Calmus moves into impressive company in the OU record book with 14 for -29 yards this season. He's currently fifth on the single-season list and tied for third with 25 for -55 yards on the career list. Here's a glance at both charts:

Season Tackles For Loss (Linebackers)

	Player (Season)	Total	Yds
1.	Brian Bosworth ('86)	17	79
	Torrance Marshall ('99)	17	49
3.	Ontei Jones ('98)	16	45
4.	Rocky Calmus ('99)	14	29
5.	Tyrell Peters ('94)	13	46
6.	Brian Bosworth ('84)	11	66
	Brian Bosworth ('85)	11	46
	Rocky Calmus ('98)	11	38

Career Tackles For Loss (Linebackers)

	Player (Seasons)	Total	Yds
1.	Brian Bosworth ('84-86)	39	191
2.	Tyrell Peters ('93-96)	27	88
3.	Rocky Calmus ('98-)	25	55

Quick Scoring Sooners
Oklahoma has shown its ability to strike quickly this season. Of the 60 scoring drives through the regular season, 30 have been on six plays or less. Of those 30, 10 were drives of three plays or less, and that doesn't count the kickoff return by Brandon Daniels against Notre Dame, the punt return by Jarrail Jackson versus Missouri, the punt return by J.T. Thatcher against Oklahoma State or the interception return by Mike Woods.

	Scoring	Total		Long	Short
Game	Drives	Time	Avg.	Drive	Drive
ISU	7	18:01	2:53	11	1
Baylor	7	21:15	3:02	14	2
UL	6	13:48	2:24	7	4
ND	3	8:03	3:07	9	2
Texas	5	12:23	2:03	10	2
A&M	9	26:26	3:30	14	3
CU	4	9:48	2:27	11	6
MU	5	7:58	1:51	9	2
Iowa St.	5	10:28	2:05	10	4
Tech	4	9:10	2:17	10	5
OSU	5	12:45	2:49	10	3
Totals	60	144:05	2:20	14	1

Against A&M, the Sooners scored on nine of 14 possessions and recorded their third-longest (time) drive of the year (5:39). The longest drive (time) was 6:08 against Baylor.

In the game with Missouri, OU had scoring drives that lasted :44, :56 and :08. Against Iowa State, the Sooners' first scoring drive took :50. That brings the total number of scoring drives under one minute to 10. The Sooners have also scored twice this season in less than 10 seconds.

The 92-yard scoring drive by the Sooners in the fourth quarter against Iowa State marked the 12th time this season OU recorded a drive of 80 yards or more. It was the third scoring drive of more than 90 yards this season.

So far this season, OU has put together eight scoring drives of 10 plays or more, including a season-best 14-play drive against both Baylor and Texas A&M.

Charting The Red Zone
After hitting paydirt about 75 percent of the time and scoring just 10 touchdowns a year ago, the Sooners have shown a vast improvement to those numbers this season. Here is the complete breakdown for the '99 season:

	OU	Opp.
Possessions	49	33
Touchdowns	36	13
Field Goals	9	7
Success Rate	.959	.600
Missed FG	1	4
Turnovers	3	4
Lost On Downs	0	5

The Long Distance Call
Oklahoma's offense has generated its share of big plays this season, especially from the passing attack. During the regular season, OU has recorded 57 plays of 25 yards or more from the running game, passing game and special teams returns.

At the same time, the Sooner defense has allowed just 31 plays from scrimmage of 25 yards or longer.

Sooner Long Plays

Opp.	Rush	Pass	Ret.	Total
ISU	0	1	0	1
Baylor	2	1	1	4
UL	0	4	0	4
ND	0	1	3	4
Texas	0	5	2	7
A&M	1	6	2	9
Colorado	0	2	2	4
Missouri	2	4	2	8
Iowa St.	4	1	0	5
Tech	1	3	1	5
OSU	0	2	4	6
Totals	10	30	17	57

Opponent Long Plays

Team	Rush	Pass	Ret.	Total
ISU	0	0	1	1
Baylor	0	1	0	1
UL	0	2	1	3
ND	2	1	0	3
Texas	3	5	1	9
A&M	0	1	1	2
Colorado	0	3	0	3
Missouri	0	0	1	1
Iowa St.	1	1	0	2
Tech	0	3	1	4
OSU	0	2	0	2
Totals	6	19	6	31

After allowing five running plays of 25 or more yards in back-to-back games against Notre Dame and Texas, the Sooners have allowed just one running play of 25 or more yards in the last six games.

The Missouri game marked just the second time this season OU has gone entire game without allowing the opponent a play of 25 or more yards through the air.

The Margin Of Victory
A one-point win is enough for anyone associated with any athletic program, but through 11 games the Sooners stand seventh nationally in the category of victory margin. Oklahoma is one of two teams inside the top 10 of this category which isn't ranked in the national polls (Utah is the other).

Here's the way OU stacks up heading into the bowl:

Opp.
	Scoring	Scoring	Victory
Team	Avg.	Avg.	Margin
Virginia Tech	41.4	10.5	30.9
Kansas State	39.4	13.1	26.3
Marshall	36.7	11.2	25.5
Wisconsin	35.6	13.2	22.4
Nebraska	34.3	12.5	21.8
Florida State	37.5	15.8	21.7
Oklahoma	36.8	18.4	18.4
Miami (Fla.)	33.7	17.3	16.4
Minnesota	31.6	15.6	16.0
Utah	33.0	17.6	15.4

And Then There Was One
Senior offensive lineman Jay Smith is the only member of the Sooner playing squad who has been to a bowl game. Smith, a sixth-year senior from Arlington, Texas, was a freshman on the OU squad that participated in the Copper Bowl in 1994.

During his career, Smith has played for four different head coaches (Gibbs, Schnellenberger, Blake and Stoops) and six different offensive coordinators (Coker, Brown, Nord, Winder, Dickinson and Leach).

The Fans Have Spoken
In August, the Athletic Media Relations Office at the University of Oklahoma began taking votes for the Oklahoma football all-century team. More than 5,000 Sooner fans e-mailed, wrote and called in votes for their favorite Sooner players.

Without further delay, here's who the fans consider members of the Oklahoma all-century football team:

Offense
Player	Pos.	Career
Greg Roberts	G	1975-77
Jim Weatherall	T	1948-51
Jerry Tubbs	C	1954-56
Buddy Burris	G	1946-48
Tom Brahaney	C	1970-72
Jack Mildren	QB	1969-71
Billy Sims	RB	1975-79
Joe Washington	RB	1972-75
Tommy McDonald	WR	1954-56
Tinker Owens	WR	1972-75
Keith Jackson	TE	1984-87


Defense
Player	Pos.	Career
Rick Bryan	DL	1980-83
Tony Casillas	DL	1982-85
Lee Roy Selmon	DL	1972-75
Darrell Reed	DL	1984-87
Rod Shoate	LB	1972-74
Brian Bosworth	LB	1984-85
George Cumby	LB	1976-79
Rickey Dixon	DB	1984-87
Zac Henderson	DB	1974-77
Randy Hughes	DB	1972-74
Terry Ray	DB	1988-91

Loving The Sooners
There is no question that Sooner fans believe in their program.

With more than 17,000 tickets sold to the Independence Bowl, plus five straight home games sold out this season, Oklahoma fans have proven that they like what they see. The five straight sellouts this season marks the first time since 1987 that Memorial Stadium has been soldout every Saturday.

Last season, the Sooners recorded the highest percentage of capacity in the 90s (97.4%) with the help of two sellouts. This season, OU recorded a record 102.8 percent of capacity and finished third in the league in average attendance, behind Nebaska and Texas, who have larger stadiums.

The Final Say
Oklahoma has not allowed an opponent to score in the opening quarter in seven of 11 games this season. The four opponents who scored were Notre Dame, Texas, Colorado and Texas Tech...Oklahoma has outscored its opponent 113-27 in the first quarter this season, the widest scoring margin for OU in the first quarter since 1990 (104-36)...Prior to this season OU had been outscored in the first quarter the previous five years...With more than 100 penalties in each of the previous two seasons, the Sooners have certainly cut down on yellow flags. Through 11 games, OU has just 80 penalties (7.3 avg.) including the 13 OU had against Texas...

That total doesn't even come close to the 10.4 penalty average from a year ago and placed the Sooners third in the league...Giving credit to the Sooners' offensive line, OU has thrown 512 times this season and is currently ranked first in the Big 12 for the number of sacks allowed with 13...OU center Matt O'Neal has yet to give up a sack in his two seasons (23 games) as a Sooner...Oklahoma has scored at least 28 points in nine of its 11 games this season...In its history, OU is 273-9 when scoring at least 28 points in a game, including three losses this year...

Sooners Jarrail Jackson and Damian Mackey have recorded at least one catch in each game this season...Jackson has caught a touchdown pass in four of the last nine games and has a total of seven TD receptions for his career, tying him for 10th on the all-time career list with Derrick Shepard ('83-86) and Albert Hall ('91-94)...The Sooners currently have 10 players with 13 or more receptions this season, a first in OU football history...

While the Sooners rank 12th in the league in rushing (105.5 ypg), they stand fourth in the Big 12 in yards per carry (3.9)...With the punt returns for a TD by Jarrail Jackson against Missouri and J.T. Thatcher against Oklahoma State, OU has returned a punt and kickoff for TD in the same season for the first time since 1989...Senior cornerback Mike Woods has 17 passes broken up this season, shattering the previous school record of 12 held by four Sooners including greats Rickey Dixon and Randy Hughes...

Woods also owns the career mark with 37 PBUs, 10 more than the old record (27) held by Darrius Johnson...Brandon Daniels finished the regular season ranked second nationally in kickoff returns with an average of 31.8...Sooner punter Jeff Ferguson is having his best season to date with an overall average of 42.4...Ferguson is second in league games only with a 43.9 punting average...Oklahoma has allowed its opponents to convert just one of 10 fourth down tries this season, including seven straight stops...

Freshman running back Quenton Griffin has scored four touchdowns in the last three games, including three rushing...Sooner special teams are the best improved squads in the nation. Here are the national ranks for this season compared to one year ago -- punt returns (#15/#44), kickoff returns (#6/51) and net punting (#7/#21).

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