Sooners Hope For Crisper Performance And Big Plays Against Indians

Sept. 5, 2000

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - The No. 20 Oklahoma Sooners and quarterback Josh Heupel look to remain undefeated when they host the Arkansas State Indians on Saturday.

The Sooners (1-0) opened the season with a convincing but sloppy 55-14 win over UTEP last week. Oklahoma finished the game with three turnovers and nine penalties for 70 yards, all to the dismay of coach Bob Stoops.

"Any time you beat somebody 55-14, you've done a lot right," Stoops said. "But it was far too sloppy for us to be the kind of team we want to be."

Oklahoma slipped one spot in the AP Top 25 poll despite the lopsided win. Saturday's game should give Oklahoma a chance to fine tune its offense as the Sooners routed Arkansas State 61-0 in 1992 in the only previous meeting between the teams. Heupel threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for another score in the win over UTEP. It marked the 11th time in 13 career starts that Heupel threw for 200 or more yards.

According to Stoops though, "Renaldo Works stole the show."

The freshman running back finished with 98 rushing yards and three touchdowns on runs of 19, 6 and 5 yards. It was the first time an Oklahoma true freshman scored three times and it was the first three touchdown game by an OU running back since 1996.

The 55 points were the most by Oklahoma since a 55-17 win over Missouri in 1992.

The Sooner defense helped fuel the win by coming up with seven UTEP turnovers that Oklahoma turned into 35 points. One of those turnovers was a 35-yard interception return by Roy Williams.

The Indians meanwhile, fell 38-31 in OT to North Carolina State and now face an extremely potent Oklahoma team as a follow up.

"We have a tremendous challenge," ASU coach Joe Hollis said. "I have been looking at OU tape and going through scouting reports. We are playing a top 20 football team with great tradition, but our kids will prepare well. They have some great weapons."

Arkansas State, an independent team, is the second of a four-game season-opening homestand for the Sooners who will host Rice on Sept. 23 and kickoff their Big 12 schedule with Kansas on Sept. 30. The Sooners are riding a seven-game home winning streak.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Hope For Crisper Performance And Big Plays Against Indians

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