Sooners Try to Rebound From First Loss Against Lowly Tulsa

Oct 30, 2001

Oklahoma is taking on Tulsa at the perfect time.

Following their first loss since the 1999 Independence Bowl, the third-ranked Sooners (7-1) likely won't have a problem avoiding a letdown Saturday against the struggling Golden Hurricanes at Memorial Stadium.

Despite Saturday's 20-10 loss at then-No. 3 Nebraska, which snapped the nation's longest winning streak at 20 games, the Sooners fell just one spot to second place in the Bowl Championship Series standings and are still alive for the Big 12 championship.

However, they will have to get back on track without their starting quarterback.

Jason White will not play because of a sprained knee suffered Saturday, but coach Bob Stoops said the sophomore could play against Texas A&M on Nov. 10. That sentiment contradicts a newspaper report that claimed White tore his anterior cruciate ligament and his status for the rest of the season was in doubt.

The report didn't sit well with Stoops.

"It continues to be a sprained knee, and let me clarify that because there's been a lot of people calling me and take issue with my comments," Stoops said.

"I want to make sure that you always understand since I've been here, I have never said anything that is not true to the media or to the public," he continued. "A sprain, whether it be to an ankle, a shoulder, a knee, is damage to a ligament. That is what a sprain is.

"I guess I didn't realize I needed to define what a sprain is, but he has a sprained knee and that's the situation."

White, who took over the offensive reins from Nate Hybl before the Sooners' 38-10 win over Baylor on Oct. 20, had come off the bench the two previous weeks to lead Oklahoma to victories over Texas and Kansas.

Hybl, who completed 17 of 36 for 184 yards, one touchdown and one interception against Nebraska, regains control of the offense, while redshirt freshman Hunter Wall will be the backup.

They will look to keep the Sooners in the thick of the Big 12 and national title races. With that 14-3 victory over Texas, Oklahoma, 4-1 in the conference, is still in first place in the Big 12 South. As such, the Sooners are still on track to appear in the Big 12 Championship Game where they may face the Cornhuskers again.

"There isn't anyone sitting around hanging their head," Stoops said of Saturday's loss. "They're determined to play better and improve."

That begins against a Tulsa team mired in a six-game losing streak.

Tulsa is coming off Saturday's embarrassing 63-27 loss to the San Jose State. The Golden Hurricanes' defense surrendered 746 yards of offense in a game coach Keith Burns termed the low-point of his two-year career at Tulsa.

"They say you only hit bottom one time," Burns said. "We're pretty much there."

With Oklahoma trying to rebound from its first loss of the millennium, he may have spoke too soon.