Football Hosts North Texas Saturday Night

Sept. 6, 2001

Sooners Begin Season's Longest Homestand
The Oklahoma football team, fresh off a 44-3 romp at Air Force, returns home to begin a three-game homestand, its longest of the season, when it hosts North Texas, Saturday. UNT will be on the road for the first time after dropping a 19-5 decision to Texas Christian in last week's season opener. OU hosts this game and one against Tulsa (Sept. 15) before beginning Big 12 Conference play against Kansas State.

Game Televised on Pay-Per-View Basis
Saturday's game verus the Eagles, as well as the Sept. 15 game against Tulsa, will be televised on a pay-per-view basis. Big 12 Special Order Sports, Fox Sports Net's pay-per-view division, is producing and distributing the telecasts to participating Oklahoma cable systems. Bill Land (play-by-play), Gary Reasons (analyst) and Mick Cornett (sideline reporter) will call the action. Suggested retail price for each pay-per-view telecast is $24.95. A toll-free number (1-888-9-SOONERS) has been established for customers interested in purchasing the telecasts or to inquire about the availability of the games in their area.

Both the OU-North Texas and OU-Tulsa games will be replayed on Fox Sports Net early the next morning. The OU-North Texas game will air Sunday at 2 a.m. CDT while the OU-Tulsa contest will air Sunday, Sept. 16, also at 2 a.m. CDT.

Coaches Capsule
Oklahoma's Bob Stoops (Iowa ' 83), winner of seven national coach of the year citations last season, is in his third year at the Sooner helm. He owns a record of 22-5, which includes a 0-0 ledger against North Texas (a more in-depth look at Stoops can be found inside).

North Texas' Darrell Dickey (Kansas State '84) is 8-26-0 in his fourth season with the Mean Green. As a player at K-State, Dickey played for his father, Jim, who also was an assistant at Oklahoma from 1969-72. The younger Dickey, who is 0-0 as a head coach against Oklahoma, led the Wildcats to their post-season appearance, the 1982 Independence Bowl.

Festivities
Sooner Fan Fest, including activities and games for fans, will be open from 3-6 p.m., Saturday on the tennis courts located just east of Memorial Stadium. There is no admission charge.

The Polls
Oklahoma is ranked No. 3 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls.

Tickets
This will be Oklahoma's 13th consecutive home sellout, which matches every game of Bob Stoops' tenure. This year, OU sold more than 65,000 season tickets.

Sooners Own Nation's Longest Winning Streak
OU owns the nation's longest current winning streak at 15, the best by the Sooners since a string of 20 between 1986 and 1987.

The Series
Oklahoma leads the series, 4-0, and has won those four games by an average of 40.5 points per game. The last meeting was Sept. 5, 1998, and the Sooners prevailed by a 37-9 count. All four of the previous meetings between these two were played in Norman.

About the Opponent

North Texas opened last Saturday with a 19-5 home loss to Texas Christian. The game featured five field goals, including four by TCU's Nick Browne. The Mean Green mustered just five first downs, but also limited the Horned Frogs to 198 yards of total offense. North Texas rushed 31 times and attempted only 12 passes, of which it completed three.

UNT, which is playing its first season in the Sun Belt Conference, returns 13 starters, six on offense, six on defense and one kicker. Seven of the returning starters (four on offense and three on defense) are linemen. Last season, the team finished 2-9.

OU's Most Recent Game
A quick review of the Sooners' most recent outing, a 44-3 victory at Air Force, last Saturday ...

Oklahoma handed Air Force its worst home loss since BYU topped the Falcons by a 54-7 count on Nov. 3, 1990. The Sooners also limited the Falcons to their lowest scoring total in a home tilt since a three-point output against Hawaii on Sept. 12, 1992. It was the lowest Air Force scoring output, home or away, since a 30-3 loss to BYU on Sept. 25, 1993.

Air Force was held without a touchdown for the first time in 70 games and went without a TD in a home game for the first time in 103 games.

Oklahoma became the first non-conference team in 11 tries to defeat a Fisher DeBerry-led Air Force team in its home opener.

Oklahoma rushed for 237 yards, the fourth-best figure of the Bob Stoops era, and averaged 6.8 yards/rush. Quentin Griffin gained a career-high 201 yards on 26 carries with one TD.

Nate Hybl began the game 4-of-12 for 15 yards, then hit 10 of his last 19 for 146 yards.

Jeff Ferguson's 54.2-yard punting average on five kicks ranked No. 2 for a single game in Sooner history.

Heinecke's Record Adds to Impressive Return Totals
Cory Heinecke's 69-yard fumble return was a school record. Coupled with Rocky Calmus' 14-yard return against North Carolina, it marked the second fumble return for touchdown in as many games for this year's Sooners. Of OU's 440 return yards this season, nearly half (42%, 186) have come on interception and fumble returns. The average on those five defensive returns has been 37.2 yards and three went for touchdowns.

Dominant Defense
Oklahoma's defense has denied opposing offenses at nearly every turn in recent games ...

The OU defense has at least one interception in 15 of the last 16 games dating back to 1999.

During those 16 games, OU has recorded 26 interceptions and 130 pass deflections.

The Sooner defense hasn't allowed a team to gain 300 or more yards rushing since Nebraska did so in 1997 (40 straight games).

The defense hasn't allowed a team to gain 200 or more yards rushing in 22 straight games.

OU's defenders have forced at least one turnover in 25 of the last 27 games, including the last 16 in a row.

In the 27 games under this coaching staff, Oklahoma's opponents have scored 14 or more points just nine times.

Defense in Depth
Six different players have accounted for OU's nine takeaways this season.

Nation's Top Kicking Duo?
A case could certainly be made for such. Tim Duncan has made all 10 PAT tries, all five field goal attempts and allowed just four of his 17 kickoffs to be returned. Jeff Ferguson is averaging 46.2 yards per punt with six of his 16 kicks downed inside the 20. Only eight of his 16 punts have been returned.

Getting Out of the Gates
Oklahoma has outscored its opponents by a 38-7 count in the first quarter and 61-17 in the first half of games this season. During Bob Stoops' stint at OU, the opposing team has scored on its opening drive in just 10 of 27 games. Ironically, North Texas scored on its initial drive on its most recent visit to Norman (1998) by marching 80 yards in 11 plays.

Sooners Not Possessive
Oklahoma has seven scoring drives of less than two minutes this season. They have had 68 of those brief, but productive possessions over the last three seasons.

Catching On
Through just two games, 10 Sooners have a pass reception. Over the entire course of the 2000 season, 13 OU players caught passes.

TDs Not Just For the Offense Anymore
Oklahoma has gotten at least one touchdown from a unit other than the offense in 11 of Bob Stoops' 27 games with the Sooners.

Against the Non-Cons
Including the win over Florida State in the most recent FedEx Orange Bowl, Oklahoma has won six consecutive games against non-conference opponents. The Sooners also have won five straight non-league games at home dating back to a 13-12 loss to California on Sept. 19, 1998. Over the last 10 seasons, OU is 19-3 against non-conference foes in Memorial Stadium, 6-4 against non-league team on the road.

Convincing Cushions
Under Bob Stoops, Oklahoma has had a double digit lead in all but four of its 27 games (exceptions are Colorado, Texas Tech and Mississippi in 1999, and Texas A&M in 2000).

The Sooners in Memorial Stadium
Oklahoma has won its last 14 games in Memorial Stadium and owns a 12-0 mark on Owen Field under Bob Stoops.

Sooner Summation

This marks just the second time in school history that Oklahoma has had a 12-game regular season slate. The other was 1997.

As part of the University of Oklahoma's $100 million Great Expectations: The Campaign for Sooner Sports, Memorial Stadium will be going through an upgrade, which is expected to begin after this season. The $65 million stadium project will renovate all facility structures and amenities, replace current seating, and add new seating - including 2,200 club seats and 27 sky suites - to bring capacity to more than 80,000. Brick and cast stone will be added to the stadium's exterior walls, giving the stadium a level of beauty in keeping with surrounding historic campus buildings. Renovations to the stadium are expected to start just after the 2001 football season and be complete in time for the 2003 season.

Rocky Gets Touches
It's not enough the Rocky Calmus is one of OU's all-time greats for tackles and tackles for loss, he also gets his hands on the ball an inordinate number of times. Including his interception and pass deflection at Air Force, the senior has 27 "touches" during his career -- 18 deflections, six fumble recoveries and three interceptions. Of the four takeaways he has returned (had no return on one of the interceptions), he has averaged 28.7 yards with three touchdowns.

More On Calmus
More on the linebacker, now being mentioned by several as a Heisman Trophy candidate

He is only the 15th Sooner to reach 300 career tackles and he has 13 double-digit tackle games for his career

His 45 tackles for loss already stand as a career school record for a linebacker, surpassing the 39 registered by Brian Bosworth. With two more TFL, Calmus would set a school record (all positions) in that category, exceeding the current mark of 46.5 by Cedric Jones.

Griffin: By Land and By Air
Quentin Griffin rushed for a career-high 201 yards on 26 carries in the win at Air Force. It was the best rushing total by a Sooner since De'Mond Parker gained 207 against Baylor on Nov. 14, 1998. Griffin's effort marked the 32nd 200-yard game by an OU player. Griffin's previous best was 123 yards against Iowa State in 1999. Also against Air Force, Griffin extended his school record for receptions in consecutive games to 20. He holds the OU records for career receptions by a back (61) and receiving yards by a back (368).

Duncan Down The Middle
Placekicker Tim Duncan has made all five field goal attempts, including a career-long 47-yarder at Air Force, and all 10 PAT tries. Duncan has 205 career points to become only the 15th Sooner to reach 200. His 98 points last season set a record for tallies by a kicker at OU. Duncan, who has made 29-of-42 field goals during his career (.690), has made 12 of his last 15. He also has made good on 68 of his last 69 PATs. Duncan has at least two field goals made in four straight games and now ranks No. 5 in school annals with 29 FGs.

Ferguson Good Even by His Standards
Punter Jeff Ferguson entered the season with the best career average in school history, but is exceeding those standards in 2001. Through two games, the Tulsa senior is averaging 46.2 yards per boot with six kicks downed inside the 20. He could become only the second Sooner to average at least 40 yards in each of his four years (Michael Keeling accomplished the feat 1979-82). With a 42.8-yard career average, the senior is attempting to break a 60-year-old Oklahoma mark, Jack Jacobs' career punting standard of 42.3 yards, which was set from 1939-41. Of Ferguson's 179 career punts, 55 (nearly one-third) have pinned the opponent inside the 20. Ferguson 71-yard punt at Air Force was the second-longest of his career and one of three in the game that covered at least 50 yards. He now has 35 of 50 yards or longer during his career.

Career Day for Everage
Free safety Brandon Everage had a career-high 12 tackles at Air Force. He averaged 4.1 stops per game last season, but is at 8.5 in this campaign.

Woolfolk A Two-Way Oddity
Andre Woolfolk started at both receiver and cornerback in the first two games. He is the first Sooner to play on both sides of the ball since Bud Hebert (A-bare) worked at both safety and split end in 1979. Woolfolk logged 62 plays at Air Force -- 31 on offense, 17 on defense and 14 on special teams.

Harris Start One for the Ages
Tommie Harris became the first true freshman interior defensive lineman to start for Oklahoma since 1987. That year, Marcus Lowe got a start against North Texas.

Fagan, Savage Climbing Receiving Chart
Curtis Fagan and Antwone Savage, both just juniors and just two of a deep and talented receiving corps, already figure prominently in Oklahoma receiving lore. Savage's 82 career catches rank No. 6 at OU, while Fagan is No. 7 at 78. The statistic to watch? Never has Oklahoma featured two receivers with 100 career receptions on the same roster. That's not surprising considering just two Sooners (Eddie Hinton 114, Stephen Alexander 104) have eclipsed the century mark. Fagan also has nine career TD grabs and needs five to set an OU record. The junior already owns or shares the game and season records.

Catch These Streaks
Four Oklahoma pass catchers will attempt to extend impressive strings of at least one reception in consecutive games during the 2001 season ...

Quentin Griffin (RB) likewise has at least one catch in 19* straight games.

Curtis Fagan (WR) has at least one reception in each of the last 11 contests. *school record

No Shot Put Here
Linebacker Teddy Lehman tips the scales at 225 pounds, but as a high school track and field athlete he was a heavily decorated sprinter, finishing second at the 2A state meet in 100 meters. He has been clocked at better than 4.4 in the 40. Similarly, Russell Dennison, a 220-pound freshman linebacker, was second in the 4A 100 meters at the Oklahoma state meet.

Been There, Done That
Linebacker Rocky Calmus, punter Jeff Ferguson, deep snapper Ben Panter, receiver Josh Norman and offensive tackle Frank Romero are the team leaders in games played at 38. Panter's 38 straight starts lead the squad. Of the regular position players, the longest consecutive starting strings belong to Romero, strong safety Roy Williams and defensive end Cory Heinecke at 19.

Sooner Firsts at Air Force
Career firsts for OU players in the game at Air Force ...

Nate Hybl's first rushing touchdown.

Jimmy Wilkerson made his first career start.

Cory Heinecke scored his first career touchdown (69-yard fumble return).

Antonio Perkins had his first career interception.

Roster Changes
Here are the number changes that have been made since the media guide was published. Teddy Lehman is No. 11 (was No. 54), Brandon Jones is No. 81 (was No. 5), Brett Rayl is No. 59 on offensive line (previously 97 on defensive line), Brian Hodges is No. 16 and a defensive back (was No. 18 duplicate and wide receiver), Adam Creath is No. 32 (previously No. 16), Jeremy Hess is No. 42 and a running back (was No. 85), Chris Toney is No. 49 (was No. 42), Quentin Morgan is now a WR (was a defensive back) and Chris Bush is No. 52 and and an offensive lineman (was No. 81 and a tight end).

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Football Hosts North Texas Saturday Night

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