Dec. 27, 2002
Miscellany:
This is the 89th playing of the Rose Bowl, "the Granddaddy of the All," which, by the way, is protected as a registered phrase ... for the second time in as many years, Oklahoma is making a first-ever appearance in a bowl game (last year, it was the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, which is just 194 miles from Norman, Okla.) ... Washington State is in this game for just the third time ... Oklahoma will wear the white jerseys (OU also wore white in the 2002 Cotton Bowl) ... officials for this game will be assigned from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) ... The Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band will perform the national anthem (each band gets six minutes of the pre-game and eight minutes of the halftime) ... two pre-game fly-bys will feature Stealth Bombers ... the attendance figure could eclipse the previous high for a Sooner game. The current record of 88,119 saw Oklahoma's 29-28 win at Ohio State on Sept. 24, 1977. The largest crowd ever to see the Sooners in a bowl game was 84,031 at the 1972 Sugar Bowl. Oklahoma won that game over Auburn, 42-22 ... the Rose Bowl is the largest of all of the BCS stadiums ... stadium gates will open at noon, PST on game day ... Oklahoma will inhabit the west bench, the same side the Sooners occupy in Norman ... at 1,341 miles, this is not the longest bowl trip ever for OU -- that distinction still belongs to Miami at 1,581 miles, or 240 more than this trip ... the $14.2 million payout is the largest of any BCS game ... The Tournament of Roses parade, attended by more than one million people, lasts approximately 2.5 hours and covers 5.5 miles. This edition will feature 54 floats, 23 bands and 26 equestrian units.
Sooner Bowls At A Glance
A quick review of the Sooners' bowl history ...
After 35 bowl appearances, Oklahoma's bowl record is 22-12-1. This marks the Sooners' first trip to the Rose Bowl.
Oklahoma is bowl bound for the 36th time overall and the fourth year in a row. The longest string of consecutive seasons in a bowl at OU is eight from 1975-1982. The Sooners played in five straight from 1984-88. This string of four ranks No. 3 at the school.
Oklahoma has played 20 games on New Year's Day and holds a record of 15-5 in those games. This is OU's third consecutive January bowl game, including the 2000 Orange Bowl, which was played on Jan. 3. The last time Oklahoma played three straight January bowl games was from 1986-88.
Should Oklahoma win this game it will mark a third straight January bowl victory, something that hasn't been accomplished since Barry Switzer's team did it from 1978-80.
The Rose Bowl is the 11th different bowl game to host Oklahoma. The Orange Bowl has been OU's most frequent destination with a whopping 17 appearances.
Washington State becomes the 26th different bowl opponent for Oklahoma and the first Pac 10 opponent since Washington in the 1985 Orange Bowl. The Sooners are 0-2 vs. the Pac 10 in bowl play with a 28-17 loss in that Orange Bowl contest and a 32-21 setback at the hands of Arizona State in the 1983 Fiesta Bowl.
This marks the 11th time that Oklahoma has entered its bowl game ranked below its opponent (AP poll). The Sooners are 5-5 in the previous 10 games that fit that description.
Last year, Bob Stoops became the only Oklahoma coach to take his first three teams to bowl games so it only stands to reason that he's also the first to take his first four. Barry Swtizer got his fourth bowl game in his sixth season and Bud Wilkinson got his in his seventh, although bowl games were far less plentiful in those earlier eras.
Oklahoma sold all 25,000 of the tickets it was alloted for the game and did so by Dec. 10. On Monday, Dec. 9, some 13,000 tickets for the game were sold. It is believed to be the largest one-day sales figure ever for an OU bowl game.
GENERAL NOTES
How Oklahoma Got Here
Oklahoma is in the Rose Bowl by virtue of the Big 12 Conference championship it earned by downing Colorado in the Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship game at Houston's Reliant Stadium on Dec. 7.
Sooners vs. WSU, Pac 10
Oklahoma, as documented earlier in this guide, is 2-0 against Washington with a pair of shutout victories. Both of those games were played in Norman, Okla.
Those wins helped the Sooners build a 17-12-1 mark against teams currently holding membership in the Pacific 10 Conference.
We Should Do This More Often
Oklahoma has not played a Pac 10 team in a regular season game since Sept. 19, 1998, when California went to Norman and pinned a 13-12 setback on the Sooners. That changes next season when UCLA comes visits on Sept. 20. OU is scheduled to return that game in this same Rose Bowl venue on Sept. 27, 2005. The 2003 UCLA game is one of two games the Sooners will play against teams from California. Fresno State comes calling just one week earlier on Sept. 13. That contract does not call for a return visit from Oklahoma.
California Dreamin'
Oh, it's been more than dreaming. Oklahoma has made 11 previous to the state of California for the purpose of playing a football game. The first was in 1940 at Santa Clara and the most recent was in 1997 at California. The Sooners are 5-5-1 in those games.
Californians Home for the Holidays
There are four Californians on the Oklahoma roster ...
TE Chris Chester (Tustin)
LB Pasha Jackson (Hayward)
DB Aaron Miller (Fresno)
LB Lance Mitchell (Los Banos)
Second Rose Bowl Trip, Sort of
While this is Oklahoma's first trip to the Rose Bowl game, it is the Sooners' second appearance in the Rose Bowl stadium. The 1990 OU team defeated UCLA, 34-24, in the Rose Bowl stadium. Like this game, both teams were ranked (OU No. 23, UCLA No. 19) at the time of that game and OU was the lower ranked of the two. This is Oklahoma's sixth game in the Los Angeles area. The other four were against USC.
WSU Games Notable
Oklahoma has played just two games against Washington State (both in Norman), but both featured an interesting twist ...
The 1938 (Dec. 3) game was the regular season finale for the Sooners (they won 28-0), but it did not signal the end of the season. Twenty-nine days later, OU played in its first bowl game, the 1939 Orange Bowl contest against Tennessee.
The 1967 Oklahoma-Washington State game was the debut for head coach Chuck Fairbanks. OU won that game, 21-0. Fairbanks finished his six-year stint in Norman with a record of 49-18-1.
Cougar Connections
Kelvin Sampson became the 11th men's head basketball coach at Oklahoma on April 25, 1994, after seven years as the top man at Washington State. In 1994, his last in Pullman, Sampson led the Cougars to a 20-11 record and their first NCAA Tournament berth in 11 years.
OU men's assistant basketball coach Bennie Seltzer is the all-time assists leader at Washington State (473) and also ranks fourth in steals (147), fifth in points (1,423) and fifth in minutes played (3,227). He played there 1990-93. A first-team All-Pac-10 Conference selection as a senior, he averaged 17.9 points and 4.7 assists. He holds a sociology degree from WSU.
Assistant equipment manager Andy Weaver is in his first year at Oklahoma. He is a 2000 graduate of Washington State. He was at UCLA for the 2001 football season as an athletic equipment intern.
Joe Parker, director of the Sooner Club, was director of development at Washington State for 18 months from 1998-2000.
OU men's assistant men's basketball coach Jim Shaw has no direct tie to Washington State, but is a native of Port Townsend, Wash.
About These Sooners Defining characteristics of this OU team ...
This is the best rushing team Oklahoma has fielded under Bob Stoops (1999-present). In fact, it's the best rushing team at OU since the '97 club averaged 209.8 yards per game. Comparing 12-game regular season schedules, this team out-rushed last year's team by 802 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Quentin Griffin has rushed for 100 yards in eight straight games and became only the third OU back to gain 100 yards against an entire conference schedule. The other two who did it, Steve Owens and Billy Sims, won the Heisman Trophy.
The top four receivers, by receptions, in school history play on this team. All four surpassed Eddie Hinton's 34-year-old record during this season.
Despite playing a schedule that included seven games against teams ranked among the top 25 at some time during the season, OU limited its opponent to 15 or fewer points seven times.
The 2002 Sooners set an OU record for interception return yards in a season with 501 on 22 picks. The previous mark of 427 yards on 25 interceptions was set in 1987. This Oklahoma team has averaged 22.8 yards per interception return and three touchdowns.
Underclassmen Tommie Harris and Teddy Lehman were finalists for some of college football's most prestigious awards. Harris, a sophomore defensive tackle, was up for the Bednarik (top defensive player) and Lombardi (top lineman) Awards. Lehman, a junior linebacker, was a finalist for the Butkus Award (top linebacker).
OU has blocked six kicks this season, four punts (two for TDs) and two placements.
True freshman kicker Trey DiCarlo, who had no plans to be with OU until early August and one of the last players to join the team this season, is the Sooners' leading scorer. He also set an Oklahoma freshman record with 14 field goals and 96 points.
Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops
The numbers provide all of the explanation necessary as to why Bob Stoops is considered among the top coaches in the nation ...
Stoops is 42-9 overall, 0-0 vs. Washington State and the Pac 10, 26-7 vs. the Big 12, 15-5 vs. the Big 12 South, 11-2 vs. the Big 12 North, 16-2 vs. non-conference foes, 23-1 at home, 12-6 on the road, 7-2 on neutral fields and 2-1 in bowl games.
This is Stoops' 15th bowl game as a coach (head and assistant). All four of his Oklahoma teams have played in bowl games. Prior to his arrival, OU had gone four straight years without a bowl appearance. This is his second BCS bowl in the last three seasons. Before he came to Norman, Oklahoma's last appearance in what is now a BCS game was the 1988 (1987 season) Orange Bowl.
In Stoops' four seasons, Oklahoma has produced nine All-Americans and the winners of some of college football's most prestigious awards -- AP Player of the Year (Josh Heupel), Davey O'Brien (Josh Heupel), Mosi Tatupu (J.T. Thatcher), Bronko Nagurski (Roy Williams), Jim Thorpe (Roy Williams) and Dick Butkus (Rocky Calmus). OU has had a Butkus finalist in three straight years and a Lombardi finalist in the last two.
Of Stoops' 10 victories (in 11 tries) against top 10-ranked teams, eight were by comfortable double-digit margins.
At 42-9, he owns a winning percentage of .824. Only Barry Switzer (.837) and Bud Wilkinson (.826) won more frequently at OU.
Stoops picked up his 40th win in his 48th game as Oklahoma's head coach. Switzer got No. 40 in his 45th game and Wilkinson did so in his 47th.
On Stoops' watch, Oklahoma has set 72 school records (includes game, season, career, bowl and class records).
Stoops' teams have held a lead of 10 or more points in 43 of his 51 games
Quentin Griffin: Quent-Essential Info
Griffin ranks No. 4 in school history with 3,612 rushing yards. He trails only Joe Washington (3,995), Steve Owens (3,867) and Billy Sims (3,813). Griffin's total ranks No. 5 in the Big 12 history.
His single season total of 1,740 ranks No.2 at OU behind Billy Sims (1,762).
Has 43 career starts (consecutive), a record for OU running backs.
Has 478 consecutive touches (rushes and receptions) without a lost fumble.
With 43 rushing touchdowns, he now ranks No. 3 at Oklahoma behind Steve Owens (56) and Billy Sims (50).
He has now been over 100 yards in the last nine games, which includes OU's entire Big 12 schedule. The longest streak of consecutive 100-yard games at OU, including bowls, is an amazing 18 by Steve Owens (1968-69). Billy Sims is next with 13 (1978-79) followed by Griffin, then Greg Pruitt (1971) with six..
Eight of the nine longest runs of Griffin's career have come this season -- 63 yards vs. Colorado, 62 vs. Texas Tech, 61 vs. Baylor, 53 vs. Missouri, 50 vs.Tulsa, 49 vs. Tulsa, 45 vs. Texas and 44 vs. Tulsa. He had five runs of 20 yards or longer last season, but already has 14 this season.
He now ranks No. 2 in school history (behind Joe Washington's 5,783) with 4,824 all purpose yards.
Here are his various rankings in career Big 12 stats -- No. 6 in all purpose yards, No. 3 in rushing touchdowns (43), No. 10 in receptions (144), No. 8 in scoring (270) and No. 5 in rushing yards.
Hybl Hype
Nate Hybl (HIB-ul) threw four interceptions against Texas. In the other 12 games combined, he's thrown a total of four. Prior to his first pick this season (vs. Texas), he had thrown 152 consecutive passes without an interception. It was the longest active streak in the nation at the time.
Hybl compares favorably with some of the top 50 quarterbacks in America (by passing rating). He's No. 13 in percentage of touchdown passes, No. 19 in efficiency rating and No. 22 in touchdown passes.
Threw 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 12 games last season. In 13 games this season, he has 22 TD passes and 8 picks.
The drop in interceptions is even more impressive when considering that his yards per completion jumped from 10.6 last year to 12.1 this season.
The senior has completed 17 passes this season that covered at least 30 yards. Hybl has played in 28 games at OU and has at least one 30-yard completion in 14 of those, including 13 of the last 24.
He ranks among the top three in OU history in passing yards, completions, attempts, and touchdown passes.
Hybl ranks No. 7 in Big 12 history with 38 career touchdown passes.
Owns a record of 19-3 as a starter. That .864 winning percentage ranks No. 5 in school history behind Jimmy Harris (1.000), Steve Davis (.956), Jamelle Holieway (.909) and J.C. Watts (.880).
Career completion percentage of .577, which trails only Josh Heupel (.632) at Oklahoma.
Four For the Receiving Record
Eddie Hinton's OU record for receptions in a career (114) stood from 1968 until this year's opener when Antwone Savage bettered the mark. Now, three of Savage's teammates also have moved ahead of Hinton giving this team, by receptions, the top four receivers in school history ...
Trent Smith is the current leader at 149, followed by Savage 144 and Quentin Griffin at 144 and Curtis Fagan at 130.
The four players represent three different positions -- receiver (Fagan, Savage), tight end (Smith) and running back (Griffin).
Savage has exceeded Hinton's record for yards with 1,856 (Hinton had 1,739), which is No. 11 in Big 12 history. Fagan is No. 5 at OU with 1,586 and Smith is No. 10 at 1,405. Sophomore Mark Clayton has 935 career receiving yards and could become the 15th Sooner to exceed 1,000 receiving yards.
Savage caught a 40-yard touchdown pass at Baylor. His 12 career TD receptions have averaged 38.1 yards. He also has one touchdown on a rush and another on a kickoff return. Those 14 plays covered an average 41.8 yards.
Clayton ranks No. 6 on the team in reception with 26, but is tied for the team lead in touchdown catches with five. He has eight career touchdown grabs among his 71 career receptions. This season, one out of every five of his catches has gone for a score. Over his career, that ratio is one in nine.
Smith Re-Writes TD Record
Trent Smith now has 16 career touchdown receptions to break the Sooner record of 14 held by College Football Hall of Fame inductee Keith Jackson. Antwone Savage and Curtis Fagan have 12 each.
It's a Rush
Oklahoma's rushing average has vaulted from 119.4 yards per game last year to 194.0 this year. The yards per carry increased from 3.7 to 4.6. Last year's team rushed for an average of 7.4 yards per game. This year's team moved the chains on the ground 9.6 times per game. Last year's club rushed for 1.7 touchdowns per game, but this one upped that number to 2.5.
This Team Got the Point(s)
With 507 points, this is the highest scoring team in Oklahoma history, although the 13-game schedule is a distinct advantage. The 1971 team scored 494 in 11 games. If you add the 40 points that team scored in the Sugar Bowl, it goes back into the lead at 534.
For a second straight year, the Sooners have found seven different ways to score TD ... rushing (TU, UA, UTEP, MU, UT, ISU, BU, TT, OSU), passing (TU, UA, UTEP, MU, UT, ISU, CU, A&M, BU, TTU), punt return (TU, UTEP), interception return (vs. UTEP, BU), fumble return (UA) blocked punt (ISU, TTU) and a faked FG (vs. MU).
Oklahoma scored 68 points vs. UTEP and 60 vs.Texas Tech. It's the first time since 1988 that OU put up 60 twice in the same season.
All four of Bob Stoops' teams ranked among the nation's top 30 in scoring, but this one ranks the highest at No. 5.
Sooners Possessive
While it's interesting that OU has 112 scoring drives of less than two minutes during Bob Stoops' tenure, it should be noted that the Sooners have at least one scoring drive of six minutes or longer in five of their last five games. During that same time frame, OU has had 14 scoring drives that included at least 10 plays.
Lots of Peach Fuzz in the Line
Of the 10 players on OU's two-deep in the offensive line, seven are freshmen or sophomores. The five starters break down as two redshirt freshmen, two sophomores and a senior. Four freshmen lineman have started this season..
Third down Thunder
For the season, the Sooners are at 45% on third down. That's a marked improvement over last season's 37%.
Numbers That Define a Defense
The OU defense has forced at least one turnover in 45 of the last 51 games and at least one interception in 33 of the last 39.
OU has scored a defensive touchdown in nine of the last 26 regular season games. * Sooner opponents have completed 50% of their passes just 18 times in the 51 games coached by Bob Stoops. During that same span, OU foes have scored 14+ points just 19 times.
Since Stoops took over at OU, the Sooners have five shutouts. The opponents failed to score more than seven points in 17 of the 51 games (33% of the games).
Can't Win if You Can't Score
Before Bob Stoops arrived, Oklahoma opponents averaged at least 20 points per game over five consecutive seasons. In the four years since then, Sooner foes have yet to average that many points for an entire campaign. This one surrendered 15.5, the second-best total in Stoops' four years. Last year's team gave up just 13.8.
Sack Surge
Sixteen of Oklahoma's 30 sacks (47%) have come over the last four games. The Sooners had a season-high seven against Texas Tech. Brandon Shelby, a nickel back who is yet to start a game has four sacks this season, which ties a school record for most sacks by a defensive back. Jimmy Wilkerson is the leader with five.
Record for Interception Returns Falls
Oklahoma has set a record for interception return yards in one season with 501 on 22 interceptions. That obliterates the old mark of 427 set on 25 interceptions in 1987. OU is averaging 22.8 yards per interception return with three touchdowns. Five different players have a return that covered at least 30 yards. Three have gone for touchdowns.
Last season, Oklahoma intercepted 20 passes for the season and logged a return average of just 9.9 yards (198 total).
Derrick Strait averages 29.2 yards on his six interceptions, Antonio Perkins has averaged 27.8 yards on his four, Teddy Lehman 25.5 on his two and Brandon Everage 18.4 on his five.
Oklahoma has two or more interceptions in eight games. OU had three interceptions in four games.
With 22 interceptions and 69 pass deflections, the Sooners have gotten a hand on nearly one quarter of the opponents' aerials (22.9%).
Oklahoma is tied for No. 2 in the nation ith 22 interceptions. Only San Jose State picked off more at 23.
In the last four games that Oklahoma lost, the opponent threw at least 30 passes just once.
Intercepting Consistency
Oklahoma has 22 interceptions this season, but that's nothing new. This is the third consecutive season that the Sooners have pilfered at least 20 of the foe's passes. That's a first in OU history.
Working Alone
Oklahoma's defense has increased its unassisted tackles by nearly 10 percent over last season. Two Sooners have at least 80 solo tackles this season. Last year, there were none.
Lehman, Harris Finalists for Awards
Teddy Lehman was a finalist for the Butkus Award (best linebacker) and Tommie Harris a finalist for the Lombardi Award (best interior player) and Bednarik Award (best defensive player). It marked the third straight year that OU had a Butkus finalist, the second for the Lombardi. OU's Rocky Calmus, now a Tennessee Titan, won the Butkus last year and was a finalist for the Lombardi.
Ballcarriers "Lanced" in Record Numbers
LB Lance Mitchell has set an Oklahoma single season record with 19 tackles for loss. He surpassed a mark previously held by Brian Bosworth (1986), Torrance Marshall (1999) and Rocky Calmus (2000).
Mitchell has 119 tackles this season, the most ever registered by a junior college transfer in his first season. The previous best in that category belonged to Torrance Marshall, who had 97 in 1999. He will likely become the first, first-year player to lead OU in tackles since Rod Shoate, a sophomore at the time, had 139 in 1972.
Two Tough at Linebacker
Teddy Lehman and Lance Mitchell may be the nation's top linebacking duo and are on course to rival some of the best ever to play at Oklahoma ...
Lehman and Mitchell have combined for 10 double digit tackle games. Both have five. The two have posted double digit totals in the same game three times. That did not happen once last year.
Both are threatening the OU season record for tackles for loss by a linebacker. Brian Bosworth (1986), Rocky Calmus (2000) and Torrance Marshall (1999) share the mark at 17. Mitchell already broke the cord with 19, while Lehman is at 14.
The duo has two interceptions (Lehman vs. Texas, Colorado), but had their hands on 18 footballs. Lehman has two fumble recoveries, one fumble forced, seven pass break-ups and two interceptions, while Mitchell has four breakups and two forced fumbles.
Defensive Bowl Feat
Oklahoma has allowed a total of just five points and, obviously, no touchdowns over its last two bowl games -- a 13-2 win over Florida State in the 2001 Orange Bowl and a 10-3 triumph over Arkansas in the 2002 Cotton Bowl. The last touchdown scored against OU in bowl action came on an 80-yard run by Mississippi's Deuce McAlister in the 1999 Independence Bowl. That play came with 4:05 left in the second quarter, which means 124 minutes and five seconds of bowl play have passed since OU last surrendered a six-pointer.
Sooners a Constant Among Nation's Best
The NCAA tracks six defensive categories, not including turnover margin, which also includes special teams and offense. The six are rushing defense, passing defense, pass efficiency defense, total defense and scoring defense. This year's team is ranked among the nation's top 10 in two of those (No. 6 in scoring defense and No. 9 in pass efficiency and scoring). Over three seasons and with those six categories, there are 18 opportunities to be ranked among the top 10 in those various categories. Including this season, OU has been among the top 10 in 10 of 18 opportunities. OU's defense ranks among the top 25 this season in scoring defense (No. 6), pass effiency defense (No. 9), total defense (No. 13), passing defense (No. 23) and rushing defense (No. 25).
Lehman's Terms
Physical enough to make 77% of his tackles unassisted, Teddy Lehman's speed also has resulted in 15 tackles for loss and two interceptions with 51 yards in returns.
Lehman had one career double-digit tackle game before this season, but has six in 2002. Three of the six came vs. ranked opponents.
Everage, Strait Were in Thorpe Semis
Oklahoma ad two semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award in FS Brandon Everage and CB Derrick Strait.
Everage ranks No. 3 on the team with 82 tackles. He also has five interceptions, which he returned for 92 yards and a team-high 11 passes broken up. His standout games recently included 12 tackles (all solo against Baylor), 17 tackles against Colorado, two interceptions against Iowa State.
Strait has a team-high six interceptions, which he has returned for 175 yards and one touchdown. He set a school record for interception yards in a game with 127 at Baylor. He also has established an OU mark for interception returns for touchdown in a career with three. Against, Iowa State, he blocked a punt that the Sooners recovered for a touchdown.
Perked Up
Antonio Perkins has four interceptions despite making just three starts. Here's more on the dynamic DB/return specialist ...
He's averaging a team-high 27.8 yards per interception return. In addition, he has one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.
Has two punt returns for touchdowns this season -- a 91-yarder at Tulsa and an 82-yarder against South Florida. Needs one more return for a TD to equal the school record held by Merrill Green (1953) and Jack Mitchell (1946 and 1948).
Ranks No. 2 at OU in punt return yards in a game with 150 vs. USF. That number was just 10 yards shy of the mark set by J.T. Thatcher vs. Arkansas State in 2000.
Perkins is one of only two OU players to have two 100-yard punt return games in the same season. J.T. Thatcher did it in 2000.
Perkins is enjoying the third-best season in OU history in punt return yards with 483.
Has five returns of more than 20 yards. The 91-yarder at Tulsa tied for No. 3 in school history, while the 82-yarder vs. USF stands at No. 8. He is the only Sooner with two among the top 10.
Well, Isn't That Special
A look at special teams notes from Bob Stoops' era as OU's head coach ...
There have been 14 special teams touchdowns, eight in the last 25 regular season games. Those eight came via four different plays -- two punt returns, two faked field goals, a blocked punt, a kickoff return and a faked punt .
OU has returned four kickoffs and four punts for touchdowns.
The Sooners have blocked 13 kicks.
Trey = Three
Trey DiCarlo's emergence at Oklahoma has to rate among the all-timers when it comes to unlikelihood. After leaving the Naval Academy last summer, he was back in his hometown of Carrollton, Texas, contemplating a next move when the August call went out from Oklahoma that a kicker was needed ...
He set a school record for points by a freshman with 96.
His 14 field goals made this season is a freshman record at OU. The previous best was held by R.D. Lashar with 10 in 1987.
Made four FG (4-4) at Texas A&M to tie the school record and set a freshman mark.
Made eight of his last 10 FG with the misses coming in wet conditions vs. Colorado.
DiCarlo's 14 field goals equal the seventh-best single season in school history, the most by an OU freshman. He's already No. 10 on OU's career field goals list.
His 14 points at Texas A&M tied for the sixth-best kick scoring total in school history. It also tied the freshman mark in that category.
He has made 52-of-55 PATs this season.
DiCarlo ranks No. 6 in the Big 12 at 8.2 points scored per game.
Andre The Giant?
It would seem that way for Andre Woolfolk, but more than stature, it's his nearly 40-inch vertical leap that has led to three blocked field goals. The senior got No. 3 against Colorado. He had previous blocks against Texas (2001) and Alabama (2002). Other players with blocked kicks this season -- both punts -- are Derrick Strait and Brandon Shelby.
There is a Reason He's Not Ranked
Antwone Savage is one of the most dangerous return men ever to wear a Sooner uniform, but opponents have done such a good job keeping the ball out of his hands that it has damaged his reputation. For a second straight year, Savage does not have enough attempts to rank among the nation's leadersin kickoff returns. The same was true last season. Over those two campaigns, Savage has 26 returns for 744 yards, or an average of 28.6 yards per return. This year, he took a kickoff back 81 yards against Texas for the longest KO return ever by a Sooner in the storied series with the Longhorns.
Punt Coverage Stellar
Before Colorado's Jeremy Bloom went 80 yards in the Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship game, Oklahoma was treading in some sacred territory. The 3.8 yards per return average in place before Bloom's run was the fifth-best in school history. That one return elevated the opponents' average to 6.8, still a very respectable number for the Sooners.
Sooner Summation
Oklahoma is 5-of-6 on two-point conversions during the Bob Stoops era. This year's statistics show two failed two-point attempt, but that play was intentionally downed.
During Bob Stoops' tenure, Oklahoma is 32-of-57 (8-14 in 1999, 6-12 in 2000, 4-of-10 in 2001, 13-18 in 2002) on fourth down for 56.1%.
Nineteen Sooners have scored a touchdown. Last season, 17 OU players crossed the goal line.
Special teams and/or defense have at least one TD in 19 of Bob Stoops' 50 games.
As part of the OU's $100 million Great Expectations: The Campaign for Sooner Sports, Memorial Stadium will be upgraded. The $65 million project will renovate 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. Work began after the 2001 season and be complete in time for the 2003 season.
The largest gift in the history of OU athletics - a $12 million from Edward L. Gaylord on behalf of the Gaylord family of Oklahoma City - has been presented to complete the $75 million expansion and restoration of Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The gift pushed OU's Great Expectations Campaign, which began in January of 1999, beyond its $100 million goal to $102 million..png&width=40&height=40&type=webp)
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