Sooners Prepare to Host UCLA in ABC Game

Oklahoma vs. UCLA
Oklahoma (3-0) looks to defeat all of its non-conference competition for a third consecutive season when the Sooners host UCLA (1-1).

It's a flashback of sorts for OU, which played its final game of the 2002 season at the Bruins' home field -- the Rose Bowl (Oklahoma defeated Washington State, 34-14). The visiting Bruins are coming off their first victory of the season, a 6-3 decision over Illinois.

This is UCLA's second road game of the season and the second against a Big 12 opponent. Colorado downed UCLA, 16-14, at Boulder on Sept. 6. Oklahoma returns this game to LA on Sept. 17, 2005.

THE POLLS
OU is No. 1 in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls. UCLA is unranked.

THE SERIES
Oklahoma leads the series, 2-0. The first meeting took place on Sept. 6, 1986, when the No. 1-ranked Sooners defeated the No. 4-ranked Bruins, 38-3, in Norman. The second game took place on Sept. 8, 1990, with OU claiming a 23-19 triumph in Los Angeles.

THE COACHES
Oklahoma: Bob Stoops (Iowa 78), now in his fifth season with the Sooners, is 46-9 overall. He is 3-1 in bowls, 3-0 in January bowls, 2-0 in BCS games, 26-7 vs. the Big 12, 15-5 vs. the Big 12 South, 11-2 vs. the Big 12 North, 2-0 in the Big 12 Championship game, 20-2 vs. non-conference foes, 25-1 at home, 13-6 on the road, 8-2 on neutral fields and 0-0 vs. UCLA. UCLA: Karl Dorrell (UCLA 87) is in his first season as a head coach.

SPECIAL EVENTS
Game Sponsor for this week's game is the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office. Sooner Fan Fest begins three hours prior to kickoff. Participants in the autograph session will be announced later in the week. Sooner Salute honoree for this week is roy Witt, a 56-yard season ticket holder. 10,000 Pom Pons will be placed in the student section courtesy of OHSO.

ON THE AIR
ABC is televising regionally. The broadcast team is Brent Musburger (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (color) and Jack Arute (sideline). The Sooner Network has the radio call with Bob Barry, Sr., (play-by-play), Merv Johnson (color) and Mark Rodgers (sideline). Also on radio is a national broadcast on Sports USA. The broadcast team is Larry Kahn (play-by-play), Geno Toretta (color) and Troy West (sideline).

TICKETS
OU home games are sold out for a fifth straight season. The ticket office, located at the stadium, can be reached at 405-325-2424 or 1-800-456-GoOU.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT
UCLA is 1-1 after a 16-14 road loss at Colorado and last Saturday's 6-3 home triumph over Illinois. The Bruins are under first-year coach Karl Dorrell.
In the win over Illinois, freshman Justin Medlock made two first half field goals to account for all of UCLA's scoring. The Illini missed a 43-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter.
Injuries have taken their toll at quarterback. Back-up Drew Olson started against Illinois. For the season, he is 24-of-54 with two touchdowns and one interception. The top pass catcher is Craig Bragg with eight for 102 yards and one touchdown. Manual White (18-102) and Tyler Ebell (26-90) spearhead the rushing attack. Brandon Chillar is the top tackler with 26.
Dorrell was on Colorado's staff from 1992-93 and from 1995-98. The Buffs were 3-0-1 vs. OU during those stints. Running backs coach Eric Bienemy, a 2001 CU grad, also played and coached (2001-02) at Colorado as did assistant head coach and wide receivers coach Jon Embree (he graduated in 88 and coached at CU from 1993-02).
UCLA defensive backs Gary DeLoach was on the North Texas coaching staff that played at Oklahoma in 2001 (OU won, 37-10). Tight ends and offensive line coach Gary Bernardi was on the USC staff that played in Norman in 1992 (USC won, 20-10). Defensive coordinator Larry Kerr was on the Stanford staff that played at OU in 1984 (OU won, 19-7).
OU running backs coach Cale Gundy, a freshman at the time, completed 2-of-8 passes in the Sooners' 1990 win over the Bruins.

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'
This is the second of two straight Oklahoma games against teams from California. Last week, the Sooners hosted Fresno State. Here is more on OU and the Golden State ...
There are six current Sooners from California -- TE Chris Chester (Tustin), QB Tommy Grady (Huntington Beach), SLB Pasha Jackson (Hayward), DB Aaron Miller (Fresno), MLB Lance Mitchell (Los Banos) and S Donte Nicholson (Walnut). Jackson and Nicholson are listed as starters on the current depth chart.

OKLAHOMA LAST WEEK
Oklahoma roared to a 38-0 halftime lead then coasted in with a 52-28 win over Fresno State in Norman. The Sooners scored on each of their six first half possessions (one field goal and five touchdowns), while the Bulldogs punted on their first five possessions before seeing the second-quarter clock expire on their sixth ...
The Sooners finished with 556 yards of total offense, the second-highest total (one yard shy of the best) of the Bob Stoops era.
Oklahoma had 32 first downs, just six short of the school record, to 13 for Fresno State.
QB Jason White was brilliant, completing 25-of-37 passes for 338 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions.
Mark Clayton had five receptions for 110 yards and one touchdown.
The Sooners rushed for a season-high 212 yards. Renaldo Works had 18 carries for 88 yards and two touchdowns.
The victory may have been costly for OU as MLB Lance Mitchell suffered a knee injury that head coach Bob Stoops termed 'severe.' More details will be available later. Mitchell, a member of the 2003 Butkus Award Watch List, was Oklahoma's top tackler last season with 124.
Redshirt freshman DE Larry Birdine got a sack for the second time in as many games.
Sophomore FS Brodney Pool got the first intercepetion of his career.
Trey DiCarlo booted a 41-yard field goal in the first quarter and is now 6-of-7 on the season. OU has made a field goal on its first possession in all three games this season.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
In Bob Stoops' three seasons, Oklahoma is 17-1 in regular season non-conference games. Throw in the four bowl tilts and the Sooners are 20-2 vs. non-Big 12 teams.
OU has won 17 straight non-conference games, including the Rose Bowl victory over Washington State in January. That streak includes six games that were not played in Norman.
OU's last loss to a non-league opponent came on Dec. 31, 1999, when Mississippi downed the Sooners, 27-25, in the Independence Bowl. The last regular season setback at the hands of a non-conference foe came on Oct. 2, 1999, when Notre Dame clipped OU, 34-30.

SOONERS NO. 1
Oklahoma is ranked No. 1 in both polls and was the preseason No. 1, too. It is the ninth time overall and the first time since 1987 that the Sooners have entered a year atop the AP rankings. In four of those seasons, OU went on to win the national championship.
The Sooners are 61-6-0 when carrying the No. 1 ranking.
Oklahoma has the third-longest active streak in terms of consecutive weeks in the AP rankings. Michigan tops the list at 81, followed by Miami at 59 and OU at 57.

TURNOVER TURNED OFF
Oklahoma has not committed a turnover in two straight games and has just one turnover this season. The Sooners also had a two-game stretch of no TO's last season -- the wins over Texas Tech and Colorado (Big 12 Championship game). There have now been seven games in the Bob Stoops era that yielded no turnovers for OU. The others were in 2001 against Texas, the 2002 game against UTEP, Alabama, Baylor, Oklahoma State and this year's contest at Alabama.
OU has had fewer turnovers than its opponent in 12 of 17 games over the last two seasons.

THE WHITE STUFF
QB Jason White tore his left ACL in the 2001 game at Nebraska. He then tore his right ACL in last season's game against Alabama. In neither case was he injured by contact.
He has drilled 69-of-107 passes (.645) for 845 yards with nine touchdowns and one interception, a desperation heave on a fairly meaningless fourth down against North Texas.
White is now No. 13 on OU's career passing list with 1,707 yards, just 329 behind No. 12 Steve Davis. White has played in 14 games during his career.
White has thrown 15 touchdown passes over his last eight games, only seven of which were starting assignments. In his six career starts combined, White is 126-of-198 (.636) for 1,419 yards and 11 TDs with four interceptions. He did not play past the mid-point of the second quarter in two of those starts. OU is 6-1 in White's starts.
The 64-yard touchdown from Jason White to Brandon Jones against North Texas was a personal long for both players. White's 56-yard pass to Mark Clayton against Fresno State was the second-longest completion of his career.

CATCHING ON
Oklahoma entered this season minus the top four pass catchers in school history (by receptions). RB Quentin Griffin, WR Curtis Fagan, WR Antwone Savage and TE Trent Smith all finished their eligibility last season. Couple that with the fact that Will Peoples, the top returning receiver with 39 catches a year ago, missed the first two games with a mild knee/ankle ailment, and the early-season performance by the receiving corps has been particularly impressive ...
Through his first two seasons of eligibility, Brandon Jones had nine receptions for 133 yards and three touchdowns. Through three games this season, he has 24 catches for 282 yards and three touchdowns, one each in all three games (Trent Smith caught TDs in three straight games last season for the most recent streak of that kind). In the opener against North Texas, Jones caught 10 passes for 121 yards and one touchdown. He also had a career-long grab of 64 yards in that game.
Mark Clayton, a junior, is fashioning some impressive career numbers. In 28 games, he has 81 receptions for 1,113 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has four career 100-yard receiving games, including last Saturday against Fresno State, to tie Eddie Hinton's school record. Clayton's 56-yard reception against Fresno State was the longest of his career and his third of 50 or more yards.
Jejuan Rankins' three-yard touchdown reception from Jason White in the first quarter of the opener against North Texas was the first reception and touchdown of his career. The last player to score a touchdown on his first career pass reception was Arthur Guess in 1987 against Tulsa on a 21-yard play. Rankins later caught another TD in the game.
Mark Bradley had his first career reception at Alabama. He actually caught two passes in the game -- one for 35 yards and another for 44.

TREY GOOD FOR THREE
K Trey DiCarlo is off to a fast start this season...
He has made 6-of-7 field goals.
Four of his field goal makes came from 40 yards or longer. He had just three makes from at least 40 yards all of last season.
Equaled his career-long field goal with a 46-yarder in the opener against North Texas.
His miss at Alabama ended a string of six consecutive field goal makes dating back to the Rose Bowl. He has made 13 of his last 15 field goal attempts and now ranks No. 7 on the school's career list with 22.
He has eight multiple field goal games including two this season.
He has eight touchbacks on kickoffs. Last year, he had just nine all season.

FOR STARTERS
CB Derrick Strait, already the career leader for games started and consecutive starts by a defensive back, could make his 44th start this week. He currently ranks No. 10 in career games started (tracked only since 1980).
The defensive unit's current starters have a combined 250 starting assignments.
The offensive line contains no seniors, but has a combined 98 starts.

STILL YOUNG
Twenty-two of the players listed on Oklahoma's depth chart are freshmen or sophomores. The first depth chart of last season had 26 players that fit that bill.
On opening night, the Sooner offense started two seniors, four juniors, four sophomores and a freshman. The defense started with five seniors, five juniors and one sophomore. OU's starting punter was a junior and the kicker a sophomore.

THE UNDER-APPRECIATED STAT
Under Bob Stoops, Oklahoma has held a double-digit lead in 47 of the 55 games.

ABOUT THE SOONER DEFENSE
Oklahoma has forced at least one turnover in 49 of the 55 games over the last five years and has at least one interception in 37 of the last 43 contests. Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that OU has had multiple interceptions in 10 of the last 15 contests.
Sooner opponents have completed 50% of their passes just 21 times in the 55 games coached by Stoops.
OU foes have scored 14 or more points just 20 times in the last 54 games.
Under Stoops, the Sooners have five shutouts. Opponents failed to score more than seven points in 19 of the 54 games.
Last season, Oklahoma led the nation with 24 interceptions. It was the third straight season the team posted 20, a first at OU.
Over its last three bowl games, all in January and two as part of the BCS
, OU has given up a grand total of 19 points. Only two touchdowns have been scored against the Sooner defense.

ABOUT THE SOONER OFFENSE
With 212 yards against Fresno State, Oklahoma has now exceeded the 200-yard rushing mark in eight games over the last two seasons.
OU ranked among the top 30 in the nation in scoring in each of Bob Stoops' four years.
Last season, the Sooners rushed for 190.6 yards per game, an increase of 71.2 yards over the previous season.
Under Bob Stoops, OU's offense has produced the career passing leader, the top four career receivers and the No. 4 career rusher in school history.
Over the last five seasons, the Sooners have scored 54 TDs that covered 25 or more yards.
The quick-striking offense has 150 scoring drives of two minutes or less under Bob Stoops.

MANY HAPPY RETURNS
A look at the OU special teams under Bob Stoops ...
Kickoff Returns -- There have been 23 returns of 25 yards or more with four touchdowns.
Punt Returns -- There have been 25 returns of 15 or more yards with seven touchdowns.
Interceptions -- There have been 37 returns of 10 or more yards with nine touchdowns.
Fumbles -- Two returns of 15 or more yards with two touchdowns.

SPECIAL? THEY'RE MORE THAN SPECIAL
A look at special teams notes from Bob Stoops' era as OU's head coach ...
There have been 15 special teams touchdowns, including eight in the last 26 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. The special teams also own one safety.
OU has returned four kickoffs and seven punts for touchdowns.
The Sooners have blocked 14 kicks.

PLAYER NOTES
LB Gayron Allen
OU's shortest linebacker at 5-10 ... had first career sack in season opener against North Texas.

DB Eric Bassey
Started every game at strong safety in 02, but moved to CB, in the spring ... one of the team's fastest players.

DE Larry Birdine
Redshirt freshman has a sack in each of the last two games.

WR/DB Mark Bradley
Spent much of the fall at cornerback, then moved to receiver when bothered by a slight knee injury ... two receptions for 83 yards at Alabama and a tackle in punt coverage ... sat out Fresno State game with a shoulder injury.

LT Jammal Brown
AP All-Big 12 last season ... a starter in 16 consecutive games.

C Chris Bush
Started game one at center ... may be OU's most versatile lineman ... could also see action at guard.

C Vince Carter
On preseason watch list for the Rimington Award ... slowed by a sore knee in the preseason, he got his first start at Alabama..

OG Kelvin Chaisson
Has started eight straight games at left guard.

WR Mark Clayton
Just the ninth player in school history with 10 career touchdown receptions, he got No. 10 against Fresno State ... has tied OU's school record with four career 100-yard receiving games (also held by Eddie Hinton, 1966-68) ... became the 18th player in school history to log 1,000 career receiving yards during the game at Alabama..

DE Dan Cody
Two sacks in each of the first two games ... entered the season with three career sacks ... also had six QB hurries at Alabama.

K Trey DiCarlo
On preseason watch list for Groza Award ... had made 6-of-7 field goals ... has eight touchbacks on kickoffs.

TE Lance Donley
Blue collar worker who is the most experienced of OU's large tight end corp ... scored first career touchdown on a 14-yard reception against Fresno State.

DT Dusty Dvoracek
Started the first three games of the season after not starting any games in his first two seasons.

FS Brandon Everage
On the preseason watch list for the Thorpe Award after being a semifinalist for that award last season ... sat out the first game for disciplinary reasons, then logged 10 tackles, including one for loss at Alabama.

P Blake Ferguson
Off to a fabulous start with a 43.5-yard average on 11 punts ... two have been downed inside the 20 (one at the four and another at the one).

DT Tommie Harris
On watch lists for the Lombardi, Nagurski and Outland ... recovered from groin pull that slowed him in 02 ... got his first sack of the season at Alabama.

DE Jonathan Jackson
OU's most experienced defensive end with 15 career starts ... led the team with 18 hurries last season and is leading again this year with nine.

LB Pasha Jackson
OU's starter on the strong side all of last season ... gives the Sooners a physical presence.

WR Brandon Jones
Plays in the outfield for OU baseball team ... highest per catch average last season ... career highs with 10 grabs for 121 yards vs. North Texas (had 64-yard TD grab, longest reception of his career) ... 47-yard TD catch at Alabama ... at least seven receptions in each of the first three games.

RB Kejuan Jones
Got his first career start at Alabama ... 20 carries for 63 yards at Alabama.

OG Davin Joseph
A true sophomore, he is already talked about as one of the most talented players OU has ever had at his position ... moved into a starting role for the Big 12 Championship and Rose Bowl games last season.

DT Kory Klein
Has 35 starts at Oklahoma ... string of 28 consecutive starts ended at Alabama.

LB Teddy Lehman
One of three finalists for the Butkus Award last season ... one of the fastest linebackers in the country ... has broken up three passes, including two against Fresno State.

S Matt McCoy
Will play mostly in nickel and dime situations ... has seven career takeaways (five INT, two FR), including a pick in the North Texas game ... the holder for placements, he ran in a two-point conversion on a faked PAT against Fresno State.

DT Lynn McGruder
Along with Mark Clayton, pulled several injured passengers from an automobile accident on I-35 over the summer ... in the strong four-man rotation at defensive tackle.

OT Chris Messner
Made a splash in preseason camp and started at right tackle in the opener ... has worked in a reserve role since that time.

LB Lance Mitchell
OU's top tackler last season with 124 ... could be lost for the season with a knee injury.

TE James Moses
Three catches for 30 yards in his first career start (vs. North Texas) ... started the first two games.

SS Donte Nicholson
JUCO transfer who was on campus for spring football ... touchdown-saving interception at Alabama ... also had eight tackles in that game.

WR Will Peoples
Slowed in camp by a knee ailment suffered in the first scrimmage ... missed the first two games, then had three grabs for 29 yards against Fresno State.

CB Antonio Perkins
One of the top return men in college football also draws the start at CB this season ... intercepted a pass at Alabama.

FS Brodney Pool
Started the opener at free safety and had a career-best 11 tackles ... first career interception against Fresno State.

WR Jejuan Rankins
Two touchdowns vs. North Texas in first career start.

FB J.D. Runnels
Starter at H-back ... excellent blocker and deceptively good receiver ... 17-yard reception at Alabama ... caught a TD pass against Fresno State.

DB Brandon Shelby
Used in extra DB sets ... HM All-Big 12 last season with no starts ... one INT, four sacks and two blocks in 2002.

OT Wes Sims
Has 23 career starts, including 18 at right tackle ... came off the bench against North Texas, but has started since then ... will also get some work at guard.

CB Derrick Strait
On Thorpe and Nagurski Watch Lists ... Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week with seven tackles, 1 PBU and 1 FF vs. North Texas.

QB Paul Thompson
Rangy QB with a quick release and good running ability ... Hit 5-of-6 for 38 yards and one TD in opener ... had a 50-yard rush against Fresno State, the longest by a Sooner quarterback since 1998.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Prepare to Host UCLA in ABC Game

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