Oklahoma vs. Houston Game Notes

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma (1-0) looks to extend a 14-game home winning streak Saturday when its hosts Houston (0-1) in the second of three non-conference games to start the season. The Sooners opened with a 40-24 victory over Bowling Green last week, while the Cougars dropped a 10-7 decision to cross-town rival Rice.

THE POLLS
OU is No. 2 in the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls. Houston is unranked.

THE SERIES
Oklahoma and Houston meet for just the second time. The two collided in the 1981 Sun Bowl at El Paso with the Sooners prevailing, 40-14. OU is 12-4 against teams currently holding membership in Conference USA (2-1 vs. Army, 1-0 Houston, 2-0 vs. Louisville, 1-0 vs. South Florida, 6-3 vs. TCU).

Game Notes (PDF) | OU Quotes | Sooner Gameday Central

THE COACHES
Oklahoma: Bob Stoops (Iowa 78), now in his sixth season with the Sooners, is 56-11 overall. He is 3-2 in bowls, 3-1 in January bowls, 2-1 in BCS games, 34-7 vs. the Big 12, 20-5 vs. the Big 12 South, 15-3 vs. the Big 12 North, 2-1 in the Big 12 title game, 22-3 vs. non-confererence foes, 31-1 at home, 16-6 on the road, 9-4 on neutral fields and 18-4 vs. ranked opponents. Houston: Art Briles (Texas Tech 79) is 7-7 in his second season at Houston.

SPECIAL EVENTS
Pregame - Tony Casillas College Football Hall of Fame Salute
During a first-half timeout - Women's Gymnastics Big 12 Championship Salute
Special Event -Pre-game will include the use of a 95 x 130 American flag for National Anthem, and fly-by of four T-38 Talons to commemorate loss of innocent civilians, public servants and allied combatants on and since 9/11. The Instructor Pilots of the 80th Flying Training Wing of Sheppard AFB and NATO honor fallen heroes in the war on terror and their families. Halftime will include 9/11 tribute performed jointly by both marching bands.
Giveaway - 80,000 mini-American Flags

OKLAHOMA ... ONE OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S ELITE PROGRAMS
Oklahoma's football program owns a remarkable list of accomplishments ...
Seven national championships (1950, 1955, 1974, 1975, 1985, 2000), 38 conference titles and 37 bowl appearances, 23 of which resulted in a Sooner victory.
Oklahoma ranks No. 8 in all-time victories (737-284-53), No. 1 in victories since WWII (493) and No. 1 in victories since 2000 (48).
Oklahoma's all-time winning percentage of .711 ranks No. 4 nationally. The Sooners' .888 percentage since 2000 ranks No. 2 during that period.
Oklahoma ranks No. 7 in bowl appearances with 37 and No. 3 in bowl victories with 23.
The Sooners have produced 138 All-Americans (average of more than one per season over a 110-year history) and 51 national award winners, including four Heisman Trophy recipients. No school has produced more Butkus Award (four), Thorpe Award (three) or Nagurski Award (two) winners. Only Notre Dame (7) and Ohio State (6) have produced more Heisman winners (OU is tied with USC at four).

WEEKLY MEDIA LUNCHEON
Each Tuesday during the season, OU hosts a media luncheon inside the East Side Stadium Club at Gaylord Family - Memorial Stadium. The luncheon begins at 11:15 a.m., with comments from the head coach of OU's opponent that week. Lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m., and Coach Stoops will address the attending media following lunch. A limited number of OU players will be on hand for interviews. Media may downlink the conference for airing at a later time. Live airings are prohibited. The coordinates are SBS 6/K 5. D.L. Freq. 11823.0 H.

CREDENTIALS
Requests for credentials should be faxed to the media relations office at least eight days prior to the game. The requests, which may only be submitted by a sports editor/director, should appear on letterhead and include the names of those individuals seeking passes. Media attending games must show a photo ID upon entering the stadium. If the name on the credential and the photo ID do not match, the credential will be voided.

PRACTICE
Practices will be open to photographers for the first 15 minutes Monday-Wednesday. Photographers are required to inform the media relations office when they plan to attend. No other portion of the practices are open. Those in attendance are required to stay at the end of the practice field at all times unless accompanied by a member of the media relations office.

INTERVIEWS
Head Coach Bob Stoops will do general interviews following practice on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. All other requests for interviews must be submitted to the media relations office at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled interview.
Assistant Coaches: Arrangements should be made through the media relations office. Most interviews will be conducted after practice Monday-Wednesday.
Players: All interviews with players will take place at the media luncheon or after practice on Monday and Tuesday. Media should request players at least 24 hours in advance. Players and coaches who attend the Tuesday luncheon will not be available following practice that day.
Post-game: The OU locker room is closed at all times. Head coach Bob Stoops and several Sooner players will be brought to designated interivew areas. At home, that is the Red Room, located under the south end zone grandstand in the Barry Switzer Center.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT
Houston lost to Rice, 10-7, on Sunday despite having more first downs and total yards than the Owls. The Cougars gave u- nine sacks, including seven that were absorbed by Kevin Kolb. He was 15-of-33 for 204 yards with one touchdown and one interceptions. Also, UH had two missed FGs (both from 42 yards) and a punting average of 32.3 yards.
The loss was in contrast to last year's Rice game when UH prevailed 48-14.
The loss to Rice may have marked a step forward for the Cougar defense, which held the opponent to less than 14 points for the first time in Art Briley's brief tenure. Last season, UH gave up 30 or more points in eight games.
Houston was 7-6 last season, which was Briley's first with the Cougars. UH lost to Hawaii in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl, 54-48, in triple overtime.
The Cougars return 18 starters: eight on offense, nine on defense and one on special teams.
Houston lost its opener to Rice, 10-7, last Sunday.
Briley was Texas Tech's running backs coach from 2000-02, but this will be his first game against a Big 12 opponent since he moved to Houston.

NO PASSING FANCY
Houston fired 33 passes in its opener, and averaged 28 passing attempts per game last season. Throwing can be a tough proposition against OU ...
Since 2000, Oklahoma is 41-2 in games in which the opponent attempted at least 25 aerials.
Going back to include 1999, which then encompasses the entire length of Bob Stoops' tenure, Oklahoma is 47-5 when the foe puts the ball up at least 25 times.

TIES WITH THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
Sooners who call Houston home ... FS Brodney Pool (Westbury HS), DE Jonathan Jackson (North Shore HS), DE Calvin Thibodeaux (Westbury HS), TE Bubba Moses (North Shore HS) and DE John Williams (Lamar HS).
New Oklahoma assistant men's basketball coach Ray McCallum was Houston's head coach for four seasons ending with the 2004 campaign.

TEXAS TOAST
Oklahoma has won eight in a row and 18 of its last 19 contests against schools from the state of Texas. The Sooners have not lost to a Texas-based opponent in Norman since Nov. 15, 1997, when Texas A&M claimed a 51-7 win. Since then, OU has reeled off 13 straight against teams that ventured north of the Red River.

OU's MOST RECENT GAME
Oklahoma opened with a 40-24 win over Bowling Green in Norman last Saturday. The Sooners were out to a 37-10 advantage with 2:23 left in the third quarter. Here is more on the game ...
OU held an offense that averaged 496.9 yards per game last season to just 269. Two BGSU TDs came after turnovers -- a fumble deep in OU's end and an interception returned for a TD.
OU backs Kejuan Jones (148) and Adrian Peterson (100) both crossed the century mark.
Heisman Trophy winner Jason White hit on 21-of-31 passes for 238 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. He also rushed twice for eight yards.
Nine Sooners caught a pass, including seven by Mark Clayton. Two of those went for TDs.
PR Antonio Perkins, who needs just one more punt return for TD to tie the NCAA record, did not take one to the house, but he did got 44 yards with one of his return.
Lance Mitchell, who missed the last 11 games last season with a knee injury, topped Oklahoma's tacklers with nine.
A record crowd of 84,319 saw the game in the newly-expanded Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The previous high was 84,027 vs. Oklahoma State last season.
CRACKING THE SCORING COLUMN FIRST
Oklahoma has scored first in 53 of Bob Stoops' 67 games at Oklahoma. The Sooners are 47-6 in those games. The Sooners were the first to score in the opener of this season, too.

SOONERS GET CARRIED AWAY
A closer look at Oklahoma's 258-yard rushing performance in the season-opener ...
For the 59th time, two Oklahoma players exceeded 100 rushing yards in the same game. It was the third time it happened in Bob Stoops' six seasons. Donta Hickson (131) and Jones (120) did it against Texas A&M last season. In 1999, Quentin Griffin (126) and Reggie Skinner (116) both cracked 100 yards against Iowa State.
OU had more rushing yards than passing (238) for the 13th time in Bob Stoops' 67 games.
Adrian Peterson became just the second OU freshman to rush for 100 yards in his debut, and the first running back. True freshman QB Kerry Jackson went for 109 yards on 10 carries against Utah State in 1972. Peterson is the fourth frosh running back to play under Stoops.
The 258 team rushing yards ranked second for OU in an opener. The Sooners had 378 at Tulsa in 2002. This marked the 16th time that Oklahoma had rushed for 200 or more yards under Stoops.

POLL TOLL
Oklahoma is ranked No. 2 in both polls ...
Oklahoma is 52-12 when carrying the No. 2 ranking, including a 20-3 mark at home. The Sooners are 35-4 vs. unranked opponents when listed at No. 2. Ranked OU teams are 307-27-3 against unranked teams all-time.
Oklahoma has the third-longest active streak in terms of consecutive weeks in the Associated Press' rankings. Michigan tops that list at 95 followed by Miami at 73 and Oklahoma at 71.
The AP poll debuted in 1936. OU and Notre Dame are tied for the most weeks spent at No. 1 with 95 each. Ohio State is next at 74 followed by Miami at 69 and Florida State at 61.
Oklahoma has been ranked among the AP's top 10 in every week but one since Oct. 6, 2000. That one exception saw the Sooners dip to No. 11 prior to defeating Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl at the end of the 2001 season. That win vaulted them back into the top 10.

HOME FIELD HONCHOS
Oklahoma is 31-1 at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium under Bob Stoops. The Sooners have won their last 14 home games, including five over ranked opponents. The longest home winning streak under Stoops was 17. During the current streak, OU has ...
averaged 47.4 points per game to just 12.4 for the opponents.
won every game by double digits.
eclipsed 50 points six times, 60 points three times and 70 points once.
notched two shutouts and another three games in which the opponent did not score a TD.

GREAT SLATE
Oklahoma's 11-game schedule includes nine opponents who were in bowls last season. The foes were 87-57 (.604) in 03. The non-conference foes were 26-14 (.650). That rates as the nation's 12th-toughest non-league slate. Four OU opponents won 10 or more games last year.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS TOPS AMONG BIG 12
Since Bob Stoops arrived in 1999, no Big 12 team has had a better winning percentage in non-conference games than Oklahoma. The Sooners are 19-1 during that time. Both Nebraska and Kansas State have the same record during that time. OU and NU both played one I-AA foe in that period. K-State played four. Here is more on the Sooners' non-league success ...
OU has won its last 16 regular season games vs. non-league foes.
Bob Stoops is 21-3 vs. non-league foes, 18-1 in regular season non-league games and 15-0 in non-conference home games.

HOME IS WHERE THE GAMES ARE
Oklahoma is playing its first four games at home for just the third time in its history. The other two seasons in which that happened were the 2000 National Championship year and 1995, Howard Schnellenberger's lone campaign with the Sooners. As a matter of fact, those are the only other instances in which OU played four straight home games during the same season.

SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER
Oklahoma is 17-0 during the month of September under Bob Stoops. Over the last 25 seasons, the Sooners have had a losing record just twice in September -- 1996 and 1982.

JASON'S RETURN
Oklahoma's Heisman-winning quarterback Jason White, listed as a senior last year, received a ruling from the NCAA that allows him another year on the college level. White is the second Heisman winner since OU's Billy Sims in 1978 to return for an additional season. BYU's Ty Detmer, who won the award in 1990 as a junior, was the other.

THE STOOPS ERA IN BRIEF
A look at Oklahoma in Bob Stoops' first five seasons, 1999-2003 ...
OU won the 2000 national championship, three Big 12 South crowns and two Big 12 titles.
Oklahoma has spent 22 weeks at No. 1.
Two of the longest winning streaks in OU history - a 20-game streak from 2000-01 and a 14-game streak from 2002-03.
OU has set or tied 62 school records.
Oklahoma has played in five bowl games. Never had an OU coach taken even his first three teams to bowls. Prior to Stoops' arrival, OU had gone four straight years without a bowl, and had not played in one of what is now a BCS game since the 1988 Orange Bowl (1987 season). Stoops, in his second season , led OU to the 2001 Orange Bowl (2000 season).
OU has had a double-digit lead in 57 of 67 games.
OU has 33 of its 41 Big 12 victories under Stoops and just seven of its 23 losses.
An OU player has finished among the top seven in the Heisman voting three times -- Jason White No. 1 in 2003, Roy Williams No. 7 in 2001 and Josh Heupel No. 2 in 2000.
Stoops has produced 16 All-Americans, two AP Players of the Year (Heupel, White), two Nagurski Award winners (Williams, Derrick Strait), two Thorpe Award winners (Williams, Strait), two Butkus Award winners (Rocky Calmus, Teddy Lehman), one Bednarik Award winner (Lehman), one Lombardi Award winner (Tommie Harris) and one Tatupu Award winner (J.T. Thatcher). OU has had a Butkus finalist in each of the last four years and a Lombardi finalist in the last three.

THE OFFENSE IN BRIEF
Oklahoma scored a school record 601 points last season. It also accomplished an OU first by exceeding 50 points in four straight games. School bests also were established in passing yards (4,109), first downs (314), interception avoidance (0.22), turnovers (17/tied), turnovers per game (1.2/tied) and touchdown passes (43).
Other spots claimed by the 2003 team on various school record lists ... No. 2 in completions (349), No. 2 in plays (1,018), No. 9 in yards per play (6.0), No. 2 in total yards (6,152), No. 8 in yards per game (439.4), No. 4 in points per game (42.9), No. 4 in completions per game (21.3), No. 4 in passing attempts (480), No. 4 in pass attempts per game (34.3), No. 4 in passing yards per game (293.5) and No. 3 in completion percentage (62.3).
Under Stoops, OU has produced its career leader in passing and receiving, while also turning out the fourth leading rusher in school history.
OU has scored at least one TD in 69 consecutive games dating back to Nov. 7, 1998.
Under Stoops, OU has rushed for 200 yards 16 times, including 11 over the last four years.
Under Stoops, Oklahoma has 72 touchdowns of 25 yards or longer and 181 scoring drives that lasted less than two minutes.

THE DEFENSE IN BRIEF
Oklahoma has forced at least one turnover in 60 of the last 67 games (Stoops' tenure) and has at least one interception in 46 of the last 55 contests. OU has had multiple interceptions in 15 of the last 27 games.
Opponents have a 50% completion rate just 29 times in the last 67 tilts.
Foes have scored less than 14 points in 40 of Stoops' 67 games.
Under Stoops, the Sooners have six shutouts. Opponents failed to score more than seven points in 20 of the 67 games.
The NCAA charts five major defensive categories -- scoring defense, total defense, rushing defense, passing defense and pass efficiency defense. OU has been top 25 in all five for four consecutive seasons.
Oklahoma has had at least 20 interceptions in four straight years (a total of 88 during that span). Never before had OU strung together three seasons with 20 picks.

THE SPECIAL TEAMS IN BRIEF
A look at special teams notes from Bob Stoops' era as OU's head coach ...
There have been 20 special teams TDs, including 13 in the last 36 regular season games. Those 13 came via five different kinds of plays -- eight 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 five kickoffs and 11 punts for touchdowns.
The Sooners have blocked 17 kicks.
OU has recovered its only onside kick attempt last season (at Colorado).

MANY HAPPY RETURNS
During the Stoops era ...
Kickoff Returns -- There have been 28 returns of 25 yards or more with five touchdowns.
Punt Returns -- There have been 33 returns of 15 or more yards with 11 touchdowns.
Interceptions -- There have been 45 returns of 10 or more yards with 11 touchdowns.
Fumbles -- Three returns of 15 or more yards with three touchdowns.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S MOST PROLIFIC SCORING PROGRAM
No college program has scored more points than Oklahoma's 28,021. In addition, OU's total margin of victory, 15,094, ranks No. 2 behind Michigan. Oklahoma is 102nd (out of 117) in points surrendered at 12,927. Not bad for a team that ranks No. 26 in games played at 1,075.

STADIUM STUFF
Phase II was completed in the off-season. The $7 million project has centered in three areas -- fan amenities on the upper levels of the west side, remodeling of the Santee Lounge and bricking the north, south and center portions of the west side. Also, the facing of the press box was re-designed with new images and a listing of the football program's accomplishments.
The capacity of the stadium is up from 81,207 last season to 82,112 this season.
The stadium can seat 2.3% of the state's population. Of the 27 states with at least three million residents, none can house a greater percentage of the state's population in a college football venue.
The playing surface was replaced over the off-season ... grass type: Tiff-Sport (Bermuda sod grown in San Antonio, Texas), square footage: 79,000, quantity of sand: 2,500 tons.

DID YOU KNOW?
Oklahoma had the highest graduation rate among the eight schools that played in last year's BCS games (65%).

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER NOTES
LB Gayron Allen: Returning starter on the weakside ... played sparingly in the opener due to Bowling Green's spread offense.

LB Rufus Alexander: Saw extensive action in the opener and responded with seven tackles, one fumble forced and one quarterback hurry.

CB Eric Bassey: Started as the team's SS in 2002, then was a back-up corner last season ... one of the team's fastest players, he had a 34-yard interception for touchdown against UCLA last season and a 45-yard fumble return for TD vs. Alabama in 2002.

DE Larry Birdine: Three tackles and two hurries in the opener.

WR Mark Bradley: Big, dangerous athlete, who will also be in his first year as the holder for placements ... son of former OU QB Danny Bradley, he threw a touchdown pass last season.

OT Jammal Brown: The right tackle had the top grade on the line last season ... a bright pro prospect ... ranks fourth on the team with 29 career starts.

OL Chris Bush: One of the team's most versatile linemen, he could see significant snaps at
center and guard ... has four career starts.

C Vince Carter: Was a finalist for the Rimington Award last season.

WR Mark Clayton: Of the three finalists for last year's Biletnikoff Award, he is the only one returning (other two were Larry Fitzgerald and Mike Williams) ... already holds seven OU receiving records and needs just eight catches to set the mark for most in a career ... has 25 career touchdown catches and 24 career starts.

DE Dan Cody: Was one of six finalists for last season's Hendricks Award ... said Bowling Green QB Omar Jacobs, “That No. 80 is a monster” ... is being used as an extra tight end in OU's jumbo set.

K Trey DiCarlo: Set NCAA record with 74 PAT last season ... had a string of 59 consecutive PAT makes snapped in win over Bowling Green ... did make both field goals and has now made 37-of-46 in gus career ... one of three finalists for last year's Groza Award.

DT Dusty Dvoracek: Consensus All-Big 12 last season ... led last year's OU defensive linemen, including first-round pick Tommie Harris, with seven sacks ... had a great off-season in the weight room and is playing at 300 pounds for the first time ... OU's nominee for the National Football Foundation's Scholar-Athlete Award.

P Blake Ferguson: Brother of former OU punter Jeff Ferguson, he owns a career average of 40.2 yards with 31 kicks of 50+ yards and 35 inside the 20 in two seasons (126 punts) ... strong in the opener with two kicks for an average of 45.0.

RB Donta Hickson: Reserve back who had 131 of his 306 career rushing yards in last season's win over Texas A&M.

LB Clint Ingram: One of the team's most physical players, something he proved on special teams over the last couple seasons ... made his first career start against Bowling Green.

Jonathan Jackson: Team leader in quarterback hurries over the last two seasons with 26 in 03 and 18 in 02 ... nearly one-fourth of his career tackles have been for loss.

WR Brandon Jones: Tied with Mark Clayton among current receivers for the best yards-per-catch average -- 15.3 yards ... forty-six of his 55 career catches came last season.

RB Kejuan Jones: Led OU with 925 rushing yards last season ... played behind Quentin Griffin in 02 and was the team's very effective short yardage back ... set career highs with 32 carries and 148 yards in this year's opener ... scored a TD in seven straight games.
OG Davin Joseph: Gifted and experienced lineman who was one of the nation's top wrestlers back in his high school days.

LB Zach Latimer: A defensive end earlier in his career, he is emerging as a strong candidate for playing time at linebacker.

DT Lynn McGruder: Figures to join the starting line-up in the spot previously held by Tommie Harris ... Co-Big 12 Sportsman of the Year with Mark Clayton for his role in assisting victims in a serious automobile accident in the summer of 03.

MLB Lance Mitchell: Played in three games last season before going down with a season-ending knee injury ... was the team's top tackler in 2002 with 124 ... led the Sooners in the opener with nine tackles.

TE Bubba Moses: Hoping to get the starting nod at the competitive tight end spot ... most experienced of those vying for the job.

SS Donte Nicholson: Top returning tackler after posting 90 last season as the Big 12's Defensive Newcomer of the Year.

WR Will Peoples: Has 14 career starts at receiver ... needs 91 receiving yards to reach 1,000 for his career.

CB/RS: Antonio Perkins: Has seven career punt returns for touchdowns, just one shy of the NCAA record ... already owns OU career mark for punt return yards with 1,344 ... his 44-yard return against Bowling Green was the 11th of at least 40 yards in his career ... graduated in May with a degree in criminology/sociology and is presently attending graduate school.

LB Demarrio Pleasant: Will play a lot of snaps after redshirting last season ... impressive in August workouts.

FS Brodney Pool: Led the team with interceptions last year with seven ... eight stops in the opener.

CB Jowahn Poteat: In the battle for the corner job opposite Antonio Perkins.

WR Jejuan Rankins: Reminds many of teammate Mark Clayton ... caught 33 balls last season in his first year on the field for OU.

LS Jacob Rice: No errant snaps in 323 career tries.

TE Willie Roberts: At 6-7, he is tied for team honors (with Tommy Grady) as the team's tallest player. In the fray for the starting TE job.

FB J.D. Runnels: Rock steady player who is assignment strong ... also a good receiver as evidenced by 17 career receptions.

DB Brandon Shelby: Per snaps played, he is one of the most effective players on the team. Made All-Big 12 HM in 2002 with no starts ... has three career blocked kicks.

OT Wes Sims: A fixture on the left side with 35 career starts.

QB Paul Thompson: Ran a 4.4 40 in fall testing and brings multiplicity to the quarterback position.

QB Jason White: 2003 winner of the Heisman and O'Brien Awards ... needs 45 passing yards to reach 5,000 for his career ... will graduate in December with a degree in sociology.

WR Travis Wilson: Perhaps the team's most physical receiver, he caught four touchdown passes last season.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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