Oklahoma & Kansas Meet at Arrowhead

Oklahoma vs. Kansas
Oklahoma and Kansas will make a little history this Saturday when they meet at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. For the first time in their 99 meetings these long-time foes will play on a neutral field.

They met for the first time in 1903 when KU hosted at Lawrence. For every game since then have played either there or in OU's hometown, Norman.

Sooner Gameday Central - Kansas | Season Stats | Notes (PDF)

Both OU and KU are looking to rebound from losses last Saturday in rivalry games. The Sooners lost the 100th renewal of the Red River Rivalry to Texas, 45-12, in the Cotton Bowl at Dallas, while the Jayhawks succumbed at Kansas State, 12-3, in the 103rd staging of the Sunflower State Showdown.

OU is away from home for the second consecutive week, while KU is out of its home stadium for a third straight week.

Including two straight appearances in the Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship game in Arrowhead, this marks the third consecutive season in which the Sooners will play in this venue. Throw in the 2000 Big 12 title tilt and this is OU's fourth appearance in Arrowhead over the last six seasons.

The Series
Overall: Oklahoma leads, 65-27-6; At Norman: Oklahoma leads, 34-12-2; At Lawrence: Oklahoma leads, 31-15-4; OU's Widest Margin of Victory: 65-0 in 1956; Kansas' Widest Margin of Victory: 34-0 in 1905. Oklahoma's Highest Point Total: 71 in 1987; Kansas' Highest Point Total: 52, 1996. Shutouts by Oklahoma: 18; Shutouts by Kansas: 13; Oklahoma's Longest Series Winning Streak: 12 games, 1948-1959; Kansas' Longest Series Winning Streak: 8 games, 1903-10.

Series Notes
Oklahoma has won the last three meetings between the two ... prior to that time, the Jayhawks had reeled off three straight victories ... eight of Kansas' wins in the series came in the first eight meetings between the schools from 1903-1910 ... for the third time in the last seven meetings, Oklahoma and Kansas are playing at night.

Another Neutral Field
Oklahoma is playing back-to-back games on neutral fields with last week's game at the Cotton Bowl and this week's contest at Arrowhead Stadium. The last time OU played back-to-back neutral field games was 1944 when it played Texas A&M at Taft Stadium in Oklahoma City one week before taking on Texas at Dallas.

The Coaches
Oklahoma: Bob Stoops (Iowa 83), now in his seventh season with the Sooners, is 69-15 overall. He is 3-3 in bowls, 3-2 in January bowls, 2-2 in BCS games, 45-9 vs. the Big 12, 25-6 vs. the Big 12 South, 20-3 vs. the Big 12 North, 3-1 in the Big 12 title game, 25-6 vs. non-conference opponents, 38-2 at home, 20-7 on the road, 11-6 on neutral fields, 21-6 vs. ranked opponents and 3-0 vs. Kansas.

Kansas: Mark Mangino (Youngstown State 87) is 15-26 in his fourth season at Kansas, 160-93-1 in his 22nd year overall. He is 0-1 against Oklahoma.

The Program
Oklahoma owns one of the most storied and accomplished traditions in all of college football ...
OU's all-time record is 751-288-53.
Seven national championships (1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, 2000).
Thirty-eight bowl appearances (No. 7 nationally) with 23 victories (No. 3 nationally).
Since WWII, Oklahoma is the most successful college football program with 506 victories.
OU's all-time winning percentage of .711 ranks No. 4 among Division I-A members.
From 2000 forward, OU leads the nation in victories with 62.

This Week's Opponent
Kansas won its first three games, all against non-conference opponents, but has since dropped its first two Big 12 games -- 30-17 at Texas Tech and 12-3 at Kansas State.
KU is a balanced offense -- gaining an average of 135.0 yards per game on the ground (3.8/carry) and 184.4 through the air. Jayhawk opponents have found tough-sledding in the rushing department gaining just 64.6 yards per game and only 1.9 yards per carry. The Kansas foes have thrown for an average of 242.8 yards per game and completed 62.9% of their passes.
Oklahoma and Kansas have one common opponent in Kansas State. The Sooners downed the Wildcats in Norman on Oct. 1, 43-21. Kansas lost to K-State, 12-3, last Saturday in Manhattan.
Kansas has a solid kicking game. Scott Webb has made 7-of-8 field goals, while Kyle Tucker has fashioned a 43.6-yard punting average.
LB Nick Reid has 54 tackles, 19 more than any other player on the team.

The Last Meeting
Oklahoma won last year's game by a 41-10 count in Norman ...
No. 2 Oklahoma led just 14-10 at halftime, but reeled off 27 unanswered points in the second half to pull away for a comfortable win in its annual homecoming game.
KU's defense was geared to stop the run, so Jason White completed 27-of-44 passes for 389 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Eventually, the Sooners also got the running game untracked too as Adrian Peterson rushed 22 times for 122 yards and one score.
Kansas had the game's longest score, a 78-yard touchdown pass from Adam Barmann to Brandon Rideau. OU had long scoring plays too -- White had TD throws of 69, 61 and 41 to three different receivers.
Lance Mitchell scored for the OU defense when the linebacker returned a fumble 28 yards for a touchdown. Mitchell tacked on a team-high 11 tackles.
KU had three turnovers to none by the Sooners.

Goin' to Kansas City
This marks Oklahoma's fourth game in Kansas City. The previous three were for the Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship game.
2004 -- OU defeated Colorado for the Big 12 Championship, 42-3.
2003 -- OU lost to Kansas State for the Big 12 title, 35-7.
2000 -- OU defeated Kansas State for the league crown, 27-24, en route to its seventh national championship.

Ties With This Week's Opponent
KU head coach Mark Mangino spent three seasons at Oklahoma. He was assistant head coach and offensive line coach in 1999, then added the title of offensive coordinator for his final two seasons in Norman.
Kansas associate head coach Nick Quartaro was on the KSU staff from 1989-93, which overlapped with Bob Stoops' stint on the Wildcat coaching staff and with the KSU playing career and one graduate assistant season for current OU associate head coach Brent Venables.
Kansas defensive coordinator Bill Young held the same title at Oklahoma from 1995-96.
Former OU fullback Seth Littrell, who played on OU's 2000 national championship squad, is a graduate assistant in the KU program.
KU director of football operations George Matsakis was a member of the Kansas State coaching staff during the time that Stoops and Venables were in Manhattan.
KU TE coach Brandon Blaney was a football graduate assistant at OU from 1000-2000.
KU director of strength and conditioning Chris Dawson holds two degrees from Oklahoma and played for the Sooners from 1992-94.
Oklahomans on the Kansas roster include DL Chris Brant (Edmond), DE Russell Brorsen (Stillwater), TE Derek Fine (Sallisaw), WR Marcus Henry (Lawton), S James Holt (Altus), OL Matt Mann (Norman) and K Scott Webb (Tulsa). The lone Kansan on the Oklahoma roster is DE Brody Eldridge from La Cygne (Prairie View HS). OU DB/RB Allen Patrick is a native South Carolinian, but played attended Independence (Kan.) Community College before transferring to OU.

Oklahoma's Most Recent Game
Oklahoma's five-game winning streak over Texas came to an end when the Longhorns defeated the Sooners, 45-12, in Dallas ...
Big plays victimized the Sooners as UT got touchdowns that covered 80, 64 and 67 yards. The 67-yarder was the final score of the game and it came when DL Rodrique Wright scooped up a fumble at the Texas 23 and ran the distance.
RB Adrian Peterson, hampered by an ankle injury, did not start the game. He logged three rushes for 10 yards, the lowest output of his career. Three other Sooner running backs saw action in the game and Kejuan Jones drew the start.
Garrett Hartley made 2-of-3 field goals, including a 52-yarder. That was the longest ever by a Sooner in the series. Hartley's miss came on a 41-yarder and resulted after a low snap.
OU mounted just 171 total yards and completed only 12-of-33 passes. Texas finished with 444 total yards.
Oklahoma sacked Texas QB Vince Young three times and limited him to just 45 yards on 17 carries, but gave up 241 passing yards (14-of-27) and three TD throws.
Joe Jon Finley scored the Oklahoma touchdown and now has both TD receptions registered by a Sooner this season.
QB Rhett Bomar saw his consecutive passing attempts with no INT stopped at 73 when one of his tossed bounced off WR Manuel Johnson and was picked off.

Oklahoma Picks Up Win. No. 750
The win over Tulsa in the second game of this season was the 750th all-time for Oklahoma. The Sooners' all-time record now stands 751-288-53. OU is one of just eight schools with 750 victories. With 1,092 games played, the Sooners are just eight away from 1,100. Nineteen other schools have played 1,100 games.

Sooners Eclipse Three Million in Attendance Under Stoops
Oklahoma has sold out all 40 home games of Bob Stoops' tenure and during the Tulsa game the total number of fans during that period exceeded three million. The total stands at 3,144,409 for an average of 78,610. That figure is misleading because recent expansion moved the capacity to 82,112. That figure has been exceeded in 15 straight games.

Early Games Illustrate Changing of the Guard
A game-by-game look at the youth and change on this year's team ...

The TCU Game
Seven defensive players made their first career start.
Thirteen freshmen (eight true, five redshirt) played.
The starting offensive players in last season's finale had a combined 301 starts. The offensive starters in the 05 opener had a combined 130. The offensive line that started in the Orange Bowl last season at 188 career starts compared to just 68 for the group that started this year's opener.

The Tulsa Game
Eighteen first-year players saw action. Of those, 16 were freshmen, including 10 true.
Four of the five starting offensive linemen were in their first game at that particular position. Only Chris Bush, who had two previous starts at right guard (one in 03 and another in 04) was in a spot he had previously held. The offensive line that started against TU had a combined 41 career starts, down some 27 from the opener.
Three freshmen linemen played, including RT Branndon Braxton in his first career start.
CB D.J. Wolfe led OU with 12 tackles. At the same time last year he was a reserve RB.
OU's leading rusher and receiver was a sophomore (Adrian Peterson), the QB was a redshirt freshman (Rhett Bomar), the P was a sophomore (Cody Freeby), the K was a sophomore (Garrett Hartley), the leading tackle was a sophomore (D.J. Wolfe) and three of the four sacks were made by players who either weren't here last season or were playing offense in 2004.

The UCLA Game
Three true freshmen started in the game in RT Branndon Braxton, WR Malcolm Kelly and SS Reggie Smith. To put that in perspective, only four true freshmen even played for OU all of 2004.
Of the 15 players who had statistics on offense or in returns, 10 have at least two years of eligibility remaining, as did the leading tacklers Demarrio Pleasant and Darien Williams (both had 10), both of whom are sophomores.

The Kansas State Game
Four true freshmen started, including both safeties -- Reggie Smith (FS) and Nic Harris (SS). Harris responded with seven tackles and one sack in his first career start. Smith had an interception and a 14-yard return.
In the third quarter, the Sooners faced a third-and-seven at their own 19. The offense came out in a three-receiver set and all three were true freshmen -- Malcolm Kelly, Manuel Johnson and Juaquin Iglesias. Rhett Bomar, a redshirt freshman himself, hit Iglesias for 18 yards.

The Texas Game
For the second straight game five freshmen were in the starting line-up, including three true frosh. RG J.D. Quinn, a redshirt freshman, made his first career start after Chris Bush moved over to the center spot to spell ailing Chris Chester, a senior.
Quinn was one of three offensive players making a first career start, sort of. Paul Thompson, a junior, started this year's opener at quarterback, but made his first-ever start at WR against Texas. Sophomore RB Jacob Gutierrez lined up in the slot on the first play to earn his first start.

Nothing Average About the New Linemen
By physical stature, this is the biggest group of offensive lineman to join the OU program under Bob Stoops. The average size of the Sooners' first-year o-linemen is 6-5, 305. Ben Baressi is 6-5, 282; Branndon Braxton 6-6, 300; George Robinson 6-6, 330 and Jesse White 6-5, 282. Add defensive interior newcomers DeMarcus Granger (6-2, 320) and Brian Simmons (6-5, 305) and there are five incoming players who tip the scales at better than 300 pounds.

Sooner Extremes
Tallest: Willie Roberts, TE (6-7); Shortest: David Robinson, WR (5-6); Heaviest: George Robinson, OL (330); Lightest: David Robinson, WR (156); Oldest: Willie Roberts, TE (born Feb. 10, 1981); Youngest: Juaquin Iglesias, WR (born Aug. 22, 1987).

OU Brand Among the Nation's Most Popular
The Collegiate Licensing Company has announced its top-selling entities for the most recent fiscal year and the OU brand ranks No. 5, the highest ranking ever for the Sooners. North Carolina topped the list followed by Michigan, Texas, Georgia and Oklahoma. A portion of the proceeds from the Sooner marks benefit an endowment for Bizzell Library on the OU campus.

About the Sooner Offense
Under Bob Stoops, OU has produced its career leader in passing and receiving, while also turning out the fourth-leading rusher in school history and the school record holder for single season rushing yards.
Oklahoma has scored at least one touchdown in 85 consecutive games dating back to Nov. 7, 1998.
Under Stoops, OU has rushed for 200 yards 24 times, including 19 over the last four seasons.
Also under Stoops, OU has 86 TDs of 25+ yards and 202 scoring drives that lasted less than two minutes.

Peterson Goes Over 2,000 Yards
Soph RB Adrian Peterson crossed over the 2,000 yard mark for his career vs. Tulsa, when be bolted for 220 against the Golden Hurricane. Peterson now has 2,327 yards for his career ...
Peterson has been slowed by bad ankle in the last two games. Two weeks ago against Kansas State he had 51 yards through one quarter and a half when he left the game with an ankle injury. He had a 22-yard TD run before retiring. Last week he had just three carries for 10 yards against Texas.
The Tulsa game was the fourth 200-yard game (his fourth-highest total) and his fourth three-touchdown game. His 32 carries tied for his third-highest total, but with two receptions, the 34 touches ranked second. He had 36 touches (all rushes) against Kansas State last season.
Last season, Peterson carried 339 times for 1,925 yards. His attempts ranked No. 1 in the nation, while his net yards was No. 3.
During the off-season he had surgery on his left shoulder, which precluded his participation in spring practice.
Peterson set a single season rushing record at OU in 2004, surpassing the previous best of 1,896 yards by Billy Sims in 1978.
Peterson eclipsed Ron Dayne's (1,863) NCAA single season mark for a freshman. Peterson set other NCAA freshman standards for consecutive 100-yard games (nine) and 100-yard games (11). He tied (Emmitt Smith, Florida, 1987 and Marshall Faulk, San Diego State, 1991) the record for reaching 1,000 yards the fastest by a frosh by doing so in the seventh game.
Peterson averaged 164.0 yards vs. the four ranked foes in 2004.
He gained 100 yards in 11 of 13 games as a frosh and has done so in 12 of 18 games during his career.
He had the highest finish in the Heisman voting ever by a freshman (second) and was the first freshman to be named a finalist for the Doak Walker Award. He also was a finalist for the Maxwell.

Two X 2,000
With Kejuan Jones (2,148) and Adrian Peterson (2,317) both over 2,000 career rushing yards, it marks the first time since 1987 that OU has two backs over that figure on the same roster. Lydell Carr finished with 2,910 and Jamelle Holieway with 2,713 that year. It also happened in 1986 when Carr and Spencer Tillman both eclipsed 2,000.
It's also interesting to note that both Jones and Peterson figure to continue their respective ascensions up the career rushing touchdown list at OU. Jones is tied at No. 7 with Steve Davis with 34. Peterson has 21 in 17 games. He needs just nine to crack the top 15.

Bomar Sooner
A look at redshirt freshman quarterback Rhett Bomar, who came off the bench in the opener, but has started every game since then ...
He had a string of 73 throws without an interception snapped against Texas when one of his tosses bounced off WR Manuel Johnson into the hands of a Longhorn defender.
In a two-game stretch against UCLA and Kansas State, he completed 32-of-51 (.627) for 380 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.
He has rushed for a touchdown in two games. Prior to leading OU in rushing with 67 yards on eight carries against Kansas State, he rushed 13 times for 28 at UCLA. In those two games, he had 21 totes for 95 yards, an average of 4.5 yards per attempt.
He has eight rushes of more than 10 yards (one vs TCU, one vs. Tulsa, 4 vs. UCLA, one vs. KSU and one vs. Texas) , including a 42-yarder against Kansas State. That eclipsed his previous long rush of 28 yards against TCU.

Rushing QB Returns at Oklahoma
Only twice during the last two seasons (2003, 2004) did a starting Sooner quarterback have rushes of 10 or more yards. Jason White picked up 10 yards against Texas in 2003 and then had a 12-yard jaunt against USC last season. White finished in positive rushing numbers just five times over those two seasons (once in 03 and four times in 04). Bomar has had a positive rushing number in four of five games to date. In White's defense, before being slowed by two knee surgeries, he was a dangerous runner. He rushed 12 times for 117 yards at Kansas in the 2001 game. Two weeks later he suffered the first of two knee injuries during a game at Nebraska.
That 2001 Kansas game stood as the most recent time that a Sooner quarterback had led the team in rushing for a game until Bomar's 67 yards topped OU in this year's Kansas State tilt.
Bomar rushed for touchdowns in back-to-back games (UCLA and Kansas State), a first at OU since Nate Hybl did it against Air Force and North Texas in 2001.

Frosh Starter at QB
They're rare. Not since Jake Sills in 1998 has a freshman started at quarterback for Oklahoma. Like Rhett Bomar, Sills was a redshirt freshman.

Two Touchdown Passes, but ...
While it's true that Oklahoma has just two touchdown passes this season (Rhett Bomar to Joe Jon Finley vs. Kansas State and Texas), the air game has played a significant role in other OU trips to the end zone ...

The UCLA Game
Bomar completed passes of 10 and 18 yards to the Bruin 16 before running to the end zone from there.

The Kansas State Game
Bomar hit Finley on a 17-yard throw that took the ball to the KSU three. Kejuan Jones ran into the end zone on the next play.
Bomar found Travis Wilson on a 24-yard play that took the ball to the Wildcat four. Jones scored on a two-yard rush two plays later.

Geez, Mr. Wilson
Travis Wilson is closing in on a number of milestones ... he is just one reception away from 100 for his career, eight receptions away from OU's career top 10 and 107 yards away from OU's career top 10 ...
In the opener, Wilson led OU with five receptions for 52 yards. Seventeen of those yards after the catch.
He had seven catches for 103 yards at UCLA. He also rushed twice for 61 yards, including a 56-yard TD.
Against Kansas State, he caught five passes for 68 yards and returned one kickoff for 34.
Wilson logged 30 receptions for 345 yards and five touchdowns over his first two seasons before erupting in his junior campaign with 50 catches for 660 yards and the 11 scores.

Versatility in the Trenches
The Oklahoma offensive linemen have played a number of positions during the respective careers ...
LG Davin Joseph has 28 starts at right guard, three at left tackle and one at left guard.
RG Chris Bush has five starts at left guard, five at right guard and three at center. Bush has three starts at right guard and two at center this season.
C Chris Chester has one start at right guard and three at center. Incidentally, he's the only offensive lineman on the team with a touchdown. That came on a fake field goal at Missouri in 2002 when he caught a pass from holder Matt McCoy. During that time, Chester was a reserve tight end.
OT Chris Messner started the 2003 Alabama game at left tackle, then got the nod at right tackle in this year's season opener.

About the Sooner Defense
OU has forced at least one turnover in 74 of Bob Stoops' 84 games and has at least one interception in 54 of the last 71 games. OU has multiple picks in 17 of its last 43 outings.
Opponents completed 50% of their passes in less than half of their games against Stoops-coached teams -- 41 times in 84 games.
Foes scored less than 14 points in 47 of the games.
OU has eight shutouts under its current coach. During that same period, the opponents failed to score more than seven points 25 times.

This Corps Living Up to Standard at Linebacker U.
With four Butkus winners (Brian Bosworth - 1984-85, Rocky Calmus (2001) and Teddy Lehman (2003), no school has won the honor more than OU. This year, Clint Ingram (SLB), Zach Latimer (MLB) and Rufus Alexander (WLB) are living up to the tradition. Ingram and Alexander are on the Watch List for this year's Butkus award ...
Ingram, who missed the UCLA game with an injury, had one interception in each of the first two games -- a 23-yarder against TCU and a 48-yarder for a touchdown against Tulsa.
In his career, he has two INT, two fumbles caused, two fumbles recovered (vs. Texas last season, he caused and recovered a fumble on the same play) and four PBU all in 14 career starts.
His two sacks came over the last two games -- one each vs. Kansas State and Texas.
Latimer made his first career start against TCU. The junior responded with 15 tackles, including 11 that were solo. Latimer entered the game with 12 career tackles.
He got 12 stops against Texas and is the team's top tackler with 43.
Alexander is the team's top tackler with 33.
He had seven TFL in his career heading into the Tulsa game then logged four vs. TU.
He has 119 career tackles and eclipsed the century mark with six at UCLA.
He has four pass break-ups and one fumble recovery.
Second on the team with 43 tackles.

Dvoracek Returns
DT Dusty Dvoracek is back after being dismissed from the 2004 squad and is now a team captain. He is a former All-Big 12 performer and CoSIDA Academic All-District selection. In 2003, he was credited with 40 tackles, including seven sacks and 16 TFL. All three of those numbers were tops on an OU interior line that included Tommie Harris, the Lombardi Award winner and a first-round draft choice of the Chicago Bears.
Dvoracek is on pace to eclipse his 2003 performance. With 23 tackles through five games, he's on pace for 51. With seven tackles for loss, he's on pace for 16.
He had four tackles at UCLA, three for loss. He logged a 10-yard sack despite the fact that the Bruin lineman was flagged for holding him on the play.

In the Nic of Time
FS Nic Harris, a true freshman, got his first career start against Kansas State. He responded with seven tackles and one sack.

Six Sacks vs. Cats
Oklahoma had six sacks against Kansas State. That marked the eighth in Stoops' tenure that OU had six or more sacks in a game.

Which End is Up?
OU is minus half of its anticipated two-deep at DE. Larry Birdine was lost during the August drills with a torn left biceps. John Williams suffered a torn left ACL against TCU. Both will miss the rest of the season.

Special Teams Stuff
A look at special teams notes from Bob Stoops' era as OU's head coach ...
There have been 22 special teams TDs, including 15 in the last 43 regular season games. Those 15 came via five different kinds of plays -- nine 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 13 punts for touchdowns.
The Sooners have blocked 18 kicks.
In this year's opener, OU did not block a kick or return one for a TD, but did get a big play when Jason Carter tackled the TCU punter. The Sooners converted the play into a field goal.
Against Kansas State, Jacob Gutierrez tipped a punt that traveled just eight yards.
Last week against Texas, OU faked a punt to gain a first down.

Many Happy Returns
OU special teams under Bob Stoops ...
Kickoff Returns -- There have been 35 returns of 25 yards or more with five TDs.
Punt Returns -- There have been 38 returns of 15 or more yards with 13 TDs.
Interceptions -- There have been 50 returns of 10 or more yards with 12 TDs.
Fumbles -- Three returns of 15 or more yards with three touchdowns.

Got it Covered
Through five games, OU's foes average just 13.3 yards/KOR.
At UCLA this season, Maurice Drew entered the game as the nation's leading returner, but managed just one attempt for five yards. For the season, Sooner opponents have just six returns on 31 punts for an average of 3.8 yards per return.

Sooners Get a Freeby
Sophomore Cody Freeby, is in his first season at Oklahoma's punter.
The left-footer also is the holder for Garrett Hartley's placements.
In his first game, Freeby averaged 38.3 yards on eight punts with three downed inside the 20 and no touchbacks. Only one of his punts was returned and that one went for 10 yards.
Against Tulsa, when he averaged 50.0 yards on five kicks, his 70-yarder was the first by a Sooner to cover that distance since Jeff Ferguson got off 71-yarder at Air Force in 2001.
At UCLA, he averaged 45.6 yards on five punts and allowed the then-nation's leading returner, Maurice Drew, just one attempt for five yards.
Against Kansas State, only two of his six boots were returned for a total of two yards.
In the Texas game, he scooped up a bad snap and unleashed a 55-yard punt. It was one of two 50-yarders he had in the game.

Sooners Have Hart-ley
Garrett Hartley, Oklahoma's kicker, has been especially impressive with his kickoffs ...
So far this season, Hartley has had 17 full kickoffs (does not include squibs) and his average is 64.1 yards. That means the ball lands or is caught at roughly the one yardline. He had five touchbacks against KSU, three more against Texas (on four kicks). Opponents are averaging just 12.9 yards per return.
Hartley is 6-of-9 on field goals this season. His 52-yard make against Texas was the longest ever by a Sooner against the Longhorns and was a career-best for Hartley.

Rice Trumps all the Streaks
Jacob Rice, the long-snapper and a former standout TE and DE at Norman High, trumps all the starts and games played streaks. The senior has been a starter in all 45 career games.

Dennison a Special Teams Stud
Russell Dennison, a senior FB, has 35 career special teams tackles (18 in 2003, seven in 2003, eight in 2004 and one in 2005). Dennison also has played LB during his career at Oklahoma.

Individual Player Notes
DE C.J. Ah You
Transfer from Snow Junior College... played one season at BYU ... logged first career OU sack vs. Tulsa.

LB Rufus Alexander
Double digit tackles in three games -- 11 vs. Tulsa, 10 vs. TCU, 10 vs. Texas ... four tackles for loss and a sack against Tulsa ... fumble recovery vs. Kansas State.

DT Remi Ayodele
Started the first three games of the season.

SS Lewis Baker
Spent his first two seasons trying to gain weight, then converted from linebacker to strong safety last spring ... career-high eight tackles against Tulsa.

CB Eric Bassey
Has also played strong safety during his career ... started the last two games at corner.

QB Rhett Bomar
Worked in a back-up role in the opener, then took over as the starter prior to the second game.

DE Larry Birdine
Lost for the season with a torn left biceps muscle suffered during preseason camp.

C Chris Bush
Started all five games -- was the center vs. TCU and Texas and the right guard in all the other games.

OL Kelvin Chaisson
One of the most experienced players on the team, he starts at left guard.

DT Steven Coleman
Working in a back-up role, but is part of a four-man rotation ... three tackles vs. Tulsa.

FB Russell Dennison
Has also played linebacker at OU ... logged 35 special teams tackles during his career.

DT Dusty Dvoracek
Former All-Big 12 player who figures to be a mainstay in the Sooner defensive front ... has at least on tackle for loss in all but one game this season.

TE Joe Jon Finley
Added 21 pounds in the off-season ... got first career start against Tulsa when OU opened in double TEs ... started the last two games and had three receptions for 41 yards at UCLA ... seven catches over the last three games ... four-yard TD grab vs. Kansas State ... 15-yard TD vs. Texas ... one of only two players on the team (the other is Travis Wilson) with a catch in every game this season.

P Cody Freeby
Left-footer is in his first season as OU's punter ... also holds for placements ... averaged 50 yards on five punts against Tulsa including the first 70-yarder by a Sooner since 2001.

RB Jacob Gutierrez
Won an award from the United Way and the Junior League of Norman last spring for his community service ... gained 11 yards on this first career rushing attempt (vs. TCU) ... tipped a punt against Kansas State ... nine carries for 32 yards against the Wildcats.

FS Nic Harris
Got his first career start (FS) against KSU and responded with a team-high seven tackles and one sack.

K Garrett Hartley
Shed his redshirt in the 04 regular season finale and made a 29-yard FG in the BCS title game ... has switched from No. 32 to No. 10.

RB Donta Hickson
Speedy reserve averaged 6.1 yards on 10 attempts in 04 ... four rushes for 30 yards vs. Kansas State.

LB Clint Ingram
Had interceptions in both of the first two games ... returned the pick vs. Tulsa 48 yards for a touchdown ... eight tackles and an interception (23 yards) vs. TCU ... missed UCLA game with injury.

RB Kejuan Jones
Might be the most accomplished back-up back in the country with 2,196 career rushing yards on just 12 starts ... missed most of the August practices with a sprained foot ... started vs. UCLA, Texas... two rushing touchdowns vs. Kansas State.

OL Davin Joseph
Started the opener at left tackle then moved to left guard for game two and was back at left tackle for game three ... spent the first three years of his career at right guard.

LB Zach Latimer
Had 15 tackles in his first career start (vs. TCU) ... 12 stops against Texas.

TE James Moses
Goes by the nickname “Bubba” ... 11 of his 18 career starts came last season.

DT Carl Pendleton
Started eight games last season as a redshirt freshman then drew his first start this year vs. Kansas State.

RB Adrian Peterson
Used sparingly in the preseason as coaches took time to look at other running backs.

LB Demarrio Pleasant
Started at SLB in place of the injured Clint Ingram at UCLA ... can play multiple spots in the LB corps.

WR Jejuan Rankins
An elusive receiver after the catch, he also is the team's punt returner ... 26-yard return vs. Kansas State.

LS Jacob Rice
Reliable long snapper now in his fourth season in that role.

TE Willie Roberts
Tallest Sooner at 6-7, he also added nine pounds during the off-season.

FB J.D. Runnels
Devastating lead blocker ... averaged a little more than one reception per game over the last two seasons ... got second career rush on a faked punt against Texas (gained a first down).

DB Reggie Smith
SS got his first career start at UCLA and also had four kickoff returns for 97 yards, including a long of 43 ... first career interception came against Kansas State (14 yards) ... also had a 37-yard KO return in that game.

DE Calvin Thibodeaux
Missed most of last season after suffering a knee injury at Kansas State.

QB Paul Thompson
Redshirted last season ... Jason White's back-up in 2003 ... now splitting time at receiver ... two catches for 21 yards against Kansas State in his first game at WR ... got first start at WR against Texas.

DB Marcus Walker
Starting corner in the last two games of 04, then had off-season shoulder surgery ... missed spring ball, then dislocated his opposite shoulder (left) in August, which forced him to miss several days.

DB Darien Williams
Excelled in the spring and started first three games at free safety.

DE John Williams
Had a sack vs. TCU, but then was lost for the season in the same game with a torn left ACL.

WR Travis Wilson
Team-leading 11 TD receptions in 04 ... seven grabs for 103 yards at UCLA ... also in that game, he carried twice for 61 yards including a 56-yard TD ... five catches for 68 yards vs. Kansas State and one KO return for 34 yards ... one of two players (the other is Joe Jon Finley) with a reception in every game this season.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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