Sooners Welcome Middle Tennessee

Game Notes | Depth Chart | 2006 Sooner Gameday Central

Sooners Host Middle Tennessee
OU wraps up the non-conference postion of its 2006 schedule when it hosts Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders have not played since last Thursday when they whitewashed Division I-AA Tennessee Tech, 44-0.

Oklahoma is looking to rebound from a heart-breaking and controversial 34-33 setback at Oregon last week.

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The Series
It's the first meeting between these two schools. The Sooners are 8-0 against teams currently holding membership in the Sun Belt Conference, the league home for Middle Tennessee.

The Coaches
Oklahoma: Bob Stoops (Iowa 83) is 77-17 in his eighth season with the Sooners. He is 4-3 in bowls, 3-2 in January Bowls, 2-2 in BCS games, 49-10 vs. the Big 12, 27-7 vs. the Big 12 South, 22-3 vs. the Big 12 North, 3-1 in the Big 12 title game, 28-7 vs. non-conference opponents, 43-2 at home, 21-9 on the road, 13-6 on neutral fields and 22-8 vs. ranked opponents. He is 0-0 vs. Middle Tennessee.

Middle Tennessee: Rick Stockstill (Florida State 82) is in his first season as a college head coach.

Oklahoma Football History & Tradition | OU Quick Facts

The Program
Oklahoma's all-time record stands at 759-290-53.
The Sooners own seven national championships (1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, 2000).
OU has 39 bowl appearances (No. 7 nationally) with 24 victories (No. 3 nationally).
Oklahoma has won 39 conference titles.
Since WWII, Oklahoma is the most success college football program with 514 victories.
Some 141 All-Americans and four Heisman Trophy winners have come from the Oklahoma program.

This Week's Opponent
Middle Tennessee is under first-year coach Rick Stockstill.
The university is located in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The enrollment figure is 22,554.
MT linebacker J.K. Sabb is on the preseason watch list for the Butkus Award. QB Clint Marks is on the preseason list for the Davey O'Brien Award.
The preseason Sun Belt poll tabbed Middle Tennessee sixth out of eight. The Blue Raiders were 4-7 last season with a 3-4 mark in conference play (fourth).
This year's squad returns 43 letterwinners and 12 starters, eight on offense and four on defense.
Middle Tennessee played its first season on the Division I-A level in 1999. It ended a 48-year association with the Ohio Valley Conference when it moved to the Sun Belt in 2000.
MT is 0-3 vs. the Big 12 Conference with losses at Texas A&M (1995), Nebraska (2002) and Missouri (2003).
The Blue Raider defense surrendered just 10 rushing yards in its win over I-AA Tennessee Tech. MT foes are averaging just 2.6 yards per carry on the ground this season.
This marks the third time that a team from Tennessee has played on Owen Field. Vanderbilt played in Norman in 1933 and 1977. The Sooners and Commodores played to a 0-0 draw in 33, before the top-ranked OU club of 77 narrowly escaped with a 25-23 win.

Ties with Middle Tennessee
Bob Stoops and Middle Tennessee head coach Rick Stockstill both served as assistant coaches under Steve Spurrier. Stoops served in that capacity at Florida (1996-98), while Stockstill did so at South Carolina (2004-05).
Stoops and MT offensive line coach Jimmy Ray Stephens were on the Florida staff together from 1996-98. Spurrier was coaching the Gators at that time.
Middle Tennessee cornerbacks coach Antonio Goss was a player at North Carolina when fellow Tar Heel alum and current OU offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson was on the UNC staff as a graduate assistant.

Trends
Through three games ...
Oklahoma has gained 200 yards more than its opponents in the return game: 429-229.
OU still has more turnovers than takeaways (7-6), but four of its seven came in the first game. Since then, the Sooners are +2.
Oklahoma is 2-of-2 on fourth down this season. Its opponents are 1-of-3.
OU opponents have only one first down by penalty.
Oklahoma attempted 24 passes against both UAB and Oregon, 33 against Washington.
After finishing the opener with a deficit of 10:28 in time of possession, the Sooners have closed that mark to just six seconds through their next two games.
When Chase Beeler played at Oregon he became the second true freshman in as many seasons to see action at the center position.

Home Field Honchos
Oklahoma is 43-2 at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium under Bob Stoops and has won its last six in a row and 26 of its last 27 there. The two longest homefield winning streaks under Stoops were 19 and 17 games.

Non-Cons
Bob Stoops is 28-7 vs. non-league foes, 23-4 in regular season non-league games and 19-1 in non-conference home games.

The Sooners Briefly
Oklahoma was tabbed to win the Big 12's South Division in a preseason polling of league media. Sooner players Adrian Peterson, a running back, and Rufus Alexander, a linebacker, were selected as the league's preseason offensive and defensive players of the year, respectively.
This Sooner team has just 11 seniors, the lowest number of Bob Stoops' tenure. The previous low was 12 by the 2001 squad.
There are 24 players on this team with previous experience as a starter for OU. That's up from seven over the same time last season.
Last season, OU was 8-4 overall and 6-2 in the Big 12 South. The Sooners played the most difficult schedule in NCAA Division I-A as the opponents were a combined 84-38. The 2005 season culminated with OU's win over then-No. 6 Oregon in the Holiday Bowl, 17-14.

Oklahoma's Most Recent Game
Controversy reigned supreme on a onside kick with 1:12 remaining. After a lengthy review that has since sparked considerable national debate, the Pac-10 officiating crew awarded the ball to Oregon. The Ducks capped an impressive comeback when Dennis Dixon hit Brian Paysinger on a 23-yard pass with 46 seconds remaining. Oregon rallied with 14 points over the final 3:12 to overcome a 33-20 deficit.
Oklahoma attempted a 43-yard field goal on the game's final play, but the kick was blocked. Had it been good, it not only would have given OU the win, but also Garrett Hartley a school-record fifth field goal.
Adrian Peterson carried 34 times for 211 yards and one touchdown. He also saw his first-ever action at kick returner. He brought back three for an average of 22.7 yards.
The Sooner defense, which surrendered 501 total yards, including 343 through the air, was led in tackles by Jason Carter with a career-high 10.
OU's defense entered the game with no interceptions on the season, but got two, both by sophomore Nic Harris. Harris had no career picks going into the game.

Crowded House
With 169,132 in attendance for the first two home games of 2006, Oklahoma has now drawn 3,475,940 for Bob Stoops' 45 home games (started in 1999). All 45 have been sold out. OU has exceeded its listed capacity of 82,112 in 19 consecutive games. Since Stoops became the head coach, Oklahoma has increased the seating capacity of Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium by 9,347 seats.

Taking a Different Position
During Bob Stoops' tenure 14 players have moved from one position to earn a starting job at another. Perhaps most notable of those was OT Jammal Brown who moved from the defensive line. He went on to win the 2004 Outland Trophy and was a first-round draft pick of the New Orleans Saints. Like Brown, eight of those who have moved went from one side of the ball to the other. This team includes 10 players who have switched positions since arriving at Oklahoma.

Stoops' Coaching Tree
There are four head coaches currently on the Division I-A level that were hired from Bob Stoops' Oklahoma staff -- Mike Leach at Texas Tech, Mark Mangino at Kansas, Mike Stoops at Arizona and Chuck Long at San Diego State.

Oklahoma Tackles Full Slate of 1A Foes... Again
For the seventh consecutive season Oklahoma is playing a schedule comprised entirely of NCAA Division I-A opponents. The Sooners haven't played a lower division team since Bob Stoops' opener in 1999 (49-0 over I-AA Indiana State). This season, OU is the only program in the Big 12 to play a full I-A schedule.
Last season, Oklahoma played the most difficult schedule in Division I-A. The opponents were 84-38 (.689). Seven of the 11 regular season foes played in bowl games and all but one (Texas Tech, which lost to Alabama on a last-second FG) won in the post season.

About the Offense
Under Stoops, OU has produced its career leader in passing and receiving, while producing the fourth-ranked rusher in school history and the record-holder for single season rushing.
Oklahoma has scored at least one touchdown in every game dating back to Nov. 7, 1998.
On Stoops' watch, OU has 28, 200-yard rushing games with 23 over the last five years.
Also under their current head coach, the Sooners have 96 touchdowns of 25-plus yards and 212 scoring drives that lasted less than two minutes.

Peterson Challenges Mark
RB Adrian Peterson, the No. 2 rusher in Division I-A, is pursuing OU's career rushing mark. That honor now resides with Billy Sims, who ran for 4,118 yards from 1975-79. Peterson entered 2006 with 3,033 yards, the best two-year total in school history. He is 570 yards shy of Sims' mark. On the season, Peterson has 90 carries for 515 yards and four TD. This is the best start to a season for A.D., (short for “All Day,” the nickname given him by his father). Through three games in 2004 he had 400 yards and through two last season he had 341.
Peterson set the Sooner single season record of 1,925 yards in his freshman year of 2004. He finished second (highest ever by a freshman) in the Heisman voting to USC's Matt Leinart.
Last season, he gained 1,104 yards despite missing all or parts of four games with an ankle injury. During that stretch, he got 16 carries for 57 yards. He still finished second in Big 12 rushing and was ahead of every other RB in the league (Missouri QB Brad Smith was the leader).

Thompson Back at QB
Paul Thompson, who moved to WR last season, did not return to the QB role until Aug. 3, but is off to a good start nevertheless.
He has completed 60% of his passes with five touchdowns and three interceptions. His average per completion is 14.0 yards.
Over the last 45 years, most of which were run-dominated, there have been only four in which a Sooner QB completed 60% of his passes -- two by Jason White and two by Josh Heupel.

Super Sophs Catching On
Two sophomores are leading a solid receiving corps ...
Malcolm Kelly went over 500 career receiving yards with six grabs for a career-high 121 yards against Washington. He has three touchdown grabs over the last two games.
Juaquin Iglesias has 12 catches for 132 yards this year after hauling in five for 78 at Oregon.

The Return of the Tight End
OU's tight ends have eight receptions for 141 yards. Six of those grabs and 117 of those yards belong to junior Joe Jon Finley. He had 13 catches for 150 yards in 2005.
Last season, the Sooner tight ends had 20 catches for 260 yards, an average 1.6 receptions for 21.7 yards per game. This year's per game averages are 2.7 for 47.0, respectively.

Trench Talk
Oklahoma lost four seniors (two were drafted) who gobbled up a 41 starts last season in the offensive line, but there are returnees who either started or saw extensive action ...
Oklahoma's offensive line is young my any standard with four sophomore starters, but that fact is magnified by the fact that none of the four redshirted.
Soph OG Brandon Walker is in his first I-A season after transferring from junior college.
Chase Beeler became the second true freshman in as many seasons to play center when he saw action at Oregon.

About the Defense
Oklahoma has forced at least one turnover in 84 of Bob Stoops' 94 games and has at least one interception in 61 of the last 81. OU has multiple picks in 21 of its last 50 outings.
Opponents completed 50 percent or more of their passes in less than half of their games against Stoops-coached teams -- 44 times in 94 games.
Oklahoma has eight shutouts under its current head coach. During that time period, the opponents failed to score more than seven points 26 times. Foes have scored less than 14 points 48 times against OU in the Stoops era.
With 11 starters in 12 games last season there were 132 combined starting assignments. Ninety-six of those return among the personnel on hand for the 2006 season.

End All, Be All
A look at one of OU's deepest postions, defensive end ...
C.J. Ah You was the consensus Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year in 2005. He also captured Defensive MVP honors at the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl.
Calvin Thibodeaux started every game last season and led the team with 10 sacks.
Larry Birdine missed the first 11 games in '05 with a biceps injury, but is still on the Hendricks Watch List. In 2004, he did not start a game while working behind Dan Cody and Jonathan Jackson, yet finished No. 3 in the Big 12 with seven sacks.
John Williams is thought to have huge upside. After redshirting in 2004, he had four tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery before injuring a knee in the 2005 opener vs. TCU. He missed the rest of the season.
Alonzo Dotson is the nephew of former Baylor and Green Bay Packers great Santana Dotson. He sat out last season but will see playing time in 2006.

Rip and Run
Last year, Oklahoma returned its 13 interceptions for 220 yards, an average of 16.9 yards per return. Three of the 13 went for touchdowns. The return average was the third-highest in the Stoops era. The 2003 team set the standard with a 21.5-yard average on 24 picks.

Among the Nation's Best
Oklahoma's 2005 defense ranked No. 13 in total yards. The Sooners have been among the nation's top 20 in total defense in each of Bob Stoops' seven seasons in Norman.
Last year's team was No. 4 nationally against the rush (90.6). That was the best ranking by a Sooner defense in Stoops' tenure. The 2005 team had four of the 12 best performances against the rush under Stoops. The best outing came against Kansas when the Jayhawks got just 11 yards. Oklahoma State got 13, Nebraska 16 and Kansas State 22.

Point(s) Well Taken
In the five years before Bob Stoops arrived, Oklahoma gave up an average of 27.08 points per game. Over the last five seasons, the Sooners have surrendered on average just 16.06.

About the Special Teams
Oklahoma's special teams under Bob Stoops ...
There have been 22 special teams TD, including 15 in the last 47 regular season games. Those 15 came via five different kinds of plays -- nine punt returns, two faked FG, two blocked punts, a kickoff return and a faked punt. The special teams also own one safety in that span.
In total, OU has returned five kickoffs and 13 punts for TD on Stoops's watch (since 1999).
The Sooners have blocked 19 kicks.
Last season OU ran a trick play, blocked a kick or tackled a punter in five of the 12 games.

Many Happy Returns
Information on returns during the Stoops era ...
Kickoff Returns -- 42 returns of 25 yards or more with five touchdowns.
Punt Returns -- 42 returns of 15 or more yards with 13 touchdowns.
Interceptions Returns -- 52 returns of 10 or more yards with 14 touchdowns.
Fumble Returns -- Three returns of 15 or more yards with three touchdowns.

The 2006 Return Game
Oklahoma is averaging 26.4 yards on kickoff returns and 13.9 on punt returns. Last season, the Sooners averaged 18.2 yards on kickoff returns and 7.4 on punt returns.
Reggie Smith has 10 punt returns for a 13.9-yard average. In the Washington game, he picked up an 82-yard punt and returned it 62 yards. He has two of 25 yards or longer. At Oregon, he had a 55-yard kickoff return.
Juaquin Iglesias has been an effective kickoff returner with four for a 31.8-yard average. All four of his returns totaled between 31 and 33 yards.
Oklahoma's coverage teams have been good, allowing just 6.1 yards on punt returns and 19.8 on kickoff returns.

The Long and the Short of the Punting Game
Michael Cohen is handling the long punts for OU and Mike Knall the short. Both played in their first OU game in this year's opener.
Cohen got all of the punts against Washington and has six of OU's seven on the season. He is averaging 42.5 yards with two downed inside the 20 (one at the 1).
Cohen's punting average has improved each game from 40.7 to 44.3 to 45.6.

McEachern Gets Grip
Back-up QB Hays McEachern, whose father played at Texas and whose mother was a cheerleader for the Longhorns, is the holder. He is the first QB to hold since Patrick Fletcher in 2000.

Crimson Snapper
OU lost Jacob Rice to graduation. He was the long snapper for all 52 games of his career. Derek Shaw has taken over the duties. The true freshman is perfect in 30 snaps this season.

Sooners Have Hart-ley
K Garrett Hartley is in his third season in the starter's role. He won the job in the regular season finale of his true freshman season (2004) ...
Hartley is 7-of-8 on field goal attempts and 10-of-10 on PATs this season. He has kicked off 21 times (one sky kick) with 10 touchbacks.
He made a career-high four field goals at Oregon.
Last season, Hartley had 67 kickoffs (including squibs) with 33 touchbacks for an average of 58.5 yards per kick. He had five touchbacks vs. Kansas State, three against Texas (on four kicks) and Texas A&M.
His 52-yard FG at Texas last year was the longest ever by a Sooner against the Longhorns. It also was his career best. He made 50-yarders against Nebraska and TCU.
Last season, Hartley made 14-of-22 field goals and 37-of-38 PATs.

Head Coach Bob Stoops
History is one tough customer at Oklahoma. The tradition, so rich and so long-standing, is as daunting as it is impressive. To be among the best at Oklahoma is to be among the best in college football.

Such dramatics are lost on Bob Stoops. The Sooner head coach befriended the would-be albatross of OU's successful past from his first day on campus and remains steadfastly focused on tomorrow and the championship it holds.

It falls then to the observers and experts of the game to define Stoops' impact. Rarely have the pundits had it so easy.

Under Stoops, Oklahoma has won 77 games (77-17), spent 69 consecutive weeks in the national rankings, played in seven bowl games, four of the BCS variety, and captured three Big 12 crowns. His 2000 team won the national championship. On a playing field leveled by scholarship limits and parity, this era stares down the Oklahoma standard and does not blink.

The achievement dulls the memory of what Stoops inherited. When he arrived in Norman, the proud Sooner program was five years removed from a winning record, four from bowl play. Those atypical days of angst are so forgotten now that they might as well be mentioned with the land rush and dust bowl.

Stoops has been characterized as a grounded family man, brilliant big-game coach, relentless recruiter, disciplined leader and a person with uncommon perspective. His success emanates from a disciplined style true to his roots in the Steel Valley of Ohio, but he is far from inflexible. The principles to which he holds are the tried and true axioms of the sport ... mixed with cutting edge strategy and an appreciation for the calculated risk.

During his time, OU has produced recordsetting passers and receivers, three 1,000-yard rushers, suffocating defense and special teams units that rank among the most dynamic in the land. Every facet has been impacted.

His players have snagged 16 national awards, including the 2003 Heisman Trophy won by Jason White. There have been 54 academic honorees, 47 All-Big 12 players, 21 All-Americans and 29 NFL draft choices.

Stoops has won a total of 10 national coach of the year awards and has been Big 12 Coach of the year in three of his six campaigns in Norman.

This is one of the finest coaches in the history of one of college football's most storied traditions.

The son of a coach, Stoops was a four-year starter at Iowa. He began his coaching career in 1983 as a volunteer in the Hawkeye program under Hayden Fry. He worked through the ranks until he became co-defensive coordinator at Kansas State (1991-95).

With the Wildcats, he played a key role in their impressive turnaround. During his final four seasons there, K-State was 35-12 with three bowl appearances. Eventually, he left for Florida and a three-year stint as Steve Spurrier's defensive coordinator. In 1996, he was part of a national championship team. It was with the Gators that the spotlight found Stoops and made him one of the hottest names in the profession.

Stoops, who was born Sept. 9, 1960, in Youngstown, Ohio, graduated from Iowa in 1983 with a degree in marketing. He and his wife, Carol, have three children: daughter, Mackenzie, and twin sons, Drake and Isaac.

Individual Player Notes
DE C.J. Ah You: Consensus Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year and Defensive MVP of the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl last season ... seven sacks and 12 tackles for loss last season ...
his family prepared a Hawaiian BBQ following the spring game.

LB Rufus Alexander: Preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year ... tops Oklahoma with 21 total tackles and was in double digits in the first two games.

LB Lewis Baker: Recovered a fumble at Oregon.

DT Cory Bennett: Started the UAB game and logged a career-high six tackles.

DE Larry Birdine: Missed the first 11 games last season with a torn left biceps muscle, but came back to play in the Holiday Bowl ... got the first sack Oregon allowed this season.

OT Branndon Braxton: The starter at right tackle, he started three games at that position last year ... from the same hometown as Bob Stoops -- Youngstown, Ohio.

DB Jason Carter: Got his second career blocked punt when he got one against Washington ... started at Oregon and recorded a career-best 10 tackles.

FB Matt Clapp: OU opened in double TEs for the opener, but Clapp got most of the reps at FB ... missed the last two games with an injury.

SS Keenan Clayton: Started the first two games at strong safety.

DT Steven Coleman: Stellar off-season vaulted him well into the four-man rotation.

C Jon Cooper: Missed the last two games last season after suffering an injury at Texas Tech ... had won the starting center job before going down.

TE Joe Jon Finley: Has added 41 pounds since coming to OU ... career-high four receptions and one touchdown against UAB.

DT DeMarcus Granger: Two stops in each of the first three games.

RB Jacob Gutierrez: Knee injury suffered in the Holiday Bowl kept him out of spring practice ... rushed for 173 yards against Baylor last season.

QB Joey Halzle: Mid-year transfer who has displayed an accurate throwing touch.

DB Nic Harris: Two interceptions at Oregon, the first of the season for the Ducks.

K Garrett Hartley: See notes elsewhere in this release.

DB Lendy Holmes: Switched from WR to CB in the spring ... got first CB start at Oregon.

WR Juaquin Iglesias: Five grabs against Washington for 44 yards ... averaged 33 yards on kickoff returns against UAB and caught two passes for 10 yards ... five catches for 78 yards at Oregon.

WR Manuel Johnson: Caught the longest pass thrown by OU last season, a 55-yarder vs. Oklahoma St. ... missed opener with an ankle injury, then had one grab for six yards vs. Washington.

WR Malcolm Kelly: Leads Oklahoma with 12 receptions ... career-high 121 receiving yards against Washington on six receptions ... three for 66 at Oregon with a 31-yard TD.
LB Zach Latimer: Back for a second straight year as the starter at middle linebacker ... second on the team with 19 tackles ... forced a fumble vs. Washington.

LB Curtis Lofton: Challenging on the strong side.

QB Hays McEachern: Holder on OU placements ... both parents attended Texas.

OL Chris Messner: Starter at left tackle ... he started at right tackle most of last season when he pulled down the line's highest grade.

OL Sherrone Moore: A guard who transferred at mid-year from Butler County (Kan.) CC.

RB Allen Patrick: Back-up at running back, who is a good receiver and elusive runner ... will likely see action in a kickoff return role ... has two tackles and one punt downed at the one yardline in special teams play.

DT Carl Pendleton: Part of a four-game rotation at defensive tackle.

RB Adrian Peterson: See information listed earlier in the release.

LB Demarrio Pleasant: The starter at strong side linebacker ... made one start last season in which he registered 10 tackles at UCLA ... recovered a fumble against Washington.

FB Ian Pleasant: Not related to Demarrio Pleasant ... first career reception at Oregon when he had two for 13 yards ... a native Virginian, his HS senior season was canceled after two games due to the DC sniper.

OL George Robinson: Versatile sophomore who could play guard or tackle ... got his first career start in the opener.

CB Reggie Smith: Starting at CB, PR and KR ... started 10 games at SS last season as a true freshman ... averaged 10.1 yards on six punt returns with a long of 27 in the opener ... had a 62-yard punt return against Washington on a punt that traveled 82 yards ... 55-yard KO return and two PBU at Oregon.

WR Fred Strong: Made the first three catches of his career in the opener ... came back with four more and his first career start against Washington.

DE Calvin Thibodeaux: Led OU with 10 sacks last season after posting just two in his previous three years of work ... received a hardship ruling to play in 2006.

QB Paul Thompson: See notes earlier in the release.

CB Marcus Walker: Has battled back from two shoulder surgeries and will be a factor at CB ... he has four career starts there ... career-high four PBU at Oregon.

FS Darien Williams: Career-high 13 tackles vs. Washington.

DE John Williams: Back after suffering a season-ending injury in last season's opener.

CB D.J. Wolfe: Had two interceptions last season, including one that he returned 65 yards for a touchdown against Kansas ... recovered a fumble vs. UAB.

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