Sooners Tangle with Tigers Saturday

Sooner Gameday Central: OU vs. Missouri | Scouting Report: Missouri Tigers | Boomer Bytes

OU & Missouri Game Notes (PDF) | OU Depth Chart | 2007 OU Football Guide

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma, playing at home for the first time in almost a month (last home game was Sept. 15), hosts Missouri in the Sooners' Homecoming game. No. 6 OU topped rival Texas last Saturday at Dallas (28-21), while No. 11 Missouri popped Nebraska in Columbia (41-6). ESPN's College GameDay is on hand to broadcast from Norman while FSN has the national telecast beginning at 5:30 p.m. Saturday night.

The Series
Oklahoma leads it 63-23-5 count, including a 31-8-5 mark in Norman. The Sooners have won the last four meetings in the series and 16 of the last 17. OU won in Columbia last season (26-10) and also took the last contest between the two in Norman (34-13 in 2003).

The Coaches
Oklahoma: Bob Stoops (Iowa '83) is 91-20 in his ninth season with the Sooners. He is 4-4 in bowls, 3-3 in January Bowls, 2-3 in BCS games, 57-12 vs. the Big 12, 32-8 vs. the Big 12 South, 25-4 vs. the Big 12 North, 4-1 in the Big 12 title game, 33-8 vs. non-conference opponents, 50-2 at home, 26-10 on the road, 14-8 on neutral fields and 26-10 vs. ranked foes. He is 4-0 vs. Missouri
Missouri: Gary Pinkel (Kent St. '73) is 42-35 in his seventh year at MU, 115-72-3 in 17 years overall.

OU-Mizzou Game Video |

OU Offense Video |

OU Defense Video |

OU Press Conference

The Program
• Oklahoma's all-time record stands at 773-293-53.
• The Sooners own seven national championships (1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, 2000).
• OU has 40 bowl appearances (No. 7 nationally) with 24 victories (No. 3 nationally).
• Oklahoma has won 40 conference titles.
• Since WWII, Oklahoma is the most success college football program with 529 victories.
• Some 142 All-Americans and four Heisman Trophy winners have come from the Oklahoma program.
• Oklahoma Football History & Tradition

About the Matchup
• Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford leads the nation in pass efficiency (187.03), while Missouri's Chase Daniel is No. 3 in total offense (380.0).
• OU is No. 6 nationally in sacks (3.83), while Missouri is No. 13 in sacks allowed. The Sooners are No. 2 in sacks allowed, while Missouri is No. 46 in sacks.
• Missouri is No. 5 in total offense (556.6), while OU is No. 11 in total defense (283.8).
• Sooner Gameday Central: OU vs. Missouri

Last Year's Game
No. 19 Oklahoma defeated No. 23 Missouri at Columbia, 26-10, on Oct. 28, 2006 ...
• OU converted four Missouri turnovers (three interceptions, one fumble) into 17 points.
• The Sooners rushed 52 times for 231 yards. Allen Patrick carried 25 times for 157.
• Missouri got 284 of its 360 total offense through the air on 23-of-46 passing by Daniel, who accounted for all but one of the Tigers' total yards.
• OU possessed the ball for 36:23, was penalized just five times and did not commit a turnover.
• Scouting Report: No. 11 Missouri Tigers

Oklahoma's Most Recent Game
For the sixth time in Bob Stoops' nine seasons, the Sooners defeated Texas at Dallas, 28-21 ...
• Sam Bradford completed 21-of-32 passes for 244 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. The Redshirt freshman hit nine in a row at one point.
• DeMarco Murray, also a redshirt frosh, rushed 17 times for 128 yards and one TD (65-yards).
• Juaquin Iglesias caught six passes for 99 yards, while Malcolm Kelly had five for 105 and one touchdown, the 20th of his career.
• TE Jermaine Gresham caught two touchdown passes to mark the eighth time a Sooner has recorded two or more six-pointers in a game this season.
• The Sooner defense was led by Nic Harris' eight tackles. Auston English logged a pair of sacks, while Reggie Smith had an interception and Curtis Lofton a forced fumble. Lofton's play came when he stripped Jamaal Charles inside the Sooner five yardline.
• For the first time this season Oklahoma did not commit a turnover.
• A crowd of 80,000 represented the 62nd consecutive sellout in the series.
• Recap & Coverage: Oklahoma 28, Texas 21

Sooners Digging the Long Ball
OU has 44 plays, offense and defense, of 20 yards or longer (not including special teams) ...
• Plays of 20-29 Yards -- Offense (17): 13 passes, four rushes. Defense (2): Two INT returns.
• Plays of 30-39 Yards -- Offense (6): Three passes, three rushes. Defense (2): Two INT returns.
• Plays of 40+ Yards -- Offense (15): 10 passes, five rushes. Defense (2): One INT, one FR.
Notes: Four Sooners have a rush of 41 yards or longer ... OU has a 53-yard FG from Garrett Hartley ... OU's opponents have 16 plays (14 passes) of 20+ yards ... OU's longest play was a 92-yard TD run by DeMarco Murray vs. Utah State ... he also had an 81-yard KOR at Tulsa.

Miscellany
• ESPN College GameDay is in Norman. It will be the 14th time the show has been set at an Oklahoma game. GameDay's last visit to Norman was for the 2003 Oklahoma State game. Other trips to Norman included 2000 Nebraska, 2001 Kansas State and 1995 Colorado.
• Bob Stoops' teams are 8-0 in games immediately after the Red River Rivalry game vs. Texas.
• Oklahoma has had a 100-yard receiver in five of six games this season.
• DeMarco Murray and Allen Patrick both have 100-yard rushing games this season. It marks the fifth consecutive season that more than one tailback achieved the feat in the same year. Those two average 6.6 and 6.5 yards per carry, respectively.
• OU has four, one-play scoring drives. Three of those plays were rushes and the shortest, a rush, was 17 yards.
• OU has two, 90-yard scoring drives: 96 against Utah State and 94 against Texas.
• OU opponents are 24-of-94 on third down for 25.5%. OU is 35-of-75 for 46.7%.
• OU opponents have 22 more pass attempts than the Sooners with five fewer completions.
• OU ran between 69 and 73 (73 three times) plays in its five wins, 46 in its loss.
• Rushing -- OU 243 attempts for 1,297 yards (5.3/carry); opponents 211 for 399 (1.9/carry).
• Oklahoma has 10 turnovers as opposed to 14 by the opponents. OU scored 59 points (8 TD, 1 FG) off the turnovers, the opponents have 30 (3 TD, 3 FG).

Sooners Briefly
• Oklahoma was tabbed for a second-place finish in the Big 12's South Division in a preseason polling of league media. Defensive back Reggie Smith was named the league's preseason defensive player of the year.
• There are 34 players on this team with previous experience as a starter for OU. That's up from 10 over the number that returned last season.

Home Field Honchos
• Oklahoma is 50-2 at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium under Bob Stoops and has won its last 14 in a row there and 34 of its last 35. During Stoops's tenure, which included home winning streaks of 19 and 17 games, OU has registered six shutouts on Owen Field.
• The Sooners are 26-1 against the Big 12 at home under their current head coach and have won their last 17 conference games on Owen Field.

Great Slate
• Oklahoma has played exclusive Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly I-A) opposition since Bob Stoops' opener in 1999 (a 49-0 win over I-AA Indiana State) or for 110 consecutive games. The entire 2007 schedule is comprised of FBS competition.
• Under Stoops, Oklahoma has played regular season games against Notre Dame, UCLA (twice), Alabama (twice), Oregon (twice), Miami, Louisville, North Carolina, Air Force and Washington. Future slates feature Miami, Washington, Tennessee, Notre Dame, LSU and Florida State.

Close Shaves
Oklahoma's loss at Colorado marked the fourth time in the last five Sooner setbacks that the game was decided on the game's final play: 2007 Colorado (CU field goal), 2007 Fiesta Bowl (Boise State TD), 2006 Oregon (blocked Oklahoma field goal attempt) and 2005 Texas Tech (TTU touchdown). Those four losses were by a total of seven points (27-24 at Colorado, 43-42 to Boise State, 34-33 at Oregon and 23-21 at Texas Tech), and all were away from Norman.

Stoops Era Attendance
Oklahoma has drawn 4,159,261 for Bob Stoops' 52 home games (started in 1999).
• All 52 have been sold out and the Sooners have prevailed 50 times.
• Last year's average home attendance of 84,561 was the largest in school history. The top seven seasons for OU home attendance have come on Stoops' watch.
• The crowd of 85,357 for this year's Miami game is the largest in school history. The 84,472 for this year's North Texas game was the largest ever for an OU opener
• OU has exceeded its listed capacity of 82,112 in 26 consecutive games.
• Oklahoma Sets Attendance Records at Memorial Stadium

About the Offense

• Under Stoops, Oklahoma has produced its career leader in passing and receiving, while turning out the No. 3- and No. 4-ranked rusher in school history and the school record holder for single-season rushing, passing and receiving yards.
• OU has scored at least one touchdown in every game dating back to Nov. 7, 1998.
• Under Stoops, OU has rushed for 200 yards 35 times, including 29 over the last five seasons.
• In the Stoops era, OU has 118 TD of 25+ yards and 239 scoring drives of less than 2:00.
• OU's 2006 team missed perfect offensive balance by just 202 yards (2,682 passing, 2,480 rushing). The 2005 team missed it by just one yard and the 2003 squad was off by only 160.

Bradford Has Special Ties to OU and State
Sam Bradford earned the starting quarterback job in August ...
• Bradford is a certified Cherokee Indian. His great, great grandmother (father's side) was named Susie Walkingstick.
• Bradford's father, Kent, was an offensive lineman at OU. He lettered in 1977 and 1978.
• Bradford completed his last 18 passes vs. North Texas and his first four vs. Miami. That string of 22 broke Jason White's OU record of 18 and challenged the NCAA mark of 24 set by Tennessee's Tee Martin. Bradford then hit his last 10 vs. Miami and his first 11 vs. Utah State for a string of 21.

National Numbers
Oklahoma's top 25 rankings in the NCAA offensive statistics ...
• No. 1 in passing efficiency at 185.7.
• No. 2 in sacks allowed at .67 per game.
• No. 3 in scoring with 49.7 per game.
• No. 11 in total offense with 482.2 yards per game.
• No. 15 in rushing offense with 216.7 yards per game.
• Sam Bradford is No. 1 in passing eff. (187.0), DeMarco Murray is No. 15 in scoring (10.0) and Juaquin Iglesias is No. 20 in receiving yards/game (93.0).

Line of Demarcation
Adrian Peterson was a true freshman in 2004 (age 19) and DeMarco Murray is a redshirt freshman in 2007 (age 19) ...
• Peterson rushed for 15 touchdowns in 2004, one every 22.6 attempts. Murray has nine, one every 7.4 attempts. All of Peterson's TDs came via the rush. Murray has a 10th on a KO return.
• Peterson's long frosh rush was 80 yards vs. Oklahoma St. Murray went 92 yards vs Utah St.
• Peterson had five receptions as a freshman; Murray has eight.

Keen on Juaquin Iglesias
• The junior entered the season with 60 career receptions for 804 yards and four touchdowns. In 2007, he has 35 grabs for 558 yards and three scores. His longest reception coming into this season was 37 yards. He already has five for longer distances in '07.
• Career bests in catches (8 vs. Tulsa, Utah St.), yards (142 vs. Tulsa) and TD (2 vs. Tulsa).
• He's averaging 27.3 yards per kickoff return with a long of 44.
• Iglesias' 942 all-purpose yards are 303 more than the next highest figure on the team.

Tight End Tandem
Last season, tight ends Joe Jon Finley (6-6, 261) and Jermaine Gresham (6-5, 263) combined to average 1.9 receptions/game. Thus far in '07, they're averaging 4.0. In 2006, the tight ends had four touchdown grabs. In 2007 they have six.

O-Line of Historical Proportions
With an average height of nearly 6-5 (76.6 inches) and 322.4 pounds this is one of the biggest offensive lines in OU history. During the Stoops era (since 1999) this is the heaviest line. By height, it is the third-tallest line of the Stoops era. The 2002 and 2003 lines both measured 77.2 inches. By weight it is the second-heaviest in the country to Texas Tech.
• At 6-8, Phil Loadholt is tied as the tallest football player on record at Oklahoma, and the tallest starter. The only previous player at 6-8 was Chris Watkins, recruited in 1988 from Amarillo (Texas) HS. Watkins lettered in 1991, but never started. There have been 17 OU players at 6-7 (for research, only measurements from a player's final season at Oklahoma were used).
• Oklahoma has surrendered just two sacks, which is tied for second nationally, but is tied for No. 1 among teams with four games played.

About the Defense

• OU has forced at least one turnover in 100 of Bob Stoops' 111 games and has at least one interception in 74 of the last 97. There have multiple picks in 29 of their last 67 outings.
• Opponents completed 50% or more of their passes in less than half of their games (55-of-111) against Stoops' teams.
• Oklahoma has nine shutouts under its current head coach. Opponents failed to score more than seven points 28 times and scored less than 14 in 54 games.
• Last season, only two of the 14 opponents reached their scoring average in games against Oklahoma and just two were able to exceed their average total yardage figure.

Defense Surging in NCAA Rankings
Oklahoma's top 25 rankings in the NCAA defensive stats ...
• No. 5 in tackles for loss at 9.5 per game.
• No. 5 in rushing defense at 66.5 yards per game.
• No. 11 in total defense at 283.8 yards per game.
• No. 6 in sacks at 3.8 per game.
• No. 10 in scoring defense at 15.6.
• Curtis Lofton ranks No. 17 in tackles (10.7) and Auston English No. 11 in sacks (1.0) and No. 17 in TFL (1.5).

English Lesson
Sophomore defensive end Auston English redshirted after his true freshman season, but is back from that year away from competition in a big way. He leads the Sooners in sacks with six and in tackles for loss with nine. He had two sacks each against Tulsa and Texas.

Paper of Plastic?
Oklahoma is averaging 3.7 sacks per game. That average over a 12-game schedule would amount to 44 sacks. The school record of 48 was set in 1986. The sack high for this season is six, which OU accomplished against North Texas and Tulsa.

Touchy, Feely Defense
OU defenders have touched the ball 34 times (5.6 times per game) with 18 PBUs, 10 interceptions and four fumble recoveries. OU is averaging 19.3 yards on INT/fumble returns with three touchdowns.

Stoops Era Staple: Run Defense
This season, five opponents rushed for 66 or fewer yards. Eighteen times, Bob Stoops-coached Oklahoma teams have held opponents under 40 rushing yards in a game. Four times the total has resulted in negative yards.
• Last season, thanks in part to five sacks, the Sooners limited Baylor to -48 yards on the ground. That was the best single-game rushing defense performance by any team in the nation during the 2006 season and the best by an Oklahoma team during the Stoops Era.
• OU has ranked no worse than 23rd in national rushing defense over the last seven seasons. Three times in that span it ranked among the top 10 and six times it was among the top 20.

About the Special Teams

Oklahoma's special teams under Bob Stoops ...
• There have been 25 special teams touchdowns, including 18 in the last 60 regular season games. Those 18 came via five different kinds of plays -- 10 punt returns, two faked field goals, two blocked punts, three kickoff returns and a faked punt. Special teams also own one safety in that span.
• In total, OU has returned six kickoffs and 14 punts for TDs on Stoops' watch (since 1999).
• The Sooners have blocked 20 kicks.

Many Happy Returns
Information on returns during the Stoops era ...
• Kickoff Returns --60 returns of 25 yards or more with seven TD.
• Punt Returns -- 48 returns of 15 or more yards with 14 TD.
• Interception Returns -- 65 returns of 10 or more yards with 19 TD.
• Fumble Returns -- four returns of 15 or more yards with four TD.

More on the Returns
Oklahoma's kickoff returns have been particularly solid this season ...
• Three different players have a return of more than 35 yards.
• All four players that have returned kicks this season are averaging at least 24 yards.
• DeMarco Murray ran 81 yards for a touchdown against Tulsa on the second kickoff return of his college career. His first came earlier in the same game.

Two-Headed Punter
Oklahoma used two punters last season and both return ...
• Michael Cohen handles the long punts and is averaging 44.3 yards per boot and ranks No. 19 nationally. Four of his boots covered 50 or more yards with a long of 59 yards at Colorado. He had three 50-yard punts against Texas.
• Mike Knall kicks when it is a short field. He's averaging 36.2 yards with two of four downed inside the 20 yardline.

Hartley Showing Off Big Leg
Garrett Hartley, who made a 53-yard field goal vs. Utah State, is averaging 66.9 yards per kickoff (ball lands at the three yard line) with nine touchbacks in 50 attempts. To put that in perspective, opposing kickers average 60.9 yards per kickoff with one touchback.
• Opposing teams are averaging just 21.0 yards per return after Hartley's kickoffs. OU is averaging 28.0 yards per kickoff return.
• Hartley tied a school record when he made 11 point after touchdown kicks in the opener.
• Hit a 28-yard field goal at Colorado had has now made 15 of his last 17.

Sooners Have Hart-ley
K Garrett Hartley was one of three finalists for the Lou Groza Award and is on the watch list for that award again this year ...
• Hartley was 19-of-20 on field goals and 49-of-50 on PATs in 2006. His lone field goal miss was a blocked kick at Oregon. He kicked off 78 times with 31 touchbacks.
• His field goal made percentage of .950 was tops in the nation among kickers with at least 10 makes. He made his last 11 attempts of the season.
• Hartley ranked No. 20 nationally in field goals made per game with 1.36 and was No. 21 in scoring with 7.57 points per game.
• Hartley made a career-high four field goals at Oregon.
• Hartley has four career makes of 50 yards or longer, including a 53-yarder against Utah State this season. He made a long of 46 yards twice last season.

Oklahoma 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 88 games (88-19), been ranked for 120 weeks in the AP Poll (69 consecutive at one point) and 1198 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, 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 record-setting 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 58 academic honorees, 53 All-Big 12 players, 22 All-Americans and 32 NFL draft choices.

Stoops has won a total of 10 national coach of the year awards and has been consensus Big 12 Coach of the year in three times.

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) during Bill Snyder's rein.

With the Wildcats, he played a key role in an 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.

Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops | OU Coaching Staff

Individual Player Notes

LB Lewis Baker: One of the top special teams contributors and the wedge-breaker on kickoffs ... started against Miami and had five tackles ... season tackle high of six at Colorado.

DT Cory Bennett: Started vs. Miami and Tulsa.

OT Branndon Braxton: Three starts at right tackle thus far.

P Michael Cohen: Handles long punting situations ... averaged at least 42.0 yards in each game thus far ... top average was 45.9 vs. Texas ... one punt of at least 56 yards in each of the last two games.

DT Steven Coleman: Started against Utah State ... tackle high of three at Tulsa ... has four career sacks for 49 yards in losses, an average of 12.3 yards per sack.

C Jon Cooper: The starter at center, he is the most experienced of OU's linemen.

DE Alonzo Dotson: Got his first career start against Miami and logged one of OU's two sacks.

DE Auston English: Leads the team with six sacks ... two sacks against Texas.

TE Joe Jon Finley: Has added 41 pounds since coming to OU ... TD grab vs. Utah State ... career long reception of 43 yards at Colorado.

DT DeMarcus Granger: Five starting assignments thus far ... logged a sack against Texas.

TE Jermaine Gresham: Had a career-high eight receptions vs. Miami and one of those went for a touchdown ... two touchdown catches against Texas.

RB Jacob Gutierrez: Went over 500 career rushing yards in the North Texas game.

QB Joey Halzle: Was 4-of-5 for 40 yards with no interceptions while playing a back-up role vs. UNT ... threw his first career TD pass when he hit Adron Tennell on 61-yarder against Miami.

DB Nic Harris: Starter at FS, he returned an interception 24 yards for a TD vs. North Texas ... season-high seven tackles and a half sacka t Tulsa ... career-high 10 tackles at Colorado ... team-high eight tackles against Texas.

K Garrett Hartley: Tied a school record with 11 PATs vs. North Texas ... four-year starter.

DB Lendy Holmes: Interceptions against North Texas and Tulsa.

WR Juaquin Iglesias: Team highs with seven grabs for 128 yards vs. North Texas ... three kickoff returns for 110 yards, the ninth-highest yardage total in school history, against Miami ... eight catches for 123 yards and a 35-yard TD run vs. Utah State ... eight receptons for 142 yards and two touchdowns at Tulsa ... led the Sooners with six catches (99 yards) vs. Texas.

WR Manuel Johnson: One catch for five yards in the opener ... had his first career pass attempt and completion against Miami when he hit Malcolm Kelly on a 25-yarder.

WR Malcolm Kelly: Brilliant in the North Texas game with four grabs for 118 yards and two TD ... four catches for 102 yards and three touchdowns against Miami ... six catches for 81 yards and two TD vs. Utah State ... five grabs for 105 yards and one touchdown against Texas.

P Mike Knall: Handles short field punting situations ... had both of OU's punts vs. Utah State ... two punts downed in side the 20.

LB Curtis Lofton: Career high 14 tackles at Tulsa. had 12 tackles vs. Utah State and a 45-yard interception return for a TD ... leading tackler for OU with 42 after entering the season with a career total of 40 ... career-high 18 tackles at Colorado -- third straight game with a career high ... six tackles against Texas ... stripped UT's Jamaal Charles of the job inside the OU five.

RB Mossis Madu: Tied DeMarco Murray for rushing honors against North Texas with 87 yards (1 TD) on nine attempts ... rushed for a touchdown at Tulsa.

QB Hays McEachern: Holder on OU placements.

RB DeMarco Murray: Scored five touchdowns against North Texas, all via rushing, to set an OU record for most TDs in a debut game ... led OU with 15 rushes for 64 yards vs. Miami ... four rushes for 100 yards, including a 92-yard TD (third-longest in OU history) vs. Utah State ... rushed for two touchdowns and returned a kickoff 81 yards for another at Tulsa ... led OU with 17 rushes for 128 and one touchdown, a 65-yard sprint, against Texas.

QB Keith Nichol: True Freshman was the No. 3 QB against North Texas when he rushed once for eight yards ... also saw action against Utah State.

RB Allen Patrick: Could have played in the opener, but was held out ... carried seven times for 47 yards against Miami ... carried eight times for 113 yards and a 69-yard TD vs. Utah State ... season best 145 yards and two touchdowns at Tulsa ... also had a career-long reception of 20 yards in that game ... narrowly missed a 100-yard rushing game when he had 18 rushes for 96 yards at Colorado.

LB Ryan Reynolds: Got his first career start against North Texas and finished with three tackles and one sack ... six tackles vs. Miami ... nine stops, three for loss, vs. Utah State ... interception and 12-yard return at Tulsa ... career-high 15 tackles at Colorado.

OL Duke Robinson: Versatile sophomore who could play guard or tackle ... starter at LG.

CB Reggie Smith: In first full year at corner ... preseason Big 12 Defensive POY ... also punt returner ... 61-yard fumble return for a touchdown against Miami ... has three career touchdowns ... had six tackles, two PBU and one interception (33 yards) against Texas.

WR Adron Tennell: Silky smooth back-up to Malcolm Kelly, he had three catches for 35 yards against North Texas ... 61-yard touchdown reception from Joey Halzle against Miami.

CB Marcus Walker: Has battled back from two shoulder surgeries to become on of the top corners in the Big 12 ... broke up two passes against Miami.

FS Darien Williams: Slowed by leg injury after a productive 2006.

DE John Williams: Got his first career start in the opener ... was sidelined in 2005 by a knee injury and in 2006 by illness ... forced the fumble that Reggie Smith returned 61 yards for a touchdown against Miami ... out for season after suffering torn Achillies tendon at Tulsa.

CB D.J. Wolfe: Moved to strong safety during preseason drills and was so impressive that he won the starting job ... two interceptions for 61 yards at Colorado.

FB Dane Zaslaw: The former linebacker is now in his second season as a fullback ... got his first career touchdown on a nine-yard reception against Miami.

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