Completed Event: Football versus Illinois State on August 30, 2025 , Win , 35, to, 3
Final
Football
35
vs Illinois State
3
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Game Notes: OU Hosts Bearcats
September 03, 2008 | Football
NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma plays its second home game of the season and
its first Football Bowl Subdivision opponent when the
Sooners host Cincinnati in Norman on Saturday. Both
teams are coming off convincing home field victories
over Football Championship Subdivision teams. The game
is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at Owen Field.
ABC has the regional telecast (KOKC Channel 5 in Oklahoma City, KTUL Channel 8 in Tulsa, KSWO Channel 7 in Lawton). Ron Franklin will call the game with analysis from Ed Carpenter and sideline reports from Todd Harris.
Visit Sooner Gameday Central to view complete information for fans attending the game in Norman and broadcast options for fans following the Sooners across the nation.
• 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 36 times, including 30 over the last five seasons.
• Also under Stoops, OU has 124 touchdowns of 25-plus yards and 251 scoring drives that took less than two minutes.
Last Season Revisited
• The Sooners scored in 50 of 56 quarters.
• Oklahoma averaged 6.4 yards per play, the most since 1987.
• For the fifth straight season, Oklahoma had multiple backs log a 100-yard rushing game. Also for the fifth straight season, OU produced a 1,000-yard rusher (Allen Patrick)
• The team had five, one-play scoring drives. Three were rushes. The shortest was 17 yards.
• There were three, 90-yard scoring drives: 96 vs. Utah St., 94 vs. Texas, 91 vs. Texas Tech.
• Sam Bradford was the nation's leader in passing efficiency and Oklahoma topped the same team category. OU had not won an individual statistical title since 1979 when RB Billy Sims led the nation in scoring (138 points). The Sooners had not captured a team stat title since 1987 when they were tops in rushing offense, scoring offense, scoring defense, pass defense, scoring offense, total offense and total defense.
• The 2007 team was the second-highest scoring in school history with 592 points. It was just the fifth Oklahoma team to eclipse 500 points, but the third for Stoops. The team went over 50 points five times, over 60 twice and over 70 once.
Banner Year for Bradford
Sam Bradford had perhaps the best freshman season by any QB in NCAA history ...
• Led the nation in passing efficiency at 176.53, just ahead of Heisman winner Tim Tebow.
• Fired 36 touchdown passes to break the NCAA freshman record by seven.
• Had consecutive completion streaks of 22 and 21 to break Jason White's OU record of 18 and challenge the NCAA mark of 24 set by Tennessee's Tee Martin.
• Had multiple TD passes in 10 games, including a school record-tying five vs. Miami and Texas A&M.
• Hit at least 65% of his passes in 10 of 14 games, threw no interceptions in five and had at least one completion of 30 yards in every contest.
Iglesias Piles Up Yards
WR Juaquin Iglesias is one of the top all-around performers ever to wear a Sooner uniform ...
• He led the Sooners in receptions and receiving yards last season with 41 for 514, respectively.
• With 1,883 all purpose yards last season, he posted the seventh-best figure in school history.
• His career total of 3,156 all purpose yards is 20th on the career list at Oklahoma.
• He ranked No. 16 nationally last season with 28.48 yards per kickoff return.
Truly a Stable of Backs
Aside from Allen Patrick's 1,009 rushing yards last season, reserves Chris Brown (611 yards) and DeMarco Murray (764 yards) combined for 1,375. Murray scored 13 TDs, Brown nine. In the opener, the top two backups, Brown and Mossis Madu, combined for 100 yards on 23 carries in addition to the 124 on 15 tries by Murray, the starter.
• Chris Brown became the 66th player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a career with his 63 against UTC. He is now at 242 carries for 1,017 yards and 18 touchdowns for his career.
The Line on the Line
With an average height of just over 6-5 (77.1 inches) and 302.8 pounds on the two-deep this is one of the biggest offensive lines in OU history. During the Stoops era this is the third-heaviest line, down by an average of 13.8 pounds from last year despite the fact that it's mostly the same group. Last year's was the heaviest line at 316.6. By height, this is the third-tallest line of the Stoops era. The 2002 and 2003 lines both measured 77.2 inches.
• This veteran line (two-deep) has combined for 132 starts and 184 games played.
Nearing 30,000 Points
By points, Oklahoma is the highest scoring program in the history of college football. In 1,128 games, the Sooners have scored 29,834 points, an average of 26.4 per game. Chasing the Sooners are Michigan with 29,347 points in 1,195 games and Nebraska with 29,128 in 1,191. OU's opponents have scored 13,921 tallies for an average of 12.4 per game.
• OU forced at least one turnover in 106 of Bob Stoops' 120 games and has at least one interception in 78 of the last 104; multiple picks in 32 of the last 75 outings.
• Oklahoma has nine shutouts under its current head coach. Opponents failed to score more than seven points 30 times and scored less than 14 in 57 games.
English Lesson
DE Auston English emerged last season as one of the nation's top pass rushers ...
• With 9.5 sacks, English tied with Torrance Marshall (1999) for the 14th-best single season total in school history. It was the second-best total in the Stoops era behind the 10 by Calvin Thibodeaux (2005) and Dan Cody (2004, 2003).
• English broke a non-weight-bearing bone in his right leg in the Texas A&M game. A rod was inserted and he missed the next three contests. He returned for the Big 12 Championship game and the Fiesta Bowl with the rod still in place.
He's New, Sorta
Mike Balogun played at WLB in the opener making him the first Sooner LB to start his first OU game since Lance Mitchell, also a junior college transfer, in 2002. Before that, it was Torrance Marshall in 1999.
• Born Sept. 28, 1983, Balogun will be 24 on the date of the season opener. Both C.J. Ah You (2006) and Billy Sims (1979) were 24 during their senior seasons. Players of that age were typical after WWII. Since that time, the oldest Sooner football player was DL Dick Passo, who was 26 when he played in 1968.
Rip and Run
Bob Stoops' teams have been notorious for their interception return yardage. The 2007 team was among OU's best in that department ....
• Oklahoma had 19 interceptions for 346 interception return yards and three touchdowns. That yardage total ranked No. 3 since Stoops became the head coach. The 2002 team put up a ridiculous 516 return yards on 24 interceptions. The 2000 National Champions notched 369 return yards, also on 24 picks.
• The 2007 OU defenders touched the ball 70 times (5.4 times per game) with 42 PBUs, 19 interceptions and nine fumble recoveries. To put that in perspective, opposing teams have just 46 touches in 27 break-ups, 11 fumble recoveries and eight interceptions.
• OU averaged 18.0 yards on INT/FUM returns with five TDs to tie the school record set in 1956, 2000 and 2001.
More Than Run Stoppers
Defensive ends and blitzers tend to be associated with the sack, but the Sooner interior has played a role in that statistic too. OU's four-man defensive tackle has a combined total of 10.5 career sacks.
Slackers? Not These Opponents
The 2007 Sooners played some of the nation's most potent offenses ...
• North Texas: No. 18 nationally in passing offense.
• Tulsa: No. 1 in total offense, No. 3 in passing offense, No. 4 in passing efficiency, No. 6 in scoring offense.
• Texas: No. 13 in total offense, No. 14 in scoring offense, No. 17 in rushing offense.
• Texas A&M: No. 13 in rushing offense, No. 22 in sacks allowed.
• Texas Tech: No. 1 in passing offense, No. 2 in total offense, No. 5 in passing efficiency, No. 7 in scoring offense, No. 17 in sacks allowed.
• Oklahoma State: No. 3 in sacks allowed, No. 8 in rushing offense, No. 7 in total offense, No. 15 in passing efficiency.
• Missouri: No. 5 in total offense, No. 9 in passing, No. 8 in scoring offense, No. 13 in passing efficiency.
• West Virginia: No. 2 in sacks allowed, No. 3 in rushing offense, No. 9 in scoring offense.
Oklahoma's special teams under Bob Stoops...
• There have been 25 special teams TDs, including 19 in the last 65 regular season games. Those 19 came via five different kinds of plays -- 10 punt returns, two faked field goals, two blocked punts, four kickoff returns and a faked punt. Special teams also own one safety in that span.
• In total, OU has returned eight kickoffs and 14 punts for touchdowns on Stoops' watch (since 1999).
• The Sooners have blocked 21 kicks.
Many Happy Returns
Information on returns during the Stoops era ...
• Kickoff Returns --77 returns of 25 yards or more with eight TD.
• Punt Returns -- 48 returns of 15 or more yards with 14 TD.
• Interception Returns -- 69 returns of 10 or more yards with 20 TD.
• Fumble Returns -- four returns of 15 or more yards with five TD.
Oklahoma Led Nation in Kickoff Returns
Oklahoma's kickoff returns led the nation for 2007 with an average of 28.27 yards per return ...
• The Sooners had 19 kickoff returns that covered at least 30 yards.
• Four different players had a return of more than 35 yards.
• All five players who returned kicks last season averaged 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 that same game. He then went for 91 yards and a touchdown against Baylor.
Knall Emerges at Punter
Mike Knall won the starting job in the 10th game (vs. Baylor) of the 2007 season and held it for the remainder of the season. Prior to that time he had been used mostly in short-yardage situations as the pooch punter ...
• Finished the season with 24 punts for an average of 43.7. He unleashed a 66-yarder, the longest of the season for OU, against Missouri in the Big 12 Championship game.
• In his five starting assignments, he averaged 42.2 yards per punt and was under 40 yards in just one game (39.5 vs. Baylor).
• His best game was the Missouri tilt with four punts for a 49.5-yard average.
Freshman Kicker
Redshirt freshman Jimmy Stevens is the team's placekicker. He is the first freshman to tackle that chore since Garrett Hartley did so in the Baylor game of 2004 (Nov. 20).
Hold It
WR Carter Whitson, a walk-on, takes over as the team's holder. The sophomore played most of his high school career at Shawnee, Okla., before spending his senior season at Broken Arrow HS. He was a quarterback during his prep days. Whitson was the holder at Shawnee during his sophomore season.
• With redshirt freshman Jimmy Stevens at kicker, Whitson at holder and Ben Hampton as the long snapper, all three ball-handlers on placements are new this season. Hampton held at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M junior college for two seasons before transferring to Oklahoma. Derek Shaw, the holder the last two seasons, is recovering from an off-season injury.
• Long snapper James Winchester, a freshman, is the son of former Sooner Mike Winchester, who lettered as a punter from 1984-86. Carolyn Winchester, a senior member of the OU women's basketball team, is James' sister.
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 87 games (86-19), 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 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 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) 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.
Head Coach Bob Stoops | OU Coaching Staff
DT Cory Bennett: Leads the defensive tackles in games played with 39.
ABC has the regional telecast (KOKC Channel 5 in Oklahoma City, KTUL Channel 8 in Tulsa, KSWO Channel 7 in Lawton). Ron Franklin will call the game with analysis from Ed Carpenter and sideline reports from Todd Harris.
Visit Sooner Gameday Central to view complete information for fans attending the game in Norman and broadcast options for fans following the Sooners across the nation.
 OU & Big
12 Game Notes (PDF) | OU
Depth Chart | 2008
OU Football Guide
|
The Series
Oklahoma and Cincinnati are meeting on the gridiron
for the first time. The Sooners last played a team
from Bob Stoops' home state of Ohio was in the
2004 season opener when OU turned back Bowling Green,
40-24.
The Coaches
Oklahoma: Bob Stoops (Iowa '83) is 98-22 in his
10th season with the Sooners. He is 65-13 vs. the Big
12, 35-9 vs. the Big 12 South, 28-4 vs. the Big 12
North, 5-1 in the Big 12 title game, 33-9 vs. non-conference
opponents, 55-2 at home, 27-11 on the road, 16-9 on
neutral fields, 28-11 vs. ranked opponents, 4-5 in
bowls, 3-5 in January Bowls and 2-4 in BCS games.
Cincinnati: Brian Kelly (Assumption '83) is 12-3
in his third year at UC. He coached one game in '06.
The Program
• Oklahoma's all-time
record stands at 780-295-53.
• The Sooners own seven
national championships (1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975,
1985, 2000).
• OU
has 41 bowl appearances (No. 7 nationally) with 24
victories (No. 4 nationally).
• Oklahoma has won 41 conference titles.
• Since
WWII, Oklahoma is the most successful college football
program with 546 victories.
• Some 144 All-Americans
and four Heisman Trophy winners have come from the
Oklahoma program.
• OU leads the nation in 10-win seasons with 30 overall.
• Oklahoma
Football History & Tradition
This Week's Opponent
• Cincinnati won its season opener on Thursday, Aug.
28, when it bounced FCS Eastern Kentucky, 40-7. The
Bearcats got all of their points over the first three
periods. For a team statistical review see the Comparison
in the left column of this page. Individually for UC,
Dustin Grutza completed 21-of-28 passes for 296 yards
and three touchdowns and no interceptions. His favorite
target was Dominick Goodman, who hauled in 10 catches
for 144 yards and two touchdowns. EKU punted on eight
of its 12 possessions.
• Cincinnati was 10-3 last year. The victory total
set a school record.
• UC plays in the Big East Conference. The Sooners
hold an all-time mark of 18-3-1 against schools in
that league.
Ties With This Week's Opponent
• There are two native Ohioans on the Oklahoma coaching
staff -- head coach Bob Stoops from Youngstown (Cardinal
Mooney HS) and offensive line coach James Patton from
Lafayette (Allen East HS). Stoops played college ball
at Iowa, but Patton stayed in his home state by playing
at Miami (O). Patton then coached tight ends and H-backs
at Miami in 1998.
• OU offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson spent
time coaching at Miami, too. He was on Randy Walker's
staff from 1990-1998.
• There are no Oklahomans on the Cincinnati roster.
The lone Ohioan on the OU roster is Branndon Braxton,
an offensive tackle from Youngstown (Ursuline HS).
• UC Athletics Director MIke Thomas was a marketing
and promotions associate at Iowa in 1985-86 at the
same time Bob Stoops was a volunteer coach on the Hawkeye
football staff.
• Cincinnati WR Marcus Bennett and OU LB Mike
Balogun are cousins.
Future of the Series
Oklahoma will return this game
on Sept. 25, 2010, when it visits the Bearcats at Paul
Brown Stadium, home of the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals.
The other non-conference games that season for OU are
Air Force, Florida State and Utah State.
• Future marquee non-conference games that await
the Sooners include at Miami (Fla.) in 2009, at Florida
State in 2011, Notre Dame in 2012, at Notre Dame in
2013, Tennessee in 2014, at Tennessee in 2015, Ohio
State in 2016, at Ohio State in 2017, at LSU in 2018
and LSU in 2019.
Oklahoma's Most Recent Game
Oklahoma began the 2008 season last Saturday in Norman
with a 57-2 win over Tennessee-Chattanooga ...
• OU opened a 50-0 lead by halftime. With 4:20
remaining in the intermission, a thunderstorm moved
through the area and the game was delayed by one hour
and 12 minutes due to lightning.
• Oklahoma scored touchdowns on its first seven
possessions.
• Manuel Johnson set a career-high with nine receptions,
which went for 120 yards and one touchdown. He tied
a school record for receptions in a half when he made
eight in the first stanza.
• The Sooners scored 50 points in first half for
just the second time since 1937. OU got 52 against
Rice in 1978. The school record for most points scored
in one half is 55 against Kansas in the second half
of the 1942 game.
• Sam Bradford completed 17-of-22 passes for a
completion percentage of .773. The sophomore has completed
at least 70 percent of his passes in eight of his 15
career games. Bradford completed his first eight tosses
against Chattanooga.
• Chris Brown rushed for three touchdowns, the
second time in his career that he has done so.
• Six true freshman played in the game.
• Because of the rain delay, the game was the
second-longest in school history at four hours, nine
minutes. The longest was a four-hour, 12-minute, double-overtime
tilt against Baylor in 2005. There was a 48-minute
delay during the 2002 OU-UTEP game in Norman, pushing
that contest to four hours.
The Sooners Briefly
• OU is No. 4 in both of the preseason polls. It's
the 10th straight season that OU has appeared in the
first AP poll.
• Oklahoma was tabbed for a first-place finish
in the Big 12's South Division in a preseason
polling of league media. Defensive end Auston English
was named the league's preseason defensive player of
the year.
• There are 27 players on this team with previous
starting experience. There were 34 in 2007, 10 in 2006.
• Last season, OU was 11-3 overall, 6-2 in the
Big 12. The Sooners won their fifth Big 12 crown, second
straight and 41st league title overall before advancing
to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
• Three players from the '07 team left early
for the NFL: WR Malcolm Kelly, LB Curtis Lofton and
DB Reggie Smith.
New Video Board in Debut Season
• The board measures 113.5 feet wide by 32.5 feet
tall (3,689 square feet). The previous video board
space on the south end board was 36X21 (756 square
feet). It is thought that the new board is the fourth-largest
in the nation.
• The board is 16mm High Definition.
• Cost of the new board was $4.5 million.
• The project included a new sound system, the
extension of the ribbon boards on the upper decks and
a new Sooner Vision high definition control room, which
carried a price tag of $2 million.
Home Field Honchos
Bob Stoops' teams are 55-2 at Gaylord Family
- Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and have won their last
19 in a row there, and 39 of its last 40. This is the
third 19-game home winning streak under the current
OU coach. At 19 straight, this streak ties for fifth
in school history. There have been a total of four
19-game home winning streaks in OU history. The longest
home field winning streak for the Sooners was 25 games,
a string that ended in 1953.
Non-Cons
Bob Stoops is 33-9 vs. Non-league opponents, 28-4 in
regular season non-league games and 23-1 in non-conference
home games.
Notable Rule Changes
• The 40-second play clock begins when the ball
is dead from the previous play.
• The first two sideline penalties are five yards.
Subsequent penalties for the offense are 15 yards.
• The horse-collar tackle now results in a 15-yard
unnecessary roughness penalty.
• If a coach's challenge is upheld, the
coach retains the challenge.
• Kickoffs that go out of bounds are penalized
30 yards from the spot of the kick.
• Grasping or twisting of the facemask is a 15-yard
penalty. Incidental contact is no longer penalized.
Stoops Era Yielding Record Attendance
Oklahoma has drawn 4,583,749 fans for Bob Stoops' 57
home games (started in 1999)
• All 57 have been sold out and the Sooners have
prevailed 55 times.
• Last year's average home attendance of
84,858 was the largest in school history. The top eight
seasons for OU home attendance have come on Stoops'
watch.
• The crowd of 85,357 for the `07 Miami
game was the largest to see a sporting event in the
state of Oklahoma.
• OU has exceeded its listed capacity of 82,112
in 31 consecutive games.
• Oklahoma has played before sellout crowds in
101 of Stoops' 120 games. A total of 8,683,557,
or an average of 72,362, has seen those games.
• Oklahoma Sets Attendance Records at Memorial Stadium
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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 36 times, including 30 over the last five seasons.
• Also under Stoops, OU has 124 touchdowns of 25-plus yards and 251 scoring drives that took less than two minutes.
Last Season Revisited
• The Sooners scored in 50 of 56 quarters.
• Oklahoma averaged 6.4 yards per play, the most since 1987.
• For the fifth straight season, Oklahoma had multiple backs log a 100-yard rushing game. Also for the fifth straight season, OU produced a 1,000-yard rusher (Allen Patrick)
• The team had five, one-play scoring drives. Three were rushes. The shortest was 17 yards.
• There were three, 90-yard scoring drives: 96 vs. Utah St., 94 vs. Texas, 91 vs. Texas Tech.
• Sam Bradford was the nation's leader in passing efficiency and Oklahoma topped the same team category. OU had not won an individual statistical title since 1979 when RB Billy Sims led the nation in scoring (138 points). The Sooners had not captured a team stat title since 1987 when they were tops in rushing offense, scoring offense, scoring defense, pass defense, scoring offense, total offense and total defense.
• The 2007 team was the second-highest scoring in school history with 592 points. It was just the fifth Oklahoma team to eclipse 500 points, but the third for Stoops. The team went over 50 points five times, over 60 twice and over 70 once.
Banner Year for Bradford
Sam Bradford had perhaps the best freshman season by any QB in NCAA history ...
• Led the nation in passing efficiency at 176.53, just ahead of Heisman winner Tim Tebow.
• Fired 36 touchdown passes to break the NCAA freshman record by seven.
• Had consecutive completion streaks of 22 and 21 to break Jason White's OU record of 18 and challenge the NCAA mark of 24 set by Tennessee's Tee Martin.
• Had multiple TD passes in 10 games, including a school record-tying five vs. Miami and Texas A&M.
• Hit at least 65% of his passes in 10 of 14 games, threw no interceptions in five and had at least one completion of 30 yards in every contest.
Iglesias Piles Up Yards
WR Juaquin Iglesias is one of the top all-around performers ever to wear a Sooner uniform ...
• He led the Sooners in receptions and receiving yards last season with 41 for 514, respectively.
• With 1,883 all purpose yards last season, he posted the seventh-best figure in school history.
• His career total of 3,156 all purpose yards is 20th on the career list at Oklahoma.
• He ranked No. 16 nationally last season with 28.48 yards per kickoff return.
Truly a Stable of Backs
Aside from Allen Patrick's 1,009 rushing yards last season, reserves Chris Brown (611 yards) and DeMarco Murray (764 yards) combined for 1,375. Murray scored 13 TDs, Brown nine. In the opener, the top two backups, Brown and Mossis Madu, combined for 100 yards on 23 carries in addition to the 124 on 15 tries by Murray, the starter.
• Chris Brown became the 66th player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a career with his 63 against UTC. He is now at 242 carries for 1,017 yards and 18 touchdowns for his career.
The Line on the Line
With an average height of just over 6-5 (77.1 inches) and 302.8 pounds on the two-deep this is one of the biggest offensive lines in OU history. During the Stoops era this is the third-heaviest line, down by an average of 13.8 pounds from last year despite the fact that it's mostly the same group. Last year's was the heaviest line at 316.6. By height, this is the third-tallest line of the Stoops era. The 2002 and 2003 lines both measured 77.2 inches.
• This veteran line (two-deep) has combined for 132 starts and 184 games played.
Nearing 30,000 Points
By points, Oklahoma is the highest scoring program in the history of college football. In 1,128 games, the Sooners have scored 29,834 points, an average of 26.4 per game. Chasing the Sooners are Michigan with 29,347 points in 1,195 games and Nebraska with 29,128 in 1,191. OU's opponents have scored 13,921 tallies for an average of 12.4 per game.
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About the Defense |
• OU forced at least one turnover in 106 of Bob Stoops' 120 games and has at least one interception in 78 of the last 104; multiple picks in 32 of the last 75 outings.
• Oklahoma has nine shutouts under its current head coach. Opponents failed to score more than seven points 30 times and scored less than 14 in 57 games.
English Lesson
DE Auston English emerged last season as one of the nation's top pass rushers ...
• With 9.5 sacks, English tied with Torrance Marshall (1999) for the 14th-best single season total in school history. It was the second-best total in the Stoops era behind the 10 by Calvin Thibodeaux (2005) and Dan Cody (2004, 2003).
• English broke a non-weight-bearing bone in his right leg in the Texas A&M game. A rod was inserted and he missed the next three contests. He returned for the Big 12 Championship game and the Fiesta Bowl with the rod still in place.
He's New, Sorta
Mike Balogun played at WLB in the opener making him the first Sooner LB to start his first OU game since Lance Mitchell, also a junior college transfer, in 2002. Before that, it was Torrance Marshall in 1999.
• Born Sept. 28, 1983, Balogun will be 24 on the date of the season opener. Both C.J. Ah You (2006) and Billy Sims (1979) were 24 during their senior seasons. Players of that age were typical after WWII. Since that time, the oldest Sooner football player was DL Dick Passo, who was 26 when he played in 1968.
Rip and Run
Bob Stoops' teams have been notorious for their interception return yardage. The 2007 team was among OU's best in that department ....
• Oklahoma had 19 interceptions for 346 interception return yards and three touchdowns. That yardage total ranked No. 3 since Stoops became the head coach. The 2002 team put up a ridiculous 516 return yards on 24 interceptions. The 2000 National Champions notched 369 return yards, also on 24 picks.
• The 2007 OU defenders touched the ball 70 times (5.4 times per game) with 42 PBUs, 19 interceptions and nine fumble recoveries. To put that in perspective, opposing teams have just 46 touches in 27 break-ups, 11 fumble recoveries and eight interceptions.
• OU averaged 18.0 yards on INT/FUM returns with five TDs to tie the school record set in 1956, 2000 and 2001.
More Than Run Stoppers
Defensive ends and blitzers tend to be associated with the sack, but the Sooner interior has played a role in that statistic too. OU's four-man defensive tackle has a combined total of 10.5 career sacks.
Slackers? Not These Opponents
The 2007 Sooners played some of the nation's most potent offenses ...
• North Texas: No. 18 nationally in passing offense.
• Tulsa: No. 1 in total offense, No. 3 in passing offense, No. 4 in passing efficiency, No. 6 in scoring offense.
• Texas: No. 13 in total offense, No. 14 in scoring offense, No. 17 in rushing offense.
• Texas A&M: No. 13 in rushing offense, No. 22 in sacks allowed.
• Texas Tech: No. 1 in passing offense, No. 2 in total offense, No. 5 in passing efficiency, No. 7 in scoring offense, No. 17 in sacks allowed.
• Oklahoma State: No. 3 in sacks allowed, No. 8 in rushing offense, No. 7 in total offense, No. 15 in passing efficiency.
• Missouri: No. 5 in total offense, No. 9 in passing, No. 8 in scoring offense, No. 13 in passing efficiency.
• West Virginia: No. 2 in sacks allowed, No. 3 in rushing offense, No. 9 in scoring offense.
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About the Special Teams |
Oklahoma's special teams under Bob Stoops...
• There have been 25 special teams TDs, including 19 in the last 65 regular season games. Those 19 came via five different kinds of plays -- 10 punt returns, two faked field goals, two blocked punts, four kickoff returns and a faked punt. Special teams also own one safety in that span.
• In total, OU has returned eight kickoffs and 14 punts for touchdowns on Stoops' watch (since 1999).
• The Sooners have blocked 21 kicks.
Many Happy Returns
Information on returns during the Stoops era ...
• Kickoff Returns --77 returns of 25 yards or more with eight TD.
• Punt Returns -- 48 returns of 15 or more yards with 14 TD.
• Interception Returns -- 69 returns of 10 or more yards with 20 TD.
• Fumble Returns -- four returns of 15 or more yards with five TD.
Oklahoma Led Nation in Kickoff Returns
Oklahoma's kickoff returns led the nation for 2007 with an average of 28.27 yards per return ...
• The Sooners had 19 kickoff returns that covered at least 30 yards.
• Four different players had a return of more than 35 yards.
• All five players who returned kicks last season averaged 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 that same game. He then went for 91 yards and a touchdown against Baylor.
Knall Emerges at Punter
Mike Knall won the starting job in the 10th game (vs. Baylor) of the 2007 season and held it for the remainder of the season. Prior to that time he had been used mostly in short-yardage situations as the pooch punter ...
• Finished the season with 24 punts for an average of 43.7. He unleashed a 66-yarder, the longest of the season for OU, against Missouri in the Big 12 Championship game.
• In his five starting assignments, he averaged 42.2 yards per punt and was under 40 yards in just one game (39.5 vs. Baylor).
• His best game was the Missouri tilt with four punts for a 49.5-yard average.
Freshman Kicker
Redshirt freshman Jimmy Stevens is the team's placekicker. He is the first freshman to tackle that chore since Garrett Hartley did so in the Baylor game of 2004 (Nov. 20).
Hold It
WR Carter Whitson, a walk-on, takes over as the team's holder. The sophomore played most of his high school career at Shawnee, Okla., before spending his senior season at Broken Arrow HS. He was a quarterback during his prep days. Whitson was the holder at Shawnee during his sophomore season.
• With redshirt freshman Jimmy Stevens at kicker, Whitson at holder and Ben Hampton as the long snapper, all three ball-handlers on placements are new this season. Hampton held at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M junior college for two seasons before transferring to Oklahoma. Derek Shaw, the holder the last two seasons, is recovering from an off-season injury.
• Long snapper James Winchester, a freshman, is the son of former Sooner Mike Winchester, who lettered as a punter from 1984-86. Carolyn Winchester, a senior member of the OU women's basketball team, is James' sister.
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Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops |
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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 87 games (86-19), 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 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 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) 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.
Head Coach Bob Stoops | OU Coaching Staff
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Notes on the Sooners |
DT Cory Bennett: Leads the defensive tackles in games played with 39.
LB Austin Box: Missed opener after arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.
QB Sam Bradford: See notes on offense's page.
OT Branndon Braxton: Probable starter at right tackle, but also spent part of the preseason working at guard ... from the same hometown as Bob Stoops -- Youngstown, Ohio.
RB Chris Brown: Three touchdowns in the opener ... nearly one-third (31%) of his career rushes have resulted in a touchdown or first down -- 228 carries with 56 first downs, 15 touchdowns.
WR Quentin Chaney: Over the last two bowl games, he combined for eight receptions for 166 yards and two TDs.
FB Matt Clapp: A player to watch after a very good redshirt season ... in the best condition of his playing career.
LB Keenan Clayton: Has converted from strong safety to strong side linebacker.
C Jon Cooper: His 30 career starts lead the team.
TE Brody Eldridge: All-Big 12 fullback last season despite the fact that he had no carries.
DE Auston English: Had 4.0 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in the opener.
CB Dominque Franks: Knocked down three passes in the opener, the second start of his career.
DT DeMarcus Granger: Led OU's defensive tackles with 3.5 sacks last season.
TE Jermaine Gresham: His 11 TD receptions last season were the most ever by a Sooner tight end.
QB Joey Halzle: Hit 21-of-41 for 291 yards in a back-up role at Texas Tech last season.
DB Nic Harris: Six career interceptions and 15 deflections.
DB Lendy Holmes: Worked at both safety and corner during the August drills before settling on the former.
WR Juaquin Iglesias: Has 3,156 career all purpose yards on 192 plays for an average of 16.4 yards per touch.
WR Manuel Johnson: Only current Sooner receiver who has a career reception, rush and pass completion.
P Mike Knall: Was one punt shy of the 25 points necessary to count officially, but had it counted, his 43.7-yard average would have rated as the second-best in school history.
OT Phil Loadholt: Thirteen pounds lighter than last season -- 350 to 337.
LB Travis Lewis: In first career game and start, he tied for team-high tackle honors with six vs. UTC.
RB Mossis Madu: Will play more this season, but impressed in 2007 with 5.8-yard rushing average.
DT Gerald McCoy: Quick tackle looking to parlay Freshman All-America status into more national honors.
RB DeMarco Murray: Carried 15 times for 124 yards (8.3/carry) and two touchdowns in opener.
LB Ryan Reynolds: Only Sooner who had started an OU game at linebacker prior to the season opener.
OG Duke Robinson: Consensus All-American last season.
OG Brandon Walker: Had the highest overall grade of all OU offensive lineman last season (80%).
OT Trent Williams: Has shared the right tackle spot with Branndon Braxton over the last two years.
Sooner Football With Brent Venables - 9/7/25
Sunday, September 07
FB Highlights: OU 24, Michigan 13
Saturday, September 06
Brent Venables Postgame vs Michigan
Saturday, September 06
Ben Arbuckle Postgame vs Michigan
Saturday, September 06
