Completed Event: Football versus Illinois State on August 30, 2025 , Win , 35, to, 3
Final
Football
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vs Illinois State
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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Sooners Host K-State on Homecoming
October 30, 2009 | Football
NORMAN, Okla. -- No. 22 Oklahoma (4-3, 2-1 Big 12) hosts Kansas State (5-3, 3-1 Big 12) in its 93rd Homecoming game Saturday on Owen Field. K-State currently leads the Big 12 North standings. The game kicks off at 6 p.m. (CT) and will be televised by FSN.
Visit Sooner Gameday Central to view complete information for fans attending the game plus TV, radio and internet options for fans following the Sooners around the world.
SoonerSports.com will again bring fans the Sooner Gameday Blog live from Owen Field Saturday night. The feature provides instantaneous reaction from the field as the game unfolds including observations from our staff, notes from the media relations staff in the press box and fan emails during the game.
The Game
Oklahoma plays at home for the first time since Oct. 10, when it hosts Kansas State for Homecoming. Both teams are coming off victories. OU walloped Kansas at Lawrence last Saturday, 35-13, while the Wildcats downed Colorado in Manhattan, 20-6.
• Oklahoma's three losses are by a total of five points to ranked opponents on road or neutral fields.
• OU is going for the Sunflower State sweep after knocking off the Jayhawks last week. Since the conclusion of WWII, the Sooners have played the two Kansas schools in back-to-back games 14 times with nine sweeps.
The Series
OU leads it, 69-17-4 overall, 36-6-3 in Norman. The Sooners have won the last three including 58-35 at Manhattan last season.
The Coaches
• Bob Stoops (Iowa `83) is 113-27 in his 11th season at Oklahoma. He is 74-15 vs. the Big 12, 40-11 vs. the Big 12 South, 34-4 vs. the Big 12 North, 6-1 in the Big 12 title game, 39-12 vs. non-conference opponents, 63-2 at home, 33-12 on the road, 17-13 on neutral fields, 34-15 vs. ranked opponents, 4-6 in bowls. He is 5-1 vs. Kansas State.
• Bill Snyder (William Jewell `63) is 141-71-1 in his 18th season at Kansas State.
The Program
• Oklahoma's all-time record stands at 795-300-53 in 115 seasons. Since WWII, OU leads the nation with 551 victories.
• The Sooners have captured seven national championships (1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, 2000).
• OU has 42 bowl appearances (No. 7 nationally) with 24 bowl victories (No. 4 nationally).
• Oklahoma has 42 conference championships, including the last three Big 12 Conference crowns and six Big 12 titles overall (no other league member has more than two)
• OU has produced 148 All-Americans and five Heisman Trophy winners. Sooners have also won the Bednarik (1), Butkus (4), Walter Camp (4), Lombardi (3), Maxwell (2), Nagurski (2), O'Brien (3), (Outland (5), Tatupu (1), Thorpe (3) and Unitas (1) Awards.
• With 31, 10-win seasons, OU leads the nation in total number of years in which the team achieved double-digit victories.
• This is Oklahoma's best decade for total victories. In the 2000s, OU is 106-22-0 (.828) while the Sooners were 102-13-3 (.877) in the 1970s.
Oklahoma Football History & Tradition
Ties with This Week's Opponent
• Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops was an assistant coach at KSU under Bill Snyder from 1989-95. He served as the defensive backs coach in his first two seasons before moving to a co-defensive coordinator position.
• OU defensive coordinator Brent Venables is a native of Salina, Kan. He lettered as a LB at Kansas State in 1991-92. Venables was a GA at Kansas State from 1993-95 before moving to a full-time position from 1996-98.
• There are three scholarshipped Kansans on the Oklahoma roster in Brody Eldridge, Jaydan Bird and Marshall Musil. Eldridge, a senior, is from La Cygne (pronounced: luh-SEEN). Bird is from Conway Springs and Musil is from La Crosse. Both Bird and Musil are true freshmen.
First Game on New Sod
The Oct. 18 U2 concert on Owen Field laid waste to Oklahoma's playing surface. Installation of the new surface concluded on Oct. 22. Here are facts on the new grass ...
• The sod is the same as the previous field, TifSport Bermudagrass, overseeded with perennial ryegrass.
• The sod came from Bent Oak Sod Farm in Foley, Ala. That same company supplied sod for the last two Super Bowls, this year's Super Bowl and last year's Big 12 Championship and BCS National Championship games. Bent Oak also provides sod for Miami's Land Shark Stadium in Miami, so, not including this one, OU has played three of its last nine games on Bent Oak sod.
• The 80,000 square feet of sod was delivered on 30 semi-trucks. Each roll weighed more than one ton. Each truck held about 26 rolls, which totaled 780 rolls (tons).
• The sod was installed by Green Acres Sod Farm, based in Bixby, Okla. That company installs sod for the Kansas City Chiefs, and installed sod last year for the Big 12 Championship game.
• The old sod was pulverized and all 500 tons are at the OU Jimmie Austin Golf Club where the staff will use it for construction projects around the course.
• OU has one of just four remaining grass fields in the Big 12. The other three are at Colorado, Iowa State and Texas A&M.
Oklahoma's Big 12 Dominance
• Oklahoma's all-time Big 12 regular season record is 77-30, 83-31 if counting title games. Stoops is 68-14 in the regular season, 74-15 counting all. Before he arrived, OU's Big 12 mark against the league was 8-16.
• The Sooners have won the last three Big 12 titles. No other program has ever won back-to-back titles.
Oklahoma's Most Recent Game | Texas 16, Oklahoma 13
Recap | Stats | Notes | Quotes | Blog | Photos | Highlights
Oklahoma rolled at Kansas last Saturday, 35-13 ...
• OU never trailed. Leading 14-6 at half, the Sooners had scoring drives of 75 and 70 yards on their first two possessions of the second half and eventually led 35-6.
• Not only were the Sooners without the likes of Sam Bradford and Jermaine Gresham, they played without leading rusher DeMarco Murray (injury) and starting offensive guard Tavaris Jeffries (suspension).
• Kansas scored its lone touchdown with 4:27 left. Not since its 2005 game against OU had KU failed to get a TD.
• OU picked off Todd Reesing three times, including one by Dominique Franks that was returned 85 yards for a TD.
• Oklahoma held Kansas, which came into the game as the No. 2-ranked defense in the nation, 200.5 total yards and 28.5 points below its season averages.
• RB Chris Brown scored three TDs. He had runs of 1 and 26 yards sandwiched around an 8-yard reception.
• Landry Jones, in his third start, was 26-of-38 for 252 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Strong Schedule
Current NCAA strength of schedule rankings...
* Four ranked opponents
Stoops' Mark Legendary
George Woodruff completed his first 10 years of coaching, all at Penn, in 1901 with 124 victories. That's the only 10-year start that exceeds the 109 games won by Bob Stoops, now in his 11th season at Oklahoma. ...
• All but two of Stoops' wins came against FBS programs.
• Thirty-two of Stoops' wins, nearly one-third, came against ranked opponents.
• Seventy-two of the victories came over Big 12 opponents, including 40 against the Big 12 South.
• Forty-nine Stoops wins occurred away from Norman.
Ambitious Scheduling | Future Schedules
Oklahoma has numerous marquee non-conference opponents coming up on future schedules ...
• Florida State (2010), at Florida State (2011)
• Notre Dame (2012), at Notre Dame (2013)
• Tennessee (2014), at Tennessee (2015)
• Ohio State (2016), at Ohio State (2017)
• LSU (2018), at LSU (2019).
• Under Bob Stoops, Oklahoma has already played Louisville, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Alabama (twice), UCLA (twice), Oregon (twice), Washington (twice), South Florida, Miami (twice) and Cincinnati in regular season contests.
Numerous Nailbiters
OU's three losses are by a total of five points (two by one point) to nationally-ranked foes. Seven of the last 11 losses were by three points or less including four be a single digit.
OU Sets Home Streak Record
Oklahoma has won 27 straight home games, the longest current streak in the nation, and a school record. The current record was set with the win over Tulsa. The previous mark was set at 25 before loss in the 1953 season opener to Notre Dame, 28-21.
• Bob Stoops' teams are 63-2 at home and the Sooners have won 47 of their last 48 on Owen Field.
• Other long OU home streaks and the years they ended include 21 (1975), 20 (1957).
• Other long home streaks under Stoops were 22, 19, 19.
• OU's all-time record at its current facility, which opened in 1923, is 346-78-15 (.805).
Football Facilities Get Upgrade
The $15 million Phase IV of the Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium was completed this summer and included the following ...
• A 9,000 square-foot football locker room, including grooming areas, cold-plunge hydrotherapy, and lounge.
• A 10,000 square-foot athletic training space.
• A 6,500 square-foot equipment room.
• A 4,000 square-foot team meeting room equipped with the latest technology, sound and video equipment and seating for more than 200 added to the more than 8,000 square feet of existing team meeting rooms.
• Expansion of and upgrades to the SoonerVision studio and production facilities.
Stoops Era Yielding Record Attendance
Oklahoma has drawn 5,268,256 fans for Bob Stoops' 65 home games (started in 1999) and all have been sold out.
• The Sooners are 63-2 on Owen Field under Stoops and have won 27 straight, a school record.
• The current string of sellouts is the second longest in school history, trailing a string of 69 from 1971-84.
• The average home attendance of 85,075 in 2008 was a school record. The top nine seasons for football attendance at Oklahoma came on Stoops' watch.
• The largest home crowd in school history was 85,646, on hand for the 2008 OU-Texas Tech game.
• Oklahoma has exceeded its listed seating capacity of 82,112 at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in 39 consecutive home games.
• Oklahoma has played before sellout crowds in 114 of the 140 games (home, away, neutral) since Stoops became the head coach. During that time, a total of 10,190,819 (average of 72,791) have watched the Sooners. The gathering of 96,009 for this season's Texas game was the largest ever to see OU play.
Oklahoma Sets Attendance Records
• Under Stoops, OU produced career leaders in passing and receiving, its No. 3 and No. 5 career rushers and season record holders in rushing, passing, receiving yards.
• Of 83 offensive records at OU, 55 were set under Stoops.
• OU scored a TD in every game since Nov. 7, 1998.
• OU has rushed for 200 yards 42 times under Stoops, 36 in the last six years.
• Under Stoops, OU has 143 touchdowns of 25+ yards and 292 scoring drives of 2:00 or less.
• OU is the highest scoring program in college football history. In 1,146 games, the Sooners have scored 30,645 points, or 26.8 per game. Michigan has 29,740 points in 1,210 games and Nebraska 29,632 in 1,206.
Keeping Up with Jones
Landry Jones played the second half of the season opener, then started Oklahoma's games against Idaho State, Tulsa, and Miami before again relieving an injured Sam Bradford during the second series of the Texas game and starting at Kansas.
• Jones set a school record with six touchdown passes against Tulsa. The previous mark of five was held jointly by Sam Bradford, Jason White and Josh Heupel, two Heisman winners and a Heisman runner-up.
•This marks the 19th time since 1954 that Oklahoma's starting QB has been injured and replaced by a back-up. It is the third time it has happened on Bob Stoops' watch.
Broyles' Breakout Year
Twice this season (Tulsa, Kansas) Ryan Broyles has logged 11 receptions in a game. That's one reception shy of the school record of 12. He leads the team with 36 grabs for 500 yards and eight touchdowns. He missed one game (Baylor) and most of another (Miami) with an injury.
• He needs 20 catches and 209 yards to crack OU's top 10 season list in those two categories. He is already tied for No. 9 in season touchdown receptions.
Every Down Brown
He has been called by OU coaches "Every down Brown," and Chris Brown's durability has resulted in milestones ...
• With 41 career touchdowns, Brown is tied for No. 5 on the all-time Sooner list with Greg Pruitt and Adrian Peterson. He trails Steve Owens (57), Billy Sims (53), Quentin Griffin (51) and Joe Washington (43).
A Man for All Positions
Brody Eldridge started the season opener against BYU at center. He then started games two-five at tight end before moving to left guard for the Texas game.
• He is the only player BCS player this season (not including special teams) to start at three different positions.
• Eldridge is the first OU player to start at three different positions during one season (modern era).
• Eldridge's starts at the offensive line positions were made vs. ranked opponents -- No. 20 BYU, No. 3 Texas.
Bradford, Gresham Out for Year
Returning All-American's Sam Bradford and Jermaine Gresham are out for the season ...
• Bradford, the Heisman-winning QB, sprained the AC joint in his right shoulder in the second quarter of the season opener vs. BYU then aggravated the injury on the second series of game six vs. Texas. The only game he completed uninjured was game five vs. Baylor.
• Bradford set 15 school records. Among those are career passing yards (8,403) and touchdown passes (88)
• Gresham, a tight end, did not play this season after season-ending knee surgery in early September. He has 26 touchdown receptions, seven shy of the NCAA record (33, Ibn Green, Louisville, 1996-99). Gresham had more TD receptions and yards (1,629) than any TE at Oklahoma. He had 66 receptions last season.
Injuries Game-by-Game
Pertaining to starters only ...
BYU -- Jermaine Gresham out (season-ending surgery in following week), Sam Bradford out in 2nd quarter.
Idaho State -- Bradford out.
Tulsa -- Bradford out.
Miami -- Bradford out, WR Ryan Broyles^ out in 1st qtr.
Baylor -- Broyles^ out. OG Brian Simmons out in 3rd qtr.
Texas -- Simmons out. Bradford out in 1st quarter.
Kansas -- Bradford (season-ending surgery the following week), Simmons, RB DeMarco Murray* out.
^ Leading receiver, * Leading rusher going into game.
Trench Talk
OU has one returning starter on the o-line ...
• The four players who are not back started 148 games at OU. Three are in the NFL -- OT Phil Loadholt (Vikings), C Jon Cooper (Vikings) and OG Duke Robinson (Panthers).
• The returning OU offensive linemen entered the season 44 games played and 22 starts.
• OU returns two linemen with starting experience, tackle Trent Williams and guard Brian Simmons. Williams entered the season 20 career starts, 19 at right tackle and one at left tackle (2008 season opener).
• So far this season, nine different players have had starting assignments on the OU line and the Sooners have started five different combinations.
• TE Brody Eldridge started at center for the opener against BYU, left guard against Texas and Kansas.
About the Offense in 2008
• OU scored a school record 99 TDs to clip the 80 in 2003.
• With 716 points, it was the highest scoring team in the modern era of college football. It also was the first in that span to score 60+ points in five consecutive games.
• It was the first team ever with a 4,000-yard passer (Bradford) and two 1,000-yard rushers (Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray).
• OU forced at least one turnover in 124 of Bob Stoops' 140 games and has at least one interception in 93 of the last 122; multiple picks in 45 of the last 93 outings.
• Oklahoma has 11 shutouts under its current head coach. Opponents failed to score more than seven points 31 times and scored less than 15 in 59 games.
Sooner 'D' Nationally
OU's ranks No. 2 nationally in red zone defense (60%), No. 2 in scoring defense (10.1), No. 3 in rushing defense (70.1), No. 5 in sacks (3.6), No. 6 in tackles for loss (8.6), No. 6 in total defense (264.9), No. 8 in INTs (12), No. 10 in turnovers gained (19), No. 12 in pass efficiency defense (99.02) and No. 19 in first downs allowed (15.6).
Two Weeks, Too Impressive
Over the last two weeks, Oklahoma played the nation's No. 1-rated scoring offense (Texas) and the No. 2 total offense (Kansas), both away from Norman. Here is how the Sooners fared ...
* Average prior to Oklahoma game.
Giving '01 a Run
By many accounts, the 2001 defense was the best of Bob Stoops' tenure. They didn't all win their awards that season, but players on that unit included two Nagurski winners (Derrick Strait and Roy Williams), two Thorpe winners (Strait and Williams), two Butkus winners (Rocky Calmus and Teddy Lehman) and a Lombardi winner (Tommie Harris). Seven from that unit were eventually drafted. The `09 defense is putting up similar numbers ...
* This is the only one of these categories that was not the previous best under Stoops. The `03 defense allowed 146.4 passing yards.
Pick Streak Ends for Jackson
CB Brian Jackson's streak of interceptions in consecutive games ended at four last Saturday at Kansas. It marked only the second time in school history that a player has had an interception in four straight games, the first by a cornerback. Scott Case, a safety, did it in 1983.
The Real McCoy
A frontrunner for several national awards, DT Gerald McCoy, still a junior, is the most experienced player on the defense with 34 career starts. He has been a regular target of double-team blocking this season ...
• McCoy is tied for the team lead with 11.5 TFL (5.0 in the last three games) to rank No. 8 nationally. He now has 29 for his career or 45% of his 65 career stops.
The Real Beal
DE Jeremy Beal has 10.5 tackles for loss (No. 14 nationally) and 7.0 sacks (No. 8 nationally) ...
• Career-high 12 tackles vs. Texas.
• He is the only player in school history to log two, three-sacks games in the same season (Tulsa, Miami).
• With 16.5 career sacks, the junior needs 1.5 more to crack OU's career top 10 list.
Weak Freak
WLB Travis Lewis led Oklahoma last season with 144 tackles (No. 4 nationally and a freshman school record, Brian Bosworth's mark of 133).
• He leads again this season with 63
• Lewis has three double-digit tackle games this season and 10 in his 21 career games.
• The sophomore is at 207 career. Daryl Hunt owns the school record of 530. To crack the top 10, Lewis would have to eclipse Lee Roy Selmon's total of 335.
Interceptions in Bunches
Oklahoma has 12 interceptions this season. The best total of the 11-year Stoops era is 24 in 2002. OU is averaging 14.3 yards per return.
• OU has multiple interceptions in five games (season-high three at Kansas) and at least one in six games (lone exception was Idaho State).
Defensive Miscellany
• Oklahoma has 19 takeaways. The team converted 10 of those into scores amounting to 62 points.
• The OU defense has scored in each of Bob Stoops' 11 seasons. The only position that has not scored a touchdown during that time is defensive tackle.
• OU set a school record with 17 TFL vs. Idaho State.
• OU and Penn State are the only two schools with two players ranked among the top 15 in TFL (Beal, McCoy).
• Oklahoma limited Idaho State to -22 yards on 32 rushing attempts. That was the second-best performance under Bob Stoops. The `06 team limited Baylor to -48 (20 attempts). In the opener, BYU rushed 33 times for 28 yards. Baylor had 17 rushes for 6 yards.
• OU's defensive ends -- Frank Alexander, Jeremy Beal and Auston English -- have combined for 77 career games played, 54 starts, 2398 tackles, 69 tackles for 338 yards in losses and 38 sacks for 267 yards in losses. English is the only senior in the group. Alexander is a sophomore and Beal a junior.
Oklahoma's special teams under Bob Stoops ...
• There have been 26 special teams touchdowns, including 20 in the last 74 regular season games. Those 20 came via five different kinds of plays -- 11 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.
• OU has returned eight kickoffs and 15 punts for TDs.
• The Sooners have blocked 22 kicks.
Many Happy Returns
Information on returns during the Stoops era ...
• Kickoff Returns --91 returns of 25 yards+ with eight TD.
• Punt Returns -- 56 ret., of 15+ with 15 touchdowns.
• Interception Returns -- 80 ret., of 10+ yards with 21 TD.
• Fumble Returns -- five returns of 15+ yards with 7 TD.
Getting His "Way" at Punter
Tress Way is averaging 43.1 yards on 34 punts with eight downed inside the 20 and nine of 50+ yards ...
• His ranks No. 21 nationally in punting average.
• The best punting average achieved in Bob Stoops' tenure at Oklahoma was 42.8 yards in 2006.
• Way had a 71-yard punt at Miami, the longest by a Sooner since Mike Cohen's 72-yarder in 2006.
• Way tried a 54-yard field goal at the 1:28 mark of the fourth quarter in the BYU game, but the kick fell short.
• The second-team punter is WR Cameron Kenney. At Garden City (Kan.) CC last season, Kenney had a 47-yard punting average. He also converted 11-of-13 PATs and 8-of-9 FGs, including makes from 40, 41 and 52 yards. OU has not a position player in a kicking role since DB Darrol Ray punted in 1978.
Dom is Dominant
Dominique Franks has a 30+ yard punt return in three of the last four games. He inherited the role after Ryan Broyles suffered a shoulder injury against Miami.
• Franks ranks No. 6 nationally at 17.0 yards per return and OU ranks No. 13 as a team (15.3).
• He had four returns for 100 total yards against Baylor, the first 100-yard punt return game by a Sooner since 2003 when All-America return specialist Antonio Perkins accomplished the feat against Missouri.
Whitson Holding Steady
WR Carter Whitson is in his second year as the holder for place kicks. A QB for part of his HS career, Whitson is the first holder to serve in that role for back-to-back seasons during Bob Stoops' tenure.
• Whitson's back-up is QB John Nimmo, a steady golfing partner with Sam Bradford.
• Whitson had a two-yard rush on a faked field goal at Miami. The play resulted in a first down and kept alive a drive that later yielded a field goal.
Got it Covered
• Oklahoma ranks No. 3 nationally in punt coverage. Opponents have returned 8 punts for a total of one yard. Florida Atlantic and Florida are rated ahead of OU, respectively, but both have had just two punt returns to cover. Tress Way has punted 34 times for the Sooners, but only eight have been returned. He has nine touchbacks and five fair catches.
• Last season, OU opponents returned four kickoffs for TDs and averaged 23.8 per return. This year, there have been no TDs and the return average is down to 20.4.
Kick It
Sophomore Jimmy Stevens was OU's kicker for placements through the first six games and was then replaced by Tress Way ...
• Way missed his only field goal attempt of the season, a 54-yarder vs. BYU. He got his first start against Kansas and made all five of his point after touchdown attempts.
• Stevens is 11-of-13 on field goals this season with the misses coming from 40 and 45 yards. His 1.8 FG/game ranks No. 8 nationally. He has made 21-of-22 PATs with the lone miss coming in rainy conditions at OU's home opener.
• Stevens tied the school record for field goals made when he went 4-of-4 against Baylor.
• Matthew Moreland, who handled kickoffs last season, looks is in that role again this season. Moreland had 121 kickoffs with 15 touchbacks and only two out of bounds last season. Way is Moreland's back-up.
Visit Sooner Gameday Central to view complete information for fans attending the game plus TV, radio and internet options for fans following the Sooners around the world.
SoonerSports.com will again bring fans the Sooner Gameday Blog live from Owen Field Saturday night. The feature provides instantaneous reaction from the field as the game unfolds including observations from our staff, notes from the media relations staff in the press box and fan emails during the game.
The Game
Oklahoma plays at home for the first time since Oct. 10, when it hosts Kansas State for Homecoming. Both teams are coming off victories. OU walloped Kansas at Lawrence last Saturday, 35-13, while the Wildcats downed Colorado in Manhattan, 20-6.
• Oklahoma's three losses are by a total of five points to ranked opponents on road or neutral fields.
• OU is going for the Sunflower State sweep after knocking off the Jayhawks last week. Since the conclusion of WWII, the Sooners have played the two Kansas schools in back-to-back games 14 times with nine sweeps.
 OU, Kansas State & Big 12 Game Notes | OU Depth Chart | 2009 OU Football Guide
|
The Series
OU leads it, 69-17-4 overall, 36-6-3 in Norman. The Sooners have won the last three including 58-35 at Manhattan last season.
The Coaches
• Bob Stoops (Iowa `83) is 113-27 in his 11th season at Oklahoma. He is 74-15 vs. the Big 12, 40-11 vs. the Big 12 South, 34-4 vs. the Big 12 North, 6-1 in the Big 12 title game, 39-12 vs. non-conference opponents, 63-2 at home, 33-12 on the road, 17-13 on neutral fields, 34-15 vs. ranked opponents, 4-6 in bowls. He is 5-1 vs. Kansas State.
• Bill Snyder (William Jewell `63) is 141-71-1 in his 18th season at Kansas State.
The Program
• Oklahoma's all-time record stands at 795-300-53 in 115 seasons. Since WWII, OU leads the nation with 551 victories.
• The Sooners have captured seven national championships (1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, 2000).
• OU has 42 bowl appearances (No. 7 nationally) with 24 bowl victories (No. 4 nationally).
• Oklahoma has 42 conference championships, including the last three Big 12 Conference crowns and six Big 12 titles overall (no other league member has more than two)
• OU has produced 148 All-Americans and five Heisman Trophy winners. Sooners have also won the Bednarik (1), Butkus (4), Walter Camp (4), Lombardi (3), Maxwell (2), Nagurski (2), O'Brien (3), (Outland (5), Tatupu (1), Thorpe (3) and Unitas (1) Awards.
• With 31, 10-win seasons, OU leads the nation in total number of years in which the team achieved double-digit victories.
• This is Oklahoma's best decade for total victories. In the 2000s, OU is 106-22-0 (.828) while the Sooners were 102-13-3 (.877) in the 1970s.
Oklahoma Football History & Tradition
Ties with This Week's Opponent
• Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops was an assistant coach at KSU under Bill Snyder from 1989-95. He served as the defensive backs coach in his first two seasons before moving to a co-defensive coordinator position.
• OU defensive coordinator Brent Venables is a native of Salina, Kan. He lettered as a LB at Kansas State in 1991-92. Venables was a GA at Kansas State from 1993-95 before moving to a full-time position from 1996-98.
• There are three scholarshipped Kansans on the Oklahoma roster in Brody Eldridge, Jaydan Bird and Marshall Musil. Eldridge, a senior, is from La Cygne (pronounced: luh-SEEN). Bird is from Conway Springs and Musil is from La Crosse. Both Bird and Musil are true freshmen.
First Game on New Sod
The Oct. 18 U2 concert on Owen Field laid waste to Oklahoma's playing surface. Installation of the new surface concluded on Oct. 22. Here are facts on the new grass ...
• The sod is the same as the previous field, TifSport Bermudagrass, overseeded with perennial ryegrass.
• The sod came from Bent Oak Sod Farm in Foley, Ala. That same company supplied sod for the last two Super Bowls, this year's Super Bowl and last year's Big 12 Championship and BCS National Championship games. Bent Oak also provides sod for Miami's Land Shark Stadium in Miami, so, not including this one, OU has played three of its last nine games on Bent Oak sod.
• The 80,000 square feet of sod was delivered on 30 semi-trucks. Each roll weighed more than one ton. Each truck held about 26 rolls, which totaled 780 rolls (tons).
• The sod was installed by Green Acres Sod Farm, based in Bixby, Okla. That company installs sod for the Kansas City Chiefs, and installed sod last year for the Big 12 Championship game.
• The old sod was pulverized and all 500 tons are at the OU Jimmie Austin Golf Club where the staff will use it for construction projects around the course.
• OU has one of just four remaining grass fields in the Big 12. The other three are at Colorado, Iowa State and Texas A&M.
Oklahoma's Big 12 Dominance
• Oklahoma's all-time Big 12 regular season record is 77-30, 83-31 if counting title games. Stoops is 68-14 in the regular season, 74-15 counting all. Before he arrived, OU's Big 12 mark against the league was 8-16.
• The Sooners have won the last three Big 12 titles. No other program has ever won back-to-back titles.
Oklahoma's Most Recent Game | Texas 16, Oklahoma 13
Recap | Stats | Notes | Quotes | Blog | Photos | Highlights
Oklahoma rolled at Kansas last Saturday, 35-13 ...
• OU never trailed. Leading 14-6 at half, the Sooners had scoring drives of 75 and 70 yards on their first two possessions of the second half and eventually led 35-6.
• Not only were the Sooners without the likes of Sam Bradford and Jermaine Gresham, they played without leading rusher DeMarco Murray (injury) and starting offensive guard Tavaris Jeffries (suspension).
• Kansas scored its lone touchdown with 4:27 left. Not since its 2005 game against OU had KU failed to get a TD.
• OU picked off Todd Reesing three times, including one by Dominique Franks that was returned 85 yards for a TD.
• Oklahoma held Kansas, which came into the game as the No. 2-ranked defense in the nation, 200.5 total yards and 28.5 points below its season averages.
• RB Chris Brown scored three TDs. He had runs of 1 and 26 yards sandwiched around an 8-yard reception.
• Landry Jones, in his third start, was 26-of-38 for 252 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Strong Schedule
Current NCAA strength of schedule rankings...
Opp. Wins |
Opp. Losses |
Opp. % |
|
| 1. Virginia Tech | 31 |
9 |
.775 |
| 2. Washington | 36 |
12 |
.750 |
| 2. Arkansas | 27 |
9 |
.750 |
| 4. Louisville | 24 |
10 |
.705 |
| 5. Oklahoma* | 23 |
10 |
.697 |
| 6. Iowa | 26 |
12 |
.684 |
| 7. Mississippi State | 28 |
13 |
.683 |
| 8. San Jose State | 21 |
10 |
.677 |
| 9. Oregon State | 23 |
11 |
.676 |
| 9. Arizona | 25 |
12 |
.676 |
* Four ranked opponents
Stoops' Mark Legendary
George Woodruff completed his first 10 years of coaching, all at Penn, in 1901 with 124 victories. That's the only 10-year start that exceeds the 109 games won by Bob Stoops, now in his 11th season at Oklahoma. ...
• All but two of Stoops' wins came against FBS programs.
• Thirty-two of Stoops' wins, nearly one-third, came against ranked opponents.
• Seventy-two of the victories came over Big 12 opponents, including 40 against the Big 12 South.
• Forty-nine Stoops wins occurred away from Norman.
Ambitious Scheduling | Future Schedules
Oklahoma has numerous marquee non-conference opponents coming up on future schedules ...
• Florida State (2010), at Florida State (2011)
• Notre Dame (2012), at Notre Dame (2013)
• Tennessee (2014), at Tennessee (2015)
• Ohio State (2016), at Ohio State (2017)
• LSU (2018), at LSU (2019).
• Under Bob Stoops, Oklahoma has already played Louisville, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Alabama (twice), UCLA (twice), Oregon (twice), Washington (twice), South Florida, Miami (twice) and Cincinnati in regular season contests.
Numerous Nailbiters
OU's three losses are by a total of five points (two by one point) to nationally-ranked foes. Seven of the last 11 losses were by three points or less including four be a single digit.
OU Sets Home Streak Record
Oklahoma has won 27 straight home games, the longest current streak in the nation, and a school record. The current record was set with the win over Tulsa. The previous mark was set at 25 before loss in the 1953 season opener to Notre Dame, 28-21.
• Bob Stoops' teams are 63-2 at home and the Sooners have won 47 of their last 48 on Owen Field.
• Other long OU home streaks and the years they ended include 21 (1975), 20 (1957).
• Other long home streaks under Stoops were 22, 19, 19.
• OU's all-time record at its current facility, which opened in 1923, is 346-78-15 (.805).
Football Facilities Get Upgrade
The $15 million Phase IV of the Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium was completed this summer and included the following ...
• A 9,000 square-foot football locker room, including grooming areas, cold-plunge hydrotherapy, and lounge.
• A 10,000 square-foot athletic training space.
• A 6,500 square-foot equipment room.
• A 4,000 square-foot team meeting room equipped with the latest technology, sound and video equipment and seating for more than 200 added to the more than 8,000 square feet of existing team meeting rooms.
• Expansion of and upgrades to the SoonerVision studio and production facilities.
Stoops Era Yielding Record Attendance
Oklahoma has drawn 5,268,256 fans for Bob Stoops' 65 home games (started in 1999) and all have been sold out.
• The Sooners are 63-2 on Owen Field under Stoops and have won 27 straight, a school record.
• The current string of sellouts is the second longest in school history, trailing a string of 69 from 1971-84.
• The average home attendance of 85,075 in 2008 was a school record. The top nine seasons for football attendance at Oklahoma came on Stoops' watch.
• The largest home crowd in school history was 85,646, on hand for the 2008 OU-Texas Tech game.
• Oklahoma has exceeded its listed seating capacity of 82,112 at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in 39 consecutive home games.
• Oklahoma has played before sellout crowds in 114 of the 140 games (home, away, neutral) since Stoops became the head coach. During that time, a total of 10,190,819 (average of 72,791) have watched the Sooners. The gathering of 96,009 for this season's Texas game was the largest ever to see OU play.
Oklahoma Sets Attendance Records
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About the Sooner Offense |
• Under Stoops, OU produced career leaders in passing and receiving, its No. 3 and No. 5 career rushers and season record holders in rushing, passing, receiving yards.
• Of 83 offensive records at OU, 55 were set under Stoops.
• OU scored a TD in every game since Nov. 7, 1998.
• OU has rushed for 200 yards 42 times under Stoops, 36 in the last six years.
• Under Stoops, OU has 143 touchdowns of 25+ yards and 292 scoring drives of 2:00 or less.
• OU is the highest scoring program in college football history. In 1,146 games, the Sooners have scored 30,645 points, or 26.8 per game. Michigan has 29,740 points in 1,210 games and Nebraska 29,632 in 1,206.
Keeping Up with Jones
Landry Jones played the second half of the season opener, then started Oklahoma's games against Idaho State, Tulsa, and Miami before again relieving an injured Sam Bradford during the second series of the Texas game and starting at Kansas.
• Jones set a school record with six touchdown passes against Tulsa. The previous mark of five was held jointly by Sam Bradford, Jason White and Josh Heupel, two Heisman winners and a Heisman runner-up.
•This marks the 19th time since 1954 that Oklahoma's starting QB has been injured and replaced by a back-up. It is the third time it has happened on Bob Stoops' watch.
Broyles' Breakout Year
Twice this season (Tulsa, Kansas) Ryan Broyles has logged 11 receptions in a game. That's one reception shy of the school record of 12. He leads the team with 36 grabs for 500 yards and eight touchdowns. He missed one game (Baylor) and most of another (Miami) with an injury.
• He needs 20 catches and 209 yards to crack OU's top 10 season list in those two categories. He is already tied for No. 9 in season touchdown receptions.
Every Down Brown
He has been called by OU coaches "Every down Brown," and Chris Brown's durability has resulted in milestones ...
• With 41 career touchdowns, Brown is tied for No. 5 on the all-time Sooner list with Greg Pruitt and Adrian Peterson. He trails Steve Owens (57), Billy Sims (53), Quentin Griffin (51) and Joe Washington (43).
A Man for All Positions
Brody Eldridge started the season opener against BYU at center. He then started games two-five at tight end before moving to left guard for the Texas game.
• He is the only player BCS player this season (not including special teams) to start at three different positions.
• Eldridge is the first OU player to start at three different positions during one season (modern era).
• Eldridge's starts at the offensive line positions were made vs. ranked opponents -- No. 20 BYU, No. 3 Texas.
Bradford, Gresham Out for Year
Returning All-American's Sam Bradford and Jermaine Gresham are out for the season ...
• Bradford, the Heisman-winning QB, sprained the AC joint in his right shoulder in the second quarter of the season opener vs. BYU then aggravated the injury on the second series of game six vs. Texas. The only game he completed uninjured was game five vs. Baylor.
• Bradford set 15 school records. Among those are career passing yards (8,403) and touchdown passes (88)
• Gresham, a tight end, did not play this season after season-ending knee surgery in early September. He has 26 touchdown receptions, seven shy of the NCAA record (33, Ibn Green, Louisville, 1996-99). Gresham had more TD receptions and yards (1,629) than any TE at Oklahoma. He had 66 receptions last season.
Injuries Game-by-Game
Pertaining to starters only ...
BYU -- Jermaine Gresham out (season-ending surgery in following week), Sam Bradford out in 2nd quarter.
Idaho State -- Bradford out.
Tulsa -- Bradford out.
Miami -- Bradford out, WR Ryan Broyles^ out in 1st qtr.
Baylor -- Broyles^ out. OG Brian Simmons out in 3rd qtr.
Texas -- Simmons out. Bradford out in 1st quarter.
Kansas -- Bradford (season-ending surgery the following week), Simmons, RB DeMarco Murray* out.
^ Leading receiver, * Leading rusher going into game.
Trench Talk
OU has one returning starter on the o-line ...
• The four players who are not back started 148 games at OU. Three are in the NFL -- OT Phil Loadholt (Vikings), C Jon Cooper (Vikings) and OG Duke Robinson (Panthers).
• The returning OU offensive linemen entered the season 44 games played and 22 starts.
• OU returns two linemen with starting experience, tackle Trent Williams and guard Brian Simmons. Williams entered the season 20 career starts, 19 at right tackle and one at left tackle (2008 season opener).
• So far this season, nine different players have had starting assignments on the OU line and the Sooners have started five different combinations.
• TE Brody Eldridge started at center for the opener against BYU, left guard against Texas and Kansas.
About the Offense in 2008
• OU scored a school record 99 TDs to clip the 80 in 2003.
• With 716 points, it was the highest scoring team in the modern era of college football. It also was the first in that span to score 60+ points in five consecutive games.
• It was the first team ever with a 4,000-yard passer (Bradford) and two 1,000-yard rushers (Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray).
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About the Sooner Defense |
• OU forced at least one turnover in 124 of Bob Stoops' 140 games and has at least one interception in 93 of the last 122; multiple picks in 45 of the last 93 outings.
• Oklahoma has 11 shutouts under its current head coach. Opponents failed to score more than seven points 31 times and scored less than 15 in 59 games.
Sooner 'D' Nationally
OU's ranks No. 2 nationally in red zone defense (60%), No. 2 in scoring defense (10.1), No. 3 in rushing defense (70.1), No. 5 in sacks (3.6), No. 6 in tackles for loss (8.6), No. 6 in total defense (264.9), No. 8 in INTs (12), No. 10 in turnovers gained (19), No. 12 in pass efficiency defense (99.02) and No. 19 in first downs allowed (15.6).
Two Weeks, Too Impressive
Over the last two weeks, Oklahoma played the nation's No. 1-rated scoring offense (Texas) and the No. 2 total offense (Kansas), both away from Norman. Here is how the Sooners fared ...
Avg. Points* |
vs. OU |
Diff. |
Avg. Yards* |
vs. OU |
Diff. |
|
| Texas | 47.2 |
16 |
-31.2 |
479.6 |
269 |
-210.6 |
| Kansas | 38.8 |
13 |
-25.8 |
505.3 |
305 |
-200.3 |
* Average prior to Oklahoma game.
Giving '01 a Run
By many accounts, the 2001 defense was the best of Bob Stoops' tenure. They didn't all win their awards that season, but players on that unit included two Nagurski winners (Derrick Strait and Roy Williams), two Thorpe winners (Strait and Williams), two Butkus winners (Rocky Calmus and Teddy Lehman) and a Lombardi winner (Tommie Harris). Seven from that unit were eventually drafted. The `09 defense is putting up similar numbers ...
2001 |
2009 |
|
| Rushing Defense | 85.1 |
70.4 |
| Passing Defense | 160.6* |
194.7 |
| Total Defense | 245.7 |
264.9 |
| Scoring Defense | 13.0 |
10.4 |
* This is the only one of these categories that was not the previous best under Stoops. The `03 defense allowed 146.4 passing yards.
Pick Streak Ends for Jackson
CB Brian Jackson's streak of interceptions in consecutive games ended at four last Saturday at Kansas. It marked only the second time in school history that a player has had an interception in four straight games, the first by a cornerback. Scott Case, a safety, did it in 1983.
The Real McCoy
A frontrunner for several national awards, DT Gerald McCoy, still a junior, is the most experienced player on the defense with 34 career starts. He has been a regular target of double-team blocking this season ...
• McCoy is tied for the team lead with 11.5 TFL (5.0 in the last three games) to rank No. 8 nationally. He now has 29 for his career or 45% of his 65 career stops.
The Real Beal
DE Jeremy Beal has 10.5 tackles for loss (No. 14 nationally) and 7.0 sacks (No. 8 nationally) ...
• Career-high 12 tackles vs. Texas.
• He is the only player in school history to log two, three-sacks games in the same season (Tulsa, Miami).
• With 16.5 career sacks, the junior needs 1.5 more to crack OU's career top 10 list.
Weak Freak
WLB Travis Lewis led Oklahoma last season with 144 tackles (No. 4 nationally and a freshman school record, Brian Bosworth's mark of 133).
• He leads again this season with 63
• Lewis has three double-digit tackle games this season and 10 in his 21 career games.
• The sophomore is at 207 career. Daryl Hunt owns the school record of 530. To crack the top 10, Lewis would have to eclipse Lee Roy Selmon's total of 335.
Interceptions in Bunches
Oklahoma has 12 interceptions this season. The best total of the 11-year Stoops era is 24 in 2002. OU is averaging 14.3 yards per return.
• OU has multiple interceptions in five games (season-high three at Kansas) and at least one in six games (lone exception was Idaho State).
Defensive Miscellany
• Oklahoma has 19 takeaways. The team converted 10 of those into scores amounting to 62 points.
• The OU defense has scored in each of Bob Stoops' 11 seasons. The only position that has not scored a touchdown during that time is defensive tackle.
• OU set a school record with 17 TFL vs. Idaho State.
• OU and Penn State are the only two schools with two players ranked among the top 15 in TFL (Beal, McCoy).
• Oklahoma limited Idaho State to -22 yards on 32 rushing attempts. That was the second-best performance under Bob Stoops. The `06 team limited Baylor to -48 (20 attempts). In the opener, BYU rushed 33 times for 28 yards. Baylor had 17 rushes for 6 yards.
• OU's defensive ends -- Frank Alexander, Jeremy Beal and Auston English -- have combined for 77 career games played, 54 starts, 2398 tackles, 69 tackles for 338 yards in losses and 38 sacks for 267 yards in losses. English is the only senior in the group. Alexander is a sophomore and Beal a junior.
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About the Sooner Special Teams |
Oklahoma's special teams under Bob Stoops ...
• There have been 26 special teams touchdowns, including 20 in the last 74 regular season games. Those 20 came via five different kinds of plays -- 11 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.
• OU has returned eight kickoffs and 15 punts for TDs.
• The Sooners have blocked 22 kicks.
Many Happy Returns
Information on returns during the Stoops era ...
• Kickoff Returns --91 returns of 25 yards+ with eight TD.
• Punt Returns -- 56 ret., of 15+ with 15 touchdowns.
• Interception Returns -- 80 ret., of 10+ yards with 21 TD.
• Fumble Returns -- five returns of 15+ yards with 7 TD.
Getting His "Way" at Punter
Tress Way is averaging 43.1 yards on 34 punts with eight downed inside the 20 and nine of 50+ yards ...
• His ranks No. 21 nationally in punting average.
• The best punting average achieved in Bob Stoops' tenure at Oklahoma was 42.8 yards in 2006.
• Way had a 71-yard punt at Miami, the longest by a Sooner since Mike Cohen's 72-yarder in 2006.
• Way tried a 54-yard field goal at the 1:28 mark of the fourth quarter in the BYU game, but the kick fell short.
• The second-team punter is WR Cameron Kenney. At Garden City (Kan.) CC last season, Kenney had a 47-yard punting average. He also converted 11-of-13 PATs and 8-of-9 FGs, including makes from 40, 41 and 52 yards. OU has not a position player in a kicking role since DB Darrol Ray punted in 1978.
Dom is Dominant
Dominique Franks has a 30+ yard punt return in three of the last four games. He inherited the role after Ryan Broyles suffered a shoulder injury against Miami.
• Franks ranks No. 6 nationally at 17.0 yards per return and OU ranks No. 13 as a team (15.3).
• He had four returns for 100 total yards against Baylor, the first 100-yard punt return game by a Sooner since 2003 when All-America return specialist Antonio Perkins accomplished the feat against Missouri.
Whitson Holding Steady
WR Carter Whitson is in his second year as the holder for place kicks. A QB for part of his HS career, Whitson is the first holder to serve in that role for back-to-back seasons during Bob Stoops' tenure.
• Whitson's back-up is QB John Nimmo, a steady golfing partner with Sam Bradford.
• Whitson had a two-yard rush on a faked field goal at Miami. The play resulted in a first down and kept alive a drive that later yielded a field goal.
Got it Covered
• Oklahoma ranks No. 3 nationally in punt coverage. Opponents have returned 8 punts for a total of one yard. Florida Atlantic and Florida are rated ahead of OU, respectively, but both have had just two punt returns to cover. Tress Way has punted 34 times for the Sooners, but only eight have been returned. He has nine touchbacks and five fair catches.
• Last season, OU opponents returned four kickoffs for TDs and averaged 23.8 per return. This year, there have been no TDs and the return average is down to 20.4.
Kick It
Sophomore Jimmy Stevens was OU's kicker for placements through the first six games and was then replaced by Tress Way ...
• Way missed his only field goal attempt of the season, a 54-yarder vs. BYU. He got his first start against Kansas and made all five of his point after touchdown attempts.
• Stevens is 11-of-13 on field goals this season with the misses coming from 40 and 45 yards. His 1.8 FG/game ranks No. 8 nationally. He has made 21-of-22 PATs with the lone miss coming in rainy conditions at OU's home opener.
• Stevens tied the school record for field goals made when he went 4-of-4 against Baylor.
• Matthew Moreland, who handled kickoffs last season, looks is in that role again this season. Moreland had 121 kickoffs with 15 touchbacks and only two out of bounds last season. Way is Moreland's back-up.
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
In the Booth: OU vs Michigan
Saturday, September 06
