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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Game Notes: Sooners at Florida State
September 15, 2011 | Football
NORMAN, Okla. -- No. 1 Oklahoma, fresh off a bye in week two of the 2011 season, returns to action with its first road game of the season, a trip to No. 5 Florida State. The Sooners began the current campaign on Sept. 3, with a convincing 47-14 triumph over Tulsa in Norman. This marks OU's first trip to Tallahassee.
The game on Saturday will kick shortly after 7 p.m. CT and will be televised nationally by ABC. View Sooner Gameday Central for complete information.
THE SERIES
Oklahoma leads, 5-1, and has won the last five in a row against Florida State. This will mark the fifth meeting between the two in the state of Florida, but the first in Tallahassee (three in Miami, one in Jacksonville).
Last season, the two teams met in Norman with the No. 10 Sooners downing the No. 14 Seminoles, 47-17. It was only the second regular season meeting between the two schools, which have met in four bowl games.
THE COACHES
Oklahoma: Bob Stoops (Iowa `83) is 130-31 in his 13th season. He is 83-19 vs. the Big 12, 46-13 vs. the Big 12 South, 38-6 vs. the Big 12 North, 7-1 in the Big 12 title game, 46-12 vs. non-conference opponents, 73-2 at home, 35-16 on the road and 22-13 on neutral fields. He is 2-0 vs. Florida State.
Florida State: Jimbo Fisher (Salem `89) is 12-4 in his second season with the Seminoles, 0-1 vs. OU.
THE PROGRAM
Oklahoma is 812-304-53 in 117 seasons. Since WWII, OU leads the nation with 573 victories.
The Sooners have captured seven national championships (1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, 2000).
OU has 44 bowl appearances (No. 7 nationally) with 26 bowl victories (No. 4 nationally).
OU has 43 conference championships, including seven Big 12 titles (no other school has more than three)
OU has 152 All-Americans and five Heisman winners. Sooners have also won the Bednarik (1), Butkus (4), Camp (4), Lombardi (3), Maxwell (2), Nagurski (2), O'Brien (3), Outland (5), Tatupu (1), Thorpe (3) and Unitas (1) Awards.
OU leads the nation with 32 seasons in which the program has won 10 or more games.
Oklahoma Football History & Tradition
| Sooner Superlatives
THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT: FLORIDA STATE
Oklahoma takes on Florida State in its first road game of the season. FSU is home for the third consecutive week.
The Seminoles return 16 starters from a 10-4 team.
Oklahoma is 29-6 against teams currently holding membership in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
TIES WITH FLORIDA STATE
Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops and Florida State Defensive Coordinator Mark Stoops are brothers. All of the four Stoops brothers are coaches. Mike is the head coach at Arizona and Ron is an assistant coach at Youngstown State in Youngstown, Ohio, the hometown for the Stoops family. Their late father, Ron, Sr., was an assistant coach at Cardinal Mooney, too. There are six Stoops children. Their mother, Evelyn (goes by Dee Dee), still resides in Youngstown. Bob and Mark also were on opposite sidelines when OU and FSU met last season.
FSU defensive ends coach D.J. Eliot is a native of Edmond, Okla. The Wyoming grad was on the Tulsa coaching staff in 2006.
There is one Floridian on the OU roster, sophomore RB Roy Finch from Niceville.
LAST YEAR'S GAME IN NORMAN
Each team scored a TD on its first possession, then Oklahoma reeled off 37 unanswered points en route to a 47-17 win. Landry Jones was 30-of-40 for 380 yards with four TDs to four different receivers. Ryan Broyles led the receivers with 12 grabs for 124 yards. Neither team rushed the ball particularly well. OU had 41 attempts for 93 yards, the Seminoles 32 for 123. For a recap of the game, see page 130 in the 2011 OU Football Guide.
REMATCH OF 2000 TITLE GAME
This game is a rematch of the 2000 National Championship game that was contested at the Orange Bowl. OU won that game, 13-2. Bob Stoops was the head coach of that team and his current co-offensive coordinator Josh Heupel was the quarterback. Other OU coaches who were on that staff and remain with the Sooners include running backs coach Cale Gundy, defensive line coach Jackie Shipp, defensive coordinator Brent Venables and defensive ends coach Bobby Jack Wright.
That bowl game was one of 13, including three under Stoops, that OU played in the home state of its opponent. All three had the national title hanging in the balance.
OU'S MOST RECENT GAME
OU won its opener, 47-14, over Tulsa on Sept. 3:
OU sprinted to a 30-0 lead and coasted to the win.
Landry Jones completed 35-of-47 passes for 375 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.
Ryan Broyles missed tying by one his school record for receptions in a game with 14 for 158 yards and one TD.
Walk-on RB Dominique Whaley keyed a 246-yard rushing effort with 18 carries for 131 yards and four touchdowns. He was just one off former OU RB DeMarco Murray's NCAA record for rushing TDs in a debut game.
DE Frank Alexander knocked down two passes and picked off one pass which he returned 27 yards.
Nearly 40 percent of TU's yards came on three pass plays (159 of 400).
Recap | Statistics | Game Notes | Quotes | Photos | Highlights
THE SOONERS IN FLORIDA
This will be Oklahoma's 27th football game in the state of Florida. The Sooners are 16-10 in the Sunshine State.
OU is 9-5 against schools that are located in Florida.
Bob Stoops was on Florida's staff from 1996-98 and the Sooners' sport enhancement director, Jerry Schmidt, was in Gainesville from 1995-99. Stoops was UF's defensive coordinator for the 1996 National Championship game when the Gators downed FSU, 52-20.
MARQUEE GAMES AWAIT
Future schedules include Notre Dame (2012), at Notre Dame (2013), Tennessee (2014), at Tennessee (2015), Ohio State (2016), at Ohio State (2017) and LSU in 2018 and 2019. Under Bob Stoops, OU has already played Florida State, Cincinnati (twice), Louisville, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Alabama (twice), UCLA (twice), Oregon (twice), Washington (twice), South Florida, BYU and Miami (Fla.) (twice) in regular season contests. Seven of those were played on the road and one on a neutral field.
OKLAHOMA NO. 1 FOR 100TH WEEK
OU is rated No. 1 in the Associated Press poll for the 100th week in its history. That leads the nation. Notre Dame is next at 95 followed by Ohio State at 94 and USC at 90. The poll began in 1936 and Notre Dame was No. 1 as early as 1938. OU didn't reach that spot until 1950. The Sooners have cracked the top 25 in 64 of the poll's 76 years, and the last 13 in a row, and have been No. 1 in 19 different seasons, including five under Bob Stoops.
OU All-Time in the AP Poll
THE SOONERS AT NO. 1
Oklahoma has amassed a record of 72-8 when playing as the nation's top-ranked team in the Associated Press poll, and that includes a 27-3 standard on the road. The Sooners have won their last five road games as a No. 1.
Oklahoma's first game at No. 1 took place on Nov. 25, 1950, when the Sooners downed No. 16 Nebraska in Norman, 49-35.
OU is 18-1 as a No. 1 in September.
PREVIOUS TOP-5 MATCHUPS
Oklahoma owns a 27-17-1 (5-6-0 in road games) mark all-time in games in which both teams were ranked among the Associated Press' Top 25.
Ten of those contests were against Texas, but it should be noted that three of the previous OU-FSU games also found both teams rated among the top five. Oklahoma won all three of those games -- the 2000 National Championship Game (2001 Orange Bowl, 13-2), the 1980 Orange Bowl (24-7) and the 1981 Orange Bowl (18-17).
BYE WEEK BOUNCE
During Bob Stoops' tenure, Oklahoma is 13-3 in games that follow regular season bye weeks (not including season openers).
This is the first time since 1997 (two seasons before Stoops' arrival) that OU had an open week between its first and second games. The Sooners also had a bye between in that place in 1996.
MEDIA MADNESS
This game marks the 26th time that ESPN's College GameDay is on site for an Oklahoma game.
This will be the 306th televised OU game and the 182nd that will be seen by a national audience.
Earlier this year, the program made its 32nd appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
HOME WINNING STREAK AT 37
OU has won a school record 37 consecutive home games. The longest current string in the nation began Sept. 1, 2005, with a 31-15 victory over Tulsa.
This is the 13th-longest streak in NCAA history (seven of top 12 were before 1920). It ranks No. 5 since WWII and is the longest since Florida State's 37 from 1992-2001. Miami holds the NCAA record at 58 (1985-94).
During the streak, the OU has out-scored foes by 1,118 points, 1,654 to 536, an average of 44.7 to 14.5.
OU scored 50+ points 12 times during the streak, 60+ five times. The low scoring total was 24 points, twice.
OU posted five shutouts, held eight foes to single digits.
A Closer Look at Oklahoma's Home Dominance
RECORD-SETTING ATTENDANCE
Oklahoma has drawn 6,112,018 fans for Bob Stoops' 75 home games (started in 1999) and all have been sold out.
The Sooners are 73-2 on Owen Field under Stoops.
The current string of sellouts is the longest in school history, eclipsing a mark of 69 from 1971-84.
The top 10 seasons for attendance at Oklahoma during Stoops' tenure as head coach.
The largest OU home crowd was 85,646, for the 2008 Texas Tech game.
The 85,620 on hand for the Tulsa game represented the largest season-opening crowd ever at Oklahoma.
OU exceeded its seating capacity of 82,112 at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in 55 straight home games.
Oklahoma has played before sellout crowds in 126 of the 161 games (75 home, 27 away, 15 neutral) since Stoops became the head coach. During that time, a total of 11,556,164 (average of 71,777) have watched the Sooners.
Oklahoma Sets Attendance Records at Memorial Stadium
Under Bob Stoops, OU has produced career leaders in passing, receiving and all-purpose yards, four top 10 career rushers and season leaders in rushing, passing and receiving yards.
Stoops-led Sooner teams have set 46 offensive school records. Those offenses have 162 touchdowns of 25 or more yards and 323 scoring drives of two minutes or less.
Oklahoma has scored in every game since Nov. 7, 1998. That's a string of 177 games, which is the fifth-longest active string and the 19th-longest of all-time.
OU rushed for 200 yards 46 times under Stoops.
Oklahoma is the highest scoring college program in history. In 1,214 games, the Sooners have scored 31,345 points. Michigan is next at 30,345 points in 1,245 games.
CHANGES ON OFFENSIVE STAFF
Josh Heupel and Jay Norvell were promoted to co-offensive coordinators after Kevin Wilson moved to Indiana as head coach. Heupel, who also coaches QBs, calls the plays, a role he had for the first time at the Fiesta Bowl. OU also has added Bruce Kittle as the tight ends and tackles coach. Cale Gundy, the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator, now also has the fullbacks.
ONE WHALEY OF A RUNNING BACK
Oklahoma rushed for 246 yards in its win over Tulsa. The leader was walk-on Dominique Whaley, who carried 18 times for 131 yards and four touchdowns in his first Sooner game. The Langston University transfer fell just one TD shy of tying the NCAA mark for most in a debut game. That record is held by former Sooner DeMarco Murray at five.
Whaley, a junior, also caught two passes for 12 yards.
Brennan Clay started at running back and carried 14 times for 64 yards and one TD.
The Sooners rushed the ball 46 times in that opener while attempting 54 passes to fall within eight snaps of perfect balance. Twice last season (Baylor and Colorado), they were within five plays of balance.
Whaley attended Lawton (Okla.) MacArthur High School, but as an Army "brat" lived in several places, including Germany, before that time.
THE RECORD BOOK BROYLES
Ryan Broyles, a consensus All-American and one of three finalists for the 2010 Biletnikoff Award, has set Oklahoma's records for receptions in a game, season and career; yards in a game, season and career and touchdowns receptions in a season (tied) and career.
In 2010, he had 131 receptions, the eighth-best one-season total in NCAA history. His 1,622 yards rank No. 20. He led the nation with 9.4 catches per game and was No. 3 in both total yards and yards per game. His TD catches total of 14 tied for No. 4.
Broyles is the career leader among the NCAA's active players in receptions (280), touchdown receptions (36), receiving yards (3,429) and punt return yards (998).
With 36 career TD receptions, he is No. 16 on the all-time NCAA list. He's No. 18 in receptions at 280.
He's No. 3 in Big 12 career receptions, just 13 away from No. 1. He's also No. 3 in yards with 3,587, 827 away from No. 1. His TD total of 36 in No. 3, six from No. 1.
Has 100+ yards receiving in 13 of the last 16 games and a TD grab in 12 of the last 17.
Has at least one reception in 40 straight games.
KEEPING UP WITH JONES
QB Landry Jones won the 2010 Sammy Baugh Award as college football's top passer ...
In the opener, he moved ahead of 2003 Heisman winner Jason White to the No. 2 spot on the school's career passing list. He needs 113 yards to pass 2006 Heisman winner Sam Bradford at No. 1.
Has tied (with Bradford, Josh Heupel) OU record with 14, 300-yard passing games.
In 2010 Big 12 games only, he led the conference in passing yards, threw at least nine more TD passes than any other QB and had the highest completion percentage and fewest interceptions among those with at least 300 attempts.
Was the Fiesta Bowl Offensive MVP after his school record fourth 400-yard game (429 vs. UConn).
Ranked No. 1 in the nation with 405 completions, a school record, No. 2 in total passing yards (4,718, tops among BCS quarterbacks), No. 3 in total offense (327.9 yards per game), No. 12 in points responsible (16.71) and No. 2 in touchdown passes (38).
His 4,718 yards rank No. 2 for a season at OU. Sam Bradford had 4,720 in 2008.
Had a school-record tying 468 passing yards at Oklahoma State.
Went 30-of-34 (.882) vs. Iowa State, one completion behind the NCAA record for percentage in a game.
Became one of the six different quarterbacks who have accounted for OU's seven Big 12 titles.
RETURN OF THE FULLBACK
Last season, then-true freshman Trey Millard had 24 rushes for 74 yards and three touchdowns along with 16 receptions for 135 yards and another TD. The total number of rushes and rushing yards were the most by an OU fullback since Seth Littrell had 24 attempts for 78 yards in 2000. It was the highest receptions and receiving yards total since J.D. Runnels had 20 for 205 in 2005. The four touchdowns scored by Millard represented the most by a Sooner fullback since Littrell had eight in `99.
OU has forced at least one turnover in 143 of Stoops' 161 games and has at least one interception in 105 of the last 140 with multiple picks in 64 of the last 112 outings.
Oklahoma has 13 shutouts under its current head coach. Opponents failed to score more than seven points in 34 games and scored less than 14 in 62 games.
ALL BUT THREE IN OPENER
With the exception of three big plays, Oklahoma's defense was sterling in the opener. Tulsa rolled up 400 yards, but 149 of those came on just three of the Golden Hurricane's 64 snaps.
FRANK TALK
Senior DE Frank Alexander was dominant in the opener. He knocked down two passes and intercepted another, the first of his career, which he returned 27 yards. Alexander also had six tackles, one sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. He is now six tackles shy of 100 for his career.
TOP TACKLER OUT
Weakside LB Travis Lewis has led Oklahoma in tackles in each of his first three seasons and has become only the sixth player in school history to lead the team in three consecutive years. The last to do it was Rocky Calmus, the Butkus Award winner in his senior campaign, from 1999-01.
After suffering a broken bone in the big toe of his left foot in the first contact drill of August camp, he is expected to miss at least eight weeks. Lewis enters this season with 362 career tackles, the third-best total among active players nationally.
The San Antonio native had 108 stops last season.
With 362 tackles (the second-highest total by a Bob Stoops player at OU), Lewis has cracked the career top 10 tackle list at OU. The record is held by the late Daryl Hunt at 530. Lewis, now at No. 8, trails No. 7 Rick Bryan by three.
As a freshman in 2007, Lewis had 144 tackles to break Brian Bosworth's OU freshman record of 133.
Lewis has double-digit tackle totals in 15 of his 41 career games.
He registered his eighth career interception against Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship Game. That equals the most by a linebacker in Sooner history. He has 156 career return yards on those picks, an average of 19.5 per return. Lewis had three takeaways in that game against the Cornhuskers including a pair of fumble recoveries.
LEWIS EQUALS CAREER HIGH
DE Ronnell Lewis equaled his career high for tackles when he made eight against Tulsa in the opener. He also had one sack and 2.5 tackles for loss. He now has nearly as many career sacks (5.5) as starts (6).
LOTS OF HANDS IN TAKEAWAY JAR
OU had 32 takeaways in 2010 by 17 different players. The 13 fumble recoveries were by nine different players while the 19 interceptions were by eight different Sooners.
Jamell Fleming led the team with five interceptions, which he returned for 59 yards and one touchdown. The TD came in the Fiesta Bowl victory. He now will try to become the first Sooner to lead the team in picks in two straight years since Brodney Pool did it in 2003-04.
Fleming also topped the 2010 team in pass deflections with 14. That was the most by a Sooner since Roy Williams broke up 22 aerials in 2001, the same year he became the first player ever to win the Nagurski (best defensive player) and Thorpe (best defensive back) Awards in the same season.
Due to the injury to Travis Lewis, Fleming now rates as OU's top returning tackler, too, at least from last season's team. He was No. 5 on that squad, but Lewis, who led the team, is out, while Jonathan Nelson, Quinton Carter and Jeremy Beal, two through four, respectively, all exhausted their eligibility. Fleming had 71 stops last season.
HURST TAKES OVER LONGEST STREAK
With Travis Lewis out due to a broken bone in his left foot, CB Demontre Hurst takes over with the longest string of starts on defense. He has 15. Lewis had 41.
OU IMPROVES IN PASS-HAPPY ERA
Despite this pass-happy era of college football, only once under Bob Stoops has an Oklahoma team allowed a season completion rate of 60% or higher. The 2010 finished at just 54.6%, which was the third-lowest figure in the Big 12 Conference for the season.
Six Sooner opponents failed to complete 50 percent of their passes last season, including three of the last five foes (Texas Tech, Nebraska and Connecticut).
With 71 break-ups, the Sooners had one of their best seasons in that category. Over the previous seven seasons, the best total at Oklahoma had been 61 (twice). The school record was set in 2000 with an incredible 110. The 2009 team had just 45.
Oklahoma had a season-high 11 deflections in a home win against Colorado.
Oklahoma's special teams under Bob Stoops ...
There have been 27 special teams touchdowns, including 21 in the last 78 regular season games. Those 21 came via five different kinds of plays -- 12 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.
Oklahoma has returned eight kickoffs and 16 punts for touchdowns.
The Sooners have blocked 24 kicks.
MANY HAPPY RETURNS
Information on returns during the Stoops era ...
Kickoff Returns --94 returns of 25 yards or more with eight touchdowns.
Punt Returns -- 61 returns of 15 or more yards with 16 touchdowns.
Interception Returns -- 84 returns of 10 or more yards with 23 touchdowns.
Fumble Returns -- six returns of 15 or more yards with eight touchdowns.
COVER TEAM A STONE WALL
Oklahoma finished the 2010 season ranked No. 2 nationally in punt return defense at 3.04 yards per return. It marked he second consecutive season that the Sooners held that position. Sooner opponents finished the season with 24 returns for 73 yards.
Oklahoma ranked No. 5 nationally in net punting last season at 40.5 yards. The 2009 team ranked No. 7.
For the 2010 season, OU surrendered four returns of 15 or more yards, but otherwise none exceeded six. Six foes finished the game with negative punt return yards.
The bugaboo has been kickoff returns. The Sooners surrendered four for touchdowns last season, nine over the last three campaigns combined. In the 2011 opener, things were better with an average of just 19.6 yards on eight returns.
OU blocked two punts last season and both resulted in safeties (vs. Colorado and Texas A&M).
BROYLES CAN BE LETHAL
PR Ryan Broyles has more punt returns (89), more average returns per game (2.3) and more total punt return yards (998) than any other active players in NCAA FBS play.
He ranks No. 6 among active NCAA punt returners with an average of 11.21 yards per return.
Broyles had no returns against Tulsa despite eight Golden Hurricane punts. It continued a trend of kicking away from the Sooner standout. He has had two or fewer returns in eight of the last 15 games.
WAY GOOD AT PUNTER
In 2010, P Tress Way had 19 boots of 50+ yards with 18 inside the 20 and an average of 44.0 yards on 73 kicks. His average ranked No. 20 nationally, but he had more attempts than anyone ahead of him on that list.
Way has 38 punts of 50+ yards in his career. Jeff Ferguson (1998-01), set that OU record with 52
He is No. 5 among active NCAA punters with a career average of 45.63. It should be noted that Way has maintained that average on more kicks than any of the three players ahead of him. He has 138.
FOOT FACTS
Jimmy Stevens has made 13 of his last 14 field goals, all over the last four games.
At Oklahoma, Stevens ranks No. 7 all-time with 39 field goals made and No. 2 with 178 points after touchdown. He's No. 6 in kick scoring at 295.
Michael Hunnicutt made his first career field goal with a 27-yard effort against Tulsa.
Patrick O'Hara and Michael Hunnicutt shared the kickoff duties in the opener. Hunnicutt had three, O'Hara six. O'Hara had a slight edge in average at 66.2 to 65 and booted the lone touchback by the Sooners.
The game on Saturday will kick shortly after 7 p.m. CT and will be televised nationally by ABC. View Sooner Gameday Central for complete information.
THE SERIES
Oklahoma leads, 5-1, and has won the last five in a row against Florida State. This will mark the fifth meeting between the two in the state of Florida, but the first in Tallahassee (three in Miami, one in Jacksonville).Last season, the two teams met in Norman with the No. 10 Sooners downing the No. 14 Seminoles, 47-17. It was only the second regular season meeting between the two schools, which have met in four bowl games.THE COACHES
Oklahoma: Bob Stoops (Iowa `83) is 130-31 in his 13th season. He is 83-19 vs. the Big 12, 46-13 vs. the Big 12 South, 38-6 vs. the Big 12 North, 7-1 in the Big 12 title game, 46-12 vs. non-conference opponents, 73-2 at home, 35-16 on the road and 22-13 on neutral fields. He is 2-0 vs. Florida State.Florida State: Jimbo Fisher (Salem `89) is 12-4 in his second season with the Seminoles, 0-1 vs. OU. OU, Opponent & Big
12 Game Notes | OU
Depth Chart | 2011
OU Football Guide
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THE PROGRAM
Oklahoma is 812-304-53 in 117 seasons. Since WWII, OU leads the nation with 573 victories. The Sooners have captured seven national championships (1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, 2000). OU has 44 bowl appearances (No. 7 nationally) with 26 bowl victories (No. 4 nationally). OU has 43 conference championships, including seven Big 12 titles (no other school has more than three)OU has 152 All-Americans and five Heisman winners. Sooners have also won the Bednarik (1), Butkus (4), Camp (4), Lombardi (3), Maxwell (2), Nagurski (2), O'Brien (3), Outland (5), Tatupu (1), Thorpe (3) and Unitas (1) Awards.OU leads the nation with 32 seasons in which the program has won 10 or more games.Oklahoma Football History & Tradition
| Sooner SuperlativesTHIS WEEK'S OPPONENT: FLORIDA STATE
Oklahoma takes on Florida State in its first road game of the season. FSU is home for the third consecutive week.The Seminoles return 16 starters from a 10-4 team.Oklahoma is 29-6 against teams currently holding membership in the Atlantic Coast Conference.TIES WITH FLORIDA STATE
Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops and Florida State Defensive Coordinator Mark Stoops are brothers. All of the four Stoops brothers are coaches. Mike is the head coach at Arizona and Ron is an assistant coach at Youngstown State in Youngstown, Ohio, the hometown for the Stoops family. Their late father, Ron, Sr., was an assistant coach at Cardinal Mooney, too. There are six Stoops children. Their mother, Evelyn (goes by Dee Dee), still resides in Youngstown. Bob and Mark also were on opposite sidelines when OU and FSU met last season.FSU defensive ends coach D.J. Eliot is a native of Edmond, Okla. The Wyoming grad was on the Tulsa coaching staff in 2006.There is one Floridian on the OU roster, sophomore RB Roy Finch from Niceville.LAST YEAR'S GAME IN NORMAN
Each team scored a TD on its first possession, then Oklahoma reeled off 37 unanswered points en route to a 47-17 win. Landry Jones was 30-of-40 for 380 yards with four TDs to four different receivers. Ryan Broyles led the receivers with 12 grabs for 124 yards. Neither team rushed the ball particularly well. OU had 41 attempts for 93 yards, the Seminoles 32 for 123. For a recap of the game, see page 130 in the 2011 OU Football Guide.
REMATCH OF 2000 TITLE GAME
This game is a rematch of the 2000 National Championship game that was contested at the Orange Bowl. OU won that game, 13-2. Bob Stoops was the head coach of that team and his current co-offensive coordinator Josh Heupel was the quarterback. Other OU coaches who were on that staff and remain with the Sooners include running backs coach Cale Gundy, defensive line coach Jackie Shipp, defensive coordinator Brent Venables and defensive ends coach Bobby Jack Wright.
That bowl game was one of 13, including three under Stoops, that OU played in the home state of its opponent. All three had the national title hanging in the balance. OU'S MOST RECENT GAME
OU won its opener, 47-14, over Tulsa on Sept. 3:
OU sprinted to a 30-0 lead and coasted to the win. Landry Jones completed 35-of-47 passes for 375 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Ryan Broyles missed tying by one his school record for receptions in a game with 14 for 158 yards and one TD. Walk-on RB Dominique Whaley keyed a 246-yard rushing effort with 18 carries for 131 yards and four touchdowns. He was just one off former OU RB DeMarco Murray's NCAA record for rushing TDs in a debut game. DE Frank Alexander knocked down two passes and picked off one pass which he returned 27 yards. Nearly 40 percent of TU's yards came on three pass plays (159 of 400). Recap | Statistics | Game Notes | Quotes | Photos | HighlightsTHE SOONERS IN FLORIDA
This will be Oklahoma's 27th football game in the state of Florida. The Sooners are 16-10 in the Sunshine State.OU is 9-5 against schools that are located in Florida.Bob Stoops was on Florida's staff from 1996-98 and the Sooners' sport enhancement director, Jerry Schmidt, was in Gainesville from 1995-99. Stoops was UF's defensive coordinator for the 1996 National Championship game when the Gators downed FSU, 52-20.MARQUEE GAMES AWAIT
Future schedules include Notre Dame (2012), at Notre Dame (2013), Tennessee (2014), at Tennessee (2015), Ohio State (2016), at Ohio State (2017) and LSU in 2018 and 2019. Under Bob Stoops, OU has already played Florida State, Cincinnati (twice), Louisville, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Alabama (twice), UCLA (twice), Oregon (twice), Washington (twice), South Florida, BYU and Miami (Fla.) (twice) in regular season contests. Seven of those were played on the road and one on a neutral field.
OKLAHOMA NO. 1 FOR 100TH WEEK
OU is rated No. 1 in the Associated Press poll for the 100th week in its history. That leads the nation. Notre Dame is next at 95 followed by Ohio State at 94 and USC at 90. The poll began in 1936 and Notre Dame was No. 1 as early as 1938. OU didn't reach that spot until 1950. The Sooners have cracked the top 25 in 64 of the poll's 76 years, and the last 13 in a row, and have been No. 1 in 19 different seasons, including five under Bob Stoops.
OU All-Time in the AP Poll THE SOONERS AT NO. 1
Oklahoma has amassed a record of 72-8 when playing as the nation's top-ranked team in the Associated Press poll, and that includes a 27-3 standard on the road. The Sooners have won their last five road games as a No. 1.
Oklahoma's first game at No. 1 took place on Nov. 25, 1950, when the Sooners downed No. 16 Nebraska in Norman, 49-35.OU is 18-1 as a No. 1 in September.PREVIOUS TOP-5 MATCHUPS
Oklahoma owns a 27-17-1 (5-6-0 in road games) mark all-time in games in which both teams were ranked among the Associated Press' Top 25.
Ten of those contests were against Texas, but it should be noted that three of the previous OU-FSU games also found both teams rated among the top five. Oklahoma won all three of those games -- the 2000 National Championship Game (2001 Orange Bowl, 13-2), the 1980 Orange Bowl (24-7) and the 1981 Orange Bowl (18-17).BYE WEEK BOUNCE
During Bob Stoops' tenure, Oklahoma is 13-3 in games that follow regular season bye weeks (not including season openers).
This is the first time since 1997 (two seasons before Stoops' arrival) that OU had an open week between its first and second games. The Sooners also had a bye between in that place in 1996.MEDIA MADNESS
This game marks the 26th time that ESPN's College GameDay is on site for an Oklahoma game.
This will be the 306th televised OU game and the 182nd that will be seen by a national audience. Earlier this year, the program made its 32nd appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated.HOME WINNING STREAK AT 37
OU has won a school record 37 consecutive home games. The longest current string in the nation began Sept. 1, 2005, with a 31-15 victory over Tulsa.
This is the 13th-longest streak in NCAA history (seven of top 12 were before 1920). It ranks No. 5 since WWII and is the longest since Florida State's 37 from 1992-2001. Miami holds the NCAA record at 58 (1985-94).During the streak, the OU has out-scored foes by 1,118 points, 1,654 to 536, an average of 44.7 to 14.5.OU scored 50+ points 12 times during the streak, 60+ five times. The low scoring total was 24 points, twice.OU posted five shutouts, held eight foes to single digits.A Closer Look at Oklahoma's Home Dominance RECORD-SETTING ATTENDANCE
Oklahoma has drawn 6,112,018 fans for Bob Stoops' 75 home games (started in 1999) and all have been sold out.
The Sooners are 73-2 on Owen Field under Stoops. The current string of sellouts is the longest in school history, eclipsing a mark of 69 from 1971-84.The top 10 seasons for attendance at Oklahoma during Stoops' tenure as head coach.The largest OU home crowd was 85,646, for the 2008 Texas Tech game.The 85,620 on hand for the Tulsa game represented the largest season-opening crowd ever at Oklahoma.OU exceeded its seating capacity of 82,112 at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in 55 straight home games.Oklahoma has played before sellout crowds in 126 of the 161 games (75 home, 27 away, 15 neutral) since Stoops became the head coach. During that time, a total of 11,556,164 (average of 71,777) have watched the Sooners.Oklahoma Sets Attendance Records at Memorial Stadium
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OFFENSE NOTES |
Under Bob Stoops, OU has produced career leaders in passing, receiving and all-purpose yards, four top 10 career rushers and season leaders in rushing, passing and receiving yards. Stoops-led Sooner teams have set 46 offensive school records. Those offenses have 162 touchdowns of 25 or more yards and 323 scoring drives of two minutes or less.Oklahoma has scored in every game since Nov. 7, 1998. That's a string of 177 games, which is the fifth-longest active string and the 19th-longest of all-time.OU rushed for 200 yards 46 times under Stoops.Oklahoma is the highest scoring college program in history. In 1,214 games, the Sooners have scored 31,345 points. Michigan is next at 30,345 points in 1,245 games. CHANGES ON OFFENSIVE STAFF
Josh Heupel and Jay Norvell were promoted to co-offensive coordinators after Kevin Wilson moved to Indiana as head coach. Heupel, who also coaches QBs, calls the plays, a role he had for the first time at the Fiesta Bowl. OU also has added Bruce Kittle as the tight ends and tackles coach. Cale Gundy, the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator, now also has the fullbacks.
ONE WHALEY OF A RUNNING BACK
Oklahoma rushed for 246 yards in its win over Tulsa. The leader was walk-on Dominique Whaley, who carried 18 times for 131 yards and four touchdowns in his first Sooner game. The Langston University transfer fell just one TD shy of tying the NCAA mark for most in a debut game. That record is held by former Sooner DeMarco Murray at five.
Whaley, a junior, also caught two passes for 12 yards.Brennan Clay started at running back and carried 14 times for 64 yards and one TD.The Sooners rushed the ball 46 times in that opener while attempting 54 passes to fall within eight snaps of perfect balance. Twice last season (Baylor and Colorado), they were within five plays of balance.Whaley attended Lawton (Okla.) MacArthur High School, but as an Army "brat" lived in several places, including Germany, before that time.THE RECORD BOOK BROYLES
Ryan Broyles, a consensus All-American and one of three finalists for the 2010 Biletnikoff Award, has set Oklahoma's records for receptions in a game, season and career; yards in a game, season and career and touchdowns receptions in a season (tied) and career.
In 2010, he had 131 receptions, the eighth-best one-season total in NCAA history. His 1,622 yards rank No. 20. He led the nation with 9.4 catches per game and was No. 3 in both total yards and yards per game. His TD catches total of 14 tied for No. 4.Broyles is the career leader among the NCAA's active players in receptions (280), touchdown receptions (36), receiving yards (3,429) and punt return yards (998).With 36 career TD receptions, he is No. 16 on the all-time NCAA list. He's No. 18 in receptions at 280.He's No. 3 in Big 12 career receptions, just 13 away from No. 1. He's also No. 3 in yards with 3,587, 827 away from No. 1. His TD total of 36 in No. 3, six from No. 1.Has 100+ yards receiving in 13 of the last 16 games and a TD grab in 12 of the last 17. Has at least one reception in 40 straight games. KEEPING UP WITH JONES
QB Landry Jones won the 2010 Sammy Baugh Award as college football's top passer ...
In the opener, he moved ahead of 2003 Heisman winner Jason White to the No. 2 spot on the school's career passing list. He needs 113 yards to pass 2006 Heisman winner Sam Bradford at No. 1.Has tied (with Bradford, Josh Heupel) OU record with 14, 300-yard passing games.In 2010 Big 12 games only, he led the conference in passing yards, threw at least nine more TD passes than any other QB and had the highest completion percentage and fewest interceptions among those with at least 300 attempts.Was the Fiesta Bowl Offensive MVP after his school record fourth 400-yard game (429 vs. UConn).Ranked No. 1 in the nation with 405 completions, a school record, No. 2 in total passing yards (4,718, tops among BCS quarterbacks), No. 3 in total offense (327.9 yards per game), No. 12 in points responsible (16.71) and No. 2 in touchdown passes (38).His 4,718 yards rank No. 2 for a season at OU. Sam Bradford had 4,720 in 2008.Had a school-record tying 468 passing yards at Oklahoma State.Went 30-of-34 (.882) vs. Iowa State, one completion behind the NCAA record for percentage in a game.Became one of the six different quarterbacks who have accounted for OU's seven Big 12 titles.RETURN OF THE FULLBACK
Last season, then-true freshman Trey Millard had 24 rushes for 74 yards and three touchdowns along with 16 receptions for 135 yards and another TD. The total number of rushes and rushing yards were the most by an OU fullback since Seth Littrell had 24 attempts for 78 yards in 2000. It was the highest receptions and receiving yards total since J.D. Runnels had 20 for 205 in 2005. The four touchdowns scored by Millard represented the most by a Sooner fullback since Littrell had eight in `99.
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DEFENSE NOTES |
OU has forced at least one turnover in 143 of Stoops' 161 games and has at least one interception in 105 of the last 140 with multiple picks in 64 of the last 112 outings.Oklahoma has 13 shutouts under its current head coach. Opponents failed to score more than seven points in 34 games and scored less than 14 in 62 games. ALL BUT THREE IN OPENER
With the exception of three big plays, Oklahoma's defense was sterling in the opener. Tulsa rolled up 400 yards, but 149 of those came on just three of the Golden Hurricane's 64 snaps.
FRANK TALK
Senior DE Frank Alexander was dominant in the opener. He knocked down two passes and intercepted another, the first of his career, which he returned 27 yards. Alexander also had six tackles, one sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. He is now six tackles shy of 100 for his career.
TOP TACKLER OUT
Weakside LB Travis Lewis has led Oklahoma in tackles in each of his first three seasons and has become only the sixth player in school history to lead the team in three consecutive years. The last to do it was Rocky Calmus, the Butkus Award winner in his senior campaign, from 1999-01.
After suffering a broken bone in the big toe of his left foot in the first contact drill of August camp, he is expected to miss at least eight weeks. Lewis enters this season with 362 career tackles, the third-best total among active players nationally.The San Antonio native had 108 stops last season. With 362 tackles (the second-highest total by a Bob Stoops player at OU), Lewis has cracked the career top 10 tackle list at OU. The record is held by the late Daryl Hunt at 530. Lewis, now at No. 8, trails No. 7 Rick Bryan by three. As a freshman in 2007, Lewis had 144 tackles to break Brian Bosworth's OU freshman record of 133.Lewis has double-digit tackle totals in 15 of his 41 career games.He registered his eighth career interception against Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship Game. That equals the most by a linebacker in Sooner history. He has 156 career return yards on those picks, an average of 19.5 per return. Lewis had three takeaways in that game against the Cornhuskers including a pair of fumble recoveries.LEWIS EQUALS CAREER HIGH
DE Ronnell Lewis equaled his career high for tackles when he made eight against Tulsa in the opener. He also had one sack and 2.5 tackles for loss. He now has nearly as many career sacks (5.5) as starts (6).
LOTS OF HANDS IN TAKEAWAY JAR
OU had 32 takeaways in 2010 by 17 different players. The 13 fumble recoveries were by nine different players while the 19 interceptions were by eight different Sooners.
Jamell Fleming led the team with five interceptions, which he returned for 59 yards and one touchdown. The TD came in the Fiesta Bowl victory. He now will try to become the first Sooner to lead the team in picks in two straight years since Brodney Pool did it in 2003-04.Fleming also topped the 2010 team in pass deflections with 14. That was the most by a Sooner since Roy Williams broke up 22 aerials in 2001, the same year he became the first player ever to win the Nagurski (best defensive player) and Thorpe (best defensive back) Awards in the same season.Due to the injury to Travis Lewis, Fleming now rates as OU's top returning tackler, too, at least from last season's team. He was No. 5 on that squad, but Lewis, who led the team, is out, while Jonathan Nelson, Quinton Carter and Jeremy Beal, two through four, respectively, all exhausted their eligibility. Fleming had 71 stops last season.HURST TAKES OVER LONGEST STREAK
With Travis Lewis out due to a broken bone in his left foot, CB Demontre Hurst takes over with the longest string of starts on defense. He has 15. Lewis had 41.
OU IMPROVES IN PASS-HAPPY ERA
Despite this pass-happy era of college football, only once under Bob Stoops has an Oklahoma team allowed a season completion rate of 60% or higher. The 2010 finished at just 54.6%, which was the third-lowest figure in the Big 12 Conference for the season.
Six Sooner opponents failed to complete 50 percent of their passes last season, including three of the last five foes (Texas Tech, Nebraska and Connecticut).With 71 break-ups, the Sooners had one of their best seasons in that category. Over the previous seven seasons, the best total at Oklahoma had been 61 (twice). The school record was set in 2000 with an incredible 110. The 2009 team had just 45.Oklahoma had a season-high 11 deflections in a home win against Colorado. |
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES |
Oklahoma's special teams under Bob Stoops ...
There have been 27 special teams touchdowns, including 21 in the last 78 regular season games. Those 21 came via five different kinds of plays -- 12 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.Oklahoma has returned eight kickoffs and 16 punts for touchdowns. The Sooners have blocked 24 kicks.MANY HAPPY RETURNS
Information on returns during the Stoops era ...
Kickoff Returns --94 returns of 25 yards or more with eight touchdowns. Punt Returns -- 61 returns of 15 or more yards with 16 touchdowns. Interception Returns -- 84 returns of 10 or more yards with 23 touchdowns. Fumble Returns -- six returns of 15 or more yards with eight touchdowns.COVER TEAM A STONE WALL
Oklahoma finished the 2010 season ranked No. 2 nationally in punt return defense at 3.04 yards per return. It marked he second consecutive season that the Sooners held that position. Sooner opponents finished the season with 24 returns for 73 yards.
Oklahoma ranked No. 5 nationally in net punting last season at 40.5 yards. The 2009 team ranked No. 7.For the 2010 season, OU surrendered four returns of 15 or more yards, but otherwise none exceeded six. Six foes finished the game with negative punt return yards.The bugaboo has been kickoff returns. The Sooners surrendered four for touchdowns last season, nine over the last three campaigns combined. In the 2011 opener, things were better with an average of just 19.6 yards on eight returns.OU blocked two punts last season and both resulted in safeties (vs. Colorado and Texas A&M).BROYLES CAN BE LETHAL
PR Ryan Broyles has more punt returns (89), more average returns per game (2.3) and more total punt return yards (998) than any other active players in NCAA FBS play.
He ranks No. 6 among active NCAA punt returners with an average of 11.21 yards per return.Broyles had no returns against Tulsa despite eight Golden Hurricane punts. It continued a trend of kicking away from the Sooner standout. He has had two or fewer returns in eight of the last 15 games.WAY GOOD AT PUNTER
In 2010, P Tress Way had 19 boots of 50+ yards with 18 inside the 20 and an average of 44.0 yards on 73 kicks. His average ranked No. 20 nationally, but he had more attempts than anyone ahead of him on that list.
Way has 38 punts of 50+ yards in his career. Jeff Ferguson (1998-01), set that OU record with 52He is No. 5 among active NCAA punters with a career average of 45.63. It should be noted that Way has maintained that average on more kicks than any of the three players ahead of him. He has 138. FOOT FACTS
Jimmy Stevens has made 13 of his last 14 field goals, all over the last four games. At Oklahoma, Stevens ranks No. 7 all-time with 39 field goals made and No. 2 with 178 points after touchdown. He's No. 6 in kick scoring at 295.Michael Hunnicutt made his first career field goal with a 27-yard effort against Tulsa.Patrick O'Hara and Michael Hunnicutt shared the kickoff duties in the opener. Hunnicutt had three, O'Hara six. O'Hara had a slight edge in average at 66.2 to 65 and booted the lone touchback by the Sooners.
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