Upcoming Event: Football versus UTEP on September 4, 2026 at 7 p.m. CT
7 p.m. CT
Football
vs UTEP
.png&width=40&height=40&type=webp)
.png&width=40&height=40&type=webp)
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Sooner Report: Home Sweet Home
October 14, 2014 | Football
OU Returns Home After Over a Month Away from Owen Field
After playing three straight tough conference contests away from Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, the Sooners will finally return home on Saturday for a marquee Big 12 matchup vs. No. 14 Kansas State.
By the time Saturday's showdown arrives, 35 days will have passed between games on Owen Field, one of the longest such stretches in recent memory. Needless to say, the players are happy to be back in their familiar setting and are excited about the opportunity to play in front of the home crowd again.
“It's going to be great,” said freshman running back Samaje Perine. “We've been on the road for a while now and it's a great feeling to know you're going to be back home this week.”
Sophomore linebacker Jordan Evans echoed Perine's sentiment and cannot wait to play in front of the Sooner faithful this upcoming weekend.
“It seems like it has been an eternity since we have played here,” said Evans. “We are just excited to be back with our amazing crowd and to get a win with this crowd.”
Pupil vs. Mentor, Round 11
Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops played at Iowa ('79-82) under Hayden Fry, whose staff included current Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder as offensive coordinator. After leaving Iowa and a short one-year stint at Kent State, Stoops was hired on to Snyder's staff as the defensive backs coach in 1989, Snyder's first season at the helm at Kansas State.
Stoops shared in his Monday press conference that the first season in Manhattan, Kansas was difficult, as the staff had the burden of turning around a downtrodden program.
“That first year was trying. We had to come from behind to win one game against Texas State,” said Stoops. “They tore down the goalpost and took it downtown and it was like they'd never won a game.
“We were all tested but no, I believed, I always did, that we would win. I think of the guys that were all there and stayed for a long time with Coach Snyder, it's because of that, that's why we did win.”
After spending just two seasons on Snyder's staff, Stoops was promoted to the Wildcats' co-defensive coordinator, a position he held from 1991-95. Stoops then left Kansas State to fill the role of defensive coordinator at Florida for three seasons before becoming the head coach of OU in 1999.
Stoops is very appreciative of his time working under Snyder and does not hesitate to praise his former teacher.
“Coach Snyder is a great coach,” said Stoops during Monday's media luncheon. “Again, I appreciated my time with him. I loved the seven years that I was there; they were great for me and I worked with great people along with him.
“It forwarded me to other opportunities that have led me to here so I always appreciated my time there with him and the whole group we had there.”
Since taking the reins at Oklahoma, Stoops has consistently had the upper hand against his mentor. The Sooners are 8-2 under Stoops when facing a Snyder led Kansas State team.
Bounce Back Zack
After a tumultuous two games at West Virginia and TCU, sophomore cornerback Zack Sanchez responded to his critics in a big way on Saturday in the AT&T Red River Showdown against the Longhorns.
Sanchez made impact plays all over the field against Texas, but none bigger than intercepting his Big 12 leading fifth pass of the season and taking it 43 yards to the house to give OU much needed first half points as the offense struggled to find a rhythm.
“He's had a great year,” said Stoops. “He did have a couple of mistakes in our previous game, but you go through an entire year playing that position, and that's a stressful spot.
“He's played it really well. He's got a ton of interceptions. He got another pick six of course this week that was a big factor in the game. He had an excellent game here the other day.”
The sophomore's excellent game was recognized by the Big 12, as the conference named Sanchez the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against Texas.
Snyder Surveys Sooners
During his weekly Big 12 conference call, Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder touched on a number of Oklahoma topics, as he looked ahead to this weekend's game. Snyder was reluctant to say what direction the Sooners are heading but was sure to make it understood that he thinks they are a really good team.
“I don't know if they're ascending or descending, I just think they're a good football team, like any other team in our conference,” said Snyder. “It's a strong conference. Anybody can get anybody on any given week. Other teams have something to do with how well or not so well you play.
“I think they certainly address having an issue here or there, but what team in the country doesn't? I don't view them as going up or going down. I just see them as an awfully good football team.”
Snyder was also quick to heap praise on OU's starting quarterback Trevor Knight and even went as far as to defend him against the naysayers.
“(Knight) looks every bit as good, I think,” said Snyder. “There's all this talk about his efficiency throwing the ball, in other words, his completion percentage. I think it's about 54 percent, but look at the throws he's making. They're some of the hardest throws you can possibly make. There's a reason why short throws enhance your completion percentage and long throws don't. They've thrown the ball extremely deep, a lot of deep throws.
“Nobody is going to have a higher completion percentage when you throw a lot of deep balls, but it takes one out of three of those to do what you want to do; either get it in the end zone or move the chains. They've been reasonably effective with that. They're still scoring points.”
Striker Named a Midseason All-American
ESPN.com recently revealed its selections for its 2014 Midseason All-America Team and the Sooner's Eric Striker earned a spot on the team. The junior linebacker leads Oklahoma in sacks (4.5) and tackles for loss (8.5) while constantly wreaking havoc in opponents' backfields. Striker has also recovered a fumble during the 2014 season and has totaled 28 tackles.
Gerald McCoy ESPN E:60 Feature
Former Sooner and Oklahoma City native Gerald McCoy is going to be featured on an E:60 segment that is scheduled to air on Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. on ESPN. The piece will be a profile on the Tampa Bay Buccaneer defensive tackle and delve into some of the challenges he faced growing up.
On the Call
The OU-KSU game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 11 a.m. Dave Pasch will handle the play-by-play responsibilities with Brian Griese in the booth providing the color commentary. The sideline reporter will be Tom Luginbill.
ESPN Radio will also cover Saturday's game with Bill Rosinski and David Norrie in the booth and Joe Schad on the sideline.
Players Mentioned
LB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
CB
/ Football
LB
/ FootballThursday, June 25
Monday, June 22
Monday, May 18
Thursday, April 30
