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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Game Primer: OU vs. Oklahoma State
November 20, 2020 | Football
18 Oklahoma
14 Oklahoma State
Saturday, Nov. 21 / 6:30 p.m. CT / Norman, Okla.
Opening Kick
• No. 18/17 Oklahoma (5-2, 4-2) goes for its sixth straight Bedlam Series win when it hosts No. 14/14 Oklahoma State (5-1, 4-1) on Saturday at 6:44 p.m. CT inside Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The game will be televised by ABC with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe announcing.
• Saturday will mark Oklahoma's 115th all-time meeting against OSU. OU's most games versus any opponent is 116 against Texas.
• The contest will mark the first Bedlam night game in Norman. The teams have met at night eight times, with seven of those outings in Stillwater (1985, '98, '08, '10, '11, '15 and '19) and one in Oklahoma City (1943 at Taft Stadium; the first night game in OU history).
• A win Saturday would give Lincoln Riley 42 in his head coaching career, a school record for a fourth-year coach.
• OU is 20-2 at home under Riley. Its only defeats were a 38-31 decision against Iowa State on Oct. 7, 2017, and a 38-35 outcome vs. Kansas State on Sept. 26 that snapped the Sooners' 17-game home winning streak.
• The Sooners scored 62 points in each of their last two games (at Texas Tech and vs. Kansas). The last time they scored 60-plus points in consecutive outings was in 2015.
• OU has scored at least 28 points in a school-record 59 consecutive contests. The next longest streak nationally since at least 1980 is 31 by UCF (2017-19). The next longest active streak is 19 games by Alabama.
• Oklahoma is 45-6 (.882) in regular season Big 12 play since the start of the 2015 season, which coincides with Riley's arrival at OU as offensive coordinator. Oklahoma State ranks second during that period (32-18; .640), while West Virginia ranks third (29-23; .558), Texas fourth (28-23; .549) and TCU fifth (28-24; .538).
• This year's Oklahoma squad is looking to become the fifth in program history to win a conference title with two league losses. The four occasions it happened were in 1976 (5-2 in Big Eight; shared with Colorado and Oklahoma State) and 2002, 2007 and 2010 (6-2 in Big 12; won Big 12 Championship games). No OU team has ever won a conference title after a 0-2 league start and no Sooners squad has ever won a conference championship with three league losses.
BEDLAM BITS
• Oklahoma has dominated the Bedlam Series with its 89-18-7 (.811) all-time record against Oklahoma State, and is 42-9-2 (.811) in the series in Norman. OU has won 15 of the last 17 meetings and is 13-2 against OSU with Mike Gundy as the Cowboys' head coach.
• OU's 89 wins against Oklahoma State are its most against one opponent and the second most in FBS history against one program (Nebraska has 91 wins vs. Kansas).
• Saturday's Bedlam meeting will mark just the seventh since the start of the AP Poll in 1936 that OSU is ranked higher than OU at the time of competition (in years at least one team was ranked), and the series is tied at 3-3 in those contests. The other occasions were in 1945 (No. OSU beat unranked OU 47-0), 1997 (No. 25 OSU beat unranked OU 30-7), 2009 (unranked OU beat No. 11 OSU 27-0), 2010 (No. 14 OU beat No. 10 OSU 47-41), 2011 (No. 3 OSU beat No. 13 OU 44-14) and 2013 (No. 18 OU beat No. 6 OSU 33-24).
• OU is 55-7 in the Bedlam Series when at least one team is ranked in the AP Poll and 13-1 when both teams are ranked.
• This marks just the fourth time in the last 16 years that the Bedlam meeting does not occur on the final weekend of the regular season.
COLLEGE GAMEDAY BACK IN TOWN
• ESPN's "College GameDay" will air from Norman on Saturday (8-11 a.m. CT), marking the 38th time the show will have been on hand for a game involving Oklahoma (eighth time in Norman [OU has a 5-2 record] and first since the 2012 Notre Dame contest). Only Alabama (48 times), Ohio State (48) and Florida (41) have been featured more often than OU, and the Sooners are 24-13 in such games.
• This marks College GameDay's seventh appearance at a Bedlam contest (OU is 6-0) and second in Norman (the No. 1 Sooners beat the No. 14 Cowboys 52-9 on Nov. 1, 2003).
• The "College GameDay" set will be located inside Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and there are no spectators for the show this year.
KEY STORYLINES
• Oklahoma has won 22 straight November games (last loss was on Nov. 8, 2014, vs. Baylor) and 25 of its last 26. Since the start of the 2000 season, it is 66-11 (.857) in the month. Riley is 13-0 in November as head coach.
• During its five-game winning streak against Oklahoma State (all since Lincoln Riley's arrival at OU), the Sooners are averaging 48.0 points and 618.0 yards. They have scored at least 33 points against the Cowboys in each of the last eight meetings, averaging 44.9 points during the stretch.
• Known for their perennial potent offenses, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are two of the Big 12's top defenses this season. The Cowboys rank second in the league and 13th nationally (among teams that have played more than two games) in total defense (311.5 ypg) while the Sooners rank third and 22nd (338.1 ypg). OU leads the league in rushing defense (98.6 ypg; 12th nationally) and sacks per game (3.7; seventh nationally), while OSU paces the conference (tied) in scoring defense (17.8 ppg; 13th nationally) and pass efficiency defense (110.8; ninth nationally). The squads are among the best in the country in opponent third-down conversion percentage, with OSU ranking first (23.3%) and OU ranking fifth (28.0%).
• OU struggled with its run game early in the season but has hit the 200-yard mark in three of the last four games and has been bolstered by the return of senior running back Rhamondre Stevenson the last two outings. Stevenson, who missed the season's first five contests, has rushed for 191 yards and five touchdowns on 24 carries in his two games. He ran for 87 yards and three TDs on 13 carries (6.7 average) in his season debut at Texas Tech and rushed for 104 yards and two scores on 11 carries (9.5 average) vs. Kansas. OU scored 62 points and rushed for six TDs in each game.
• The Sooners have held four of their seven opponents to 95 or fewer rushing yards and limited Texas to 89 yards through regulation in a four-overtime contest. Oklahoma ranks 12th nationally among teams that have played more than two games by allowing just 98.6 rushing yards per outing. OU held Missouri State to 54 rushing yards (2.2 average), Kansas State to 56 (2.2 average), TCU to 75 (3.0 average) and Kansas to 95 (2.3 average). Oklahoma State ranks second in the Big 12 at 190.5 rushing yards per game.
• OU registered six sacks over the season's first three games (2.0 average) but have 20 over the last four games (5.0 average). The Sooners lead the Big 12 and rank seventh nationally among teams that have played at least two games with their 3.7 sacks per game on the year. They rank seventh in the country by racking up 175 yards on their sacks. Redshirt sophomore outside linebacker Nik Bonitto is tied for the Big 12 lead with his 5.5 sacks (all over the last four games) while redshirt junior defensive lineman Isaiah Thomas ranks sixth with 4.5 per contest. Junior defensive end Ronnie Perkins missed the season's first five games but has 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and four QB hurries over the last two outings.
• Oklahoma has won more Big 12 championships over the last 22 years (13) than it has lost home games. OU is 121-11 (.917) at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium since the start of the 1999 season, with all 132 of those games sellouts. It is the best home winning percentage among Power Five schools over the last 22 seasons (Ohio State is next at .893). OU has outscored its opponents by an average of 43-17 in those games. No program has won more than two Big 12 titles since the Sooners won their first in 2000.
LAST YEAR VS. THE COWBOYS
• Kennedy Brooks rushed for 160 yards and a touchdown and Jalen Hurts joined Tommy McDonald (vs. Colorado in 1956) as the only players in school history to register TDs in a game via rush, pass and reception as Oklahoma posted a 34-16 victory in Stillwater on Nov. 30, 2019.
• OU, which never trailed, surrendered a touchdown on OSU's opening possession but gave up just three field goals afterward. The Sooners held the Cowboys 19 points under their scoring average and to 335 yards (140 under its season average). Similarly, OU held Chuba Hubbard, the nation's leading rusher, to an average of 4.3 yards per carry. Hubbard finished with 103 yards on 24 carries after entering the game averaging a nation-leading 166.5 rushing yards (6.4 per carry).
• Senior CB Parnell Motley was all over the field, registering six tackles (five solo), two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, an interception and a pass breakup to earn Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors. He recovered one of his forced fumbles and it led to Hurts' first career TD reception (4-yarder from WR Nick Basquine) and a 17-7 lead.
• Sophomore DB Brendan Radley-Hiles led OU with a career-high 10 tackles (eight solo, one tackle for loss) and forced a fumble.
• Sophomore H-back Brayden Willis notched his third career touchdown catch (and third in as many weeks) on a 3-yard play in the fourth quarter.
• For the first time in five games the Sooners did not commit a turnover, and for the first time in nine games (at UCLA) they finished on the plus side of the turnover battle.
"SPEED D" ON THE MOVE
• Hired in January 2019, Oklahoma defensive coordinator and safeties coach Alex Grinch, who was a 2019 Broyles Award semifinalist, has presided over a significant turnaround on the defensive side of the ball.
• So far this season, Oklahoma ranks in the top 25 nationally (among teams that have played more than two games) in a bevy of categories. It is fifth in opponent third down conversion percentage (28.0), seventh in sacks per game (3.7), 11th in opponent first downs per game (17.0), 12th in rushing defense (96.8 ypg) and tackles for loss per game (8.1) and 22nd in total defense (338.1 ypg).
• In 21 games under Grinch, OU has allowed 350.8 yards per outing. In the three seasons before his arrival in Norman (2016-18), the Sooners gave up 426.8 yards per contest.
• OU has allowed opponents to score on their opening drive of a game just four times in its 21 games under Grinch (Oklahoma State and LSU touchdowns last season; Iowa State field goal and Texas Tech TD this year). Fifteen of the opponent opening drives have lasted five plays or less.
SNAKE IN THE GRASS
• Redshirt freshman Spencer Rattler, the consensus No. 1 quarterback in the 2019 recruiting class, threw for a state-record 11,083 yards (116 passing touchdowns) and ran for over 1,000 yards (14 TDs) in his career at Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, Ariz. The 2018 Elite 11 MVP was the No. 9 overall national recruit by 247Sports, No. 13 by Rivals and No. 29 by ESPN.
• Rattler is OU's fourth starting QB in four seasons. Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray won the Heisman Trophy in 2017 and 2018, respectively, while Jalen Hurts was the 2019 Heisman runner-up.
• Rattler appeared in three Oklahoma games last season, completing 7 of 11 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown without an interception. He also ran three times for 23 yards.
• Among freshman quarterbacks who have played more than two games this season, Rattler paces the country in passing touchdowns (18), passing offense (288.3 ypg) and total offense (302.7 ypg). Among all players who have played more than two games, he ranks ninth in passing TDs, pass efficiency rating (172.1) and yards per pass attempt (9.7), 12th in completion percentage (67.8) and yards per completion (14.3), 14th in passing offense and 16th in total offense.
• Rattler threw for at least two touchdown passes in his first six games this season before throwing for one last outing vs. Kansas. He has registered at least three TD passes in three contests and for four in each of the Missouri State and Kansas State outings.
• In the first half of play, Rattler has completed 69.6% of his passes for 1,356 yards (193.7 per first half) and 13 TDs.
MIMS HAVING UNPRECEDENTED EARLY SUCCESS
• Only seven games into his career, wide receiver Marvin Mims has already tied the OU freshman record with his seven receiving touchdowns. Current NFL players Mark Andrews (2015; played in 13 games) and CeeDee Lamb (2017; played in 14 games) also registered seven TD receptions (see the chart on page 2).
• Mims' seven touchdown catches are the most through the first seven games of an OU career by a freshman, with the previous high being five by Andrews.
• Mims shares the Big 12 lead and is tied for 11th in the country with his seven receiving touchdowns. Only one other freshman (BYU tight end Isaac Rex with six) has more than four receiving TD grabs.
• Mims has 25 catches for a team-high 418 yards. Lamb holds the OU freshman record with 807 receiving yards.
• Mims' seven TD receptions have averaged 33.3 yards. Three have gone for at least 50 yards (50, 58 and 61).
• Mims ranks fourth nationally with his 15.7 yards per punt return (157 yards on 10 returns).
• Mims is the Texas high school record holder for receiving yards in a career (5,485) and in a season (2,629 on 117 receptions and 32 touchdowns last year). He played at Lone Star High School in Frisco.
IMPRESSIVE FOOT NOTES
• During Lincoln Riley's three-plus-year head coaching career, Oklahoma ranks fourth nationally with its 84.8% success rate on field goal attempts (67 for 79). The Sooners trail only Florida (91.2%), Wake Forest (87.4%) and Indiana (86.4%) since the start of the 2017 season. Kansas State is the next best Big 12 school in the category during the span, ranking 21st at 80.2%.
• During the same period, the Sooners rank third nationally in PAT conversion percentage among teams with at least 150 attempts, converting 283 of 284 tries (99.6%). Only Georgia (195 for 195) and Virginia Tech (166 of 166) have a higher success rate.
• Redshirt sophomore kicker Gabe Brkic is 29 for 33 (.879) on career field goal attempts and has made all 85 of his PAT attempts. The OU career record for field goal percentage is .833 (75 for 90) by Michael Hunnicutt (2011-14). Brkic is 12 for 16 on field goals this year and 32 for 32 on PATs.
"AIR RAID" A MISNOMER
• Fans and media have often referred to Oklahoma's offense under Lincoln Riley as the "Air Raid." The label is not exactly accurate, however, as the Sooners have rushed more than they've thrown in each of the five years since Riley arrived in Norman, and that's counting plays in which the quarterback was sacked as pass plays (officially they are recorded as rushes). OU's rushing play percentage was 52.6 in 2015, 57.7 in 2016, 53.1 in 2017, 54.7 in 2018 and 57.3 last season. This season the Sooners have displayed great balance, running 49.4% of the time.
OFFENSE HAS ROLLED UNDER RILEY
• Oklahoma owns the nation's most productive offense since the start of the 2015 season, which was Lincoln Riley's first year as OU's offensive coordinator. Riley still calls plays in his fourth year head coach.
• Since the start of the 2015 campaign, OU ranks first nationally in scoring (44.8 ppg; next most is 41.4), total offense (551.1 ypg; next most is 503.7), yards per play (7.7; next most is 7.0), pass efficiency rating (187.2; next best is 171.0), yards per pass attempt (10.6) and touchdowns from scrimmage (422), second in completion percentage (69.2), third in passing offense (324.5) and 10th in rushing offense (226.6).
• In 75 games since the start of the 2015 season, OU has registered at least 500 yards of total offense 53 times (next most is 43), including in 43 of the last 58 outings, topped the 600-yard mark on 25 occasions and gone over 700 yards seven times. Similarly, OU has scored at least 30 points in 67 of 75 games since Riley's arrival, at least 40 points 48 times, at least 50 points 28 times and at least 60 points 10 times.
HEISMAN U
• Quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray became Oklahoma's sixth and seventh Heisman Trophy winners in 2017 and '18, respectively, moving the Sooners into a tie with Notre Dame and Ohio State for the most Heisman winners. Other OU winners were QB Sam Bradford in 2008, QB Jason White in 2003, RB Billy Sims in 1978, RB Steve Owens in 1969 and RB Billy Vessels in 1952.
• Quarterback Jalen Hurts was the 2019 Heisman Trophy runner-up and became Oklahoma's 11th Heisman finalist, most of any school (finalists were first named in 1982). Miami (Fla.) ranks second with nine finalists, Alabama ranks third with eight and Florida ranks fourth with seven.
• Oklahoma boasts 10 Heisman finalists in the last 20 years (since 2000), which is four more than the program with the next most during that span (Alabama has six).
• OU is the first program to ever produce five Heisman finalists in a four-year period (Hurts, Murray in 2018 [won], Mayfield in 2017 [won] and Mayfield [finished third] and receiver Dede Westbrook [finished fourth] in 2016). With Mayfield's and Murray's wins, OU is the only program to produce different quarterback winners in consecutive years.
• Oklahoma has produced four Heisman Trophy winners in the last 17 years. Only three other programs have produced four winners ever.
OKLAHOMA'S BIG 12 FIVE-PEAT
• OU's 2019 Big 12 championship marked the program's fifth straight league crown. The last time it won at least five consecutive conference titles was 1972-80 under head coaches Chuck Fairbanks (1972) and Barry Switzer.
• OU is the only program to win at least three straight Big 12 titles, and it has done so twice (also from 2006-08). Baylor (2013-14) is the only other program to win two Big 12 championships in a row.
• OU's and Clemson's current streaks of five straight outright league championships are the longest among Power Five programs since Alabama won five in a row from 1971 to '75. The last current Power Five program to win six straight outright conference titles is Oklahoma (12 in a row from 1948 to '59).
EXTRA POINTS
• Since (and including) its Oct. 10 contest vs. Texas, Oklahoma leads the nation with its 52.5 points per game. That's 4.2 points per contest more than the FBS team with the next highest average (Alabama at 48.3).
• Oklahoma has won the time-of-possession battle in five of six games this season and ranks eighth nationally (among teams that have played more than twice) with its 33:41 average. In Riley's first three seasons as head coach, OU never ranked better than 23rd in the country in the statistic (31:50 in 2017). Since the Sooners began tracking time of possession in 1992, only one OU squad has recorded a figure above 33:00 minutes per game (33:11 in 2004).
• The Sooners have surrendered just 148 total yards (on 46 plays) in the third quarter over the last four games against Texas, TCU, Texas Tech and Kansas. The Longhorns (-9), Horned Frogs (-2), Red Raiders (8) and Jayhawks combined for 41 rushing yards on 24 carries (1.7 yards per rush) in the third quarter.
• Sophomore wide receiver Theo Wease has 19 catches for 268 yards over the last four games. Over his first 15 career outings he had 15 receptions for 229 yards.
• Oklahoma has absolutely dominated the first quarter this season, outscoring Missouri State (31-0), Kansas State (7-0), Iowa State (10-3), Texas (10-0), TCU (10-0), Texas Tech (21-7) and Kansas (14-0) by a combined 103-10 margin. The Sooners have limited the six opponents to 413 total yards (average of 59.0) in the opening 15 minutes.
• The Sooners have ranked in the top seven nationally in total offense each of Riley's five years calling plays and in the top three each of the last four seasons (7th in 2015 [530.2 ypg]; 2nd in 2016 [554.8]; 1st in 2017 [579.6]; 1st in 2018 [570.3]; and 3rd in 2019 [537.6]). Through seven games this season, OU leads the Big 12 and ranks seventh nationally (among teams that have played more than twice) in total offense (515.0).
• The last time OU started a season 1-2 was 2016. That team was victorious in its final nine games to finish 10-2, won Big 12 and Sugar Bowl titles and earned a final No. 5 AP ranking. It was Bob Stoops' final year as head coach.
• Every Oklahoma freshman class from 1999-2018 has won at least two Big 12 championships. Baylor's 2011, 2012 and 2013 freshman classes are the only other ones that have won two Big 12 titles (BU won league crowns in 2013 and '14).
• In 75 games since Riley arrived in Norman in 2015, OU has punted more than its opponent just nine times.
• OU is the only program that has produced at least four NFL Draft picks each of the last 13 years.
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