Game Primer: OU vs. Oklahoma State

^10/9 Oklahoma

^7/7 Oklahoma State

Saturday, Nov. 27 / 6:30 p.m. CT / Stillwater, Okla.

OPENING KICK

• No. 10/10/9 Oklahoma (10-1, 7-1 Big 12) goes for its seventh straight Bedlam Series win when it plays at No. 7/7/7 Oklahoma State (10-1, 7-1) on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT inside Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater. The game will be televised by ABC with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe announcing.

• Oklahoma will clinch a Big 12 Championship berth with a win over Oklahoma State or with a Baylor home loss to Texas Tech. OSU has already clinched a berth in the title game, scheduled for Dec. 4 in Arlington, Texas.

• OU has dominated the Bedlam Series with its 90-18-7 (.813) all-time record against Oklahoma State and is 42-7-5 (.824) in the series in Stillwater. The Sooners have won 16 of the last 18 meetings.

• The 20 combined wins for the Sooners and Cowboys are tied for the most ever entering a Bedlam game (both teams were also 10-1 in 2015).

• Oklahoma is 17-2 against Oklahoma State when both teams are ranked in the AP poll and won both meetings when each team was ranked in the top 10. No. 2 OU defeated No. 3 OSU 24-14 in Norman in 1984 and No. 5 OU won 58-23 at No. 9 OSU in 2015.

• This marks just the fifth time since the 2000 season that OSU is ranked higher in the AP poll than OU at the time of competition. The Sooners won three of the previous four meetings (No. 14 OU beat No. 10 OSU 47-41 in Stillwater in 2010, No. 18 OU beat No. 6 OSU 33-24 in Stillwater in 2013 and No. 18 OU beat No. 14 OSU 41-13 last year in Norman; in 2011, the No. 3 Cowboys beat the No. 13 Sooners 44-10 in Stillwater).

• Saturday will mark Oklahoma's 116th all-time meeting against OSU. OU's most games versus any opponent is 117 against Texas.

• This marks the 13th time in the last 17 years for the Bedlam meeting to occur on the final weekend of the regular season.

• A win Saturday would be the 56th for Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma, which would break the record for victories by an OU head coach in his first five seasons. Bob Stoops had 55 wins in his first five years (1999-2003) with the Sooners.

• Come Saturday, Oklahoma will have been Big 12 champion for 2,192 consecutive days.

• Dating back to the start of the 2012 season, Oklahoma is 46-9 (.836) in regular season games away from home. OU has scored at least 30 points in 47 of those 55 contests.

KEY STORYLINES

• During its six-game winning streak against Oklahoma State (coinciding with Lincoln Riley's arrival at OU), the Sooners are averaging 46.8 points. They have scored at least 33 points against the Cowboys in each of the last nine meetings, averaging 44.4 points during the stretch.

• Oklahoma has won 24 of its last 25 November games (11 wins against AP Top 25 teams) and 28 of its last 30. Riley is 16-1 in November as head coach (6-1 against AP-ranked teams). Prior to its Baylor game two weeks ago, OU's last November loss was in 2014 against Baylor in Norman.

• Saturday's game will feature an Oklahoma team that leads the Big 12 (ranks 10th nationally) with its 38.9 points per game against an Oklahoma State defense that leads the league (tied for second nationally) by allowing just 14.9 points per contest.

• Since taking over quarterback responsibilities with 6:41 left in the second quarter vs. Texas six games ago, freshman Caleb Williams has completed 90 of 135 pass attempts (67.0%) for 1,320 yards and 15 touchdowns against four interceptions (179.5 pass efficiency rating is the nation's fifth best since Oct. 9). He has also rushed 48 times for 311 yards (6.5 average) and TDs of 74, 66, 41, 40 and 2 yards in the six games. Williams is a semifinalist for the Walter Camp Player of the Year and Davey O'Brien Quarterback of the Year awards.

• During a three-game stretch against Texas (Oct. 9), TCU (Oct. 16) and Kansas (Oct. 23), OU averaged 263.0 rushing yards per contest and 7.2 yards per carry and scored 10 rushing touchdowns. Over the last three games, however, the Sooners have been held to an average of 121.0 rushing yards and 4.4 yards per carry while running for four scores. Oklahoma State ranks fourth nationally by allowing just 85.8 rushing yards per game (2.7 yards per carry).

• Over the last six games, redshirt junior Kennedy Brooks is averaging 109.0 rushing yards and has run for six touchdowns. Brooks ran for over 1,000 yards each of his first two seasons and with 972 rushing yards this year needs 28 to become just the fourth Sooner to ever record three 1,000-yard rushing seasons. The others were De'Mond Parker (1996-98), Adrian Peterson (2004-06) and Samaje Perine (2014-16). Brooks has 3,039 career rushing yards to rank 11th in OU history.

• OU ranks first nationally this season with its 96% score rate in the red zone (51 scores on 53 trips). Forty-one of its 51 red zone scores (80.0%) have been touchdowns. The 51 red zone scores are third most in the country and the 41 red zone TDs are second most. The Sooners' streak of 44 consecutive red zone conversions ended with a missed field goal in the second quarter Saturday against Iowa State. Oklahoma State has scored on 45 of its 51 red zone trips this season (88% to rank 31st; 34 TDs).

• OU ranks second nationally this season with its 19 forced fumbles and is tied for fifth with 12 fumble recoveries. The Sooners had three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries all of last season. Conversely, OU has lost just one fumble on offense this season. Oklahoma State has lost five fumbles this year.

• Since the start of the 2020 season, redshirt senior defensive lineman Isaiah Thomas (24.5 and 16.5) and redshirt junior outside linebacker Nik Bonitto (23.5 and 14.0) have combined for 48.0 tackles for loss and 30.5 sacks. The 48.5 combined tackles for loss are the second most by any duo nationally over the last two seasons, as are the 30.5 combined sacks.

Marvin Mims, Mario Williams

LAST YEAR VS. OKLAHOMA STATE

• No. 18/17 Oklahoma stormed to a 21-0 lead midway through the first quarter and rode a stellar defensive performance to a 41-13 home win over Oklahoma State on Nov. 21, 2020, the Sooners' sixth straight victory over the Cowboys. OU gained twice as many yards as OSU (492-246) and held a 7.2 to 3.6 yards-per-play advantage.

• OSU's 13 points were its fewest in the series since a 27-0 shutout loss in 2009. Its 246 yards were 165 below its season average while its 78 rushing yards were 112 below its season average. OU held the Cowboys to a 37.5% pass completion rate (15 of 40) and recorded four sacks and an interception (by linebacker David Ugwoegbu). Defensive end Ronnie Perkins finished with 3.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks to earn Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week accolades.

• Quarterback Spencer Rattler threw for 301 yards and accounted for all five of OU's touchdowns en route to earning Big 12 Offensive Player and Newcomer of the Week honors. He completed 17 of 24 pass attempts (71%) for 301 yards and four TDs while rushing for a nine-yard score. The redshirt freshman averaged 17.7 yards per completion and 12.5 yards per pass attempt in registering a 231.2 passing efficiency rating, his best since the season-opening game and the third-best figure nationally on the day.

• Senior running back Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for a career-high 141 yards on 26 carries, but they didn't come easily. Stevenson had 20 yards on 12 carries (1.7 average) in the first half before breaking out for 121 yards on 14 carries (8.6 average) after halftime. He added 54 receiving yards on three catches, one of them a 45-yarder that set up a touchdown on the game's first series.

• Freshman receiver Marvin Mims caught three passes for a team-high 65 yards. Both of sophomore receiver Theo Wease's catches resulted in TDs, the first covering nine yards and the second 31. Redshirt junior tight end/H-back Jeremiah Hall logged OU's fourth TD reception of the night on a 30-yard razzle-dazzle play early in the fourth quarter.

• OU's 99-yard fourth-quarter drive marked the program's 14th 99-yard drive in history. Four of the 99-yard marches have come against OSU.

ROAD WARRIORS

• Oklahoma has won 28 of its last 31 true road games, with the only losses during that stretch coming in 2019 at Kansas State (48-41), last season at Iowa State (37-30) and two games ago at Baylor (27-14).

• The 2019 defeat at K-State snapped OU's 22-game true road winning streak (it hadn't lost since Oct 4, 2014, at TCU), which was the second longest such streak nationally since at least the end of World War II.

• During the 22-game streak, OU outscored opponents 1,076-626 (49-28 average) and outgained them by 3,621 yards (583-419 average).

• The Sooners have outgained their opponent in 25 of their last 31 true road games.

• OU has scored at least 30 points in 35 of its last 36 true road games (school-record 35-game streak was stopped Nov. 13 in Waco).

DEFENSE PLAYS BIG HAND IN 18-1 STRETCH

• Oklahoma's defense has figured prominently in the program's 18-1 record that started on Oct. 10, 2020, against Texas. Here are some notes pertaining to the stretch:

• The Sooners have held 16 of their last 19 opponents below a 50% third-down conversion rate and 11 of their last 16 opponents have failed to convert more than 33% of third downs. Oklahoma ranks 17th nationally since Oct. 10, 2020, with its 33.9% opponent third-down conversion rate. In fact, OU ranks eighth nationally in the category since the start of the 2019 season (defensive coordinator Alex Grinch's first year in Norman) with its 32.7% figure.

• OU has totaled 59 sacks over its last 19 games to rank seventh nationally since Oct. 10, 2020. In the same time frame, the Sooners have recorded 144 tackles for loss (average of 7.4 per game) for a total of 608 lost yards.

• Oklahoma has registered at least one takeaway in 17 straight games and in 18 of the last 19. It is plus-18 in turnover margin (37 takeaways to 19 turnovers) over the last 18 contests.

• The Sooners have 23 interceptions over their last 19 games to rank sixth nationally since Oct. 10, 2020.

NOTING THE OFFENSE

• Oklahoma ranks 10th nationally with its 38.9 points per game and 31st with its 441.6 yards per outing.

• OU's 2.5 punts per game are the third fewest in the country. The Sooners did not punt against Tulane or Kansas State and punted just once vs. Western Carolina, Kansas and Texas Tech.

• The Sooners have committed only 11 turnovers through 11 games and one of those was by the defense (fumble on a fumble return vs. TCU).

• Freshman quarterback Caleb Williams has completed 65.5% of his passes (95 of 145) for 1,418 yards and 15 touchdowns with four interceptions and ranks sixth nationally with his 176.3 efficiency rating. He has also been highly effective with his feet, running for 372 yards and six scores on only 53 carries (7.0 yards per rush). He has five of OU's eight longest rushes of the season (74 yards for a TD vs. Iowa State is team's longest scrimmage play of season, 66 yards for a TD vs. Texas is tied for second longest, 59 vs. Western Carolina is fifth longest, 41 vs. TCU is seventh longest and 40 vs. Kansas is eighth longest).

• Redshirt sophomore quarterback Spencer Rattler ranks first in the Big 12 and second nationally in completion percentage (74.9) and fourth in the Big 12 in passing efficiency rating (155.5). He has played in just five series over the last five-and-a-half games (also didn't play in the second half against Western Carolina). Rattler tied a school record for TD passes in a half with five vs. Western Carolina and has thrown at least one TD pass in 16 of his 17 career starts (OU is 15-2).

• Rattler has completed 55 of his last 68 pass attempts (81%).

• Five Sooners have caught at least 26 passes. Receiver Marvin Mims ranks fourth on the squad in receptions (29) but leads the team with 644 receiving yards (next most is 381). Mims ranks third nationally and first in the Big 12 with his 22.2 yards per catch. All four of his touchdowns this season have come in the last five games (two vs. Texas and two vs. Texas Tech).

• Receiver Jadon Haselwood paces OU with 36 catches (for 381 yards; 10.6 average) and six receiving touchdowns. He had one career receiving TD entering the season but has four over the last five games (three vs. TCU).

• Receivers Mario Williams (31; four TDs) and Michael Woods II (30; two TDs) rank second and third on the team in receptions. Tight end/H-back Jeremiah Hall is tied for second with four TD grabs.

• Haselwood, who missed all but three games last season due to injury, has made his first 11 career starts this year. He was the consensus No. 1 national receiver in the 2019 recruiting class, while Williams was ESPN's No. 1 receiver in the 2021 class. Woods and Williams started the first seven contests this season but did not play in the Oct. 23 win at Kansas. Woods also missed the Oct. 30 Texas Tech game.

• Redshirt junior Kennedy Brooks and junior Eric Gray have shared the vast majority of the rushing workload this season. Brooks leads the team in carries (162), rushing yards (972), rushing yards per game (88.4) and rushing touchdowns (11). He has 654 rushing yards over the last six contests (109.0 per game). Gray, a transfer from Tennessee, started OU's first five games and has rushed 69 times for 330 yards (4.8 per carry; 30.0 yards per game; two TDs) and has 18 catches for 204 yards and a touchdown.

Kennedy Brooks

BROOKS AND RUN

• In two career games vs. Oklahoma State, Kennedy Brooks has rushed 37 times for 325 yards (162.5 yards per game and 8.8 yards per carry) and four touchdowns. In 2018 as a redshirt freshman, Brooks rushed 15 times for 165 yards (11.0 ypc) and three TDs (1, 45 and 5 yards). In 2019 he ran 22 times for 160 yards (7.3 ypc) and a 3-yard score. Brooks did not play in 2020.

• Among the 34 Sooners with at least 2,000 career rushing yards, Brooks (who ranks 11th with 3,039 yards) ranks third with his 6.97 career yards per carry. He trails only Greg Pruitt (7.40 from 1970-72) and Leon "Mule Train" Heath (7.03 from 1948-50).

• Among players with at least 100 carries this season, Brooks ranks second in the Big 12 with his 6.0 yards per rush.

• Brooks has 28 career rushing touchdowns (10 this season) and 11 career 100-yard rushing games (three this year).

OU FOOT NOTES

• Redshirt junior and Lou Groza Award semifinalist Gabe Brkic is tied for 13th nationally this season with 17 field goals (on 23 attempts; .739) and has a nation-leading five makes (on seven tries) from over 50 yards.

• Nationally, only eight field goals have been made from at least 56 yards this season and Brkic has two of the makes (both 56-yarders). He ranks second nationally with nine makes from 50-plus yards since the start of the 2020 season (LSU's Cade York has 10), while the player with the next most 50-yarders has six. Brkic's 10 career makes from 50 or farther are the most in OU history (next highest total is four). He also sits atop the Sooners' career chart with 19 makes from at least 40 yards.

• Brkic, who was a 2020 first-team All-Big 12 selection (coaches and AP) and Groza Award semifinalist, is 54 for 66 (.818) on career field goal attempts. The OU career record for field goal percentage is .833 (75 for 90) by Michael Hunnicutt (2011-14). Brkic has also made all 148 of his PAT tries. Only Austin Seibert (162) has a longer streak of makes in school history.

• During Lincoln Riley's five-year head coaching career, Oklahoma ranks first in the Big 12 and fifth nationally with its 82.3% success rate on field goal attempts (93 for 113). TCU is the next best Big 12 school in the category during the span, ranking 20th at 79.0%.

• During the same period, the Sooners rank first nationally in kicking points (632; next most is 581), second in PAT conversion percentage among teams with at least 175 attempts, converting 353 of 354 tries (99.7%). Only Virginia Tech (202 of 202) has a higher success rate.

TURK'S KEY LEG

• Redshirt senior punter and Ray Guy Award semifinalist Michael Turk, who transferred to Oklahoma from Arizona State in August and earned the starting job, is doing things no OU punter has done before.

• Turk is averaging 52.7 yards per punt, a figure that would smash the OU single-season record of 47.8 by Jack Jacobs in 1940. In fact, the NCAA single-season record for punting average (min. 30 punts) is 51.0 by Texas A&M's Braden Mann in 2018. Turk's 52.7-yard average would lead the NCAA this season if he had enough punts to qualify for the category (the NCAA minimum is 3.6 punts per game; he is averaging 2.4).

• Sixteen of Turk's 26 punts have gone for at least 50 yards, and eight have gone for at least 60. His 85-yarder vs. Texas is tied for the FBS' fourth longest over the last 10 years and is tied for the third longest in OU history.

• Turk holds five of the top 14 single-game punting averages (min. three punts) in Oklahoma history, including the best and third-best marks (59.7 vs. TCU and 58.0 vs. Texas).

• The 2019 and '20 first-team All-Pac-12 selection averaged 46.2 yards per punt over the last two seasons at ASU and totaled 28 boots that went at least 50 yards. In 2019, he set the FBS single-game record by averaging 63.0 yards (on five punts) vs. Kent State in the season opener.

• Combining his time at ASU and OU, Turk is averaging 47.8 yards per punt (5,112 yards on 107 punts). The FBS career record (min. 150 punts) is 46.3 yards by West Virginia's Todd Sauerbrun (1991-94).

OU'S BIG 12 DOMINATION

• Oklahoma's win over Iowa State in the 2020 Big 12 Championship resulted in the Sooners' sixth straight Big 12 title and 14th since 2000 (no other program has won more than two during the span). For perspective, the two Power Five programs with the next most conference titles this millennium are Ohio State (11 in Big Ten) and Oregon (eight in Pac-10/Pac-12).

• The Sooners' 14 Big 12 titles are 11 more than the program with the next most. Texas has won three Big 12 championships and is followed by Baylor, Kansas State and Nebraska (two each), and Colorado, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas A&M (one each). Colorado and Nebraska left the Big 12 after the 2010 season and Texas A&M departed after the 2011 campaign.

• Since 2010, OU has won eight Big 12 titles and is followed by Baylor (two) and Kansas State, Oklahoma State and TCU (one each).

• Oklahoma is the only program to win at least three straight Big 12 titles, and it has done so twice (2006-08 and 2015-20). Baylor (2013-14) is the only other program to win two Big 12 championships in a row.

• At 11-1, the Sooners are the only program with a winning record in Big 12 Championship games. Texas has the next best mark at 3-3.

• Since Lincoln Riley came to Norman as offensive coordinator in 2015, OU has posted a 54-7 (.885) record in regular season Big 12 play. The next best mark during the period is 41-21 (.661) by Oklahoma State.

• Oklahoma and Clemson are each riding streaks of six outright conference championships. The last current Power Five program to win at least six straight outright league titles was OU when it claimed 12 Big Six/Seven crowns in a row under legendary Bud Wilkinson (1948-59).

• Every OU freshman class from 1999-2020 has won at least one Big 12 championship and all but the 2011 freshman class have won at least two (not including the 2020 class). The 2015, 2016 and 2017 freshman classes each won four Big 12 titles.

YEAR THREE OF "SPEED D"

• Hired in January 2019, coordinator and safeties coach Alex Grinch, who was a 2019 Broyles Award semifinalist, has overseen major improvement on the defensive side of the ball in his three seasons in Norman.

• OU ranked third nationally last season in interceptions (16), fourth in opponent third-down conversion percentage (27.9), sixth in sacks per game (3.6), ninth in rushing defense (105.1 ypg) and passing defense efficiency rating (112.9), 16th in tackles for loss per game (7.5) and 29th in total defense (350.6 ypg) and scoring defense (21.7 ppg).

• Grinch's unit was particularly stingy down the stretch in 2020. After Nov. 1 (five games), OU led the nation in interceptions per game (2.2) and ranked second in sacks per game (4.0) and passing defense efficiency rating (94.5), fourth in opponent third-down conversion percentage (25.0), sixth in scoring defense (15.4 ppg), eighth in passing yards per attempt (5.4), ninth in opponent passing completion percentage (51.4), 14th in rushing yards per game (112.2) and 18th in rushing yards per carry (3.4).

• Oklahoma's 1.45 interceptions per game last season were its second most in the last 17 years (1.53 in 2015). The team's 16 interceptions were its most in a season since registering 20 in 2015 (13 games) and were three more than it registered over the 2018 (six) and 2019 (seven) seasons combined. And from the second quarter of the Dec. 5 game vs. Baylor through the first quarter of the Dec. 30 Cotton Bowl vs. Florida, the Sooners registered eight interceptions over an eight-quarter stretch (two vs. Baylor, three vs. Iowa State and three vs. Florida).

• In 36 games under Grinch, OU has allowed only six opponent wide receivers to register at least 100 receiving yards in a contest.

• Over OU's last 24 contests, only four running backs have rushed for 100 yards in a game against the Sooners.

• Redshirt senior defensive lineman Isaiah Thomas has recorded at least half a tackle for loss in 20 of the last 22 games (14-game streak was snapped Sept. 25 vs. West Virginia). Since the start of the 2020 season, he has OU highs of 24.5 tackles for loss and 16.5 sacks. He has 11.5 TFLs (team-high 8.0 sacks) and three forced fumbles this year.

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 fifth year as head coach.

• Since the start of the 2015 campaign, OU ranks first nationally in scoring (43.7 ppg; next most is 42.1), total offense (533.7; next most is 504.9), yards per play (7.6; next most is 7.0), TDs from scrimmage (491), pass efficiency rating (183.6; next best is 174.9) and completion percentage (69.2). It ranks third in passing offense (314.3) and ninth in rushing offense (219.3). No other program during the span ranks in the top 15 in passing and rushing offense.

• In 90 games since the start of the 2015 season, OU has registered at least 500 yards of total offense 58 times (next most is 50 [Ohio State]), including in 48 of the last 73 outings, topped the 600-yard mark on 28 occasions and gone over 700 yards seven times. Similarly, OU has scored at least 30 points in 76 of 90 games since Riley's arrival, at least 40 points 55 times, at least 50 points 33 times and at least 60 points 11 times.

RILEY'S FAST START

• The FBS's youngest head coach (33) at the time of his hiring, Lincoln Riley became just the fifth mentor in FBS history with no previous head-coaching experience at a four-year college to win at least 12 games in his debut season. At 24-4, 36-6 and 45-8, he also holds the OU record for most wins by a head coach in his first two, three and four seasons (Barry Switzer held the records of 21 and 32, and Bob Stoops held the record of 43). He needs one more win to set the outright record for victories in the first five years of an OU coaching career (he is tied with Stoops [1999-03] at 55).

• Riley is the only person to ever win an outright FBS conference title in each of his first four seasons as a collegiate head coach.

• No one in the previous 125 years won more games in their first three seasons as a college head coach than Riley did from 2017-19. Penn's George Woodruff (1892-94) was the last to win more than 36 games in his first three seasons.

"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 six 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, 57.3 in 2019 and 50.6 last year.

• Since Riley joined the OU program as offensive coordinator before the 2015 season, the Sooners rank first nationally in passing efficiency rating (183.6; next best is 173.7), second in yards per pass attempt (10.4) and third in passing yards per game (318.5). But during the same span, OU also paces the nation with eight individual 1,000-yard rushing seasons (Samaje Perine in 2015, Perine and Joe Mixon in 2016, Rodney Anderson in 2017, Kennedy Brooks and Kyler Murray in 2018 and Brooks and Jalen Hurts in 2019).

• Entering this season, OU also led the country with 12 individual running back campaigns of 6.0 or more yards per carry (min. 50 carries per season) during Riley's time in Norman.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S BEST

• During the modern era of college football (since the end of World War II), the Sooners are the nation's No. 1 team with more wins (683) than any other program (next most is 643 by Alabama).

• Oklahoma is the highest-scoring program in college football history with 37,284 points (in 1,310 games).

• OU leads all FBS programs with 50 all-time conference championships. The rest of the top five includes Nebraska (46), Michigan (42), Ohio State (39) and USC (37). The Sooners' 14 league titles since 2000 are the most among Power Five programs (Ohio State ranks second with 11).

• No program has more all-time 10-win seasons than Oklahoma, which is tied with Alabama with 41 (OU has a nation-leading 18 10-win campaigns since 2000). In addition, OU's 26 seasons with at least 11 wins are the most in college football history.

• Since former head coach Bob Stoops arrived in Norman in 1999, OU leads all Power Five conference programs in wins (245; next most is 242 by Ohio State) and points scored (11,729; next most is 10,687 by Oregon).

EXTRA POINTS

• The Sooners' 17-game winning streak that was snapped Nov. 13 at Baylor was the seventh longest in program history and OU's longest since winning 20 straight over the 2000 and '01 seasons. It was also the longest active streak in the country. Prior to the Baylor contest, OU's last loss had came on Oct. 3, 2020, at Iowa State.

• Oklahoma has registered winning streaks of at least seven games in a school-record seven straight seasons. The previous program record for seven-game winning streaks was six consecutive campaigns (1953-58) under Bud Wilkinson. Since 1980, only Boise State (11 straight seasons; 2002-12) and Alabama (10 straight seasons; 2011-20) have also posted winning streaks of at least seven games in seven consecutive years.

• Oklahoma has already set the single-season school record with six wins by seven or fewer points (previous record was five in 2010 and 2019).

• The Sooners are 25-6 all-time as the No. 10-ranked team in the AP poll (2-0 on the road). Oklahoma is 3-0 against Oklahoma State while ranked 10th (all at home; the last in 2007). OU's only two road games as the AP's No. 10 team were in 2019 (34-31 win at No. 12 Baylor) and in 1993 (24-7 win at Iowa State).

• Three Sooners rank in the top 11 in the Big 12 in sacks this season. Defensive lineman Isaiah Thomas is third in the league with 8.0 sacks while outside linebacker Nik Bonitto is tied for seventh with 6.0 and defensive lineman Perrion Winfrey is 11th with 5.5.

• Redshirt senior linebacker Bryan Mead played in his 56th career game Sept. 25 against West Virginia to break the previous school record of 55 games that was held by former quarterback and holder Connor McGinnis. Mead has now played in 63 contests.

• The Sooners have outscored their opponents by a combined 112-33 margin in the second quarter this season.

• OU head coach Lincoln Riley turned 38 on Sept. 5. He was the youngest FBS head coach (33) at the time of his hiring in 2017 and is the seventh-youngest today.

• Co-offensive coordinator and inside receivers coach Cale Gundy is OU's all-time leader in victories (276) as a player (31) and/or coach (245). Barry Switzer ranks second with 215, all as an assistant or head coach.

• The Sooners are tied with Clemson for the second-longest current streak of New Year's Six bowl appearances (six). They trail Ohio State (seven) and are followed by Georgia (four), Florida (three), Oregon (two) and six programs with one.

• OU is the only program that has produced at least four NFL Draft picks each of the last 14 years.

OPENING KICK

KEY STORYLINES

LAST YEAR VS. OKLAHOMA STATE

ROAD WARRIORS

DEFENSE PLAYS BIG HAND IN 18-1 STRETCH

NOTING THE OFFENSE

BROOKS AND RUN

OU FOOT NOTES

TURK'S KEY LEG

OU'S BIG 12 DOMINATION

YEAR THREE OF "SPEED D"

OFFENSE HAS ROLLED UNDER RILEY

RILEY'S FAST START

"AIR RAID" A MISNOMER

COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S BEST

EXTRA POINTS

Players Mentioned

Nik Bonitto

Gabe Brkic

Kennedy Brooks

Eric Gray

Jeremiah Hall

Jadon Haselwood

Bryan Mead

Marvin Mims Jr.

Ronnie Perkins

Spencer Rattler

Rhamondre Stevenson

Isaiah Thomas

Michael Turk

David Ugwoegbu

Theo Wease Jr.

Perrion Winfrey

Michael Woods II

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