Game Primer: OU vs. Western Carolina

^4/4 Oklahoma

Western Carolina

Saturday, Sept. 11 / 6 p.m. CT / Owen Field

OPENING KICK

• No. 4/4 Oklahoma goes for its 10th straight win when it hosts Western Carolina on Saturday at 6 p.m. CT at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman. The game will be televised on a pay-per-view basis by Bally Sports Oklahoma with Chad McKee, former OU co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Chuck Long and Lesley McCaslin announcing.

• Saturday's game will mark the first between OU and Western Carolina.

• OU opens the season with four home games for the first time since 2004. That year the Sooners hosted Bowling Green (won 40-24), Houston (won 63-13), Oregon (won 31-17) and Texas Tech (won 28-13). The Sooners were ranked No. 2 in the AP poll in all four contests.

• Oklahoma is scheduled to play nine games to start the season before its bye week. That's OU's longest stretch at the beginning of a season without a bye since 1995 when it played 10 games without a week off.

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

• In its first game under head coach Kerwin Bell, Western Carolina fell 31-28 at home to Eastern Kentucky on Saturday. Quarterback Rogan Wells, who played under Bell at Valdosta State, completed 24 of 44 pass attempts for 275 yards and a touchdown while rushing eight times for 67 yards and a score. The Catamounts' 56-yard game-tying field goal attempt as time expired fell short of the crossbar. Bell was a four-year starting quarterback at Florida (1984-87) who went on to a 13-year pro career.

KEY STORYLINES

• Oklahoma has won three more Big 12 championships over the last 22 years (14) than it has lost home games. OU is 124-11 (.919) at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium since the start of the 1999 season. It is the best home winning percentage among Power Five schools over the last 23 seasons (Ohio State is next at .894). OU has outscored its opponents by an average of 43-17 in those games.

• The Sooners are 10-3 against programs currently in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), but have played only six such games since the start of the 1952 season. In those six contests, the Sooners beat Indiana State 49-0 in 1999 (Bob Stoops' first game as OU head coach), Chattanooga 57-2 in 2008, Idaho State 64-0 in 2009, Florida A&M 69-13 in 2012, South Dakota 70-14 in 2019 and Missouri State 48-0 last year. That's a combined total of 357-29. OU is 3-2 against Drake (games played between 1920 and '26) and 1-1 versus William & Mary (games played in 1942 and '51).

• OU is 23-2 (.920) in home games under Lincoln Riley and has outscored opponents by an average of 44.7 points to 27.8. The 44.7 offensive points per game are the most nationally at home during the period (starting with the 2017 season).

• Oklahoma enters this weekend a winner of its last nine games, which is tied with Texas A&M for the second-longest winning streak in the country. Only Alabama (15) has a longer current streak. Just one other Power Five program (Iowa at seven) has a winning streak longer than five games. OU has registered winning streaks of at least seven games in each of the past six seasons.

• Riley owns the OU records for wins by a head coach in a debut season (12; previous record was 10 by Barry Switzer and Chuck Fairbanks), first two seasons (24; previous record was 21 by Switzer), first three seasons (36; previous record was 32 by Switzer) and first four seasons (45; previous record was 43 by Bob Stoops). He needs 11 wins this season to set the outright record for most victories in the first five years of an OU coaching career (Stoops holds that standard with 55 [1999-03]).

Lead, Brkic

RECAPPING THE WIN OVER TULANE

• In the 1,300th game in school history, No. 2/3 Oklahoma outscored Tulane 23-0 in the second quarter and withstood a late Green Wave rally in a 40-35 victory in Norman. The game was originally scheduled to be played in New Orleans but was moved on Monday of game week after Hurricane Ida moved across Louisiana.

• The Sooners trailed 7-0 and 14-7 before outscoring Tulane 30-0 the rest of the first half to lead 37-14 at intermission. The Green Wave chipped away in the second half and pulled to within five at the 2:18 mark of the fourth quarter, but after Tulane recovered an onside kick, OU came up with a fourth-down stop to help seal the victory.

• Quarterback Spencer Rattler completed 30 of 39 passes for 304 yards and a touchdown and ran for a one-yard score. His 311 yards of total offense were most in the Big 12 on the week.

• Receiver Marvin Mims caught five passes for a game-high 117 yards while freshman Mario Williams, in his first career game, hauled in six passes for 37 yards, including a six-yard touchdown.

• Running back Kennedy Brooks rushed 14 times for 87 yards (6.2 average) and a TD in his first contest since the 2019 season. In his OU debut, Tennessee transfer running back Eric Gray started and had nine carries for 27 yards.

• Safety Delarrin Turner-Yell recorded a game-high and career-high-tying 10 tackles. He paced an OU defense that forced and recovered three Tulane fumbles. The three recoveries came in the first half and matched OU's total from all of last season.

• Kicker Gabe Brkic tied an FBS record with his three field goal makes of at least 50 yards (51, 56 and 55) and was named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week. No Sooner had ever made more than one 50-plus-yard field goal in a game. Brkic also made a 26-yarder and finished the day 4-for-5, tying a school record for makes in a game (11th time in school history and third time by Brkic). His 56-yarder to end the first half tied as the third-longest in school history and was the longest since 1977. His 51- and 56-yarders stand as the longest made field goals in a season opener in school history.

• For just the second game in the Lincoln Riley era (other was 2018 vs. Kansas), the Sooners did not punt.

NOTING THE NEWBIES

• Sixteen players and 14 first-year Sooners made their first appearance in an OU uniform Saturday. The 14 newcomers were seniors Robert Congel (OL) and Michael Woods II (WR), juniors Isaiah Coe (DL) and Eric Gray (RB), sophomore Key Lawrence (DB) and freshmen Billy Bowman (DB), Ethan Downs (DE), Kelvin Gilliam (DL), Latrell McCutchin (CB), Jordan Mukes (S), Clayton Smith (OLB), Danny Stutsman (LB), Caleb Williams (QB) and Mario Williams (WR). The two non-newcomers were redshirt juniors Justin Harrington (DB) and Jaden Knowles (RB).

FIRST TIMERS

• Eight players made their first OU starts on Saturday vs. Tulane. They were senior Chris Murray (OL; started 24 games at UCLA), senior Michael Woods II (WR; started 29 games at Arkansas), redshirt junior transfer Robert Congel (OL; started 13 games at Arizona), junior transfer Eric Gray (RB; started five games at Tennessee), redshirt sophomore Jadon Haselwood (WR), sophomores Reggie Grimes (DE) and Anton Harrison (OL) and freshman Billy Bowman (DB).

A NEW BALANCE

• More so than any year in recent program history, the 2020 Sooners displayed offensive and defensive balance. Oklahoma was one of just three Power Five programs (CFP qualifiers Clemson and Notre Dame were the others) to rank in the top 30 nationally in both total offense (11th; 494.7 ypg) and total defense (29th; 350.6 ypg).

• While OU's offense may have been a tick less productive last year than in most of the previous five, the Sooners still ranked sixth nationally in scoring (43.0 ppg), seventh in touchdowns from scrimmage (57), ninth in yards per pass attempt (9.6), 10th in passing efficiency rating (172.1), 11th in total offense (494.7 ypg) and first downs (274), 13th in red zone offense percentage (91.5) and 14th in passing offense (315.0 ypg). OU led the Big 12 in each of those categories except red zone offense percentage (ranked second). And in the eight games (all wins) going back to the Oct. 10 game vs. Texas, the Sooners ranked second among Power Five teams with their 45.0 points per game.

• Under the direction of second-year coordinator Alex Grinch, the OU defense ranked in the top 10 nationally in a bevy of categories last season, including third in interceptions (16), fourth in opponent third-down conversion percentage (27.9), seventh in sacks per game (3.4), ninth in pass defense efficiency (112.9 rating) and ninth in rushing defense (105.1 ypg). It also ranked 28th in scoring defense (21.7 ppg).

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 two seasons in Norman.

• Oklahoma 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).

• OU has allowed opponents to score on their opening drive of a game just four times in its 25 contests under Grinch (Oklahoma State and LSU touchdowns in 2019; Iowa State field goal [first meeting] and Texas Tech touchdown last year). Eighteen of the 25 opponent opening drives have lasted five plays or less.

• Over the last two seasons, Oklahoma has allowed only three opponent wide receivers to register at least 100 receiving yards in a game (Kansas' Stephon Robinson and LSU's Justin Jefferson in 2019; Iowa State's Xavier Hutchinson last season in the Big 12 Championship).

Lead, Speed D

QBU CONTINUES

• Oklahoma's top two signal callers, redshirt sophomore Spencer Rattler (2019) and freshman Caleb Williams (2021), were each regarded as the consensus No. 1 quarterbacks in their recruiting classes and were named Elite 11 MVPs.

• A consensus 2021 preseason All-American and the Big 12 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, Rattler was OU's fourth starting quarterback in four seasons (Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray won the 2017 and '18 Heisman Trophy while Jalen Hurts was 2019 runner-up). Rattler was named national freshman of the year by CBS Sports last season after completing 67.5% of his passes for 3,031 yards (275.5 per game) and 28 touchdowns vs. seven interceptions. He also rushed for 160 yards and six TDs. His 92.5 passing grade by PFF ranked third nationally behind BYU's Zach Wilson and Heisman finalist Mac Jones of Alabama.

• Over OU's last seven games last year (all wins), Rattler threw 15 TD passes and only two interceptions.

• Rattler led the nation's freshmen in passing touchdowns, passing offense and total offense (290.1 ypg). Among all players who played at least six games, he ranked eighth in passing TDs, ninth in yards per pass attempt (9.6), 10th in pass efficiency rating (172.6), 14th in completion percentage, 15th in passing offense and 16th in yards per completion (14.2).

• Williams, a 2021 OU mid-year enrollee, was ranked as the nation's No. 1 overall player in the 2021 recruiting class by SI All-American, No. 5 by Rivals, No. 7 by 247Sports and No. 16 by ESPN.

• Williams' high school team did not play a 2020 fall season due to the pandemic, but he was a two-time All-Washington Catholic Athletic Conference selection and the 2019 MVP as a junior. That year he threw for 1,770 yards and 19 touchdowns as a junior while rushing for 838 yards and 18 scores.

OU FOOT NOTES

• During Lincoln Riley's four-plus-year head coaching career, Oklahoma ranks fifth nationally with its 84.0% success rate on field goal attempts (79 for 94). Kansas State is the next best Big 12 school in the category during the span, ranking 17th at 80.0%.

• During the same period, the Sooners rank third nationally in PAT conversion percentage among teams with at least 150 attempts, converting 305 of 306 tries (99.7%). Only Georgia (214 for 214) and Virginia Tech (174 of 174) have a higher success rate.

• Redshirt sophomore kicker Gabe Brkic, who is a 2020 first-team All-Big 12 selection (coaches and AP) and a Lou Groza Award semifinalist, is 41 for 48 (.854) on career field goal attempts and has made all 106 of his PAT tries. The OU career record for field goal percentage is .833 (75 for 90) by Michael Hunnicutt (2011-14). Brkic ranked third nationally last season by averaging 2.0 field goal makes per game.

• Brkic's seven field goal makes (on nine attempts) from at least 50 yards since the start of the 2020 season are the most nationally. LSU's Cade York ranks second with six makes (on seven tries) while no other player has made more than four. Brkic's eight career field goals of at least 50 yards are twice as many as the Sooners with the next most (Tony DiRienzo and Uwe von Schamann had four each), and his 14 career makes from at least 40 yards are tied with R.D. Lashar for the school lead.

"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 arrived in Norman, OU leads the country with 12 individual running back seasons of 6.0 or more yards per carry (min. 50 carries per season).

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).

• 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 was the last from 1892 to '94).

• Riley is the third-fastest OU head coach to reach 46 wins (54 games). Only College Football Hall of Famers Switzer (52 games) and Bud Wilkinson (53) did it faster.

Lead, Riley Williams

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 as head coach.

• Since the start of the 2015 campaign, OU ranks first nationally in scoring (44.4 ppg; next most is 41.8), total offense (545.0; next most is 502.5), yards per play (7.7), TDs from scrimmage (443), pass efficiency rating (185.7; next best is 173.6), yards per pass attempt (10.5) and completion percentage. It ranks third in passing offense (320.9) and ninth in rushing offense (224.2). No other program during the span ranks in the top 15 in passing and rushing offense.

• In 80 games since the start of the 2015 season, OU has registered at least 500 yards of total offense 54 times (next most is 46), including in 44 of the last 63 outings, topped the 600-yard mark on 26 occasions and gone over 700 yards seven times. Similarly, OU has scored at least 30 points in 70 of 80 games since Riley's arrival, at least 40 points 51 times, at least 50 points 29 times and at least 60 points 10 times.

• OU has registered at least 700 yards of offense 13 times in its history, and seven of those occasions have come since the start of the 2015 season: 854 at Texas Tech in 2016, 785 at Oklahoma State in 2017, 773 vs. Tulsa in 2015, 733 vs. South Dakota in 2019, 710 at Kansas in 2015, 702 vs. Kansas State in 2018 and 702 vs. Oklahoma State in 2018.

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).

• OU's 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).

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

• The Sooners have as many Big 12 titles the last six seasons (six) as they have lost games against Big 12 opponents (51-6 record; includes four Big 12 Championship games).

• OU is 146-31 (.825) in regular season Big 12 play since the start of the 2000 season. That's 26 more wins than the program with the next most victories during that period (Texas; 120-57) and 46 more than the program with the third most (Oklahoma State; 100-78).

• Come Saturday, OU will have been Big 12 champ for 2,109 straight days.

• 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.

• Over the last six years (since Lincoln Riley came to Norman as offensive coordinator), OU has posted a 47-6 (.887) record in regular season Big 12 play. The next best mark during the stretch is 34-20 (.630) by Oklahoma State.

MORE CONFERENCE TITLE TIDBITS

• 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 head coach Bud Wilkinson (1948-59).

• Every OU freshman class from 1999-2019 has won at least one Big 12 championship and all but the 2011 freshman class have won at least two. The 2015, 2016 and 2017 freshman classes each won four Big 12 titles.

• OU leads the nation with its 50 all-time conference titles. It is followed by Nebraska (46), Michigan (42), Ohio State (39) and USC (37).

OPENING KICK

KEY STORYLINES

RECAPPING THE WIN OVER TULANE

NOTING THE NEWBIES

FIRST TIMERS

A NEW BALANCE

YEAR THREE OF "SPEED D"

QBU CONTINUES

OU FOOT NOTES

"AIR RAID" A MISNOMER

RILEY'S FAST START

OFFENSE HAS ROLLED UNDER RILEY

OU'S BIG 12 DOMINATION

MORE CONFERENCE TITLE TIDBITS

Players Mentioned

Billy Bowman Jr.

Gabe Brkic

Kennedy Brooks

Isaiah Coe

Robert Congel

Ethan Downs

Kelvin Gilliam Jr.

Eric Gray

Reggie Grimes II

Justin Harrington

Anton Harrison

Jadon Haselwood

Jaden Knowles

Key Lawrence

Marvin Mims Jr.

Jordan Mukes

Chris Murray

Spencer Rattler

Clayton Smith

Danny Stutsman

Delarrin Turner-Yell

Michael Woods II

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