Game Primer: OU vs. Kansas

Saturday, October 15

Norman

11 AM CT

University of Oklahoma

Kansas

Tickets

October 13, 2022 | Football

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Oklahoma

Kansas

Saturday, Oct. 15 / 11 a.m. CT / Owen Field

ESPN2 / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes

OPENING KICK

• Oklahoma (3-3, 0-3 Big 12) will try for its 18th straight win over Kansas (5-1, 2-1) when it hosts the No. 19/20 Jayhawks on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The Homecoming game will be televised by ESPN2 with Dave Flemming, Rod Gilmore and Tiffany Blackmon announcing.

• Oklahoma is 79-27-6 (.732) all-time vs. Kansas and has won 17 straight in the series. It is OU's longest active winning streak against an opponent. Eight of KU's wins came in the series' first eight meetings (1903-10) while 16 of its victories came before 1931. Since 1965, the Sooners are 44-6 (.880) vs. the Jayhawks.

• OU has won eight straight at home over Kansas and has held the Jayhawks to single-digit scoring in four of the last five meetings in Norman. KU's last win at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium came in 1996 (52-24).

• The Sooners have scored at least 34 points in each of their last 13 games against Kansas. It is the longest such streak in school history against a single opponent (next longest is 12 consecutive games [current] vs. Texas Tech).

• Going back to the start of the 2010 season, Oklahoma has only played five regular season games when unranked in the AP poll, and it won four of the five (42-30 at Texas Tech in 2014, 52-46 at No. 21 TCU in 2016, 53-45 in four overtimes vs. No. 22 Texas in 2020 and 33-14 at TCU in 2020). The only loss was this past Saturday to Texas. The Sooners have won five of their last six regular season games when unranked (also beat No. 11 Oklahoma State 27-0 in 2009 in Norman).

• Saturday's game will mark the first between Oklahoma and Kansas since 2009 in which the Jayhawks are ranked in the AP poll. In that meeting, No. 25 OU beat No. 24 KU 35-13 in Lawrence. This weekend's contest will also mark the first time since 1992 that OU and KU face each other when the Jayhawks are ranked the AP poll and the Sooners are not. Kansas won that matchup 27-10 in Lawrence.

• Even with its 0-3 conference start, Oklahoma is 54-11 (.831) in regular season Big 12 play since the beginning of the 2015 season. Oklahoma State ranks second during that period (44-21; .677), TCU third (35-30; .538), Texas fourth (34-31; .523), West Virginia fifth (33-31) and Iowa State and Kansas State sixth (33-33; 500).

• OU is 153-36 (.810) in regular season Big 12 play since the start of the 2000 season. That's 28 more wins than the program with the next most victories during that period (Texas; 125-64) and 43 more than the program with the third most (Oklahoma State; 110-79).

Eric Gray vs Nebraska lead

FOR THE FANS

• Approximately two hours and 15 minutes before each home game, OU's players will disembark the team buses near the intersection of Lindsey St. and Jenkins Ave. for the "Walk of Champions." This year's route has changed from previous seasons, as the team will be led on foot by the Sooner Schooner heading north on Jenkins to Gate 13 where they will enter the stadium. OU Spirit will be on hand per usual, and for the first time the Pride of Oklahoma will perform during the team procession. Fans are encouraged to cheer on the team upon its 8:45 a.m. arrival as it walks the final yards to the stadium.

• Once again, "Party at the Palace, Presented by Allstate" will be held on the lawn immediately north of Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. With an expanded footprint this year, the event will start at 7:30 a.m. and will feature great food options (food trucks from HTeaO, Kona Ice, Midway Deli and Supermercados Morelos), interactive games for kids (including an expanded Kids' Zone and a "Skills and Drills" mini football field), a DJ, the Sooner Schooner, mascots and members of the OU spirit squads. Devon Energy's innovative STEM program "SportsLabs" will take place on the lawn immediately north of Heisman Park on the east side of Jenkins Ave.

KEY STORYLINES

• Oklahoma lost its last home game, 41-34, to Kansas State on Sept. 24. It was just OU's 12th home defeat since the start of the 1999 season, tied with Boise State for fewest in the country. Since the start of that 1999 season, the Sooners have lost back-to-back home games just one time (vs. Kansas State and Baylor in 2014). They have won their last five home games following a home loss, and 11 of their last 12.

• Each of the last 17 meetings in the Oklahoma-Kansas series have been OU double-digit victories. The Sooners have outscored the Jayhawks 745-238 in those contests (average of 44-14) and have outgained them 8,417 yards to 4,697 (average of 495-276). OU has won the last eight meetings by a combined score of 400-112 (50-14 average). KU has scored single-digit points in five of the last eight matchups and six of the last 10.

• The Jayhawks have won seven games in their first season and a half under head coach Lance Leipold. That's the same number of victories the program totaled over the four seasons prior to Leipold's arrival. KU hasn't finished with a winning record since 2008 (8-5) under former head coach (and former OU assistant coach; 1999-2001) Mark Mangino.

• Kansas has already won more games this season (five) than it had in any of its previous 12 campaigns. Last week's No. 19 AP ranking was its first in that poll since the 2009 season.

• Oklahoma is looking to snap a three-game losing streak, the program's first since 1998 (lost five straight that season). Prior to this season, the Sooners lost back-to-back regular season games just one time since the start of the 1999 campaign. That was in 2020 when OU fell 38-35 at home to Kansas State and 37-30 at Iowa State.

• Despite a major drop in tackles for loss during its three-game losing streak, OU is tied for 14th in the country with its 44 TFLs on the year and ranks ninth with its 198 TFL yardage.

• The Sooners rank 127th out of 131 FBS teams this season in average time of possession (25:39) and have not held a time-of-possession advantage in any of their five games. Kansas ranks 95th with an average TOP of 28:39. It held a TOP advantage in a win over Houston and in its loss to TCU.

LAST YEAR VS. KANSAS

• For the first time since the 2014 Russell Athletic Bowl vs. Clemson, Oklahoma was held scoreless in the first half, but the No. 3/2 Sooners registered touchdowns on all five of their second-half possessions to post a 35-23 win at Kansas on Oct. 23, 2021. OU ran only 17 plays in the first half and trailed 10-0 at halftime.

• The Sooners, who were down 17-7 late in the third quarter, outscored KU 28-6 over the game's final 15:14.

• Quarterback Caleb Williams completed 15 of 20 passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns against one interception and ran eight times for 70 yards and a TD.

• Kennedy Brooks carried 24 times for a team-high 79 yards and two touchdowns. His first TD came on a 1-yard run early in the fourth quarter and gave OU its first lead of the day.

• Oklahoma gained 320 of its 398 total yards in the second half, including 213 of its 220 rushing yards and 107 of its 178 passing yards.

• Sophomore receiver Trevon West rushed for 66 yards on a reverse play in the third quarter, leading to OU's second touchdown of the game. It tied for the Sooners' longest scrimmage play of the season at the time.

• In his second career start, sophomore safety Key Lawrence recorded a career-high eight tackles (tied Brian Asamoah for team high), two tackles for loss and a forced fumble in the fourth quarter that OU recovered.

HOME IS WHERE THE "W" IS

• Oklahoma is 132-12 (.917) at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium since the start of the 1999 season, giving the Sooners two more Big 12 championships during the period (14) than home defeats. It is the best home winning percentage among Power 5 programs over the last 23-plus seasons (Ohio State is next at .896). OU has outscored its opponents by an average of 43-17 in those games.

• The Sooners have posted 143 straight sellouts of originally scheduled home games dating back to the start of the 1999 season (Bob Stoops' first as head coach). Only Nebraska (FBS-record 386) has a longer current streak.

• OU has recorded 41 unbeaten seasons at home, including 15 in the last 23 years.

Lead, Sellout FB

NOTING THE OFFENSE

• Despite ranking 46th nationally in total plays and 127th in average time of possession, Oklahoma is tied for 11th with its 17 plays of at least 30 yards.

• OU has scored on 17 of its 20 red zone opportunities this season (14 touchdowns and three field goals).

• Quarterback Dillon Gabriel has completed 85 of 133 passes (63.9%) this season for 1,215 yards, 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. He has also rushed for 126 net yards and two touchdowns, including a 61-yard score at Nebraska. Gabriel ranks 15th nationally in passing efficiency rating (167.9) and yards per completion (14.3), 17th in yards per pass attempt (9.1) and 26th in passing TDs despite exiting OU's game at TCU in the second quarter and missing the game against Texas due to injury.

• Gabriel's 133 pass attempts without an interception are the most by a player to start an OU career, breaking the previous record of 80 set by Jalen Hurts in 2019.

• Senior running back Eric Gray leads an OU rushing attack that averages 210.0 yards per game, 5.0 yards per carry and 2.0 touchdowns per game. Gray ranks 14th nationally with his 6.7 yards per carry and fifth in the Big 12 (38th nationally) with his 86.5 rushing yards per game. He ran for 102 yards against UTEP, 71 versus Kent State, 113 at Nebraska (two TDs), 114 against Kansas State, 60 at TCU and 59 against Texas. Freshman Jovantae Barnes ranks second on the team with his 247 rushing yards (41.2 per game) and 4.8 yards per carry. He turned in a 100-yard, two-touchdown game at TCU. Redshirt junior Marcus Major paces the team with four rushing TDs (also has a receiving score) in his five games (did not play at TCU). He is averaging 35.0 rushing yards per game and 4.6 yards per rush.

• Through six games this season, junior wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. ranks 25th nationally (fifth in the Big 12) with his 18.9 yards per catch and 50th (second in Big 12) in receiving yards (436). He also would rank fourth in the country and lead the Big 12 by averaging 19.7 yards per punt return (118 yards on six returns) if he met the minimum of 1.2 punt returns per game to qualify in the category.

• Gray and junior receiver Mims rank third and sixth in the Big 12 in all-purpose yards per game with their 101.8 and 92.8 respective averages.

• Oklahoma has scored touchdowns on 24 offensive possessions this season, and only seven of those TD drives have taken longer than two minutes of game clock (71% of TD drives have taken less than 2:00). Only four of the others took more than three minutes and one has taken more than 4:01 of clock time (5:10 vs. TCU). OU's 24 touchdown drives this season have averaged 6.7 plays, 65.8 yards and 1:54 of game clock.

NOTING THE DEFENSE

• Oklahoma is tied for 14th nationally with its 44 tackles for loss and ranks ninth with its 198 TFL yardage.

• Sophomore linebacker Danny Stutsman ranks second in the Big 12 with his 55 total tackles and senior linebacker David Ugwoegbu ranks third with 54. Sophomore safety Billy Bowman ranks 11th in the Big 12 with his 34 tackles, despite missing nearly two full games with an injury (he left the TCU game in the first quarter and did not return). He entered the TCU game ranked fourth in the league with 33 stops.

• Thirty-five of Ugwoegbu's 54 tackles (65%) have come over the last three games. His career-high 15 tackles against Kansas State were the most by a Sooner since the 2018 season, and he followed that output with 10 stops at TCU and 10 against Texas. He has made at least six tackles in every game this season. Ugwoegbu has also notched 2.0 tackles for loss, one sack and was credited with the tackle on OU's safety against Kent State.

• Stutsman established then-career highs in tackles in each of the first two games, logging nine stops against UTEP and 12 (4.0 TFLs) against Kent State before making 10 stops against Kansas State and a career-high 13 tackles against Texas. He has recorded at least seven stops in five of six games and double-digit tackles three times. Prior to his performance vs. Kent State, the last Sooner to register four TFLs in a game was Ronnie Perkins at Baylor in 2019.

• Junior defensive end Reggie Grimes leads the Sooners with 6.0 tackles for loss (total 36 lost yards) and 4.0 sacks (totaling 31 lost yards). Six of his 13 tackles this season have been for lost yardage.

• The Sooners registered an interception in each of their first three games this season and picked off a pass against Texas. Their streak of eight consecutive contests with an interception was snapped against Kansas State. Freshman DB Gentry Williams picked off a pass in the end zone in the fourth quarter of the season opener against UTEP, redshirt senior DB Justin Harrington notched his first career interception in the fourth quarter against Kent State and junior DB Key Lawrence hauled in his first career interception in the end zone at Nebraska. Senior DB C.J. Coldon notched his first interception at OU (third of his career; had two at Wyoming) against Texas.

SPECIAL TEAMS HAVE BEEN SPECIAL

• Redshirt sophomore Zach Schmit is 5 for 6 on field goal attempts and has made all 24 of his PAT tries. He is 3 for 3 on field goal attempts beyond 40 yards (long of 44) and his lone miss came at Nebraska (39-yarder).

• Sixth-year punter Michael Turk leads the Big 12 and ranks 18th nationally with his 44.9 yards per punt. He has 10 punts of at least 50 yards, including a pair of 60-yarders. In 2021, his first year at OU, Turk set a single-season school record by averaging 51.2 yards per punt, smashing the previous record of 47.8 yards by Jack Jacobs in 1940.

• OU ranks 12th nationally (fourth among teams with at least 1.3 returns per game) with its 15.9 yards per punt return. Marvin Mims Jr. would rank second nationally with his 19.7 yards per return (118 yards on six returns) if he met the statistical minimum of 1.2 punt returns per game. The Sooners have already almost doubled their total punt return yards from last year (12 returns for 69 yards in 2021; eight returns for 127 yards this season).

Zach Schmidt vs Texas

NOTING THE NEWBIES

• Thirty-six players (32 of them first-year Sooners) have made their first appearance in an OU uniform this season. The 32 newcomers who have seen the field this year are redshirt seniors Jeffery Johnson (DL), C.J. Coldon (DB), Kyle Ergenbright (OL), Jonah Laulu (DL) and Daniel Parker (TE), senior Trey Morrison (DB), redshirt juniors Davis Beville (QB), Dillon Gabriel (QB) and McKade Mettauer (OL), redshirt sophomores LV Bunkley-Shelton (WR), Tyler Guyton (OL) and J.J. Hester (WR), sophomores General Booty (QB) and Tawee Walker (RB) and freshmen Nic Anderson (WR), Jovantae Barnes (RB), Dallas Dudley (WR), Nick Evers (QB), Gavin Freeman (WR), Jayden Gibson (WR), Gracen Halton (DL), Kaden Helms (TE), Jaren Kanak (LB), Jason Llewellyn (TE), Jayden Rowe (DB), Gavin Sawchuk (RB), Robert Spears-Jennings (DB), Peter Schuh (DB), Jacob Sexton (OL), Jake Taylor (OL), R Mason Thomas (DL) and Gentry Williams (DB).

FIRST-TIME STARTERS

• Thirteen players have made their first OU starts this season. Against UTEP, they were were redshirt senior transfer Jeffery Johnson (DL; started 44 games at Tulane), redshirt senior Jordan Kelley (DL), redshirt junior transfers Dillon Gabriel (QB; started 25 games at UCF) and McKade Mettauer (OL; started 28 games at Cal), redshirt sophomore transfer Tyler Guyton (OL; started one game at TCU as an H-back) and sophomores Ethan Downs (DE) and Danny Stutsman (LB). Versus Kent State they were redshirt junior Isaiah Coe (DL) and sophomore Jalil Farooq (WR), at Nebraska, sophomore Damond Harmon (DB) made his first career start and against Kansas State, Wanya Morris (OL; started 19 games at Tennessee) made his first start as a Sooner. Davis Beville (QB) made his first career start and Trey Morrison (DB; started 41 games at North Carolina) started against Texas.

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 (687) than any other program (next most is 650 by Alabama).

• OU has finished in the top 5 of the AP poll a nation-leading 33 times.

• OU leads all FBS programs with 50 all-time conference championships. The rest of the top five includes Nebraska (46), Michigan (43), 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 27 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 the country with its 11,994 points scored, which is 527 points more than second-place Boise State (11,467) and 975 more than third-place Oregon (11,019).

• OU's 80 consensus All-Americans since 1950 are the most nationally (Alabama ranks second with 74 and Ohio State third with 72). Since 2000, the Sooners have produced 30 consensus All-Americans, second only to Alabama.

• OU is the only program that has produced at least four NFL Draft picks each of the last 15 years.

EXTRA POINTS

• Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel saw his 14-game streak of throwing multiple touchdown passes snapped at TCU two weekends ago. Gabriel left the game due to injury with 9:39 left in the second quarter and did not return. The streak went back to his sophomore season (2020) at UCF.

• Forty-seven of OU's 115 players (41%) are new to the program this season, while 60 players (52%) had never played in a game for the Sooners prior to the opener vs. UTEP. Of the 47 new players, 23 are on offense, 21 are on defense and three are special-teamers (one kicker, one punter and one long snapper).

• Since 2000, OU is the only Power 5 program in the country that has not had a losing record in any season.

• OU has won 80 straight games when holding opponents to 23 or fewer points. The last time OU held an opponent to 23 or fewer points and lost was in 2009 (fell 10-3 at Nebraska on Nov. 7).

• Since the start of the 2012 season, OU is 83-5 when scoring at least 35 points and 72-3 when scoring at least 40.

• The Sooners are tied for third with their four College Football Playoff appearances (2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019). They are the only Big 12 program to qualify for the CFP.

• Oklahoma is tied for the national lead with five No. 1 overall NFL Draft picks. OU has produced three No. 1 overall picks in the last 13 years alone. No other school has produced more than one during that period.