Game Primer: OU vs. Nebraska

Saturday, September 17

Lincoln, Neb.

11 a.m.

University of Oklahoma

Nebraska

September 15, 2022 | Football

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^6/6 Oklahoma

Nebraska

Saturday, Sept. 17 / 11 a.m. CT / Lincoln, Neb.

FOX / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes

OPENING KICK

• Former longtime conference rivals Oklahoma (2-0, No. 6 in both polls) and Nebraska (1-2) meet in Lincoln, Neb., for the first time since 2009 when they tee it up Saturday at 11 a.m. CT at Memorial Stadium. The game will be televised by FOX with Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft announcing.

• Oklahoma (930) and Nebraska (909) rank fourth and eighth in all-time wins among FBS programs. During the post-World War II era (1946-2021), OU ranks first nationally with its 686 victories while NU ranks sixth (600).

• The Sooners lead all FBS programs with their 50 conference titles (have won six of the last seven Big 12 titles and 14 total), while the Huskers rank second with 46 league championships. Remarkably, Oklahoma or Nebraska (or both) won or shared Big Seven/Big Eight titles in 44 of the conferences' 48 years (1948-95) and combined for nine Big 12 championships (seven by OU) before Nebraska departed the league in 2011.

• As an Oklahoma assistant coach from 1999-2011, current Sooners head coach Brent Venables contributed to OU's 6-2 record against Nebraska. Included were two Big 12 Championship games, which the Sooners won 21-7 in 2006 and 23-20 in 2010. OU went 1-2 in Lincoln during the span, losing 20-10 in 2001 (OU was ranked No. 2 and NU No. 3) and 10-3 in 2009, and posting a 31-24 victory in 2005. Venables was Oklahoma's co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 1999-2003 and was associate head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2004-11.

• The Sooners have won 28 of their last 32 true road games and have scored at least 30 points in 36 of their last 37 true road contests. The program with the next most 30-point performances in its last 37 true road games is Ohio State (28; see chart on page 3).

• Oklahoma has been ranked in each of the last 29 AP Top 25 polls and in 113 of the last 117 going back to the start of the 2015 season. It has been ranked in the top 10 in 81 of those 117 polls. Nebraska has made two AP Top 25 appearances since the start of the 2016 season (the Huskers were No. 24 in the 2019 preseason poll and No. 25 the following week).

• The Sooners are coming off a 33-3 home win over Kent State on Saturday, a game in which OU didn't score until its final possession of the first half. Beginning with that drive, OU outgained the Golden Flashes 352 yards to 156. Marvin Mims Jr. registered a career-high 203 all-purpose yards, seventh most nationally this season. He caught seven passes for a career-high 163 yards and two touchdowns.

• Nebraska lost 45-42 at home to Georgia Southern on Saturday, a game in which neither team ever led by more than seven points. The Huskers put up 578 yards of offense but surrendered 642 (409 through the air). The game marked the last in the NU head coaching tenure of Scott Frost, who was replaced by interim head coach Mickey Joseph on Sunday.

OU vs. Kent State

OU-NEBRASKA SERIES NOTES

• Oklahoma leads the head-to-head series with Nebraska, 46-38-3, and has won five of the last six meetings.

• The Huskers hold a 22-18-2 advantage in games played in Lincoln and have won seven of the last eight meetings there. The Sooners' lone victory in Lincoln since 1987 came in 2005, 31-24.

• Oklahoma has faced Nebraska in Lincoln 17 times when the Huskers were ranked in the AP Top 10 and the Sooners are 7-10 in those games. From 1972 to 1987, NU was ranked in the AP Top 10 in all nine meetings in Lincoln and OU went 7-2 (included wins over the No. 1 Huskers in 1984 and 1987 under head coach Barry Switzer [17-7 in both games]).

• Bud Wilkinson won his first 12 games vs. Nebraska and holds the best winning percentage in the series among OU coaches (minimum five games) at .824 (14-3 record). He is followed by Bob Stoops (.750; 6-2), Switzer (.706; 12-5) and Dewey Luster (.600; 3-2).

• Saturday's game will mark the first Oklahoma-Nebraska meeting since 1961 in which the Huskers entered the contest with a losing record on the season. NU had a winning record entering its game vs. OU the last 46 times they met.

Kennedy Brooks

KEY STORYLINES

• Saturday's contest will be just the second in the storied Oklahoma-Nebraska series since the 2010 Big 12 Championship Game (OU won 23-16 last September in Norman). The 2010 Big 12 title game contest represented the final game for the Huskers as members of the Big 12. They joined the Big Ten Conference starting with the 2011 season, snapping a 90-year streak in which OU and NU were in the same league (started in 1921).

• Oklahoma and Nebraska played in 70 consecutive seasons (1928-1997). The string was broken in 1998 when the two rotated off each other's schedule as part of the Big 12's South and North Division scheduling.

• Including this year, 63 of the 73 OU-Nebraska games since the first AP poll in 1936 have featured at least one ranked team. In fact, either the Sooners or Huskers (or both) have been ranked in the AP poll in 46 of the last 47 matchups (neither were in OU's 31-24 win in 2005 in Lincoln). Counting this matchup, at least one team has been ranked in the AP top 10 in 51 of the 73 head-to-head meetings during the poll era, including 35 of the last 39 matchups. The series has featured a top-10 showdown 18 times, and a top-5 battle on eight occasions. Amazingly, at least one team was ranked in the top 5 in 18 of 19 games from 1970-87.

• OU ranks 10th nationally by allowing just 8.0 points per game. The Sooners have allowed just one touchdown, marking the first time since 2013 they have permitted only one TD over any two-game span (34-0 win vs. UL-Monroe and 16-7 win vs. West Virginia).

• Despite ranking second to last nationally in average time of possession this season (22:34), the Sooners have outgained UTEP and Kent State by a combined 311 yards (922-611). OU has run 30 fewer plays than its opponents, but is averaging 7.4 yards per play and is tied for ninth nationally by allowing just 3.9 yards per play.

• Since the start of the 2015 season, OU leads the country with its 5.5 yards per rush and ranks fifth nationally (second in Power 5) with its 236 rushing touchdowns. This season, the Sooners are averaging 5.3 yards per carry and have rushed for five TDs. They have rushed 74 times (five of those have been sacks) and attempted 51 passes.

• Oklahoma is one of 12 teams (one of just five in the Power 5 leagues) that hasn't committed a turnover this season. It is +4 in turnover margin (two interceptions and two fumble recoveries). OU's seven-game streak of registering at least one interception is the second-longest nationally and longest among Power 5 programs.

LAST YEAR VS. THE HUSKERS

• No. 3/3 Oklahoma was held to its lowest point total since the 2016 season opener vs. Houston (a 33-23 defeat) but still downed Nebraska 23-16 in Norman for its fifth win in its last six meetings with the Huskers when the teams met on Sept. 18, 2021. It was the programs' first matchup since the 2010 Big 12 Championship Game.

• OU's defense registered 10 tackles for loss and five sacks and held a Nebraska squad that was averaging 513.7 yards per game over its first three contests to 384. The Sooners limited the Huskers to 95 rushing yards (2.5 per carry) and held quarterback Adrian Martinez to 34 yards on 17 carries. Martinez entered the game averaging 85.3 rushing yards per contest on the year.

• After Nebraska scored a touchdown with eight seconds left in the third quarter to trim the Sooners' lead to 14-9, defensive lineman Isaiah Coe blocked the PAT attempt and safety Pat Fields returned it 100 yards for a 16-9 advantage. It was OU's first blocked PAT returned for two points since the 2014 season.

• Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto led the Sooners with 3.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks, while defensive lineman Jalen Redmond finished with 2.0 TFLs and 1.5 sacks. Linebacker DaShaun White logged a career-high 10 tackles to lead the Sooners and cornerback D.J. Graham made a dazzling one-handed, fourth-quarter interception deep in OU territory to preserve a 23-9 advantage.

• Running backs Eric Gray (84 yards) and Kennedy Brooks (75 yards) combined for 159 rushing yards on 29 carries (5.5 per carry).

• OU's 23 points were its fewest in a win since beating TCU 20-17 in 2013 in Norman.

• The Sooners improved to 46-38-3 against Nebraska and to 24-16 in the series in Norman. The game was played during the 50th-anniversary season of the 1971 "Game of the Century" that saw the No. 1-ranked Huskers beat the No. 2-ranked Sooners 35-31 on Owen Field on Thanksgiving Day.

ROAD WARRIORS

• Oklahoma has won 28 of its last 32 true road games, with the only losses during that stretch coming in 2019 at Kansas State (48-41), 2020 at Iowa State (37-30) and 2021 at Baylor (27-14) and Oklahoma State (37-33).

• 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 26 of their last 32 true road games.

• OU has scored at least 30 points in 36 of its last 37 true road games (school-record 35-game streak was stopped last season at Baylor).

NOTING THE NEWBIES

• Twenty-seven players (24 of them first-year Sooners) have made their first appearance in an OU uniform this season. The 24 newcomers who have seen the field this year are redshirt seniors Jeffery Johnson (DL), C.J. Coldon (DB), 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), sophomore Tawee Walker (RB) and freshmen Jovantae Barnes (RB), Gavin Freeman (WR), Jayden Gibson (WR), Gracen Halton (DL), Kaden Helms (TE), Jaren Kanak (LB), Jason Llewellyn (TE), Peter Schuh (DB), Jacob Sexton (OL), Jake Taylor (OL), R Mason Thomas (DL) and Gentry Williams (DB).

FIRST-TIME STARTERS

• Nine 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).

09/10/2022 Oklahoma vs Kent football. Photo Ty Russell

DEFENSE OFF TO A STRONG START

• Oklahoma leads all Power 5 teams this season with its 23 tackles for loss, 11.5 TFLs per game and total of 111 yards on TFLs (the Sooners are tied with James Madison in TFLs and second only to Middle Tennessee's TFL yardage [115]). The Sooners are also tied for third nationally by averaging 4.5 sacks per game.

• OU defense 10th nationally in scoring defense (8.0 ppg), 14th in yards per play allowed (3.9), 34th in rushing defense (96.0 ypg) and 46th in total defense (305.5 ypg). Oklahoma's 33-3 win over Kent State represented the fewest points allowed by the Sooners against an FBS opponent since 2017 (41-3 win at Kansas).

• Oklahoma has allowed only one touchdown through two games this season. It is the first time since the 2013 season the Sooners have allowed only one TD over any two-game span (34-0 win vs. UL-Monroe and 16-7 win vs. West Virginia).

• The defense has been led by a pair of standout sophomores in linebacker Danny Stutsman (21 tackles) and safety Billy Bowman (20 tackles), who rank first and second in the Big 12 in total tackles, and junior defensive end Reggie Grimes, who leads the Big 12 by avergaing 2.0 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss per game.

• Bowman has set career highs in tackles each of the last two weeks (nine vs. UTEP and 11 vs. Kent State). On Saturday against the Golden Flashes, he forced and recovered a fumble on the same play. It was his second career forced fumble and first recovery.

• Stutsman has also established career highs in tackles in each of the first two games of the season, logging nine stops against UTEP and 12 (4.0 TFLs) against Kent State. The last Sooner to register four TFLs in a game was Ronnie Perkins, at Baylor in 2019.

• Grimes has been a menace in opposing backfields this season. Five of his seven tackles through two games have been for lost yardage and four have been sacks. His 5.0 TFLs have cost opponents 34 lost yards while his 4.0 sacks have totaled 31 yards. Grimes is tied for fourth nationally and first in the Big 12 in TFLs and TFLs per game, and ranks second nationally (first in the Big 12) in TFL yardage. He leads the Big 12 and ranks third nationally in sacks and second in sack yardage.

• The Sooners have registered an interception in each of their first two games this season and in seven consecutive contests, dating back to last season. That streak ranks second nationally only to Georgia State, which has an interception in 10 straight games. Freshman DB Gentry Williams picked off a pass in the end zone in the fourth quarter of the season opener against UTEP and redshirt senior DB Justin Harrington notched his first career interception in the fourth quarter against Kent State.

NOTING THE OFFENSE

• Oklahoma ranks 15th nationally by averaging 7.4 yards per play and is 38th in scoring offense (39.0 points per game) and 44th in total offense (461.0 yards per game), despite ranking only 104th in total plays (125 plays, 62.5 per game) and next to last in time of possession (22:34 per game).

• The Sooners have scored on all eight of their red zone opportunities this season (six touchdowns and two field goals).

• Quarterback Dillon Gabriel ranks eighth nationally (second in the Big 12) with his 190.1 passing efficiency rating. He also ranks among the top quarterbacks nationally in yards per pass attempt (10.37; ninth), passing yards per completion (14.7; 19th), completion percentage (70.6; 22nd), points responsible for per game (18.0; 22nd), passing touchdowns (5; 22nd), passing yards per game (264.5; 31st), total passing yards (529; 34th) and total offense (269.5 yards per game; 38th). He was named Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Week after his performance against Kent State.

• Oklahoma has scored touchdowns on 10 offensive possessions this season, and only three of those TD drives have taken longer than two minutes of game clock. The other drives took 2:13, 2:40 and 4:01 of clock time. OU's 10 touchdown drives this season have averaged six plays, 74.1 yards and 99.5 seconds of game clock.

• In each of their first two games, the Sooners have outscored (by at least 30 points) and outgained (by at least 135 total yards) their opponents despite trailing the total time of possession by at least 12 minutes. In its 45-13 season-opening win over UTEP, Oklahoma outgained the Miners 495 to 316, but only possessed the ball for 21:27 (to UTEP's 38:33). In its 33-3 victory over Kent State, OU gained 430 total yards to the Golden Flashes' 295 yards and held the ball for only 23:41 to KSU's 36:19 possession time.

• Against UTEP, Oklahoma operated quickly and efficiently in the first quarter, scoring touchdowns on its first three possessions to race to a 21-0 lead in the first 8:17 of the game. In the Kent State game, the Sooners scored all 31 of their offensive points in just shy of a quarter (14:35, spanning the last 1:10 of the second quarter until 1:35 remaining in the third). OU put together four TD drives and a field goal in 6:15 total possession time.

BALANCED OFFENSE NOTHING NEW

• Oklahoma totaled 259 rushing yards and 233 passing yards in its season-opening win over UTEP. It was the 47th time in 94 games since the start of the 2015 season the Sooners have gained at least 200 rushing yards and 200 passing yards in a game (50% of its games over the last seven-plus seasons). It was also the 36th time in the same span that OU has rushed for at least 250 yards.

• Running a balanced offense has also been common for first-year offensive coordinator Leff Lebby. In his three previous years as an offensive coordinator at Ole Miss (2020-21) and UCF (2019), Lebby's offenses totaled at least 200 passing yards and 200 rushing yards 15 times in 36 games.

MARVELOUS MARVIN

• Junior wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. has made 14 career receptions of at least 40 yards (registered a 42-yard catch in the season opener against UTEP and a 58-yard TD reception against Kent State). CeeDee Lamb (2017-19) holds the school record with 24 receptions of 40 or more yards.

• Through two games this season, Mims ranks sixth nationally and third in the Big 12 by averaging 19.3 yards per punt return (58 yards on three returns). He ranks 10th nationally (second in Big 12) in receiving yards (244), ninth nationally (second in Big 12) in receiving yards per game (122.0) and 13th nationally (second in Big 12) with his 24.4 yards per catch.

• Mims led the Sooners in receiving yards each of his first two seasons. He has made 79 receptions for 1,559 yards and 16 touchdowns and rushed four times for 31 yards in 26 games (13 starts). He has also returned 26 punts for 289 yards (11.1 average) and three kickoffs for 70 yards (23.3 average). He has five career games with two TD receptions, including last week vs. Kent State.

• Mims registered 32 receptions for 705 yards and five TDs as a sophomore last season. As a freshman in 2020, he led the team with 610 yards and nine touchdowns on 37 receptions. His nine TD catches tied for most in the Big 12, matched the Big 12 record for a true freshman and established a new OU freshman record. He also became the first Oklahoma wide receiver to earn FWAA Freshman All-America honors, and was a second-team All-Big 12 selection by the league's coaches and media.

• Mims set the Texas high school state record for receiving yards in a career (5,485) and in a season (2,629 to go along with 32 touchdowns on 117 catches as a senior). He played at Lone Star High School in the city of Frisco.

STOOPS INDUCTED INTO COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME, WILLIAMS ON DECK

• The owner of the most wins in Oklahoma football history and engineer of 10 Big 12 Conference titles and the 2000 national championship, Bob Stoops was inducted into the National Football Foundation (NFF) and College Hall of Fame on Dec. 7 in his first year of eligibility. Stoops posted a 190-48 (.798) record at Oklahoma and coached the Sooners to a school-record 18 consecutive bowl berths. He was the only coach in the BCS era to win the Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl and the national championship, and accumulated more victories over the first 18 seasons of a head coaching career than anyone in the game's history.

• One of Stoops' star pupils, defensive back Roy Williams will join his former head coach in the Hall when he is inducted Dec. 6, 2022. Williams, who helped OU to the 2000 national title as a redshirt sophomore, was a unanimous All-American in 2001 who won the Nagurski (nation's top defender) and Thorpe (top defensive back) awards. He was also named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and finished seventh in Heisman Trophy voting, the highest finish of the year by a non-quarterback. He ended the year with 107 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, five interceptions, 22 pass breakups and three fumble recoveries.

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. Baylor and Texas have each won three Big 12 championships and are followed by 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 (three) and Kansas State, Oklahoma State and TCU (one each).

• Since 2000, OU has won more Big 12 championships (14) than it has lost home games (11).

• Oklahoma is 54-8 (.871) in regular season Big 12 play since the start of the 2015 season. Oklahoma State ranks second during that period (42-21; .667), West Virginia third (33-29; .532), TCU fourth (33-30; 524) and Texas fifth (32-30; .516).

• 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 (3-3) and Baylor (1-1) have the next best marks.

• Over the last seven years, OU has posted a 54-8 (.844) record in regular season Big 12 play. The next best mark during the stretch is 42-21 (.667) by Oklahoma State.

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 (686) than any other program (next most is 648 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 11,887 points scored, which is 535 points more than second-place Boise State (11,352) and 1,047 more than third-place Oregon (10,840).

• 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

• The Sooners have outscored opponents 21-0 in the first quarter and 38-0 in the third quarter this season.

• Oklahoma is 42-4 all-time as the No. 6-ranked team in the AP poll (14-1 on the road). The lone road loss was in 1963 at No. 10 Nebraska (21-6 final). The Sooners are 2-1 in Lincoln while ranked sixth in the AP poll, with victories in 1957 (32-7) and 1984 (17-7 over the No. 1 Cornhuskers). OU has won its last six road games as the AP's sixth-ranked team (the first of those was in 1969 at Wisconsin and the most recent was in 2021 at Kansas State).

• 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).

• Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables, who is 51, is four years older than Bud Wilkinson was when Wilkinson coached his final game for the Sooners in 1963.

• OU ranks 13th nationally (fifth among teams with at least four returns) with its 16.5 yards per punt return. Marvin Mims Jr. ranks sixth nationally with his 19.3 yards per return (58 yards on three returns).

• The Sooners returned exactly two pass attempts from last season, both from current redshirt freshman walk-on Ralph Rucker.

• 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.

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

• OU has won 79 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 82-5 when scoring at least 35 points and 71-3 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 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 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 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.