Game Primer: OU vs. UTEP

Saturday, September 3

Norman

2:30 p.m.

University of Oklahoma

UTEP

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September 02, 2022 | Football

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^9/9 Oklahoma

UTEP

Saturday, Sept. 3 / 2:30 p.m. CT / Owen Field

FOX / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes

OPENING KICK

• No. 9/9 Oklahoma begins its 128th season of varsity football when it plays host to UTEP on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman. The game will be televised by FOX with Jason Benetti and Brock Huard announcing.

• Saturday's game will mark the first in the head coaching career of Brent Venables, who was hired by OU on Dec. 5 after spending the last 10 years coordinating Clemson's defense. Venables returns to Norman, where he served as OU's linebackers coach from 1999-2011 (was co-defensive coordinator from 1999-2003 and associate head coach and defensive coordinator from 2004-2011). He has coached in eight national championship games between his time at OU and Clemson (four at each school), winning titles with the Sooners in 2000 and Tigers in 2016 and 2018. In 26 years as a full-time assistant coach, Venables' teams have had 26 winning seasons, won 13 conference titles, have been to 30 bowl games (includes four College Football Playoff National Championship games) and won at least 10 games 21 times.

• Oklahoma is 98-23-6 all-time in season openers and has won its last five such contests and 11 of its last 12. The Sooners are 79-15-4 in their first game of a season at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, which opened in 1923 and is in its 100th year. OU has won 16 straight openers at home (last such loss was a 17-10 defeat vs. TCU in 2005).

• Saturday's contest will mark the 1,312th in OU history. The Sooners rank fifth in college football history with their .728 all-time winning percentage (928-331-53 record). They trail Ohio State (.732), Alabama (.731), Notre Dame (.730) and Michigan (.729). Since the end of World War II (1946 season to present), OU leads all programs with 684 wins (38 more than Alabama, the program with the next most) and with its .771 winning percentage.

• This marks the 23rd straight season the Sooners have been ranked in the preseason AP poll. They have been ranked 10th or better in 20 of the last 22 preseason polls. OU has also ended each of the last seven seasons ranked in the AP top 10, its first time to accomplish the feat since 1971-80 under head coaches Chuck Fairbanks and Barry Switzer.

• After finishing tied for second place at 7-2 in conference play last season, OU failed to qualify for the Big 12 Championship game, snapping a string of six straight league crowns. The Sooners had won their six consecutive titles (2015-2020) in outright fashion, becoming, with Clemson the same years, the first Power Five program to win at least six straight outright conference championships since OU claimed 12 Big Six/Seven crowns in a row under legendary head coach Bud Wilkinson (1948-59).

• Seventeen of the Sooners' previous 22 head coaches (and nine of the last 10) won their OU head coaching debut. The only five who didn't were John Harts (1895), Fred Roberts (1901), Tom Stidham (1937), Jim Tatum (1946) and John Blake (1996).

• UTEP, which is in its fifth year under head coach Dana Dimel, went 7-6 last season and finished fourth in the seven-team Conference USA West Division with a 4-4 record. The Miners received a berth to the New Mexico Bowl where they lost 31-24 to Fresno State. UTEP was picked sixth out of 11 teams in this year's Conference USA preseason media poll.

• The Miners opened their 2022 season on Saturday with a 31-13 home conference loss to North Texas. UTEP outgained the Mean Green by one yard (400-399) but was outscored 17-0 in the second half after trailing 14-13 at halftime. Quarterback Gavin Hardison completed 21 of 48 passes for 293 yards and one touchdown without an interception. Tyrin Smith, who caught seven passes for 127 yards, scored on a 32-yard second-quarter reception and Gavin Baechle kicked field goals of 29 and 26 yards.

Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium

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 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 10 a.m. for the season opener and will feature great food options (food trucks from Bondi Bowl, HTeaO, Kona Ice, The Meating Place, 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. The OU soccer team will sign autographs this Saturday, and 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 is 4-0 all-time against UTEP, with three of those contests serving as season openers. The Sooners posted season-debut wins over the Miners in 2000 (55-14 in Norman; OU went on to win the national championship), 2012 (24-7 in El Paso) and 2017 (56-7 in Norman). They also won a 68-0 home contest in 2002. The combined score in the four games was 203-28 (average of 51-7).

• Over the four previous series meetings, OU outgained the Miners by an average margin of 515-246 yards per game. The Sooners posted an average rushing advantage of 135-125 yards per contest, and an average passing advantage of 335-121. OU also forced 13 turnovers in the four games while committing three (all in the 2000 matchup).

• After five years of being led by a head coach with an offensive background, the Sooners are under the direction of a head coach with a defensive background in Brent Venables. Venables is coming off a 10-year stint as defensive coordinator at Clemson, and helped the Tigers rank first nationally in sacks (445; next most was 392), tackles for loss (1,147) and opponent third-down conversion percentage (30.2%), second in opponent pass efficiency rating (111.1) and takeaways (244; tied), third in scoring defense (17.8 ppg) and opponent completion percentage (53.3), fourth in total defense (311.4 ypg) and pass defense (190.5 ypg), fifth in interceptions (148) and sixth in rushing defense (120.9 ypg).

• With UCF transfer Dillon Gabriel taking the reins of the Oklahoma offense, the Sooners will debut a new starting quarterback in the season opener for the fifth time in the last six years (Baker Mayfield in 2017, Kyler Murray in 2018, Jalen Hurts in 2019 and Spencer Rattler in 2020 and '21). Despite missing UCF's final 10 games last season due to injury, Gabriel ranks third in the nation over the last three years with his 70 touchdown throws. In his 26-game career (25 starts), he has completed 60.7% of his passes (554 of 913) for 8,037 yards while rushing for 372 yards and eight TDs. He has thrown at least one touchdown pass in all 26 games, at least two in 20 contests and at least four in seven outings.

• Former OU offensive lineman then student assistant Jeff Lebby is in his first season as the Sooners' offensive coordinator after leading some of the top offenses in the country the last three years at Ole Miss (2020-21) and UCF (2019). His units the last three seasons have each ranked in the top six nationally in total offense and in the top 25 in scoring offense. Notably, his 2020 Ole Miss unit broke the SEC record for total offense in conference play (562.4 ypg), the first of two consecutive years he was a semifinalist for the Broyles Award. Gabriel and Lebby teamed up at UCF in 2019, Gabriel's freshman year, as the Golden Knights set a school record and ranked second nationally in total offense (540.5 ypg) and ranked fifth in the country in scoring offense (43.4 ppg). UCF in 2019 was one of only two offenses in the nation that year to average more than 300 passing yards and 200 rushing yards per game. The other was Oklahoma. Gabriel passed for more than 3,600 yards and 29 touchdowns that year in Lebby's offense.

• The Sooners return exactly two pass attempts from last season, both from current redshirt freshman walk-on Ralph Rucker. OU's quarterbacks besides Gabriel and Rucker are redshirt sophomore Micah Bowens (did not see game action at OU last season after transferring from Penn State), redshirt junior Davis Beville (played in three games at Pitt last season), sophomore General Booty (Tyler Junior College transfer who led the NJCAA in 2021 with 3,410 passing yards and ranked fourth with 27 TD passes) and freshman Nick Evers (a consensus four-star prospect who was rated as the No. 4 dual-threat QB in the 2022 class by Rivals).

• Forty-seven of OU's 115 players (41%) are new to the program this season, while 60 players (52%) have never played in a game for the Sooners. 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).

Brent Venables Preseason Camp Day 1, lead

HOME IS WHERE THE "W" IS

• Oklahoma is 130-11 (.922) at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium since the start of the 1999 season, giving the Sooners three more Big 12 championships over the last 23 years (14) than home defeats. It is the best home winning percentage among Power Five schools over the last 23 seasons (Ohio State is next at .892). OU has outscored its opponents by an average of 43-17 in those games.

• Including Saturday's UTEP game, the Sooners have posted 141 straight sellouts of originally scheduled home contests dating back to the start of the 1999 season (Bob Stoops' first as head coach). Only Nebraska (FBS-record 381) has a longer current streak nationally.

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

POLLING DATA

• Oklahoma is ranked No. 9 in both the Associated Press preseason top 25 and the preseason USA Today Sports AFCA Coaches Poll. This is the 20th time in the last 22 years that OU has been ranked in the AP preseason top 10.

• This marks the 23rd straight year that OU has appeared in the preseason AP Top 25, which is the second-longest current string behind Ohio State (34). It also represents the 64th time that Oklahoma has appeared in the preseason AP poll, second most behind Ohio State (69 times).

• OU's all-time average preseason AP rank is 6.6, best in the nation (Alabama is second at 7.2).

• Of its 64 appearances in the AP preseason poll, Oklahoma has been ranked ninth or higher 48 times. That has occurred in 19 of the last 22 preseason polls. This is the seventh straight year OU has been ranked in the top 10 of the preseason AP poll.

• OU finished in the AP's top 10 each of the last seven seasons, and ended the 2021 campaign ranked 10th.

VENABLES SET FOR HEAD COACHING DEBUT

• A former 13-year Oklahoma assistant coach who won a national championship with the Sooners and two more with Clemson during an ultra-successful 10-year stint as defensive coordinator, Brent Venables was named OU's 23rd head football coach Dec. 5. The 51-year-old Venables served as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at OU from 1999-2003 and as associate head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2004-11 under former head coach Bob Stoops. Venables has coached in eight national championship games between his time at OU and Clemson, winning titles with the Sooners in 2000 and Tigers in 2016 and 2018.

• In 26 years as a full-time assistant coach, Venables' teams posted 26 winning seasons, won 13 conference titles, went to 30 bowl games (includes four College Football Playoff National Championship games) and won at least 10 games 21 times. His Clemson squads played in 10 CFP games over the last seven years.

• From 1999-2011, Venables helped Oklahoma to the 2000 national championship, three other national championship game appearances (2003, '04 and '08) and seven Big 12 titles.

• Venables has received national accolades for his coaching and recruiting. He received the Frank Broyles Award in 2016 as the nation's top assistant coach after being named a finalist in 2015 and also in 2006 when the Sooners led the Big 12 in total defense and scoring defense. He was named FootballScoop's Defensive Coordinator of the Year in 2014 and Rivals.com's Recruiter of the Year in 2015.

RECORD SPRING GAME CROWD

• Oklahoma's April 23 spring game drew a crowd of 75,360, setting a record for the event. The attendance figure was more than 20,000 higher than the previous OU spring game record and led the nation's 2022 spring games, according to 247Sports (Georgia was second at 68,002, Penn State third at 62,000, Ohio State fourth at 60,007 and Nebraska fifth at 54,357).

RECAPPING 2021: 11-WIN SEASON AND ALAMO BOWL VICTORY

• Oklahoma saw its six-year streak of Big 12 championships snapped in 2021, but still finished 11-2 overall, beat No. 15 Oregon 47-32 in the Valero Alamo Bowl and finished No. 10 in the AP and coaches polls (seventh straight year finishing in the top 10 of both). It was its seventh consecutive season to lose only two games.

• OU's losses came in conference road games. After starting the year 9-0, the Sooners dropped a 27-14 contest at No. 18 Baylor on Nov. 13 and a 37-33 game at No. 7 Oklahoma State on Nov. 27. The 11 victories marked OU's 41st season with at least 10 wins (tied with Alabama for the most in the country) and nation-leading 27th with at least 11 victories.

• Bob Stoops took over interim head coaching duties following the departure of Lincoln Riley on Nov. 28. Stoops, who retired from an 18-year Oklahoma head coaching career in June 2017, directed the Sooners to the Alamo Bowl victory, upping his school-record win total to 191 (against just 48 losses). The Alamo Bowl marked the Sooners' 23rd consecutive bowl appearance, by far the longest streak in school history (the previous record was eight from the 1975-82 seasons under Barry Switzer). OU's 564 total yards against the Ducks (322 rushing, 242 passing) were its third-most ever in a bowl game (trailing only the 1991 Gator Bowl vs. Virginia [618 yards] and the 2020 Cotton Bowl vs. Florida [684 yards]). Its 47 points were its sixth-most ever in a bowl game (OU has scored 48 points in four bowl games and finished with 55 in the 2020 Cotton Bowl).

• Oklahoma led the nation with its 96.8% score rate in the red zone (60 scores on 62 trips) in 2021. Forty-seven of its 60 red-zone scores (75.8%) were touchdowns, good for the highest percentage among Power 5 teams. The Sooners, who ranked eighth nationally with their 39.1 points per game, posted a streak of 44 consecutive red-zone conversions.

• Running back Kennedy Brooks rushed for 1,253 yards on the year, becoming one of just four Sooners to compile three separate seasons of 1,000 rushing yards. He finished his career with 3,320 rushing yards, and his 7.03 yards per carry tied for second in program history among players with at least 2,000 career rushing yards. Brooks was named Alamo Bowl Most Outstanding Offensive Player after running for 142 yards and three touchdowns.

• Defensively, OU tied for the national lead with its 21 forced fumbles and 1.62 forced fumbles per game. Outside linebacker Nik Bonitto, who was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year by PFF, earned third-team AP All-America honors after finishing with 39 tackles, 7.0 sacks and team highs of 15.0 tackles for loss, nine QB hurries and three fumble recoveries (tied for third most nationally) in 12 regular season games (all starts). He also forced a fumble.

• Kicker Gabe Brkic was one of three 2021 Lou Groza Award finalists. He made 20 of 26 field goal attempts on the season and tied for the national lead with five conversions from at least 50 yards (on seven attempts). He tied an FBS single-game record with three field goal makes of at least 50 yards (51, 56 and 55) in the season opener vs. Tulane. Brkic ranks second in OU history with his 82.6% field goal conversion rate (57 for 69) and made 99.4% of his PAT tries (159 for 160). He owns OU records for field goals of at least 50 yards (10; his nine over the 2020 and 2021 seasons tied for the national lead) and at least 40 yards (20).

• Ray Guy Award semifinalist Michael Turk did things no other punter in program history had. In his first year at OU, Turk set a single-season record by averaging 51.2 yards per punt, smashing the previous record of 47.8 yards by Jack Jacobs in 1940. In fact, entering 2021, the NCAA single-season record for punting average (min. 30 punts) was 51.0 by Texas A&M's Braden Mann in 2018. Turk surpassed that figure in 2021, but at 51.17 yards per punt he finished just behind San Diego State's Matt Araiza, who averaged 51.19 yards per punt on the year. Twenty of Turk's 35 punts in 2021 (57.1%) went at least 50 yards, and eight went at least 60. His 85-yarder vs. Texas was the FBS' second longest of the season and tied for the fourth longest over the last 10 years, and tied for the third longest in Oklahoma history. Turk holds five of the top 14 single-game punting averages (min. three punts) in OU annals, including the best and third-best marks (59.7 vs. TCU and 58.0 vs. Texas).

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

• OU's bowl appearance was its 55th all-time, fourth most nationally. It improved to 31-23-1 (.573) in bowl games, tied for the fourth most wins.

• The Sooners only punted 36 times in their 13 games, an average of 2.8 per contest (fourth-lowest in the country).

• Nine Sooners earned first- or second-team All-Big 12 honors. First-team picks were Turk and tight end/H-back Jeremiah Hall, while second-team honorees were linebacker Brian Asamoah, outside linebacker Bonitto, Brkic, offensive lineman Marquis Hayes, defensive linemen Isaiah Thomas and Perrion Winfrey, and safety Delarrin Turner-Yell.

• A program-record 31 Sooners were named to the Academic All-Big 12 Team, including offensive lineman Hayes, linebacker Bryan Mead, kicker Zach Schmit, quarterback Tanner Schafer and wide receiver Devin Staton, who were five of the 11 league players honored for a 4.0 GPA.

Lead, Bob and Drake Stoops

MORE ON TURK'S KEY LEG

• Redshirt senior punter and Ray Guy Award semifinalist Michael Turk transferred to Oklahoma from Arizona State in August 2021 and promptly earned the starting job. No other punter played for the Sooners last season.

• 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 45.9 yards per punt (8,397 yards on 183 punts). The FBS career record (min. 150 punts) is 46.3 yards by West Virginia's Todd Sauerbrun (1991-94).

FORMER SOONERS ON STAFF

• First-year OU head coach Brent Venables has placed an emphasis on making alumni feel welcome around the program, and turned to several former Sooners to fill his first staff at Oklahoma.

• In addition to assistant coaches Joe Jon Finley (2004-07), Brandon Hall (1998-00), Jeff Lebby (2002-06) and DeMarco Murray (2007-10), several other former players hold staff positions as analysts, graduate assistants and as part of OU football's SOUL Mission program.

• Former linebackers Lance Mitchell (2002-04) and Rufus Alexander (2003-06) are defensive analysts while former offensive linemen Jon Cooper (2005-08) and Phil Loadholt (2007-08) serve as offensive analysts. Former quarterback Tanner Schafer (2016-21) and offensive lineman Clayton Woods (2018-19) are offensive graduate assistants.

• Former running back and receiver Josh Norman (1998-01) and linebackers Caleb Kelly (2016-21) and Curtis Lofton (2005-07) work with SOUL Mission (Serving Our Uncommon Legacy). SOUL Mission is dedicated to helping OU football student-athletes develop in all aspects of their lives. Four SOUL Mission pillars target every facet of off-the-field enhancement of OU's football student-athletes: civic engagement, life skills, career development and former player development.

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 his star pupils, defensive back Roy Williams will join Stoops 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.

HEISMAN U

• Quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray became Oklahoma's sixth and seventh Heisman Trophy winners in 2017 and '18, respectively, moving the Sooners into a tie with Notre Dame and Ohio State for the most Heisman winners. Other OU winners were QB Sam Bradford in 2008, QB Jason White in 2003, RB Billy Sims in 1978, RB Steve Owens in 1969 and RB Billy Vessels in 1952.

• Quarterback Jalen Hurts was the 2019 Heisman Trophy runner-up and became Oklahoma's 11th Heisman finalist, tied with Alabama for most of any school (finalists were first named in 1982). Miami (Fla.) ranks third with nine finalists, Florida ranks fourth with eight and Ohio State ranks fifth with seven.

• OU boasts a nation-leading 10 Heisman finalists in the last 21 years (since 2000). Alabama ranks second with nine while Ohio State and Stanford rank third with five each.

• Oklahoma is the only program to ever produce five Heisman finalists in a four-year period (Hurts in 2019 [runner-up], Murray in 2018 [won], Mayfield in 2017 [won] and Mayfield [finished third] and receiver Dede Westbrook [finished fourth] in 2016). With Mayfield's and Murray's wins, OU is the only program to produce different quarterback winners in consecutive seasons.

• OU is tied for the most Heisman runners-up, as well (six). OU's second-place Heisman finishers were Kurt Burris (1954), Greg Pruitt (1972), Sims (1979), Josh Heupel (2000), Adrian Peterson (2004) and Hurts (2019).

• Oklahoma has produced four Heisman Trophy winners in the last 19 years. Only four other programs have produced four winners ever (Notre Dame and Ohio State seven, USC six and Alabama four).

• An OU quarterback finished in the top four of Heisman voting in five consecutive years (Mayfield fourth in 2015, third in 2016 and first in 2017; Murray first in 2018; Hurts second in 2019).

OU'S BIG 12 DOMINATION

• Oklahoma'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.

• 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 (43), Ohio State (39) and USC (37).

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 (684) than any other program (next most is 646 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 11,809 points scored, which is 505 points more than second-place Boise State (11,304) and 1,042 more than third-place Oregon (10,767).

• 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.

Lee Roy Selmon

EXTRA POINTS

• Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables and UTEP head coach Dana Dimel were on staff together at Kansas State in the 1990s. Venables served as a K-State graduate assistant during the 1993-95 seasons and linebackers coach from 1996-98 (also defensive run game coordinator in 1998). Dimel was the Wildcats' offensive line coach from 1989-96 (run game coordinator in 1993-94 and offensive coordinator in 1995-96) before becoming head coach at Wyoming. The 1996 season is the only one they were both K-State full-time assistant coaches. The Wildcats went 9-3 overall and 6-2 in conference play in the first season of the Big 12, and lost 19-15 to BYU in the Cotton Bowl. It was KSU's first ever major bowl game (current New Year's Six) and just its fifth bowl game in program history.

• The Sooners are 17-3 all-time as the No. 9-ranked team in the AP poll (10-3 at home). OU's last game played as the ninth-ranked team was in 2019 (42-41 victory over Iowa State at home). Oklahoma last lost as the AP's ninth-ranked team in 1993 (27-10 to No. 20 Colorado).

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

• OU has won 77 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).

• Over the last 10 seasons, the Sooners are 81-5 when scoring at least 35 points and 70-3 when scoring at least 40.

• 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.

• Over the last seven seasons (since the start of 2015), OU leads the country with its 5.5 yards per rush and ranks fifth nationally (second in Power Five) with its 231 rushing TDs.

• 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.