Game Primer: OU vs. Kent State

Saturday, September 10

Norman

6 p.m.

University of Oklahoma

Kent State

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September 09, 2022 | Football

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^7/7 Oklahoma

Kent State

Saturday, Sept. 10 / 6 p.m. CT / Owen Field

ESPN+ / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes

OPENING KICK

• No. 7/7 Oklahoma (1-0) plays its second game of the Brent Venables era when it hosts Kent State (0-1) on Saturday at 6 p.m. CT at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman. The "Stripe the Stadium" game will be televised by ESPN+ with Mike Morgan, Ryan Leaf and Alex Chappelle announcing.

• Saturday's matchup will mark the first between the two programs.

• Oklahoma has won its last 10 home games and 28 of its last 29.

• The game will mark the 1,313th in OU history. The Sooners rank fifth in college football annals with their .728 all-time winning percentage (928-331-53). They trail Ohio State (.732), Alabama (.731), Notre Dame (.729) and Michigan (.729). Since the end of World War II (1946 season to present), OU leads all programs with 685 wins (38 more than Alabama, the program with the next most) and with its .771 winning percentage. The Sooners also lead the country with their 240 wins since the start of the 2000 season.

• Oklahoma is 26-3 all-time as the No. 7-ranked team in the AP poll (14-1 at home). Its last home game as the AP's No. 7 team was the 2018 season opener against Florida Atlantic, a 63-14 win. OU's only home defeat as the AP's seventh-ranked team came to TCU in 2005, 17-10.

• OU was ranked No. 9 in the preseason AP poll, marking the 23rd straight year it was ranked by the AP to start the season. The Sooners have been ranked 10th or better in 20 of the last 22 preseason polls. They have 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.

• The Sooners are coming off a 45-13 season-opening home win over UTEP on Saturday, a game in which they led 21-0 with 6:43 left in the first quarter after scoring on their first three possessions. Dillon Gabriel threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns (no interceptions) and ran for a 12-yard score. Eric Gray rushed for a game-high 102 yards while Marcus Major ran for 54 and two TDs. Brayden Willis caught both TD passes and Reggie Grimes logged a career-high 2.5 sacks as OU held the Miners to 28 rushing yards on 31 carries.

• Kent State opened its season with a 45-20 loss at Washington on Saturday. The Golden Flashes, who are under fifth-year head coach Sean Lewis, were outgained 525 yards to 340 and by an average of 6.7 yards per play to 5.0. Quarterback Collin Schlee completed 12 of 24 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown (two interceptions). He also ran for 47 yards. Receiver Dante Cephas caught six passes for a game-high 105 yards.

Brayden Willis vs. UTEP lead

HOW TO WATCH ON ESPN+

• Saturday's game will air exclusively on ESPN+, meaning it will be available to stream in HD through the ESPN App on your favorite connected devices (living room devices, phone, tablet, computer, smart TV) and on ESPN.com. The new SoonerVision on ESPN+ landing page provides fans of OU Athletics one-stop-shop access to more than 100 annual live events, including men's and women's basketball and varsity Olympic sport competitions, as well as studio programming and archival content. In addition to live game programming, SoonerVision on ESPN+ also offers historic content, current coaches shows, pregame shows, OU Football Pro Day and more. By subscribing to ESPN+, fans also have access to Big 12 Now on ESPN+, which includes hundreds of live events each year. ESPN+ also offers thousands of exclusive live events, original studio shows and acclaimed series that aren't on the ESPN networks.

For more information or to purchase a monthly or yearly subscription, click here.

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 3:45 p.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 1:30 p.m. and will feature great food options (food trucks from 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. 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.

Kids at Football

KEY STORYLINES

• Oklahoma has never faced Kent State in football. The Sooners are 3-0 against teams currently in the Mid-American Conference, with all three games played under former head coach Bob Stoops in Norman. OU was ranked No. 2 when it beat Bowling Green 40-24 in the 2004 season opener and Ball State 62-6 in 2011. In 2015, the No. 19 Sooners downed Akron 41-3 to start the season.

• Kent State was picked by league coaches to win the Mid-American Conference East Division this season. Last year, the Golden Flashes posted a 7-7 record and went 6-2 in conference play before falling to Northern Illinois in the MAC Championship (41-23) and to Wyoming in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (52-38). KSU set program records last season for offensive yards (6,907), first downs (362), rushing yards (3,482) and passing yards (3,425). It returned its top rusher (Marquez Cooper; 241 carries for 1,205 yards and 11 TDs) and top receiver (Dante Cephas; 82 receptions for 1,240 yards and nine TDs). Redshirt sophomore quarterback Collin Schlee is in his first year as the starter. Last year, he completed 17 of 24 passes (no interceptions) for 238 yards and a score.

• Saturday's game will mark the second of a challenging four-game Kent State non-conference schedule that also includes Washington, LIU and reigning national champion Georgia.

• OU's hurry-up offense under coordinator Jeff Lebby was on full display in the season opener against UTEP. The Sooners possessed the ball for just 21:27, the second-lowest figure nationally through one game played. Despite the low possession time, OU ranked 34th nationally last week (there are 128 FBS teams) with its 492 yards. It averaged 8.1 yards per play. Lebby served as Mississippi's offensive coordinator the last two years. Last season, the Rebels ranked 122nd out of 130 teams with their 27:19 average time of possession and in 2020 ranked 105th out of 127 teams (27:51).

• With UCF transfer Dillon Gabriel taking the reins of the OU offense, the Sooners debuted 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 since the start of the 2019 season with his 72 touchdown throws. In his 27-game career (he has started his last 26 games), he has completed 60.8% of his passes for 8,270 yards while rushing for 392 yards and nine TDs. He has thrown at least one touchdown pass in all 27 games, at least two in 21 contests and at least four in seven outings.

• 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 last Saturday. 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).

NOTING THE NEWBIES

• Twenty-four players and 21 first-year Sooners made their first appearance in an OU uniform Saturday. The 21 newcomers were redshirt seniors Jeffery Johnson (DL), C.J. Coldon (DB) and Jonah Laulu (DL), 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), Jaren Kanak (LB), Jason Llewellyn (TE), Jacob Sexton (OL), Jake Taylor (OL), R Mason Thomas (DL) and Gentry Williams (DB).

FIRST TIME STARTERS

• Seven players made their first OU starts on Saturday. They 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).

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 93 games since the start of the 2015 season the Sooners have gained at least 200 rushing yards and 200 passing yards in a game (51% 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.

HOME IS WHERE THE "W" IS

• Oklahoma is 131-11 (.923) 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 .893). OU has outscored its opponents by an average of 43-17 in those games.

• The Sooners have posted 141 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 382) has a longer current streak.

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

Dillon Gabriel vs. UTEP lead

POLLING DATA

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

• This is the 23rd straight year that OU has appeared in the preseason AP Top 25, which is the second-longest current streak 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.

MARVELOUS MARVIN

• Junior wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. has made 13 career receptions of at least 40 yards (registered a 42-yard catch in the season opener against UTEP). CeeDee Lamb (2017-19) holds the school record with 24 receptions of 40 or more yards.

• Mims led the Sooners in receiving yards each of his first two seasons. He has made 72 receptions for 1,396 yards and 14 touchdowns and rushed three times for 32 yards in 25 games (13 starts). He has also returned 25 punts for 248 yards (9.92 average) and three kickoffs for 70 yards (23.3 average).

• 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.

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. Five SOUL Mission pillars target every facet of off-the-field enhancement of OU's football student-athletes: civic engagement, life skills, career development/job placement, personal growth and former player development.

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).

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 (685) than any other program (next most is 647 by Alabama).

• Oklahoma 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 11,854 points scored, which is 533 points more than second-place Boise State (11,321) and 1,084 more than third-place Oregon (10,770).

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

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

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

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

• 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 has won 78 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.

• 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.

• Over the last seven seasons (since the start of 2015), OU leads the country with its 5.6 yards per rush and ranks fifth nationally (second in Power Five) with its 235 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.