Game Primer: OU vs. Arkansas State

Saturday, September 2

Norman

11 a.m.

University of Oklahoma

Arkansas State

Tickets

September 01, 2023 | Football

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By: OU Athletics Communications

#20/19 Oklahoma

Arkansas State

Saturday, Sept. 2 / 11 a.m. CT / Owen Field

ESPN / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes

OPENING KICK

• No. 20/19 Oklahoma begins its 129th season of varsity football when it plays host to Arkansas State on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman. The game will be televised by ESPN with Roy Philpott, Roddy Jones and Taylor McGregor announcing.

• The 2023 season marks the 129th in OU football history. The Sooners lead the country with their 50 all-time conference championships, 27 11-plus-win seasons, 33 AP top-five finishes, seven Heisman Trophy winners (tied) and five No. 1 overall NFL Draft picks (tied), rank second with their 430 all-time weeks ranked in the top five of the AP poll, third with seven AP national championships and with their 101 weeks as the AP's No. 1 team, and fourth with their 56 bowl appearances and 414 NFL Draft picks.

• Saturday's contest will mark the 1,326th in OU history. The Sooners rank fifth in college football annals with their .725 all-time winning percentage (934-338-53 record). They trail Ohio State (.733), Alabama (.732), Michigan (.731), and Notre Dame (.729). Since the end of World War II (1946 season to present), OU leads all programs with 690 wins (33 more than Alabama, the program with the next most) and owns a .766 winning percentage.

• Oklahoma is 99-23-6 all-time in season openers and has won its last six such contests and 12 of its last 13. The Sooners are 80-15-4 in their first game of a season at Owen Field, which hosted its first game in 1923. OU has won 17 straight openers at home (last such loss was a 17-10 defeat vs. TCU in 2005).

• This marks the 24th straight season the Sooners have been ranked in the preseason AP poll and, at No. 20, this is their lowest preseason position during that stretch. OU's lowest preseason ranking over the previous 23 years was No. 19 in 2000 (finished the season No. 1) and 2015 (finished No. 5). The Sooners have been ranked 10th or better in 20 of the last 23 preseason polls. OU has also ended seven of the last eight seasons ranked in the AP top 10.

• After winning its first three games and reaching No. 6 in the AP poll under first-year head coach Brent Venables, the 2022 Sooners finished 6-6 in the regular season and dropped a 35-32 Cheez-It Bowl contest to No. 13 Florida State, a game it led 25-18 in the fourth quarter. Four of OU's losses came by three points and another by seven. Its wins came by an average of 22.5 points.

• Arkansas State, which is in its third year under head coach Butch Jones, went 3-9 last season and finished seventh in the Sun Belt Conference West Division with a 1-7 record. Its wins came against Grambling State (58-3), ULM (45-28) and UMass (35-33), all at home. After nine straight winning seasons (75-41 record from 2011-19), the Red Wolves have posted three straight losing campaigns (9-26 during the span).

FOR THE FANS

• Approximately two hours and 15 minutes before each home game, OU players and coaches will arrive at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium via team buses and walk to their stadium entrance while being cheered by fans. This year's "Walk of Champions" path has changed (view map here). OU's buses will drop off players and coaches at the Lindsey Street and Asp Avenue intersection, just southwest of the stadium. The Sooners will walk east on Lindsey before turning north (left) on Jenkins Avenue and enter the stadium at Gate 13. The team will be led by the Sooner Schooner and OU Spirit, and the Pride of Oklahoma will perform during the procession.

• Once again, "Party at the Palace, Presented by Allstate" will be held on the lawn immediately north of Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, this week running from 7:30 to 10:30. Sooner fans of all ages can access Party at the Palace and take part in the festivities. Highlights include sponsor giveaways, music, food vendors and more. Food trucks from Midway Deli, Supermercados Morelos, HteaO and Kona Ice are scheduled to operate this season. Devon Energy's innovative STEM program "SportsLabs" will once again take place on the lawn immediately north of Heisman Park on the east side of Jenkins Ave. Additionally, the Sooner Radio Network (flagship 107.7 The Franchise) originates the start of its pregame show live from Party at the Palace beginning two hours prior to kickoff.

• In mid-August, OU announced changes to its tailgating policies, including the addition of a public tailgating location designated along the south side of Lindsey Street between Asp and Jenkins Avenues. In this location, tailgating may only take place on the grassy area between the Lindsey Street curb and the north side of the sidewalk. Other campus areas designated for private and public tailgating will remain the same as the 2022 season. A map indicating designated tailgating areas and game day road closures, as well as the university's tailgating policies, can be found here.

• For a full list of OU game day policies, procedures and additional fan information, click here.

KEY STORYLINES

• OU is 2-0 all-time against Arkansas State, with a 61-0 home win in 1992 under head coach Gary Gibbs and a 45-7 home victory in 2000 under head coach Bob Stoops. In the second meeting, like currently, the Sooners were ranked No. 20 in the AP poll. That OU team went 13-0 and won the program's seventh national title.

• The Sooners have faced current Arkansas State head coach Butch Jones three times while he was head coach at other schools, and won all three contests. Stoops was OU's head coach in each meeting. In 2010, Jones' first year at Cincinnati, No. 8 Oklahoma posted a 31-29 road win over the Bearcats behind 370 passing yards and two touchdowns from Landry Jones. OU also notched respective 34-10 (home) and 31-24 (road; double overtime) victories in 2014 and '15 over Jones' Tennessee program. In the first OU-UT matchup, the No. 4 Sooners got 308 passing yards from Trevor Knight and 67 rushing yards on just nine carries from Samaje Perine. The next year in Knoxville, No. 19 OU trailed 17-3 midway through the fourth quarter before rallying to win one of the most memorable games in program history. All four of Baker Mayfield's touchdowns came in the fourth quarter and overtimes, and the defense allowed No. 23 UT just 254 total yards (3.3 per play). Over the three contests, the Sooners surrendered an average of 4.6 yards per play.

• After adding 47 new players to the program last season, Oklahoma welcomes 65 newcomers for 2023, Brent Venables' second season as head coach. Forty of those 65 newcomers are scholarship players. That means 52% of OU's 2023 roster is comprised of first-year Sooners. Ninety-nine of OU's 125 players (79%) are first- or second-year Sooners, with 64 of them on scholarship. Only 26 of 116 players on OU's 2021 end-of-year roster are on the 2023 roster (19 of those are currently on scholarship [eight on offense, 11 on defense]).

• Oklahoma returns 10 players (not including specialists) who started at least nine of the team's 13 games last season (five on each side of the ball). The five offensive players are quarterback Dillon Gabriel (12 starts), linemen McKade Mettauer (13 starts) and Andrew Raym (10 starts) and wide receivers Jalil Farooq and Drake Stoops (10 starts each). The defensive players are linemen Ethan Downs (13 starts) and Reggie Grimes (10 starts), linebacker Danny Stutsman (13 starts) and defensive backs Billy Bowman (nine starts) and Woodi Washington (13 starts). Defensive lineman Isaiah Coe started six contests. The Sooners also welcome back kicker Zach Schmit, who handled all field goal, PAT and kickoff duties last season, and Farooq, who served as OU's primary kickoff returner.

• Gabriel, who was the 2022 Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year, has started 37 of his 38 career games and his 95 passing touchdowns over the last four years rank as second most nationally despite him missing 11 games due to injury. He ranked second in the Big 12 in 2022 in passing yards per game (264.0), total offense (290.3 ypg), pass efficiency rating (154.4), yards per completion (13.8), yards per pass attempt (8.6) and passing TDs (25). He completed 230 of 367 passes (62.7%) for 3,168 yards and rushed for 317 yards and six TDs.

• OU hit the transfer portal with frequency in the offseason, adding 21 players for 2023 who transferred from four-year schools. Among the 16 scholarship transfers, nine are on defense and seven on offense. The 21 total transfers played in 447 collective games at their previous schools and made 214 starts.

HOME IS WHERE THE "W" IS

• Oklahoma is 134-13 (.912) at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium since the start of the 1999 season, giving the Sooners more Big 12 championships during the period (14) than home defeats. It is the best home winning percentage in the country over the last 24 seasons (Boise State [.907] and Ohio State [.892] are next). OU has outscored its opponents by an average of 43-18 in those games.

• The Sooners have posted 146 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 389) has a longer current streak.

• OU has recorded 41 unbeaten seasons at home, including 15 in the last 24 years.

OU RANKED IN PRESEASON TOP 20...AGAIN

• Oklahoma is ranked No. 20 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 Poll and No. 19 in the preseason USA Today Sports AFCA Coaches Poll.

• This marks the 24th straight year that OU has appeared in the preseason AP Top 25, which is the second-longest current string behind Ohio State (35) and the second-longest streak in program history (28 straight seasons from 1968-95). It also represents the 65th time that Oklahoma has appeared in the preseason AP poll, second most behind Ohio State (70 times).

• OU's all-time average preseason AP rank is 6.8, best in the nation (Alabama is second at 7.1).

• This is just the third time in the last 23 years that OU is not ranked in the AP preseason top 10.

• OU finished the season in the AP's top 10 in seven of the last eight years.

SOONERS PICKED THIRD IN BIG 12

• For just the fourth time in the last 13 years, Oklahoma is not the preseason media choice to win the Big 12 Conference football title. OU, which has won six of the last eight Big 12 championships, was picked to finish third in the 2023 Big 12 Preseason Poll that was released on July 6. The 2023 season will mark the Sooners' last in the Big 12, as they are slated to join the Southeastern Conference in July 2024.

• OU, which has posted a 61-14 (.813) record against Big 12 opponents over the last eight years (includes a 4-0 record in Big 12 Championship games), received four first-place votes in the poll and 758 total points. Texas, which last won the conference title in 2009, was picked to win the league with 41 first-place votes and 886 total points, while Kansas State, last year's Big 12 champion, was picked to finish second with 14 first-place votes and 858 points. Texas Tech (four first-place votes, 729 points) and TCU (three first-place votes, 727 points) were picked to finish fourth and fifth.

LAST GO-ROUND IN BIG 12

• With the Sooners set to join the Southeastern Conference on July 1, 2024, the 2023 football season will mark their last in the Big 12 Conference. OU has won more than half of the Big 12's football championships (14 of 27) since the league began in 1996, and has posted a 180-59 (.753) record against conference competition (includes an 11-1 record in Big 12 Championship games).

• Oklahoma's 14 Big 12 titles are 11 more than the programs with the next most (Baylor, Kansas State and Texas have three each). Going back to and including 2010, OU has won eight Big 12 titles and is followed by Baylor and Kansas State (three each) and Oklahoma State and TCU (one each).

• Four new programs will make their Big 12 debuts in 2023, with BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF joining the league. OU will host UCF on Oct. 21 and play at Cincinnati on Sept. 23 and at BYU on Nov. 18.

OU'S RETURNING ALL-BIG 12 HONOREES

• The Sooners return five players who earned 2022 All-Big 12 honors — two on offense and three on defense. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel was named Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year as a redshirt junior after passing for 3,168 yards and 25 touchdowns and rushing for 315 yards and six more scores. And center Andrew Raym was an honorable mention all-league selection as a junior after giving up just two sacks on 358 pass-blocking plays in his 10 games (all starts).

• Defensive end Ethan Downs earned second-team All-Big 12 accolades as a sophomore when he ranked fourth in the conference with 13.5 tackles for loss (he is the league's leading returner in TFLs). Linebacker Danny Stutsman and safety Billy Bowman were honorable mention All-Big 12 performers in 2022 as sophomores. Stustman led the conference and ranked 18th nationally with his 9.6 tackles per game, while Bowman logged 60 tackles and ranked second on the team with three interceptions in 11 games (nine starts).

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

GABRIEL A TD MACHINE

• Redshirt senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who has started 37 of his 38 career games between UCF (2019-21) and OU (2022), including each of his last 37, ranks second nationally over the last four seasons with his 95 touchdown passes despite missing 11 games during the span due to injury (Houston's Clayton Tune passed for 96 TDs in four more games).

• If Gabriel continues to average 2.5 TD passes per contest like he has in his first 38 games, he would finish with 127 career TDs in a 13-game 2023 season, which he would accomplish in a 51-game career. That would rank seventh in FBS history. Landry Jones is the OU record-holder for career passing TDs with 123 in 52 games (Baker Mayfield passed for 131 career TDs, but 12 of those were as a Texas Tech Red Raider).

SOONERS REPLACING THREE STARTING OFFENSIVE LINEMEN

• OU lost three starting offensive linemen from 2022: first-round NFL Draft pick Anton Harrison (left tackle), third-round selection Wanya Morris (right tackle) and four-year starter Chris Murray (right guard). But the Sooners are not without talent and experience among their 2023 group. Redshirt senior guard McKade Mettauer has started 41 of his 42 career games, including all 13 for OU last season, and senior Andrew Raym has been the Sooners' starter at center the last two seasons (17 starts). Redshirt junior Tyler Guyton made five starts at tackle in 2022 and redshirt sophomore guard Savion Byrd saw action in 10 games last season, including the Cheez-It Bowl vs. Florida State when he made his first career start. OU welcomes back three other letterwinners in redshirt junior Aaryn Parks and sophomores Jacob Sexton and Jake Taylor.

• The Sooners welcome three scholarship transfers on the offensive line this year in redshirt seniors Walter Rouse and Caleb Shaffer, who both arrived in January, and redshirt sophomore Troy Everett, who arrived in June. Rouse played in 40 games at Stanford over the last four seasons and made 39 starts at left tackle. Shaffer played 40 games at Miami (Ohio) and started 35 at guard. Everett played in 13 games at Appalachian State over the past two seasons, including 10 last year (six starts at center). He was named a second-team freshman All-American last year by The Athletic.

BIG SHOES TO FILL AT RB AND WR

• Opportunities abound for OU at running back and wide receiver in 2023, as the Sooners lost their leading rusher and receiver from last season in Eric Gray and Marvin Mims Jr., respectively. Gray was a second-team All-Big 12 pick who rushed for 1,366 yards (the ninth-most in OU single-season history) and 11 touchdowns last year. He led the Big 12 and ranked 14th nationally by averaging 6.4 yards per carry. Mims Jr. earned first-team All-Big 12 honors and racked up 1,083 receiving yards and six TDs. He averaged a Big 12-high 20.1 yards per catch, which ranked sixth nationally. Mims was picked in the second round of the NFL Draft by Denver while Gray was a fifth-round selection by the New York Giants.

• The Sooners return three scholarship running backs who teamed for 851 yards and 10 touchdowns on 189 carries (4.5 yards per carry) in 2022. Sophomore Jovantae Barnes ran for 533 yards and five TDs, redshirt senior Marcus Major rushed for 227 yards and four scores, and redshirt freshman Gavin Sawchuk ran for 105 yards and one TD. Major, who has battled injuries during his career, has rushed for 525 yards and seven TDs in his career. In last year's Cheez-It Bowl vs. Florida State, Barnes (108 yards) and Sawchuk (100) became the first pair of OU freshmen with at least 100 rushing yards in the same game since 1985. The game marked Barnes' first career start and Sawchuk's second career game. Junior walk-on running back Tawee Walker is also squarely in the mix for playing time. He played in 11 games last year and rushed for 62 yards.

• A pair of four-star freshmen joined the OU running backs room during the spring semester in Kalib Hicks and Daylan Smothers. Hicks rushed for more than 3,000 yards and 31 TDs during his high school career, while Smothers rushed for 1,581 yards and 28 TDs his junior year alone. Smothers was rated as the nation's No. 12 running back in the 2023 class by ESPN.

• OU returns six lettermen at receiver, led by sixth-year player Drake Stoops and junior Jalil Farooq. Stoops, who has played in 49 career games and made 18 starts, ranked second on the squad in 2022 with 39 catches while finishing with 393 receiving yards and three TDs. Farooq started 10 games last year and caught 37 passes for 466 yards and five TDs. Other returning lettermen are sophomore Gavin Freeman (three catches for 46 yards in 13 games in 2022), who was just placed on scholarship on Friday, redshirt junior LV Bunkley-Shelton (two catches for 24 yards in 12 games), sophomore Jayden Gibson (one catch for 12 yards in nine games) and senior D.J. Graham. Graham changed positions from cornerback in the middle of last season and will be looking to see the field offensively for the first time in his collegiate career.

• Redshirt freshman Nic Anderson and a trio of scholarship transfers figure to vie for significant field time this season. Anderson, who was the nation's No. 15 receiver by ESPN as a high school senior, saw action in three games last year. Junior Andrel Anthony transferred from Michigan in January and sophomore Brenen Thompson transferred from Texas in June. Anthony caught 19 passes for 328 yards and three TDs in two years in Ann Arbor, while Thompson caught one pass for 32 yards for UT last season. Freshman Jaquaize Pettaway was a consensus top-100 national player in the 2023 recruiting class (ranked No. 43 by ESPN).

SECOND-TIME SOONER

• Redshirt senior tight end Austin Stogner played his first three seasons as a Sooner before transferring to South Carolina for the 2022 season. Now, after a rare transfer back to the school where he started, he's wrapping up his career in Norman and figures to see plenty of playing time.

• The 6-6, 258-pounder has started 20 career games (all over the last three seasons) and has racked up 67 receptions for 864 yards and nine touchdowns. Eight of those TDs came over his three seasons as a Sooner.

• Stogner started 10 of his 12 games at South Carolina last year, registering 20 catches for 210 yards.

DEFENSIVE SHOT IN THE ARM

• Oklahoma signed nine defensive scholarship transfers in the offseason, six of them defensive linemen. They are redshirt seniors Rondell Bothroyd (Wake Forest), Trace Ford (Oklahoma State), Jacob Lacey (Notre Dame), Phil Paea (Utah State), Davon Sears (Texas State) and Da'Jon Terry (Tennessee). The sextet combined for 185 games played, 58 starts, 62 tackles for loss and 33.5 sacks. Bothroyd started 31 of his 48 games at Wake Forest and logged 30.5 TFLs and 16.5 sacks. Ford battled through injuries to start 15 of his 32 games and register 11.5 TFLs and 8.5 sacks.

• Linebackers Dasan McCullough (Indiana) and Konnor Near (Ferris State) earned recognition for their play in 2022, and safety Reggie Pearson (Texas Tech) brings a wealth of starting experience to the OU program. McCullough was named a freshman All-American as a true frosh last year from ESPN, The Athletic (second team) and College Football News (second team). Playing in all 12 games and making four starts, he registered 49 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks and three pass breakups. Near was a first-team All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Association pick at Ferris State, registering 66 tackles, 10.5 TFLs, and 3.0 sacks and helping the Bulldogs to their second straight Division II national title. FSU went 28-1 the last two seasons. Pearson is in his sixth season of college football after spending his first three years at Wisconsin and the last two at Texas Tech. He started 20 of 23 games the last two years for the Red Raiders, racking up 109 tackles, three interceptions and seven pass breakups. He also started 13 of 14 games for Wisconsin in 2019 and logged 60 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, two forced fumbles and four PBUs.

A QUICK LOOK AT SPECIAL TEAMS

• Oklahoma returns placekicker Zach Schmit, but will have new players at punter, long snapper and holder for the first time in years. To that end, the Sooners will rely on returning roster players and incoming transfers to fill the all-important roles in the kicking game. Schmit, who made all 57 PAT attempts and 13 of 19 field goal tries last season, looks to take a step forward, and has battled redshirt freshman Gavin Marshall and transfer Redi Mustafaraj during fall camp. Josh Plaster and transfers Luke Elzinga (a three-time All-MAC performer at Central Michigan) and Ashton Logan (played in three games at Colorado last year) have been battling for punting duties, while returning team members Ethan Lane and Ben Anderson are the team's long snappers.

• The Sooners lost a pair of key special teamers in first-team All-Big 12 punter Michael Turk, who set OU records for punting average in a game (59.7 yards on three punts in 2021 against TCU), season (51.2 yards in 2021) and a career (48.4). And Kasey Kelleher served as the team's long snapper on all punts and all but two place kicks over the past five seasons.

• In the return game, Drake Stoops and LV Bunkley-Shelton have handled punts in the past, but the Sooners must replace three-year return man Marvin Mims Jr. in the primary role. Mims' 16.0-yard punt-return average last year would have ranked second nationally if he met NCAA's minimum requirement of 1.2 punt returns per game for the category. Jalil Farooq and Billy Bowman returned the majority of kickoffs last season and figure to factor again this year.

FORMER SOONERS ON STAFF

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

• 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 fullback/running back Seth Littrell (1997-00) and former offensive linemen 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 OU 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.

• Venables has also tabbed a quartet of trio of former Clemson players to serve on his staff: defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis (defensive tackle; 2007-10), senior defensive analyst Xavier Brewer (cornerback; 2008-12), defensive graduate assistants Ryan Carter (cornerback; 2013-17) and James Skalski (linebacker; 2016-21).

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 (690) than any other program (next most is 657 by Alabama).

• Oklahoma has finished in the top 5 of the AP poll a nation-leading 33 times (Ohio State is second with 30).

• OU leads all FBS programs with 50 all-time conference championships. The rest of the top five includes Nebraska (46), Michigan (44), 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 11-win seasons than Oklahoma's 27. And since the start of the 2000 season, OU and Ohio State have produced a nation-leading 18 campaigns of at least 10 wins.

• Since former head coach Bob Stoops arrived in Norman in 1999, OU leads the country with its 12,236 points scored, which is 519 more than second-place Boise State (11,717) and 965 more than third-place Oregon (11,271).

• OU's 80 consensus All-Americans since 1950 are the most nationally (Alabama ranks second with 75 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 16 years.

EXTRA POINTS

• The Sooners are 12-3-1 all-time as the No. 20-ranked team in the AP poll (7-0 at home). OU's last game played as the 20th-ranked team was in 2016 (45-40 victory over Texas in Dallas). Oklahoma last lost as the AP's 20th-ranked team in 2009 (10-3 at Nebraska).

• Since offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh joined the OU staff in 2013, the Sooners rank first nationally in total offense (509.4 ypg), second in pass efficiency rating (168.0), yards per rush (5.5), scoring offense (40.8 ppg) and passing yards per attempt (9.4), fifth in yards per completion (14.2) and sixth in completion percentage (66.4). They are the only program in the country to rank in the top 10 in rushing offense (10th at 224.6 ypg) and passing offense (eighth at 284.9 ypg) over that span.

• 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.

• OU has won 82 of its last 83 games when holding opponents to 23 or fewer points. The one exception was a 23-20 loss at West Virginia last season.

• Since the start of the 2012 season, OU is 84-7 when scoring at least 35 points and 73-4 when scoring at least 40.

• The Sooners rank fourth with their four College Football Playoff appearances (2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019). Until last season, they were 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.