Game Primer: OU vs. South Carolina

Oklahoma

South Carolina

Saturday, Oct. 19 / 11:45 a.m. CT / Owen Field

OPENING KICK

• In the first-ever matchup between the two programs, Oklahoma (4-2, 1-2) hosts South Carolina (3-3, 1-3) on Saturday at 11:45 a.m. CT at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman. The game will be televised by SEC Network with Tom Hart, Cole Cubelic and Alyssa Lang announcing.

• Oklahoma is 53-17-7 (.734) all-time at home against current members of the SEC. It is 4-1-1 all-time at home against SEC members at the time of competition (1-0 each vs. Alabama and Kentucky, 1-1 vs. Tennessee and 1-0-1 vs. Vanderbilt).

• This week's AP poll is the first since the final version of the 2022 season in which OU is not ranked, snapping a string of 23 straight polls it appeared in the top 25.

• South Carolina is the lone SEC opponent remaining on Oklahoma's schedule that is unranked in this week's AP poll. The Sooners, who have already faced then-No. 6 Tennessee and No. 1 Texas, play at No. 18 Ole Miss next week, at No. 19 Missouri, vs. No. 7 Alabama and at No. 8 LSU. They also host Maine on Nov. 2.

• Since the start of the 1999 season (Bob Stoops' first as head coach), Oklahoma has lost consecutive home games on just one occasion. That was in 2014 to No. 14 Kansas State (31-30) and No. 10 Baylor (48-14). The Sooners are 12-1 during that span in home games following a home defeat.

• Also since the start of the 1999 campaign, OU is 117-8 (.936) at home against teams unranked in the AP poll.

• The 2024 season marks the 130th in OU football history. The Sooners lead the nation with their 50 all-time conference championships, 27 11-plus-win seasons (tied), 33 AP top-five finishes and five No. 1 overall NFL Draft picks (tied). They rank second with their seven Heisman Trophy winners (tied), third with seven AP national championships, their 101 weeks as the AP's No. 1 team and 431 total weeks in the AP Top 5, and fourth with their 57 bowl appearances, 31 bowl wins (tied) and 417 NFL Draft picks.

• Since the end of World War II (1946 season to present), OU leads all programs with 704 wins (30 more than Alabama, the program with the next most). South Carolina ranks 55th with 441 wins during the span.

NORMAN, OK - September 21, 2024 - Oklahoma Quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. (#9) during the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, OK. Photo By Morgan Givens/University of Oklahoma

GAME CAPTAINS

• This week's OU game captains are redshirt senior punter Luke Elzinga, redshirt junior offensive lineman Troy Everett, junior defensive lineman Gracen Halton, freshman defensive lineman Jayden Jackson and junior defensive lineman Damonic Williams.

FOR THE FANS

• Approximately two hours and 15 minutes before each home game (9:30 a.m. this Saturday), 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 originates from the Jenkins Ave./Brooks St. intersection just northeast of the stadium (view map here). The team will be led by the Sooner Schooner and OU Spirit.

• Once again, "Party at the Palace, Presented by Allstate" will be held on the lawn immediately north of Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium for fans of all ages, this week running from 7:45 to 11:15 a.m. Highlights include sponsor giveaways, music, food trucks and other vendors, Devon Energy's innovative STEM program "SportsLabs" and more. Additionally, the Sooner Radio Network (flagship 107.7 The Franchise) originates the start of its pregame show live from Party at the Palace beginning three hours prior to kickoff.

• OU announced a significant expansion of its public tailgating options for its debut football season in the SEC. The university has established new public tailgating areas at prime locations, including Boyd Lawn, along Asp Ave. and near Oklahoma Memorial Union. More details are available here.

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

KEY STORYLINES

• While Oklahoma and South Carolina have never met, OU head coach Brent Venables faced the Gamecocks nine times while serving as Clemson's defensive coordinator and the Tigers posted a 7-2 record (won the final seven matchups). In those seven wins, Clemson held South Carolina to an average of 14.9 points per game. Over the last five meetings, Venables' defense held the Gamecocks to an average of 11.0 points (gave up 10 or fewer points four times).

• Fourth-year South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer served as Oklahoma's assistant head coach for offense (tight ends and H-backs) during the 2018-20 seasons. During that period, the Sooners posted a 33-6 overall record, won three Big 12 championships and participated in two College Football Playoffs (2018 and '19). OU ranked second nationally in scoring offense (44.6 ppg) and total offense (537.3 ypg) during the stretch, and ranked sixth in passing offense (311.5 ypg) and 15th in rushing offense (225.7 ypg).

• Since the start of the 1999 season, the Sooners are 24-1 in their games immediately following their annual contest against Texas. The lone defeat came in 2014 (31-30 vs. Kansas State in Norman). In the 24 wins, OU outscored its opponents by 589 points (average of 24.5 points).

• Since the start of the 2000 season, OU has played just 26 games when unranked in the AP poll. It is 17-9 in those contests (10-5 vs. fellow unranked teams).

• Saturday's game will pit an Oklahoma team that ranks seventh nationally in turnovers gained (14) and 11th in turnover margin (+1.2 per game) against a South Carolina squad that ranks 115th with its 12 turnovers lost and 68th in turnover margin (even). OU leads the SEC in both categories.

• OU has registered six interceptions and is tied for the national lead with eight fumble recoveries, two more than it had all of last season. South Carolina has thrown four interceptions and lost eight fumbles, tied for the most nationally.

• Since the start of the 2023 season, OU is 12-0 when it wins the turnover battle (4-0 this year) and 2-4 when it loses it (0-2 this year).

• During the Venables era (since the start of the 2022 season), Oklahoma's defense ranks second in the nation with its 43 interceptions. The Sooners have registered at least one interception in 11 of their last 12 games and in 27 of their last 32.

• Until Saturday's game against Texas, OU had featured a different starting offensive line in its first five contests this season. Nine Sooners on the O line have started at least one contest. Febechi Nwaiwu (right guard all six games), Jacob Sexton (two games at left tackle and four at left guard) and Michael Tarquin (three games at left tackle and three at right tackle) have started all six games. Other starters have been Branson Hickman (four games at center), Jake Taylor (three games at right tackle), Joshua Bates (two games at center), Logan Howland (two games at left tackle), Geirean Hatchett (one game at left guard; out for the year) and Heath Ozaeta (one game at left guard).

HOME IS WHERE THE "W" IS

• The Sooners are 143-14 (.911) at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium since the start of the 1999 season, giving them the same number of conference titles during the period as home defeats. It is the best home winning percentage in the country over the last 25-plus seasons (Boise State [.906] and Ohio State [.898] are next). OU has outscored its foes by an average of 43-18 in those games.

• Including this week's game, OU has sold out 157 straight originally scheduled home contests, dating back to the start of the 1999 season (Bob Stoops' first as head coach). Only Nebraska has a longer current streak (401).

SEC SOONERS

• Oklahoma and Texas officially joined the Southeastern Conference on July 1 after 28 years in the Big 12 Conference. OU won half of the Big 12's football titles (14 of 28) since the league began in 1996 (six of the last nine) and posted a 187-61 (.754) record against conference competition (includes an 11-1 record in Big 12 Championship games).

• OU is no stranger to many of its new SEC brethren as Oklahoma has a 162-114-13 (.583) record against the league's current member schools, including fellow new entrant Texas. Not including the Longhorns, OU owns a 111-50-8 (.680) all-time record against current SEC programs.

• OU has never faced two SEC programs: South Carolina and Mississippi State. The Sooners host the Gamecocks this week but do not face the Bulldogs. Entering this season, OU had never played a campus game against seven current SEC programs (Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and South Carolina).

• The SEC is the Sooners' seventh football conference. They were also a member of the Southwest Conference (two championships), Missouri Valley (one championship), Big Six (five championships), Big Seven (12 championships), Big Eight (16 championships) and Big 12 (14 championships).

• Oklahoma's 14 Big 12 titles were 10 more than the program with the next most (Texas won four). From 2010 through 2023, OU won eight Big 12 titles and was followed by Baylor (three), Kansas State (two) and Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas (one each).

MIKE IN THE SPOTLIGHT

• Michael Hawkins Jr. entered the Tennessee game late in the first half and has been Oklahoma's primary quarterback since. In the victory at Auburn, he became just the seventh OU quarterback to start at least one game as a true freshman (see full list in chart on this page), and first Sooner true freshman QB to win on the road in his first career start. In the next game, he became the first OU true freshman QB to start against Texas.

• In OU's three SEC games, Hawkins Jr. is 40 for 63 through the air (63%) for 441 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. He has also rushed 46 times for 118 yards and a TD. He completed 11 of 18 pass attempts for 132 yards and a TD against Tennessee, and rushed 12 times for 22 yards with no turnovers. At Auburn, he was 10 of 15 passing for 161 yards and rushed 14 times for 69 yards, including a 48-yard TD. Versus Texas, he completed 19 of 30 passes for 148 yards and had 20 carries for 27 yards (lost 34 yards on sacks).

• Hawkins Jr. was rated as a four-star prospect by ESPN, On3 and Rivals and as the No. 3 dual-threat QB recruit in the country by Rivals and No. 7 by ESPN. His father, Michael, played cornerback for Oklahoma under Bob Stoops in 2002 before spending multiple years in the NFL.

NORMAN, OK - September 07, 2024 - Oklahoma Defensive lineman R Mason Thomas (#32) during the game between the Houston Cougars and the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, OK. Photo By Morgan Givens/University of Oklahoma

R MASE IN YOUR FACE

• Junior defensive lineman R Mason Thomas is tied for ninth nationally and ranks third in the SEC with his 5.5 sacks, and all of them have come in the last four games (3.0 vs. Tulane, 0.5 vs. Tennessee, 2.0 at Auburn).

• Thomas has racked up 5.0 of his 5.5 sacks in the fourth quarter and with OU protecting leads. Against Tulane, his 3.0 sacks came in the span of two drives. In one series, Thomas recorded a sack on first down, a pass breakup on third down and another sack on fourth down. On one of his sacks he was credited with a forced fumble and recovery, and added a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry on the day. He was named the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week.

• With OU leading 24-21 at Auburn and under four minutes to go, Thomas recorded a 6-yard sack on third down and a 13-yard sack the next play to give the ball to the Sooners on the Tigers' 25-yard line.

• Thomas became the first Sooner since defensive end Charles Tapper in 2015 to register at least 5.5 sacks over a three-game span (Tapper had 6.0).

• Thomas' lone four career starts have come this season (he did not start against Tennessee or Texas because of opponent offensive personnel; OU started five DBs in both). In his 19 games over the 2022 and '23 campaigns, he logged 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.

GETTING DEFENSIVE

• Oklahoma's defense made big strides in year two under Brent Venables in 2023, and many analysts predicted the improvement to continue this season. That includes Phil Steele, who this summer ranked OU's linebacker and defensive back units each as second best nationally and No. 1 in the SEC. So far, the Sooners have not disappointed.

• OU ranks 27th in the country by permitting 19.0 points per game. It gave up three points to Temple, 12 to Houston, 19 to Tulane, 25 to Tennessee, 21 to Auburn and 34 to Texas. Tennessee averaged 63.7 points entering the game against the Sooners, Auburn 36.5 and Texas 45.0.

• The Sooners rank 40th nationally in rushing defense, permitting 117.5 yards per game on the ground. They rank 15th in the country (fifth in SEC) by allowing just 3.1 yards per rush, and have surrendered just four rushing TDs (one by Tennessee and three by Texas).

• OU also ranks first nationally in fumble recoveries (eight), 10th in sacks (3.2 per game), 14th in tackles for loss (7.7 per game) and 48th in total defense (337.8 ypg).

• Junior defensive linemen Gracen Halton and R Mason Thomas entered the season with a combined 8.0 career tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, but through six games this season have teamed for 10.0 TFLs and 8.0 sacks. Halton was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week after registering a career-high 2.0 TFLs (11-yard sack and a 5-yard safety) in a 16-12 win over Houston in week two. He has 3.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble, fumble recovery, a safety and two QB hurries. Thomas turned in a 3.0-sack effort vs. Tulane in which he also logged a forced fumble and recovery, a pass breakup and a QB hurry en route to being named Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week. In OU's win at Auburn, he registered sacks on back-to-back fourth-quarter plays with OU clinging to a 24-21 lead. Thomas has team highs of 6.5 TFLs, 5.5 sacks and three QB hurries on the year. His 5.5 sacks are ninth most nationally and already more than any Sooner had last season.

• Preseason All-America linebacker and Butkus Award-hopeful Danny Stutsman ranks seventh in the SEC with his 7.7 tackles per game and has 3.5 tackles for loss. The senior has led OU in tackles each of the last two seasons (125 in 2022 and 104 in 2023) and has 313 career stops.

• Sophomore linebacker Sammy Omosigho's first career starts have come the last two games against Auburn and Texas, as he's taken the place of injured Kendel Dolby at OU's "Cheetah" position. Omosigho ranks fifth on the team with his 19 tackles, which are already 12 more than he had in his 10 games last season. He is tied with Stutsman, Halton and safety Robert Spears-Jennings for second on the squad with 3.5 tackles for loss and has two QB hurries.

• Oklahoma is tied for 18th nationally by allowing just four rushes of at least 20 yards this season (22-yarder by Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter and three by Texas).

• OU has allowed only 12 touchdowns on its opponents' 77 possessions (one every 6.4 possessions). The defense has forced 32 punts and has recorded 13 takeaways, a safety and three turnovers on downs.

NOTING THE OFFENSE

• Freshman QB Michael Hawkins Jr. is 42 for 67 through the air this season for a 63% completion rate with one touchdown and no interceptions. His lone career starts came the last two games (27-21 win at Auburn and 34-3 loss to No. 1 Texas). Hawkins Jr. also has 121 yards and a TD on 48 rushes (one fumble lost).

• Sophomore quarterback Jackson Arnold, who started Oklahoma's first four games this season, has completed 61 of 102 pass attempts (60%) for 538 yards and seven touchdowns versus three interceptions. He ranks second on the team with 138 rushing yards and has a team-high-tying two rushing TDs.

• Junior running back Jovantae Barnes leads the team with his 237 rushing yards (averaging 3.3 yards per carry) and has two rushing TDs. Freshman Taylor Tatum, the consensus No. 1 running back nationally in the 2024 class, is averaging 6.7 yards on his 20 rushes (133 total yards) and has run for a pair of TDs and caught another. He missed the Auburn game due to injury.

• Redshirt sophomore running back Gavin Sawchuk started each of the first three games but has been held to 42 yards on 20 carries on the year. Sawchuk ran for over 100 yards in each of the last five games in 2023.

• OU's tight ends combined for 20 catches for 252 yards in 13 games last season. This year, tight ends Bauer Sharp and Jake Roberts have already totaled 28 catches for 259 yards.

• Redshirt junior wide receiver Deion Burks leads the team with his 6.5 catches per game and three receiving touchdowns, which all came in the first half against Temple. In that game, Burks became the first Sooner to register three receiving TDs in his OU debut. Burks' 26 receptions are the most ever by a player in the first four games of his OU career. The Purdue transfer, who has missed the last two games due to injury, entered the season with seven career receiving TDs (all in 2023).

• Redshirt sophomore receiver Nic Anderson sustained an injury in August camp and has missed all but one game this season (he started vs. Tennessee but left the game in the first half and has not played since). Anderson earned 2023 freshman All-America honors from The Athletic after catching 38 passes for 798 yards and a team-high-tying 10 TDs. He averaged 21.0 yards per catch to rank fifth nationally.

• Senior receiver Andrel Anthony tore his ACL in last year's game against Texas (Oct. 5), returned to play limited snaps in the season opener vs. Temple (one catch for four yards) but hasn't played since. Before his injury last season, Anthony led OU with 429 yards on his 27 catches.

• Senior receiver Jalil Farooq was lost to injury in the first half of the season opener against Temple and is out indefinitely. Farooq entered the year with 86 career catches for 1,229 yards and seven TDs, and 32 rushes for 235 yards. OU is also without the services of junior receiver Jayden Gibson, who was lost for the year following an August injury. Gibson caught 14 passes for 375 yards (26.8 per reception) and five TDs last season (scored in each of the last three regular season games).

• The Sooners are tied for 39th nationally by converting 90% (16 of 17) of their red-zone trips into points (13 TDs and 5 FGs).

• OU's offensive linemen who have played this season have combined for just 35 career starts as Sooners. Eight of the nine who have started at least one game this season had never started at OU prior to this year (Jacob Sexton started one game in 2022 and four last season).

A GLANCE AT SPECIAL TEAMS

• After winning the primary placekicking job, Florida State transfer Tyler Keltner went 3 for 3 on field goals and 6 for 6 on extra-point attempts against Temple in the opener to earn SEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. He is 7 for 9 and 12 for 13, respectively, on the year (missed the Auburn game after having his appendix removed). Keltner spent his first four seasons at East Tennessee State, where he was 56 for 74 on field goals (76%) and 131 of 131 on PATs, and three times earned All-Southern Conference honors.

• Redshirt senior Zach Schmit served as OU's placekicker the last two seasons and has made 30 of his 42 (71%) career field goal attempts (is 2 for 2 this year) and all 125 of his PAT tries. His streak of 125 made extra-points is the fourth-longest in program history. Schmit has handled kickoffs the first six games this season and made his lone two field goal attempts of the year in the win at Auburn.

• Keltner and Schmit have combined to go 9 of 11 on field goal attempts, as OU ranks sixth in the SEC out of 16 teams with its 82% conversion rate.

• Super senior Luke Elzinga is off to a great six-game start, ranking sixth nationally and second in the SEC with a 46.1-yard average on his 35 punts (13 of 50+ yards; long of 63; 16 inside the 20; 10 fair catches; just two touchbacks). His performance has helped OU to a No. 19 national ranking with its 42.6-yard net punting average. Elzinga has already been named to the Ray Guy Award's "Ray's 8" three times this season (following the Houston, Tennessee and Auburn contests).

• Sophomore Peyton Bowen ranks 29th nationally by averaging 9.2 yards on his 12 punt returns.

"TAKEAWAYS, NO GIVEAWAYS"

• The Oklahoma coaching staff preaches "takeaways, no giveaways" with its players and the Sooners have turned that message into reality so far in 2024, as OU is tied for 11th nationally with a +1.2 turnover margin per game (14 takeaways, seven giveaways).

• OU has recovered eight fumble fumbles so far this season, which is two more than it had all of 2023. The eight recoveries are tied for the most nationally.

• Eight different Sooners have each registered one fumble recovery and five different players have each logged at least one interception. Billy Bowman Jr. has two interceptions and one fumble recovery, while Robert Spears-Jennings has one of each.

• OU is outscoring opponents 56-23 off turnovers through six games.

• Last season, OU ranked second nationally with 26 takeaways (20 interceptions) and with 111 points off takeaways (ranked first with 8.5 points per game).

• Points off turnovers were a telling stat in 2023. In OU's 10 wins last season it outscored opponents 98-17 off turnovers. In its three losses it was outscored 44-13.

100TH YEAR OF GAYLORD FAMILY – OKLAHOMA MEMORIAL STADIUM

• 2024 marks the 100th season of Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. OU owns a sparkling 421-87-15 (.819) all-time record at the "Palace on the Prairie" and has faced 94 opponents there (South Carolina and Maine this season mark the 95th and 96th foes).

• The first game played at the current stadium site, called Owen Field and named after former head coach and athletics director Bennie Owen (a charter member of the College Football Hall of Fame), took place in 1923, before stadium construction got underway. On Oct. 17, 1925, the first contest was played in front of the new 16,000-seat west stands, a 7-0 victory over Drake in which Roy "Goat" Lamb scored the game's only touchdown on a 2-yard run in muddy conditions.

• Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, named in honor of university personnel who died in World War I, was erected at a cost of $293,000 and dedicated on Nov. 7, 1925. Almost since its inception, the stadium has been a work in progress, with countless expansions and improvements taking place. Prior to the 2002 season, the stadium was renamed "Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium" after a generous donation helped complete one of those expansions. Capacity peaked at 83,489 from 2016-18 but dropped to its current figure of 80,126 in 2019 after seat and aisle widening.

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 (703) than any other program (next most is 673 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 (Alabama also has 27). And since the start of the 2000 season, OU and Ohio State have produced a nation-leading 18 seasons of at least 10 wins.

• Since former head coach Bob Stoops arrived in Norman in 1999, OU leads the country with its 12,924 points scored, which is 442 more than second-place Boise State (12,482) and 827 more than third-place Oregon (12,097).

• OU's 80 consensus All-Americans since 1950 lead the nation (Alabama ranks second with 77 and Ohio State third with 73). Since 2000, OU has produced 30 consensus All-Americans, second only to Alabama.

NORMAN, OK - August 30, 2024 - Oklahoma Defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. (#2) and Oklahoma Defensive back Robert Spears-Jennings (#3) during the game between the Temple Owls and the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, OK. Photo By Johnny Smiley/University of Oklahoma

EXTRA POINTS

• The last nine times Oklahoma has lost its regular season meeting against Texas, the Sooners have won their next game (1999, 2005, '06, '08, '09, '13, '15, '18 and '22).

• Next year's game between the Sooners and Gamecocks will mark Oklahoma's first-ever contest in the state of South Carolina. The only other program from the state OU has ever faced is Clemson (two games in Norman and three bowl games in Florida; Clemson leads 3-2).

• Twenty-five Sooners (17 offensive and eight defensive) have made their first OU starts this season: offensive linemen Joshua Bates, Geirean Hatchett, Branson Hickman, Logan Howland, Febechi Nwaiwu, Heath Ozaeta, Michael Tarquin and Jake Taylor, wide receivers Deion Burks, J.J. Hester, Jaquaize Pettaway, Zion Ragins and Brenen Thompson, tight ends Bauer Sharp and Jake Roberts, running back Taylor Tatum, quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., linebackers Kobie McKinzie and Sammy Omosigho, defensive backs Eli Bowen and Dez Malone and defensive linemen Gracen Halton, Jayden Jackson, R Mason Thomas and Damonic Williams.

• In their 14 wins since the start of the 2023 season, the Sooners have outscored opponents 154-23 off turnovers. In their five losses during the same span, they have been outscored 61-13 off turnovers.

• The season-opening game vs. Temple was OU's first contest since 1987 to finish +6 in turnover margin. The Sooners converted all six takeaways into points (34 total).

• Of the 74 players on OU's week 6 depth chart, 24 (or 32%) were freshmen. That includes 17 true freshmen and seven redshirts. Thirty-two true (22) or redshirt (10) freshmen have played in at least one game this season.

• OU has won its last 88 games when holding opponents to 22 or fewer points. Its last loss under the circumstance came at Nebraska in 2009 (10-3).

• Since the start of the 2012 season, OU is 90-7 when scoring at least 35 points and 79-4 when scoring at least 40.