Game Primer: OU vs. Alabama

Saturday, November 23

Norman

6:30 p.m.

University of Oklahoma

Alabama

Tickets

NORMAN, OK - August 30, 2024 - Oklahoma Linebacker Danny Stutsman (#28) during the game between the Temple Owls and the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, OK. Photo By Brendall Vargas/University of Oklahoma

Photo by: Brendall Vargas/University of Oklahoma

November 21, 2024 | Football

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Oklahoma

#7/7 Alabama

Saturday, Nov. 23 / 6:30 p.m. CT / Owen Field

ABC / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes

OPENING KICK

• Oklahoma (5-5, 1-5 SEC) wraps up its 2024 home schedule when it hosts No. 7/7/7 Alabama (8-2, 4-2) on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman. The game will be televised by ABC with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe announcing.

• An Oklahoma win against the Crimson Tide would make the Sooners bowl-eligible. At 25 years, OU owns the nation's second-longest bowl streak, trailing only Georgia (27 years).

• Oklahoma has won its home finale in each of the last nine seasons and in 21 of the last 22 years. Its only loss in the final home game of a season since 2001 came in 2014 against Oklahoma State (38-35 in OT). Seven of the 21 victories came against AP top-25 teams.

• Saturday's game will mark the seventh between Oklahoma and Alabama (OU leads 3-2-1), but just the third between the programs on a campus. The Sooners won the previous two on-campus matchups, prevailing 37-27 in 2002 in Norman as the AP's No. 2 team and 20-13 in 2003 in Tuscaloosa as the No. 1 squad. The Crimson Tide was unranked in both contests.

• Oklahoma and Alabama are tied for the all-time national lead with their 27 seasons each of 11-plus wins. The Crimson Tide ranks first nationally with its 43 seasons of at least 10 wins, while the Sooners rank second with 42.

• Oklahoma is the only program nationally that has played six games against teams ranked in this week's CFP top 25. OU is also tied for the national lead with five games played against current AP top-25 teams.

• Since the end of World War II (1946 season to present), OU leads all programs with 705 wins while Alabama ranks second with 677 (see chart in sidebar on page 7).

• 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.

NORMAN, OK - October 19, 2024 - Flyover during the game between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, OK. Photo By Brendall Vargas/University of Oklahoma

GAME CAPTAINS

• This week's OU game captains are sophomore quarterback Jackson Arnold, senior defensive back Billy Bowman Jr., senior defensive lineman Ethan Downs, redshirt junior offensive lineman Troy Everett, senior linebacker Danny Stutsman and redshirt senior defensive back Woodi Washington.

PREGAME PLAYER RECOGNITIONS

• With Saturday's game marking OU's home finale this season, the program's annual individual player awards and senior ceremony will start at approximately 6:18 p.m. on Owen Field. The Don Key, Bob Kalsu and Derrick Shepard Most Inspirational Walk-On awards will be presented, then 18 OU seniors will be honored. Seniors scheduled to participate in the ceremony are: Billy Bowman Jr., Spencer Brown, Ethan Downs, Luke Elzinga, Branson Hickman, Tyler Keltner, Ethan Lane, Dez Malone, Major Melson, Josh Plaster, Jake Roberts, Zach Schmit, Davon Sears, Danny Stutsman, Michael Tarquin, Da'Jon Terry, Casey Thompson and Caiden Woullard.

FOR THE FANS

• Approximately two hours and 15 minutes before each home game (4:30 p.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 2:30 to 6 p.m. Highlights include sponsor giveaways, music, food trucks and other vendors, Devon Energy's innovative STEM program "SportsLabs" and more. The Nissan Heisman House will be on hand this Saturday. 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

• Alabama and Oklahoma rank third and fifth, respectively, in all-time winning percentage. Alabama owns a 973-339-43 (.734) all-time record while OU is 949-346-53 (.724). The Crimson Tide has played 1,355 games and the Sooners have played 1,348.

• Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables served as the Sooners' co-defensive coordinator for the two on-campus meetings between OU and Alabama in 2002 and 2003. The Sooners won 37-27 and 20-13, respectively, in Norman and Tuscaloosa.

• After averaging 288.1 offensive yards per game over its first seven outings this season, Oklahoma has averaged 417.0 over its last three contests at Ole Miss (329; the Rebels ranked No. 13 nationally in total defense entering the game at 289 yards allowed), vs. Maine (665) and at Missouri (257). Not including sacks, the Sooners totaled 736 rushing yards over the three games (245.3 average) and averaged 6.3 yards per carry.

• Since being reinserted into the lineup early in the contest against South Carolina four games ago, sophomore quarterback Jackson Arnold has completed 70 of 112 passes (63%) for 705 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions.

• Senior Danny Stutsman, who ranks second in the SEC with his 96 tackles and 9.6 tackles per game, has 363 career stops to rank 10th in Oklahoma history (eighth among linebackers). He needs two tackles to tie defensive lineman Rick Bryan (1980-83) for ninth most in school annals and needs 17 to tie linebacker Tyrell Peters (1993-96) for the No. 8 spot. Stutsman's 35.5 career tackles for loss rank him seventh among OU inside linebackers (needs 1.5 to move into the top four).

• In the Sooners' five wins this season they have outscored opponents 63-6 off turnovers. In their five losses they have been outscored 58-7 off turnovers. Alabama has outscored opponents 90-16 off turnovers.

• Since the start of the 2023 campaign, OU is 12-0 when it wins the turnover battle (4-0 this year) and 2-7 when it loses it (0-5 this year). Alabama is +13 in turnover margin this season and has committed just 11 turnovers in its 10 games. OU is -2 in turnover margin and has committed 18 turnovers.

• Oklahoma and Alabama rank third and fifth in the country, respectively, with their 11 and 10 fumble recoveries this season.

• OU has featured a different starting offensive line in eight of its 10 games this season, and 11 Sooners have started at least one contest.

OU-ALABAMA SERIES HISTORY

• Oklahoma leads the all-time series against Alabama, 3-2-1, with the Sooners winning both on-campus matchups (37-27 in 2002 in Norman [OU was ranked No. 2] and 20-13 in 2003 in Tuscaloosa [OU was No. 1]. UA was unranked in both of those meetings.

• The other four meetings came in bowls. No. 5 Alabama won 17-0 over the No. 8 Sooners in the Orange Bowl to cap the 1962 season before No. 20 OU and the unranked Crimson Tide played to a 24-24 tie in the 1970 Bluebonnet Bowl. At the end of the 2013 season, Bob Stoops' No. 11 Sooners beat Nick Saban's No. 3 Alabama squad 45-31 in the Sugar Bowl. In the most recent matchup in 2018, the No. 1 Tide downed fourth-ranked OU 45-34 in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Orange Bowl.

100TH YEAR OF GAYLORD FAMILY – OKLAHOMA MEMORIAL STADIUM

• 2024 marks the 100th season of Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. OU owns a sparkling 422-88-15 (.818) all-time record at the "Palace on the Prairie."

• 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.

HOME IS WHERE THE "W" IS

• The Sooners are 144-15 (.906) at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium since the start of the 1999 season, giving them just one more home loss than conference titles during the period. It is the second-best home winning percentage in the country over the last 25-plus seasons (Boise State [.907] ranks first and Ohio State [.899] ranks third). OU has outscored its foes by an average of 43-18 in those games.

• Including this week's game, OU has sold out 159 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.

BOWMAN JR. IS OU'S DEFENSIVE SCORING SPECIALIST

• Senior safety Billy Bowman Jr. has scored four defensive touchdowns since the start of the 2023 season, tied with Kansas cornerback Mello Dotson for the most nationally.

• Last season, Bowman Jr. led the country and a set school record with his three interceptions returned for a touchdown. His pick-sixes covered 44 yards vs. Iowa State, 100 yards at BYU and 45 yards vs. TCU.

• Bowman Jr.'s four defensive touchdowns have all covered at least 43 yards and have averaged 58.0 yards.

• Bowman Jr. is tied for sixth nationally among active players with his 11 career interceptions.

• Bowman Jr. leads OU with his four takeaways this season (team-high two interceptions and team-high-tying two fumble recoveries). He ranks fourth on the squad with 43 tackles (has 2.5 TFLs) and has recorded two pass breakups and a QB hurry.

SACKMASTER THOMAS

• Junior defensive lineman R Mason Thomas is tied for 22nd nationally and fifth in the SEC with his 7.0 sacks, and all of them have come in the last eight games (3.0 vs. Tulane, 0.5 vs. Tennessee, 2.0 at Auburn, 0.5 vs. South Carolina and 1.0 at Missouri).

• Thomas has racked up 6.0 of his 7.0 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 in an eventual 27-21 win.

• Thomas' lone eight 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.

MORE ON THE DEFENSE

• 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.

• OU is allowing just 319.0 yards per game this year. The last time the Sooners held opponents to fewer yards per contest over an entire season was 15 years ago (272.6 in 2009).

• The Sooners rank in the top 10 nationally in several defensive categories, including yards allowed per rush (sixth at 2.9), tackles for loss per game (sixth at 8.0), sacks per game (seventh at 3.2) and opponent rushing touchdowns (ninth at 8). They also rank 15th in first downs allowed (170), 18th in rushing defense (109.0 ypg) and 23rd in total defense (319.0 ypg) and red zone defense percentage (.767).

• AP and CBS Sports midseason first-team All-America linebacker and Butkus Award semifinalist Danny Stutsman ranks second in the SEC with his 9.6 tackles per game and has 7.5 TFLs and three QB hurries. The senior has led OU in tackles each of the last two seasons (125 in 2022, 104 in 2023) and has 363 career stops.

• 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 10 games this season have teamed for 14.0 TFLs and 11.0 sacks. Halton has 5.0 TFLs, 4.0 sacks, a forced fumble, fumble recovery, a safety and three QB hurries. Thomas has team highs of 9.0 TFLs, 7.0 sacks and eight QB hurries on the year. His 7.0 sacks are 2.5 more than any Sooner had last season.

• Junior safety Robert Spears-Jennings is tied for third nationally with four forced fumbles (one off the lead) and has a team-high-tying two recoveries. His four forces are tied for the third most in school single-season history.

• Oklahoma is tied for seventh nationally by allowing just 29 rushes of 10 or more yards and is tied for eighth by allowing just six rushes of at least 20 yards (one by Auburn, three by Texas and one each by South Carolina and Maine).

NORMAN, OK - November 02, 2024 - Oklahoma Linebacker Danny Stutsman (#28) during the game between the Maine Black Bears and the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, OK. Photo By Morgan Givens/University of Oklahoma

NOTING THE OFFENSE

• Sophomore quarterback Jackson Arnold, who started Oklahoma's first four games this season as well as the last three contests, has completed 131 of 214 pass attempts (61%) for 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns versus three interceptions on the year. He has also rushed for 238 yards, is tied for second on the squad with three rushing TDs and has one receiving score.

• Junior running back Jovantae Barnes leads the Sooners with his 577 rushing yards (averaging 4.7 yards per carry) and has a career-high-tying five rushing touchdowns. He is coming off his three best performances of the year — a 70-yard rushing day vs. South Carolina, a 67-yard rushing afternoon at Ole Miss (also caught five passes for 57 yards, both career highs) and a career-high 203 rushing yards with a career-high three TDs vs. Maine. Freshman Taylor Tatum, the consensus No. 1 running back nationally in the 2024 class, is averaging 5.2 yards on his 51 rushes (264 yards) and has run for three TDs, caught one and thrown for another.

• 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, who has not played the last four contests due to injury, 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 and two touchdowns in 13 games last season. This year, tight ends Bauer Sharp, Jake Roberts and Kaden Helms have already totaled 48 catches for 400 yards and four TDs. Sharp leads the squad with 39 catches and 299 receiving yards and has two scores. He caught a 43-yarder last game at Missouri from punter Luke Elzinga.

• Redshirt junior wide receiver Deion Burks leads the team with his 6.2 catches per game and three receiving TDs, which all came in the first half against Temple. In that contest, Burks became the first Sooner to register three receiving TDs in his OU debut. Burks' 31 receptions are the most ever by a player in the first five games of his OU career. The Purdue transfer, who missed five straight games after sustaining an injury vs. Tennessee, returned to action last contest at Missouri and caught five passes for a team-high 44 yards.

• Senior receiver Jalil Farooq also returned at Missouri (two catches for 11 yards) after missing significant time due to injury. He got hurt in the first half of the opener against Temple and missed the next eight outings. Farooq entered the year with 86 career catches for 1,229 yards and seven TDs, and 32 rushes for 235 yards.

• Plagued by injury in 2021 and '22 at OU (he played in nine total games and had one catch), wide receiver J.J. Hester has 13 receptions this season for 265 yards. Two games ago vs. Maine, he registered a career-high 112-yard effort, which included a 90-yard TD. It was OU's longest reception since 1995, the longest in Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium history and tied for the second longest in school history.

• True freshman walk-on receiver Jacob Jordan, who did not play in OU's first six games, has totaled 15 receptions for 160 yards over the last four contests (his first collegiate appearances). He had six catches for 86 yards against South Carolina, six more grabs for 38 yards and his first career touchdown at Ole Miss and three receptions for 36 yards against Maine.

A GLANCE AT SPECIAL TEAMS

• Redshirt senior Zach Schmit served as OU's placekicker the last two seasons and has made 35 of his 47 (75%) career field goal attempts and all 136 of his PAT tries. His streak of 136 made extra-points is the third longest in program history. Schmit, who has handled kickoffs in all 10 games this season, also handled field goals and extra points at Auburn and each of the last four contests. He is 7 for 7 on field goal attempts of the year and is coming off a 3-for-3 performance at Missouri that included a career-long 56-yarder (previous long was 46).

• After winning the primary placekicking job in August camp, Florida State transfer Tyler Keltner went 3 for 3 on field goals and 6 for 6 on PAT 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, returned for the Texas game but has not played the last four contests). 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 was a three-time All-Southern Conference pick.

• Keltner and Schmit have combined to go 14 of 16 on field goal attempts, as OU ranks fourth in the SEC out of 16 teams with its 88% conversion rate.

• Super senior Luke Elzinga ranks ninth nationally and fourth in the SEC with a 45.7-yard average on his 49 punts (16 of 50+ yards; long of 63; 18 inside the 20; 17 fair catches; just two touchbacks). His performance has helped OU to a No. 10 national ranking with its 42.8-yard net punting average. Elzinga has 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 third in the SEC (29th nationally) by averaging 8.3 yards on his 23 punt returns (ranks seventh nationally among players with at least 20 returns).

COLUMBIA, MO - November 09, 2024 - Oklahoma Kicker/Punter Zach Schmit (#34) during the game between the Missouri Tigers and the Oklahoma Sooners at Faurot Field in Columbia, MO. Photo By Morgan Givens

EXTRA POINTS

• Oklahoma associate head coach and co-defensive coordinator Todd Bates was an Alabama defensive lineman when the Sooners beat the Crimson Tide 37-27 in Norman in 2002 and 20-13 in Tuscaloosa in 2003.

• OU ranks eighth in the country by allowing just six rushes of 20-plus yards this season. On the other side of the ball, Alabama ranks fifth in the country with its 24 rushes of at least 20 yards.

• Oklahoma'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.

• Saturday's game will mark OU's first in its seven outings against Alabama to be unranked in the AP poll.

• The Sooners have won their last 89 games when holding opponents to 22 or fewer points. Their last loss under the circumstance came at Nebraska in 2009 (10-3).

• Since the start of the 2012 season, OU is 91-7 when scoring at least 35 points and 80-4 when scoring at least 40.

• Twenty-eight players (18 offensive and 10 defensive) have made their first OU starts this season.

• Of the 72 players on OU's depth chart last game, 24 (or 33%) were freshmen. That includes 18 true freshmen and six redshirts. Thirty-eight true (26) or redshirt (12) freshmen have played in at least one game this season.