The Game At A Glance
AT&T Red River Rivalry
• Saturday’s game at the venerable Cotton Bowl marks the 107th installment of one of college football’s most storied rivalries, a series that dates back to 1900 and has been played in Dallas on 89 previous occasions.
• The two teams will square off in Dallas for an 84th consecutive year, a streak that dates back to 1929.
• Texas leads the all-time series 59-42-5, including a 47-38-4 mark in the previous 89 games in Dallas.
• Oklahoma has claimed the Golden Hat and Governor’s Trophy the past two years, outscoring UT by a combined 83-37 margin. Oklahoma is 8-5 overall against Texas under head coach Bob Stoops.
The Match-Up
• OU is coming off a 41-20 win at Texas Tech (10/6), while Texas suffered a 48-45 loss vs. West Virginia (10/6).
• Both teams enter the game in the AP Top 25 for a seventh straight year – Oklahoma (No. 13 AP, No. 10 USA Today Coaches’ ), Texas (No. 15 in both polls).
• In the previous 13 Red River games during the Stoops era, the Sooners have outscored UT by an average margin of 36.3 to 23.7 ppg, outpointing the Longhorns by a combined 229-139 margin in the first half of those games.
• During the Stoops era (1999-pres.), no FBS defense has been better on third down than OU (30.8%). The Texas offense ranks second in the NCAA in 2012, converting 43 of 74 third-down opportunities (58.1%).
Keeping Up With QB Landry Jones
• QB Landry Jones owns a 32-9 (.780) record as a starter. He is seeking to surpass QB Steve Davis (32 wins from 1973-75) for the most victories in OU history this week.
• Jones is also attempting to become just the third Sooners signal caller to post three victories against Texas. QBs Jimmy Harris (1954-56) and Davis (1973-75) previously accomplished that feat.
• Jones (13,410) ranks second in Big 12 history in career passing yards, trailing only TT’s Graham Harrell (15,793).
• Jones (13,410 yds, 100 TDs) is the third player in Big 12 history to register over 13,000 passing yards and 100 TD passes during his career, joining Colt McCoy - Texas (13,253 yds & 112 TDs) and Harrell (15,793 yds & 134 TDs).
• The Sooners are 25-2 (.926) in games when Jones throws two or more TDs, including a 2-0 mark vs. Texas.
• Jones is 2-1 vs. Texas, hitting 79 of 132 passes (59.8%) for 853 yards with six TDs and two INTs (126.1 rating).
• In back-to-back wins vs. UT, Jones is 55-89 (61.8%) for 603 yards with five TDs and no INTs (137.2 rating).
More Key Oklahoma-Texas Stats
• Last week, the Sooners registered 380 yards of total offense against a Texas Tech defense that entered the game leading the nation by permitting 167.5 ypg.
• OU is 108-8 (.931) under Stoops when holding opponents to 21 points or less, including a streak of 20 consecutive wins. The Sooners are 7-1 in such contests vs. Texas under Stoops.
• The Sooners are 68-6 (.919) in games with an individual100-yard rusher under Stoops, including a 5-1 mark vs. Texas. RB DeMarco Murray was the last to do it with 115 yards and two TDs in a 28-20 win vs. Texas (10/2/10).
• The Oklahoma offense ranks eighth in Red Zone scoring efficiency at 95.2% (20 of 21), while the Texas defense is tied for 112nd in Red Zone defense at 93.8% (15 of 16).
• Oklahoma is 36-2 under Stoops in games when scoring a defensive TD, including a 4-0 record vs. Texas.
• CB Demontre Hurst had a 55-yard INT return TD in last year’s 50-31 win vs. the Longhorns (10/8/11).
STAT OF THE WEEK
72-1
• Oklahoma is 72-1 under Bob Stoops when scoring 40 points or more, including a 3-0 mark vs. Texas.
• The Longhorns are 83-2 when scoring 40 points or more under Mack Brown. Texas is 4-11 under Brown when permitting 40 points or more, including losses to OU in 2011, 2003 & 2000.
Sooners
Oklahoma is 3-1 on the season and 1-1 in the Big 12 following a 41-20 win at Texas Tech (10/6). The Sooners have not lost back-to-back regular season Big 12 contests in the Stoops era and have won 19 consecutive games following a regular season loss.
Offense
A balanced offensive attack has been the name of the game for the Sooners so far in 2012 as they rank 36th nationally in rushing yards and 37th in passing yards. Junior running back Damien Williams leads the team and ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 85.2 rushing yards per game. Senior quarterback Landry Jones has completed over 63 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns and two interceptions. Junior wide receiver Kenny Stills has been his top target, recording 29 catches for 344 yards and three touchdowns through four games.
Defense
Oklahoma boasts the No. 17 defense in the nation through four games, giving up 303.0 yards of offense per contest. In addition, the 16.0 points per game allowed is tied for 19th in the country. OU’s passing defense ranks ninth in the country, yielding just 160.5 yards per game. Against Texas Tech (10/6), Oklahoma forced three interceptions after having just one takeaway entering the game.
Special Teams
Sophomore Michael Hunnicutt has made five of six field goals in 2012, while senior punter Tress Way is fifth in the Big 12 with an average of 43.5 yards per kick. Justin Brown is seventh in the nation with 18.4 yards per punt return.
Longhorns
Texas saw its undefeated season come to an end in its most recent outing, losing a 48-45 decision vs. West Virginia (10/6). The loss dropped UT to 4-1 on the year and 1-1 in the Big 12.
Offense
The Texas offense has been explosive all season long, scoring at least 37 points in every contest and ranking sixth in the nation with an average of 46.8 points per game. Running back Joe Bergeron has scored more rushing touchdowns than any player in the Big 12 with nine, while quarterback David Ash ranks third in the conference with a rating of 180.1. Five different receivers have at least 10 catches on the year, led by Jaxon Shipley’s 22 receptions and Mike Davis’ 263 receiving yards.
Defense
The UT defense has struggled in recent weeks. After shutting out New Mexico (9/8), Texas has given up at least 31 points in each of its last three games. The unit has been opportunistic though, forcing 10 turnovers on the season to tie for 13th in the country with a +7 turnover margin.
Special Teams
The kicking game has not been strong for the Longhorns this season, as Nick Jordan (3-7) and Anthony Fera (1-2) have combined to make just 4-9 field goal tries. Alex King has been consistent in the punt game, averaging 45.7 yards per kick to rank third in the Big 12. D.J. Monroe returned a kickoff for a touchdown earlier this year at Oklahoma State (9/29).
About the Sooner Offense
• Under Bob Stoops, OU has produced career leaders in passing, receiving, total offense and all-purpose yards, four top-10 career rushers and season record holders in rushing, passing, total offense and receiving yards.
• Stoops-led Sooner teams have set 66 offensive school records.
• OU has scored in 179 straight games since 11/7/98.
• Since Stoops’ arrival, OU has scored 6,501 points - an average of 36.9 per game.
• Oklahoma is the highest scoring college program in history. In 1,185 games, the Sooners have scored 32,085 points. Michigan is next at 30,895 points in 1,249 games.
Prolific Passer
One doesn’t need to look far to see where Landry Jones ranks in NCAA and Big 12 annals (pages 12-13), but there are other notes to know about OU’s QB:
• With the victory over Texas Tech (10/6), Landry Jones now owns a 32-9 (.780) record as a starter and is tied with QB Steve Davis (1973-75) for the most wins in school history.
• Jones’ two touchdown passes against TTU makes him one of 3 players in Big 12 history and one of 23 in NCAA history to have 100 TD passes and 13,000 passing yards in his career.
• Jones currently ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 257.8 passing yards per game and sixth with 245.5 yards of total offense per game.
Wide Open
• Junior wide receiver Kenny Stills has had an impressive start to the 2012 campaign. He leads the team with 344 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 29 catches.
• His 87.2 receiving yards per game rank fifth in the Big 12 and 28th in the NCAA, while his 7.2 receptions per game is 14th in the country and fourth in the conference.
• Going over the 100-yard mark in his first two games of the year, Stills now has five career 100-yard receiving games, moving Stills ahead of Eddie Hinton for fifth all-time at OU.
• Stills’ 68-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter against UTEP (9/1) was the longest of his career, surpassing the 58-yarder he had vs. Texas Tech (11/13/2010), and it was the longest pass play for OU since since Jones hit Cameron Kenney for an 86-yard touchdown at Oklahoma State (11/27/10).
• Among active players in the NCAA, Stills ranks No. 9 in receiving yards per game (68.2), No. 15 in receptions (151), tied for No. 16 in TD receptions (16) and No. 17 in receiving yards (1,979).
Shepard Shines in First Start
• Sterling Shepard started for the fi rst time in his Sooner career against Kansas State (9/22) and set career highs with seven receptions for 108 yards, leading all receivers.
• Shepard became the seventh freshman in OU history to go over 100 yards receiving. OU freshmen have accomplished the feat eight times overall. Ryan Broyles was the previous freshman to do so, gaining 141 yards at Cincinnati (9/6/08).
• Shepard’s 108 receiving yards ties him with Mark Clayton (vs. Baylor, 10/20/01) and Tinker Owens (vs. Nebraska, 11/23/72) for fourth-most receiving yards by a freshman.
Williams Continues to Wow
• A transfer from Arizona Western, junior running back Damien Williams made his presence felt in his brief time at Oklahoma.
• With an average of 85.2 rushing yards per game, Williams is third in the Big 12 and ranks 50th in the nation.
• Williams showed an additional element to his game against Texas Tech (10/6) by catching a career-high six passes for 82 yards, including a 38-yard reception, in his first career start.
• After finishing with 10 carries for 103 yards and a touchdown at UTEP (9/1) in his OU debut, Williams gained 156 rushing yards and four touchdowns against Florida A&M (9/8).
• Williams’ 156 total yards rushing were the most in home debut in Oklahoma history, surpassing Dominique Whaley’s 131 yards vs. Tulsa (9/3/11).
• Williams is the first Sooner to score at least one touchdown in each of the first two games of his career since Ryan Broyles did so against Chattanooga (9/6/08) and Cincinnati (9/13/08).
• Williams is the first Sooner to register 100-yard rushing games in each of the first two games of his OU career since Adrian Peterson rushed for 100 yards against Bowling Green (9/4/04) and 117 against Houston (9/11/04).
• Williams had the first back-to-back 100-yard rushing games for OU since DeMarco Murray did so against Texas (115 yards, 10/2/10) and Iowa State (112 yards, 10/16/10).
• His 89-yard TD run was the longest since DeMarco Murray’s 92-yarder against Utah State in (9/14/07) and ties for the seventh-longest run play in school history.
Belldozer Returns
• After rushing for 13 touchdowns last season, Blake Bell and the Belldozer package has returned in 2012.
• Bell has scored three rushing touchdowns on the season, including two last week at Texas Tech (10/6). It was the fifth career multi-TD game for Bell.
• Against Florida A&M (9/8), Bell saw the most passing action of his career as he completed 4 of 5 passes for 61 yards.
• In the season opener at UTEP (9/1), Bell rushed 4 times for 26 yards, with all 4 rushes resulting in first downs.
Sooner Firsts
• Justin Brown’s 13-yard touchdown reception against Texas Tech (10/6) was his first since joining the Sooners. He scored three touchdowns through the air in his three-year career at Penn State.
• Highly-touted freshman Durron Neal recorded the first two receptions of his career against Text Tech (10/6), finishing with 38 receiving yards.
About the Defense
• Oklahoma has ranked in the top 16 in the nation in total defense eight of the last 11 years.
• OU has forced at least one turnover in 153 of 177 games over the last 14 seasons - 86% of games played in that span.
• The Sooner defense has at least one interception in 73% of its games (130 of 177) over the last 14 years.
• Oklahoma has 13 shutouts under Bob Stoops.
• Under Stoops, the Oklahoma defense has surrendered an average of just 18.3 points per game.
• The defense has allowed less than 100 rushing yards per game in five of the last 11 seasons.
• In 2012, Oklahoma has permitted only 24 second half points through its first four games.
• In 16 quarters of play, OU has posted shutouts in eight of them. Kansas State had scored in all 12 quarters entering Saturday’s game (9/22), but were shutout in both the first and third quarters by OU.
Back to the Future
• OU associate head coach and defensive coordinator Mike Stoops is back on the Sooner coaching staff after guiding the OU defense from 1999-03.
• In his first stint in Norman, four of Stoops’ five defenses finished No. 7 or better nationally in scoring defense and in the top 10 for total defense.
• From 2000-03, Stoops’ defenses also finished in the top 25 in pass defense and rush defense every season and in pass efficiency defense and turnovers forced twice.
• In addition, Stoops is the only coach to have an athlete win both the Nagurski and Thorpe awards in the same season, doing so twice with Roy Williams in 2001 and Derrick Strait in 2003.
Third-Down Defense
• Under Bob Stoops’ tenure, no program has been better at stopping foes on third down than OU, limiting teams to an FBS-best 30.5 percent success rate since the start of the 1999 season.
• The Oklahoma defense posted the No. 5 third down defense in the nation in 2011, allowing just 60 conversions in 196 attempts (30.6%).
• In home games, no team was better in the category than OU’s 20.2% mark in2011.
• The Sooners have consistently been at the top of the rankings in third-down defense, ranking No. 11 two seasons ago and No. 3 in 2009.
No Passing Zone
• Oklahoma ranks ninth in the nation in passing defense, yielding just 160.5 yards per game.
• The OU defense held UTEP to just 48 yards passing in the season opener (9/1), the fewest passing yards allowed by the Sooners since Oklahoma State had 47 (11/28/2009).
• The 48 passing yards allowed were the second fewest in the FBS’ opening week and the best for a team facing a fellow FBS opponent.
• Under Bob Stoops, the Sooners are 26-1 when limiting teams to 100 yards passing or less and 10-1 when teams pass for 50 yards or less.
Intercepting the Red Raiders
• Oklahoma entered the Texas Tech game (10/6) with 1 interception on the season, but recorded 3 against the Red Raiders.
• It was the most interceptions by OU since it had 3 vs. Texas A&M (11/5/2011). It was just the second time in the career of Texas Tech’s Seth Doege that he threw three picks in a game.
• Defensive tackle Jamarkus McFarland got it started by intercepting the first pass of his career in the first quarter. It was the first INT by an OU defensive lineman since defensive end Ronnell Lewis picked off a pass vs. Texas A&M (11/5/2011).
• Aaron Colvin intercepted the first pass of his career in the second quarter.
• Javon Harris intercepted his second pass of the season (the fifth of his career) and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown. It was his first career defensive touchdown and the first by an OU player since Demontre Hurst had a 55-yard pick six against Texas (10/8/2011).
Support in the Secondary
• Tony Jefferson totaled 14 tackles against Kansas State (9/22), the most tackles by a Sooner since defensive back Quinton Carter had 17 tackles vs. Texas Tech (11/13/10).
• Jefferson (14) and Javon Harris (career-high 12) became the first OU defensive backs to both have double-digit tackle totals in the same game since Jemell Fleming and Jonathan Nelson accomplished the feat against Texas A&M (11/6/10).
• Jefferson is 11th in the Big 12 with an average of 7.5 tackles per game, while Harris is not far behind in 18th place with 6.5 stops per game.
Defensive Shutout
• In the opener at UTEP (9/1), the OU defense held the Miners’ offense scoreless, marking the first time OU kept an opposing offense off the board since a 52-0 win vs. Iowa State (10/16/10).
• During Mike Stoops’ first tour of duty as OU’s defensive coordinator from 1999-03, the Sooners pitched six shutouts.
Date Opponent Score
9/11/1999 Indiana State 49-0
11/6/1999 Missouri 37-0
11/3/2001 Tulsa 58-0
8/30/2002 at Tulsa 37-0
9/14/2002 UTEP 68-0
11/8/2003 Texas A&M 77-0
Defensive TDs at 43 in Stoops Era
• With a defensive touchdown at Texas Tech (10/6/12), Oklahoma now has 43 in Bob Stoops’ 13+ seasons.
• Thirteen of those touchdowns came via a fumble return.
• The defense has scored at least one touchdown in all of Stoops’ first 14 seasons, including one in 2012.
• The four defensive scores last season were one shy of the most in Stoops’ tenure. OU had five touchdowns on defense in 2007, 2001 and 2000.
