NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma hosts Florida A&M on Saturday at 6 p.m. in OU's home opener for the 2012 season. The No. 5 Sooners (1-0) defeated UTEP, 24-7, in El Paso last Saturday while the Rattlers dropped a heartbreaker, 17-14, to Tennessee State in Nashville.
Saturday's OU-Florida A&M game will be televised on a pay-per-view basis. Visit Sooner Gameday Central for complete details for fans attending the game and broadcast information for fans following the Sooners around the world.
THE MATCHUP
OU is 63-3 under Bob Stoops at home vs. unranked teams, 31-1 vs. unranked non-conference foes.
The Sooners are 46-9-5 all-time in home openers, including a 12-1 mark under Stoops.
Oklahoma is a perfect 4-0 in games played on Sept. 8, most recently a 51-13 win vs. Miami (9/8/2007). On this date, OU has also defeated North Texas (37-10 in 2001), UCLA (34-14 in 1990) and Stanford (19-7 in 1984).
In last season’s home opener, the Sooners posted a 47-14 win vs. Tulsa (9/3/2011).
THE SERIES
Saturday's game marks the first ever meeting between the two programs.
Oklahoma is 7-3 all-time against current Football Championship Subdivision teams.
Bob Stoops is 3-0 against FCS teams, winning those games by a combined margin of 170-2.
OU's last matchup against the FCS came in 2009 with a 64-0 win vs. Idaho State (9/12/2009). Under Stoops, the Sooners also own a 57-2 win vs. Chattanooga (8/30/2008) and a 49-0 victory vs. Indiana State (9/11/1999).
SOONERS vs. SUNSHINE STATE
OU is 10-6 all-time against schools from the state of Florida, including a 5-2 mark under Stoops. The most recent matchup resulted in a 23-12 win at Florida State (9/17/2011).
The Sooners vs. Florida schools: Florida State (6-1), Miami (3-4), South Florida (1-0) and Florida (0-1).
Oklahoma holds a 5-1 home mark against Florida schools, including a 3-0 mark under Stoops. Most recently, OU posted a 47-17 home victory vs. Florida State (9/11/2010).
Oklahoma has played in 23 bowl games in the state of Florida, posting a 14-9 mark in those contests.
WHAT TO WATCH
Oklahoma is 77-3 (.963) at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium under Stoops, including a 34-1 mark in the month of September. That lone September blemish was a 17-10 setback vs. TCU (9/3/05).
OU was No. 4 in the initial USA Today Coaches' Poll and AP Poll. This week's polls will be released on Tuesday.
QB Landry Jones owns a 30-8 (.790 ) record as a starter. He is three wins away from passing QB Steve Davis (32 wins from 1973-75) for the top spot in OU history.
OU is 23-2 (.920) when Jones throws two or more TD passes, including a 12-1 mark at home.
The Sooners are 46-0 under Stoops at home when scoring 40 points or more.
Oklahoma owns a +74 turnover differential (195 takes/121 gives) in 80 home contests under Stoops.
Last week, the OU defense held the UTEP 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).
THE OU PROGRAM
Oklahoma's all-time record stands at 822-307-53 (.718) in 118 seasons.
The Sooners rank third all-time in winning percentage behind only Michigan (.735) and Notre Dame (.731).
Since World War II, Oklahoma leads the nation with 578 victories.
The Sooners have earned seven national championships (1950, 1955, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1985, 2000).
OU has 45 bowl appearances (No. 7 nationally) with 27 bowl victories (No. 4 nationally) and an all-time record of 27-17-1 (.611).
OU has 43 conference championships, including seven Big 12 titles overall (no other school has more than three).
Oklahoma is the only program in FBS history to have four coaches with 100 or more wins.
OU has 153 All-Americans and 73 consensus All-Americans, including NCAA career receptions leader Ryan Broyles in 2011.
Under Stoops, OU has had 33 All-Americans, including 23 consensus. Of the 33 players, 15 were on offense, 16 on defense and two on special teams representing 14 different positions.
Oklahoma boasts five Heisman winners. Sooners have also won the Bednarik (1), Butkus (4), Camp (4), Lombardi (3), Maxwell (2), Nagurski (2), O'Brien (3), Outland (5), Tatupu (1), Thorpe (3) and Unitas (1).
OU leads the nation with 33 seasons in which the program has won 10 or more games.
Sooner teams have gone undefeated 14 times in program history, the first in 1896 and the latest in 2000.
Oklahoma's 47-game win streak from 1953-57 is still the NCAA D-I record.
Oklahoma has had 102 Academic All-Big 12 honorees under Stoops.
The Sooners have gone 77-3 at home in Stoops' 13 seasons. In all, Oklahoma has won 81 percent of its home games since Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial opened in 1923.
Oklahoma has played in front of 80 consecutive home sellouts - every game of Stoops' tenure.
Including the seven Sooners picked in the 2012 NFL Draft, OU has had 357 players picked all-time in the draft.
Oklahoma has 42 first-round picks, including three No. 1 overall selections.
In 2010, Sooners were chosen with three of the first four picks in the draft, with QB Sam Bradford at No. 1, DT Gerald McCoy at No. 3 and OT Trent Williams at No. 4.
Bob Stoops' career average of 10.7 wins per year is tops among active FBS head coaches with at least 10 years of experience.
Stoops is the only active head coach on the FBS level to have reached a bowl game in each of his first 13 seasons. Georgia's Mark Richt (11) comes in second.
Of the 13 bowls, eight have been BCS bowl games and four have been for the BCS title.
10 double-digit win seasons in his first 13 as a head coach are unmatched among active FBS coaches. He joins Richt and BYU's Mendenhall as the only active coaches with five such seasons in their first seven years.
Oklahoma Football History & Tradition | Sooner Superlatives
SOONERS ONLINE
Live video of Bob Stoops' Monday media conference (Live air at 12:05 p.m., each Monday).
Live/archived audio of Sooner Sports Talk with Bob Stoops (Tuesday nights, starting at 7 p.m., CT).
Live/archived audio of Coaches' Corner radio show (Thursday nights, starting at 7 p.m., CT).
Live game audio from the Sooner Sports Radio Network plus live stats, blog from OU Athletics Digital.
Live/archived video of Bob Stoops' post-game press conference.
Game highlights and Bob Stoops' review TV show (Show is taped on Sunday of each week).
Sooner Gameday Central | OU Athletics Social Media | OU Athletics Digital
OKLAHOMA AT A GLANCE
With 12 returning players on offense and 12 players on defense with a combined 339 career starts, Oklahoma opened the 2012 season at UTEP (9/1) with a 24-7 victory over the Miners. OU improved to 12-2 under head coach Bob Stoops in season openers with the win.
Offense
The 2012 Oklahoma offense returns the most seasoned quarterback in school history in Landry Jones (38 career starts), who threw for 222 yards and 2 TDs on 21-of-36 passing at UTEP. Kenny Stills (see below) was Jones' top target, while newcomers Justin Brown (32 yds.) and Trey Metoyer (21 yds.) each caught four passes. The backfield saw the return of Dominique Whaley, who suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the team's seventh game last year. Whaley rushed for 54 yards on 11 carries in his return, while transfer Damien Williams ran for 103 yards on 9 carries, including a 65-yard TD run, in his OU debut.
Defense
Mike Stoops has returned to OU as the defensive coordinator in 2012, building a defense on aggression and speed after the Sooners lost four standouts to the NFL Draft. The Sooners' defense held the UTEP offense off the scoreboard in the season-opening win as safety Tony Jefferson led the way with 10 tackles. OU posted a pair of sacks and 5.0 TFLs, while holding the Miners to just 48 passing yards, the fewest passing yards allowed since Oklahoma State had 47 (11/28/2009).
Special Teams
Sophomore Michael Hunnicutt, a Groza Award candidate, is back at kicker after tying the OU record for field goals in 2011 with 21 makes. Senior punter Tress Way owns 61 career punts of 50+ yards, and is second in the Big 12 with a 46.4 avg. this year.
FAMU AT A GLANCE
The Rattlers finished 7-4 overall and 5-3 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference last season, finishing in a tie for fourth place. The team boasts 76 returning lettermen as FAMU hopes to reach the NCAA FCS playoffs for the first time since 2001.
Offense
Florida A&M's offense will be led by a veteran backfield that includes last season's leading rusher in RB Eddie Rocker (524 yards) and leading scorer, RB Lavante Page (14 touchdowns). The receiving corps features Lenworth Lennon, a redshirt sophomore who led the team with 45 catches for 596 yards and two scores. Two starters return on the offensive line to provide protection for the QB duo of returning starter Damien Fleming and Memphis transfer Tyler Bass.
Defense
Six starters return for the FAMU defense in 2012. The unit's strength lies in its secondary, which recorded a conference-best 22 interceptions a year ago. Sophomore Devontae Johnson led the MEAC and ranked ninth in the FCS with five of those interceptions. Up front, only one starter returns along the line but two starters are back at linebacker, including Brandon Hepburn who finished second on the squad last year with 63 tackles.
Special Teams
Senior Branden Holden returns as the team's punter after averaging 40.7 yards per kick a year ago. However, the Rattlers lost all-conference kicker Trevor Scott to graduation and will be forced to break in sophomore Chase Varnadore.
FAMU SCOUTING REPORT
Since 1996, Florida A&M is 0-13 against FBS opponents.
The Rattlers have been outscored by FBS teams 649-115 in those 13 matchups, an average score of 49.9-8.8.
FAMU last played an FBS foe last season at South Florida (9/17/2011), losing 70-17.
Florida A&M has not played a Big 12 team since at least the 1996 season.
WELCOME TO THE SHOW
Three Sooners made their first career starts in the opener at UTEP (9/1): sophomore defensive end Chuka Ndulue, junior right guard Bronson Irwin and freshman wide receiver Troy Metoyer. Justin Brown made his first start with the Sooners after starting 30 games in three seasons at Penn State.
Eight other players made their OU debuts: junior defensive back Kass Everett, junior tight end Brannon Green, freshman tight end Taylor McNamara, freshman wide receiver Troy Metoyer, freshman wide receiver Durron Neal, freshman wide receiver Sterling Shepard, freshman linebacker Eric Striker and junior running back Damien Williams.
CONFERENCE DOMINATION
The Sooners were picked to finish first in the Big 12 preseason media poll.
Oklahoma has won seven Big 12 Conference titles (2000, 02, 04, 06, 07, 08, 10), twice as many as the next closest program in the league.
Since 2000, Oklahoma is 79-18 (.814) in Big 12 play, the best mark in the conference. Texas is next with a 74-23 (.763) record.
Among BCS-automatic qualifier conference teams, Oklahoma has the best conference winning percentage, with the next-best records at USC of the Pac-12, which has a 65-20 (.765) conference record since 2000 and Virginia Tech of the ACC (70-22, .761).
OU's Conference History | 43 Conference Titles | Big 12 Titles
RANKINGS
Oklahoma is ranked No. 5 in both the latest AP Poll and Coaches Poll released Tuesday morning. The Sooners dropped one spot from preseason No. 4 after a 24-7 win on the road in El Paso against UTEP. Six of the remaining 11 opponents on OU's schedule are ranked including No. 9/8 West Virginia, No. 17/15 Texas, No. 18/16 Oklahoma State, No. 20/17 TCU, No. 21/20 Kansas State and No. 22 Notre Dame.
OU All-Time in the AP Poll | OU All-Time in the BCS
2012 TEAM CAPTAINS
This season's team captains as elected by their teammates are:
Junior OL Gabe Ikard (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
Senior QB Landry Jones (Artesia, N.M.)
Senior DE David King (Houston, Texas)
Junior FB Trey Millard (Columbia, Mo.)
Senior P Tress Way (Tulsa, Okla.)
OKLAHOMA COACHING STAFF
In Bob Stoops' 13 seasons at OU, six of his assistant coaches have gone on to become head coaches at other FBS programs.
Four former Stoops' assistants are now head coaches: Mike Leach (Washington State), Bo Pelini (Nebraska), Kevin Sumlin (Texas A&M) and Kevin Wilson (Indiana).
This season, Mike Stoops returns to Oklahoma as the defensive coordinator, while Tim Kish joins the program as assistant defensive coordinator.
Three current assistants played for Oklahoma, including Jackie Shipp (1980-83), Cale Gundy (1990-93) and Josh Heupel (1999-00).
OU's coaches have a cumulative 63 years on the sidelines in Norman and 192 years experience total.
Oklahoma Football Coaching Staff
HOME DOMINANCE UNDER STOOPS
The Sooners are 77-3 on Owen Field under Stoops.
OU is 66-3 when ranked and 11-0 when unranked at home.
Oklahoma is 33-1 in non-conference games at home under Stoops and 44-2 in Big 12 games.
OU is 46-0 under Stoops when scoring 40 points or more at home and 35-0 at home when allowing 10 points or fewer.
Streaks
OU has not lost to a ranked team at home since Stoops became head coach in 1999.
Oklahoma has wins over top 10 teams including No. 1 Nebraska (2000), No. 2 Texas Tech (2008) and No. 9 Iowa State (2002) during that time.
From 2005-11, Oklahoma won 39 straight home games, a stadium record.
The streak was the fifth-longest home win streak in the modern football era. OU has been sold out at home for every game of the Stoops era, a school-record of 80 consecutive games.
Under Stoops, OU won its first 17 home games stretching almost over his first three seasons from 1999-01.
The Sooners also had a 19-game streak under Stoops from 2002-04.
Margin of Victory
The Sooners have posted 10 shutouts against incoming opponents, including three against Big 12 foes.
Oklahoma's biggest wins are a 77-0 defeat of Texas A&M (11/8/03) and a 68-0 win over UTEP (9/14/02).
OU's average margin of victory at home has been 22 points or higher each of the past six seasons and 11 of 13 seasons under Stoops.
OU's three losses at home in the last 13 seasons have come by a combined 13 points.
Only one game has gone into overtime, a 37-30 OU win vs. Baylor (10/22/05).
Attendance Lately
In 2011, Oklahoma ranked No. 13 nationally in average attendance at 85,161.
OU's average attendance last season was 103.7% of Memorial Stadium's official capacity.
Only Oregon, TCU, Nebraska and Texas A&M had higher percentages over capacity.
In 2011, OU's win over Texas A&M drew the highest attendance in stadium history at 85,709.
Record-Setting Attendance
Oklahoma has drawn 6,112,172 fans for Bob Stoops' 80 home games (started in 1999) and all have been sold out.
The current string of sellouts is the longest in school history, eclipsing a mark of 69 from 1971-84.
In 2011, Oklahoma fans set a record for average season attendance at 85,161.
OU has exceeded the seating capacity of 82,112 at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in 48 straight games.
The top nine seasons for home attendance at Oklahoma have been during Stoops' tenure as head coach.
Of the top 10 crowds at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, all have come in the past six years.
Home Winning Percentage
Since the start of the 2006 season, Oklahoma ranks second nationally in home winning percentage at .973, holding a record of 36-1 over that span.
Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium | History | Attendance | Records
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 176 consecutive games since 11/7/98.
Since Stoops' arrival, OU has scored 6,372 points - an average of 492 points per season and 37 per game.
Oklahoma is the highest scoring college program in history. In 1,183 games, the Sooners have scored 31,975 points. Michigan is next at 30,813 points in 1,246 games.
OKLAHOMA "O"
Oklahoma has racked up 300 yards or more of total offense in 36 straight regular season contests dating back to early 2009. In a 58-17 win at No. 10 Kansas State (10/29/2011), OU totaled 690 yards, the eighth-most in team history and the highest total during that span.
WIDE OPEN
Junior wide receiver Kenny Stills had a dazzling season debut, catching six passes for 121 yards and one touchdown. His 121 receiving yards rank second in the Big 12, and It was the fourth 100-yard game of his career, tying for fifth all-time at OU with Eddie Hinton. Stills' 68-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter was the longest reception of his career, surpassing the 58-yarder he had vs. Texas Tech (11/13/2010). It was also the longest play from scrimmage by Oklahoma since Jones hit Cameron Kenney for an 86-yard touchdown at Oklahoma State (11/27/2010).
Stills finished the first half with four catches for 104 yards, becoming the first OU player with 100 yards in a first half since Ryan Broyles had 10 catches for 105 yards at Kansas State (10/29/2011). Stills' previous high for one half was 94 yards in the second half last season at Texas Tech (10/22/2011).
Among active players in the NCAA, Stills ranks No. 7 in receiving yards per game (67.5), tied for No. 13 in TD receptions (14), No. 15 in receiving yards (1,756) and No. 17 in receptions (128).
WILLIAMS WOWS
A transfer from Arizona Western, junior running back Damien Williams made his presence felt in his OU debut. Williams finished with 10 carries for 103 yards to become the first OU player to rush for 100 yards or more since Dominique Whaley had 165 at Kansas (10/15/2011). It was the eighth time that a Sooner has rushed for more than 100 yards in their OU career debut. Whaley was the last player to do it when he ran for 131 yards and 4 TDs on 18 carries vs. Tulsa (9/3/2011).
In addition, Williams scored on a 65-yard run in the fourth quarter, the longest TD run by a Sooner since DeMarco Murray scored from 65 yards out vs. Texas (11/6/2007) and the longest run of any kind by an OU player since Murray had a 70-yard run at Texas A&M (11/8/2008).
DYNAMIC DUO
With Kenny Stills recording 121 receiving yards and Damien Williams rushing for 104 yards at UTEP (9/1), it marked the the 27th time during the Bob Stoops era that OU had a 100-yard rusher & a 100-yard receiver in the same game. The last time it happened came last season when Dominique Whaley rushed for 165 yards and Ryan Broyles tallied 217 receiving yards at Kansas (10/15/2011).
GREEN FINDS THE END ZONE
Junior tight end Brannon Green, who transferred to OU from Fort Scott CC, recorded the first catch and touchdown reception of his career when he caught an 18-yard pass from Landry Jones in the fourth quarter at UTEP (9/1).
PASS IT WROUND
The Sooners had the No. 5 passing offense last season, giving OU its fourth-straight year in the top 11 in that category. OU has finished No. 3 twice (2008, 2010) and No. 11 (2009) recently.
BACK TO THE FUTURE
OU associate head coach and defensive coordinator Mike Stoops is back on the Sooner coaching staff after previously 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.
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 151 of 174 games over the last 14 seasons - 87% of games played in that span.
The Sooner defense has at least one interception in 74% of its games (128 of 174) over the last 14 years.
Oklahoma has 13 shutouts under Bob Stoops.
Under Stoops, the Oklahoma defense has surrendered an average of just 18 points per game.
The defense has allowed less than 100 rushing yards per game in five of the last 11 seasons.
DEFENSIVE SHUTOUT
Last week at UTEP (9/1), the OU defense held the UTEP 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.
NO PASSING ZONE
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.
TOPS IN TACKLES
Multiple Sooners posted career highs in tackles in the season-opening win at UTEP (9/1).
R.J. Washington set a career high with six tackles, breaking his old mark of two, which he did six times.
Chuka Ndulue, who earned the first half-sack of his career in the first quarter, finished with a career-high seven tackles, besting his old mark of two which was set last year against Ball State (10/1/2011).
Rashod Favors recorded the first four tackles of his career.
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 30.6 percent success rate since the start of the 1999 season.
The Sooners kept that trend going in the season opener at UTEP (9/1), holding the Miners to just 3 conversions in 16 attempts (18.8%).
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.
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.
DEFENSIVE TDS AT 42
With a school-record three defensive touchdowns against Texas in 2011, Oklahoma now has 42 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' first13 seasons, including four in 2011.
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.
SPECIAL TEAMS
There have been 29 special teams touchdowns.
Those 29 have come via five different kinds of plays -- punt returns, fake field goals, blocked punts, kickoff returns and a fake punt. Special teams also owns four safeties in that span.
Oklahoma has returned six kickoffs and 14 punts for touchdowns.
Oklahoma has blocked 28 kicks.
MANY HAPPY RETURNS
Kickoff Returns --105 returns of 25 yards or more with eight touchdowns.
Punt Returns -- 67 returns of 15 or more yards with 16 touchdowns.
Interception Returns -- 90 returns of 10 or more yards with 24 touchdowns.
Fumble Returns -- 8 returns of 15 or more yards with 12 touchdowns.
WAY GOOD AT PUNTER
Tress Way is tied for first among active punters in the NCAA's FBS with 204 career punts and ranks No. 2 among with 8,973 total punt yards.
Way also ranks No. 6 among active punters in the NCAA with a 43.9 yards per punt average.
His career average currently ranks No. 1 in OU history with a season left to play, just ahead of Jeff Ferguson (1998-01) at 42.5 ypp.
With three of them against UTEP (9/1), Way has 61 punts of 50+ yards in his career to set the OU program record. Ferguson previously held the record with 52.
Way's 58.8 average against Oklahoma State on 11/28/09 is the highest in a game in program history.
In 2011, Way has played a central role in field position with 34 of 63 punts downed inside the 20. Only six of Way's punts resulted in a touchback.
In 2010, Way had 19 boots of 50+ yards with 18 inside the 20 and an average of 44.0 yards on 73 kicks. His average ranked No. 20 nationally, but he had more attempts than anyone ahead of him on that list.
HUNNICUTT THROUGH THE UPRIGHTS
Returning kicker Michael Hunnicutt came into the starting role as a freshman last season. Despite not playing in two games...
Hunnicutt made 21 field goals, tying the OU single-season record set by Tim Duncan in 2001.
The total also tied him for the 13th-most conversions in the nation in 2011.
His 118 total points (21 FG, 55 XP) ranked No. 10 on the OU season scoring list.
Hunnicutt broke the OU freshman field goal record (16, Trey DiCarlo, 2002) and tied the OU freshman scoring record (Jimmy Stevens, 2008).
Hunnicutt became the first kicker in OU history to hit four field goals in two different games (Kansas, 10/15/11; Iowa State, 11/26/11).
Among kickers who made 20 or more field goals last season, Hunicutt ranked ranked No. 5 with an 87.5 (21-of-24) conversion percentage.
Hunnicutt tied with two other kickers for the most field goals made between 20-29 yards with 11.
He made a 53-yard field goal at Kansas State (10/29/11), which tied for the longest kick under Bob Stoops. Garrett Hartley also hit a 53-yarder vs. Utah State on 9/15/07.
NEW RETURNERS
Oklahoma lost one of the the program's all-time best punt returners, Ryan Broyles (2008-11), to the NFL's Detroit Lions. Broyles finished his career No. 3 in OU history with 1,187 punt return yards.
Senior transfer Justin Brown came to OU after garnering 8.1 yards per punt return at Penn State in 2011, returning 27 punts for 220 yards.
In the opener at UTEP (9/1), Brown handled the punt return duties as he brought back three punts for 30 yards, including a 26-yard return. For his career, Brown has 368 yards on 52 returns.
Kenny Stills had 38 yards on eight returns as the only other Sooner with at least one return in 2011.
Oklahoma returns its top four returners (Franks, Finch, Whaley, Clay) from last season. Those four players combined to average 22.3 yards per return in 2011.
The Sooners did not get a chance to return a kick at UTEP (9/1) as both of the Miners' kickoffs went for touchbacks.
