game day - sept. 1

The Norman Transcript n Sept. 1, 2012

OKLAHOMA at UTEP9:30 p.m. n Sun Bowl n Fox Sports Net n KOKC-AM 1520

Landry Jones’ last ride will begin in El Paso Daily Transcript50 cents

THE NORMAN TRANSCRIPT GAMEDAY 3

Big game, reallyOklahoma plays

Kansas State in threeweeks. Between

midnight tonight and thatday, Sept. 22, it will haveplayed only one game, aweek from today againstFlorida A&M.

Yes, the Sooners meetthe Wildcats in Norman.Yes, OU topped K-State 58-17 last season in Manhattanin one of its most completegames.

But it wasn’t so simple.The Wildcats led 17-14 in

the first half, seemingly allon the cunning coaching ofBill Snyder and the oppor-tunistic personality thatcreates for his teams.

K-State is ranked No. 21by the coaches and No. 22by the writers. Just watch,the Wildcats will finishhigher.

If not alarming to Soonerfans, it is a reminder of theimmediacy of the new Big12. West Virginia and TCUare new to the conference,

which is in only its secondyear of a 10-team roundrobin schedule.

Important games comefast, and OU has only onechance to prepare for therest of its season against areal football program: todayat the Sun Bowl.

It’s a real program led bya real coach, Mike Price,that despite going 5-7 lastseason, still has realaspirations of winning moregames than it loses andearning a bowl berth out ofConference USA.

Florida A&M doesn’tcount. The Rattlers wonseven games last season.Also, they lost to Bethune

Oklahomaat UTEPTime: 9:30 p.m.Place: Sun BowlSeries: OU leads 2-0Records: OU 0-0, UTEP 0-0Rankings: OU No. 4 USAToday coaches poll; No. 4Associated Press Top 25.UTEP unranked.Line: OU minus 301⁄2TV: Fox Sports NetRadio: KOKC-AM 1400

Insiden Jones Reloads 4n Breakdown 5n Rosters 6n Two-deeps 7n Poster 8n Stats 10n National Schedule 12n Big 12 Glance 13n Predictions 14

ClayHorning

Sports Editor

In new, tougher league, Sooners have no time to waste

Photos by Jerry Laizure / The Transcript

Above: Bob Stoops celebrates OU’s victory at Florida State last season.On the cover: Landry Jones stands in the pocket, looking for a target. For more on theSooner quarterback, see Page 4.

THE VIEW

• See HORNING Page 14

Landry’slast chance

THE BIG STORY: JONES RELOADS

Jerry Laizure / The Transcript

Landry Jones prepares to throw the ball on the run last season. That’s a skillmany have said he’s improved upon since last season.

“He’s very confident.You can tell how muchhe’s worked. Footwork,throwing the ball,everything’s better.Decision-making, vocalleadership, he’s doingreally well in thisoffense and it’s one ofthose things where it’scomforting blocking fora guy that can spin itlike that behind you.

Gabe Ikard, Sooner center

By John ShinnTranscript Sports Writer

Landry Jones haschanged since his last visitto El Paso, Texas. He’s nolonger the shy redshirtfreshman who quarter-backed Oklahoma to a 31-27victory over Stanford in the2009 Sun Bowl. A bigger,stronger, wiser and muchmore confident quarterbackwill lead the Sooners againstUTEP at 9:30 tonight.

For Jones, the 21⁄2 years inbetween are a blur. The twoseasons and 27 games sincewere all building blocks to

get him to the present. He’s no longer the guy

who was forced into beingOklahoma’s quarterback.He’s the Sooners’ leader inevery sense and he carrieshimself in that manner.

“He’s very confident. Youcan tell how much he’sworked,” center Gabe Ikardsaid. “Footwork, throwingthe ball, everything’s better.Decision-making, vocalleadership, he’s doing real-ly well in this offense and it’sone of those things whereit’s comforting blocking fora guy that can spin it like

Sooner quarterback’s long road offers one more golden opportunity

• See QB Page 10

THE NORMAN TRANSCRIPT4 GAMEDAY

T he 2012 season getsunderway tonight atUTEP. No. 4

Oklahoma will have a lotof proventalent onthe field,but severalthingsmust bevalidated ifit is tomake aseriousrun towarda nationalchampi-onship. Here’s what towatch:

1. Dominique Whaley:Coaches and teammateshave been unanimous intheir belief that Whaley isfully recovered from thehorrific ankle injury hesuffered last season.Tonight is the chance to

validate those claims. IfWhaley still is the ruggedrunning back who gavethe offense an element oftoughness the first half oflast season, the Soonersbecome much harder to

defend. OU doesn’t needWhaley to carry the ball 25times tonight, he justneeds to show he can stillmove piles like he did last

OKLAHOMA AT UTEP: BREAK ING DOWN TONIGHT’S GAME

RUNNING GAMEStart with Dom,don’t forget Trey

Dom Whaley iscarted offthe field atKansasState lastseason aftersuffering abrokenankle.Whaley isonce againatop thedepth chartrunningback.

Jerry Laizure / The Transcript

John Shinn

Fivethings to

watch

PASSING GAME RUN DEFENSE

PASS DEFENSE SPECIAL TEAMS INTANGIBLES


• See WATCH Page 11

n OU gets DominiqueWhaley back tonight, but thereal difference maker shouldbe Damien Williams. TheSooners haven’t had twoground-and-pound runningbacks at their disposal sinceAdrian Peterson and AllenPatrick in 2006. OU will useboth to hammer away.UTEP will break in new run-ning backs tonight. Theexperience is big for OU.

n UTEP quarterback NickLamaison caused a stirwhen he said he wanted toout-play OU quarterbackLandry Jones. Lamaison ison to something. It’s the onlyway UTEP can win. It won’thappen. Even with arevamped group ofreceivers, Jones’ experiencegives OU a huge edgethrough the air.

n The lingering questionhere is whether OU defensive tackle CaseyWalker plays tonight. It willmake a difference if he does-n’t. But it’s not a big enoughone to prevent the Soonersfrom holding the advantage,but it could be enough tomake things interesting.UTEP couldn’t stop the runlast season and likely willstruggle tonight.

n The Sooners are just 7-7in true road games since2009. Starting the season atUTEP isn’t exactly ideal. Thatshould give the Miners somehope. It shouldn’t be enoughto sway the outcome. Aslow Sooner start, however,could make things very inter-esting.

n Kicking off from the 35-yard line in El Paso’s moun-tain air should eliminate thereturn game. Place kickerMichael Hunnicutt andpunter Tress Way give theSooners the kind of kickingedge it hasn’t had in years.Tonight will be a goodbarometer of how the newkickoff point affects thereturn game.

n Here’s where the impactof defensive coordinatorMike Stoops will be immedi-atley measured. TheSooners struggled againstpass-first teams last seasonand cornerback DemontreHurst is the only starter playing in the same spot.Tough to give OU the edge,but the Miners haven’tshown they can blanket anyteam of note.

1 Tony Jefferson DB 5-11 212 Jr. Chula Vista, Calif.2 Julian Wilson DB 6-2 191 So. Moore3 Sterling Shepard WR 5-10 188 Fr. Oklahoma City4 Kenny Stills WR 6-1 190 Jr. Encinitas, Calif.5 Joseph Ibiloye LB 6-3 218 Sr. Garland, Texas6 Demontre Hurst DB 5-10 183 Sr. Lancaster, Texas7 Corey Nelson LB 6-1 219 Jr. Dallas, Texas8 Dominique Whaley RB 5-11 204 Sr. Lawton8 Joe Powell DB 6-0 173 Jr. Dallas9 Gabe Lynn DB 6-0 199 Jr. Tulsa9 Trevor Knight QB 6-1 197 Fr. San Antonio10 Rashod Favors DE 6-1 250 So. Fort Worth10 Blake Bell QB 6-6 254 So. Wichita,Kan.11 R.J. Washington DE 6-3 256 Sr. Fort Worth11 Kendal Thompson QB 6-1 184 R-Fr. Oklahoma City12 Landry Jones QB 6-4 218 Sr. Artesia, N.M.13 Durron Neal WR 5-11 201 Fr. St. Louis, Mo.14 Jalen Saunders WR 5-9 160 Jr. Elk Grove, Calif.14 Aaron Colvin DB 6-0 181 Jr. Owasso15 Drew Allen QB 6-5 226 Jr. San Antonio15 Lamar Harris DB 6-1 186 Sr. Gilmer, Texas16 Jaz Reynolds WR 6-2 198 Jr. Houston, Texas17 Trey Metoyer WR 6-1 190 Fr. Whitehouse, Texas18 Michael Hunnicutt K 6-0 173 So. Richardson, Texas18 Lacolton Bester WR 6-3 205 Jr. Scooba, Miss.19 Justin Brown WR 6-3 209 Sr. Wilmington, Del.20 Frank Shannon LB 6-1 230 R-Fr. Dallas21 Tom Wort LB 6-0 237 Jr. New Braunfels, TX 21 Austin Brown WR 6-5 202 R-Fr. Buffalo, Wyo.22 Roy Finch RB 5-7 175 Jr. Niceville, Fla.22 Cortez Johnson DB 6-2 191 So. NewOrleans, La.23 Kass Everett DB 5-10 180 Jr. Philadelphia, Pa.23 Danzel Williams RB 5-8 189 R-Fr. Arlington, Texas24 Brennan Clay RB 5-11 201 Jr. San Diego24 Trey Franks DB 5-10 184 Jr. Orange, Texas25 Aaron Franklin LB 6-1 212 So. Marshall, Texas25 David Smith RB 5-10 193 Fr. Midlothian, Ill.26 Zack Sanchez DB 5-11 170 Fr. Keller, Texas 26 Damien Williams RB 6-0 208 Jr. San Diego27 Gary Simon DB 6-1 180 Fr. St. Petersburg, Fla. 28 Alex Ross RB 6-1 204 Fr. Jenks29 Grant Bothun WR 5-11 183 Fr. Rowlett, Texas 29 Quentin Hayes DB 6-0 181 So. Lancaster, Texas30 Javon Harris DB 5-11 206 Sr. Lawton31 Daniel Franklin LB 6-2 224 Sr. Mount Airy, Ga.32 Marshall Musil FB 6-2 241 Jr. La Crosse, Kan.33 Trey Millard FB 6-2 256 Jr. Columbia, Mo.34 Daniel Brooks RB 5-8 163 Fr. Port Lavaca, Texas35 Julian Winters RB 5-11 169 So. Sacramento, Calif.36 Joel Ossom FB 5-9 235 Sr. Denton, Texas36 Tress Way P 6-1 215 Sr. Tulsa 37 Dylan Seibert P 6-3 215 R-Fr. Tulsa38 Brandon Young DB 5-10 173 So. Frisco, Texas

38 Jack Steed K 6-5 200 Fr. Katy, Texas39 Nick Hodgson K 6-2 189 So. N. Richland Hills, TX40 P.L. Lindley LB 6-2 240 R-Fr. R. Rock, Texas41 Eric Striker LB 6-0 198 Fr. Seffner, Fla. 42 Jesse Paulsen DB 6-0 193 Sr. Albuquerque, N.M.43 Patrick O’Hara K 6-0 192 Sr. Topeka, Kan. 44 Jaydan Bird LB 6-2 236 Sr. Wichita, Kan. 45 Caleb Gastelum LB 6-1 196 So. Claremore 46 Eric Doughtie DB 6-0 197 Fr. Sugarland, Texas 47 Alex Christiensen FB 6-3 243 Fr. Edmond 47 Eric Hosek K 5-10 150 R-Fr. Sherman, Texas48 Aaron Ripkowski FB 6-1 260 So. Dayton, Ohio49 David Driskill FB 6-1 239 So. Oklahoma City50 Austin Woods OL 6-4 293 Jr. Rockwall, Texas52 John-Philip Hughes OL 6-4 250 R-Fr. Tulsa 53 Casey Walker DT 6-2 309 Sr. Garland, Texas54 Nila Kasitati OL 6-4 309 R-Fr. Euless, Texas56 Ty Darlington OL 6-3 266 Fr. Apopka, Fla. 59 Nathan Hughes OL 6-6 248 R-Fr. Spring, Texas 64 Gabe Ikard OL 6-3 288 Jr. Oklahoma City67 Robert Hollis OL 6-4 333 R-Fr. Tulsa 68 Bronson Irwin OL 6-5 307 Jr. Mustang69 Lane Johnson OL 6-7 303 Sr. Groveton, Texas71 Tyrus Thompson OL 6-5 303 So. Pflugerville, Texas 72 Derek Farniok OL 6-9 319 R-Fr. Sioux Falls, S.D.74 Adam Shead OL 6-4 307 So. Cedar Hill, Texas 75 Tyler Evans OL 6-5 315 Sr. Strafford, Mo. 77 Marquis Anderson DT 6-3 265 R-Fr. Cibolo, Texas 78 Kyle Marrs OL 6-5 320 Fr. San Antonio, Texas79 Daryl Williams OL 6-6 299 So. Lake Dallas, Texas80 Jordan Phillips DT 6-6 318 R-Fr. Towanda, Kan.80 Derrick Woods WR 6-1 185 Fr. Inglewood, Calif.81 Sam Grant TE 6-7 234 Fr. North Royalton, Ohio 82 Brannon Green TE 6-2 250 Jr. Altamont, Kan. 84 Mike Onuoha DE 6-5 235 Fr. Edmond 84 Don Caudill WR 6-1 194 Jr. Muldrow85 Geneo Grissom TE 6-4 247 So. Hutchinson, Kan. 86 Brandon Kitchens WR 5-11 161 Fr. Jenks87 Derrick Bradley WR 5-8 173 Sr. Houston, Texas88 Taylor McNamara TE 6-5 234 Fr. San Diego, Calif. 89 Connor Knight TE 6-4 212 Fr. San Antonio, 89 Chase Buck TE 6-3 231 Jr. Edmond90 David King DE 6-5 286 Sr. Houston91 Charles Tapper DE 6-4 265 Fr. Baltimore92 Stacy McGee DT 6-4 299 Sr. Muskogee93 Jordan Wade DT 6-4 290 Fr. Round Rock, Texas94 Torrea Peterson DT 6-3 277 So. San Antonio95 Damon Williams DT 6-3 305 So. Irving, Texas96 Mitch Tate DE 6-4 238 R-Fr. Bartlesville97 Jamarkus McFarland DT 6-2 288 Sr. Lufkin, Texas 98 Chuka Ndulue DE 6-3 256 So. Dallas99 Chaz Nelson DE 6-2 239 Jr. Columbus, Ohio

OKLAHOMA ROSTER1 Adrian James 5-11 190 DB Jr. Dallas2 DeShawn Grayson 6-0 205 DB Sr. Riverside, Calif.3 Jim Jones 6-0 170 WR So. Redlands, Calif.3 Traun Roberson 6-0 180 DB So. DeSoto, Texas4 Jamie Irving 6-0 225 LB Sr. Perris, Calif.4 Xay Williams 5-11 195 RB Fr. Carrolton, Texas5 Justin Holliday 5-9 170 WR Fr. El Paso5 Darren Woodard 5-11 170 DB Sr. Freeport, Texas6 Michael Edwards 5-11 190 WR Sr. Glendora, Calif.7 Ian Campbell 5-11 170 P Sr. Duarte, Calif.7 Nick Lamaison 6-1 210 QB Sr. West Covina, Calif.8 Marcus Bagley 6-1 320 DL Jr. Mesquite, Texas8 Dakota Warren 5-10 185 K Sr. Austin, Texas9 Jordan Leslie 6-2 210 WR So. Houston 10 Blaire Sullivan 6-3 210 QB Fr. San Antonio10 Drew Thomas 5-10 180 DB Sr. Chicago11 A.J. Ropati 6-0 230 LB Jr. Carson, Calif.11 Malcolm Trail 6-1 190 WR So. Dallas12 Paul Franklin 6-2 200 RB Fr. Denison, Texas 13 Carson Meger 5-11 200 QB Jr. Plano, Texas 13 Wesley Miller 5-9 185 DB So. Fresno, Calif.14 C.J. Haley 5-10 170 DB Jr. Dallas14 Ian Hamilton 6-5 220 WR So. Pasadena, Calif.15 Devin Patterson 6-0 200 WR So. Mesquite, Texas16 Terrance Williams 5-11 185 DB Fr. Dunbar, Md.17 Garrett Simpson 6-6 240 QB Fr. The Colony, Texas18 James Davidson 6-3 240 DL Jr. Huntsville, Texas18 Katrae Ford 6-4 240 TE So. Houston19 Corey Callicutt 6-3 200 WR Fr. Dallas 20 Josh Bell 5-11 210 RB So. Sugar Land, Texas21 Derrick Morgan 6-1 215 DB Sr. Germantown, Md.22 Shane Huhn 5-11 200 DB Fr. Cibolo, Texas23 Terr'l Mark 5-11 165 DB Sr. Lufkin, Texas24 Richard Spencer 6-2 200 DB Sr. Moreno Valley, Calif.25 Nathan Jeffery 5-11 205 RB So. Caddo Mills, Texas26 Da'Carlos Renfro 5-10 185 DB Fr. Orange, Texas27 Dashone Smith 6-0 200 DB Fr. Spring, Texas28 Demarcus Kizzie 5-9 180 WR Fr. Willis, Texas28 Felix Neboh 5-8 160 WR Fr. Odessa, Texas29 Autrey Golden 6-0 190 RB Fr. Willis, Texas30 Chester Egbim 5-11 190 LB Fr. Rowlett, Texas30 Gage Sharp 5-11 205 DB Fr. The Colony, Texas31 Robert Spencer 6-0 180 DB Fr. Tyler, Texas32 LaQuintus Dowell 5-9 195 RB Fr. Humble, Texas33 Horace Miller 6-1 240 DL Jr. Baltimore34 Anthony Puente 5-11 215 LB So. San Antonio35 Trey Brown 5-11 225 LB Fr. Brownwood, Texas37 Steven Valadez 5-10 195 K/P So. Arlington, Texas38 Nathaniel Rodriguez6-0 185 DB Fr. El Paso39 Isaiah Wimberly 5-11 185 RB Fr. Baytown, Texas40 Cooper Brock 6-3 240 DL So. Cop. Cove, Texas41 David Logston 6-2 225 LB Jr. Tempe, Arizona42 Leon Hayes 5-9 190 DB Fr. Las Vegas

43 Roy Robertson 6-6 245 DL Fr. Grand Prairie, Texas44 Greg Watkins 6-5 235 DL Sr. Katy, Texas 45 Jacob Martinez 5-7 200 RB Fr. El Paso48 Aubrey Alexius 5-11 225 LB Sr. Cypress, Texas 49 Daniel Carrillo 6-0 200 LB Fr. El Paso50 Micheal Kelley 6-1 215 DL Fr. Los Angeles51 Darnell Murray 6-0 220 LB Fr. Perris, Calif.53 DeAndre Little 6-1 230 LB So. Ft. Huachuca, Ariz.54 Silas Firstley 6-1 255 DL Fr. Mesquite, Texas55 Hunter Nix 6-0 230 LB So. Prosper, Texas55 James Robinson 6-5 330 OL Sr. Richmond, Calif.56 Josh Fely 5-11 220 LB Sr. Oceanside, Calif.57 Cooper Foster 6-1 200 LB Fr. Cedar Park, Texas58 Brander Craighead 6-6 280 OL Jr. Ottawa, Ontario59 Paulo Melendez 6-2 315 OL So. El Paso60 Eric Lee 6-1 275 OL So. Riverside, Calif.61 Germard Reed 6-1 275 DL Jr. Lufkin, Texa62 Kyle Brown 6-2 280 OL So. Conroe, Texas63 Eloy Atkinson 6-3 315 OL Sr. Los Fresnos, Texas64 Nick Dooley 6-7 300 LS Fr. Scottsdale, Ariz.65 Mike Amdall 6-4 310 OL So. Plano, Texas 66 Wayne Frazier 6-4 315 OL Jr. Refugio, Texas67 Christian Harper 6-4 265 OL Fr. Galena Park, Texas68 James Nelson 6-7 355 OL Sr. Ventura, Calf.69 Jerel Watkins 6-3 280 OL So. Channelview, Texas70 Jerome Daniels 6-3 300 OL Fr. Little Elm, Texa71 Trint Jenkins 6-9 300 OL Fr. Tulsa72 Blake Bullard 6-3 275 OL Jr. Killeen, Texas74 John De La Rosa 6-6 295 OL Fr. Bay City, Texas75 James Martin 6-6 280 OL Sr. Chino Hills, Calif.76 Ruben Munoz 6-0 275 DL Sr. El Paso77 Paul Santillan 6-4 300 OL Sr. Crosby, Texas 78 David Grubaugh 6-4 305 OL Jr. Westlake Village, Calif.79 Corin Brooks 6-4 315 OL So. Riverside, Calif.80 Jacob Garcia 5-10 175 WR Fr. El Paso81 Craig Wenrick 6-5 265 TE So. Flower Mound, Texas82 Kevin Perry 6-5 260 TE Jr. Opelousas, La.83 Jaquan White 5-10 180 WR Fr. Dallas84 Cole Freytag 6-2 190 WR Fr. El Paso85 Peter Carreon 5-10 185 WR Fr. El Paso86 Ishmael Harrison 5-11 185 WR Fr. Red Oak, Texas87 Eric Tomlinson 6-6 255 TE So. Klein, Texas88 Jarrad Shaw 5-9 175 WR Jr. Los Angeles89 Jermaine Hicks 6-1 265 DL So. El Paso 92 Adam Ayala 6-5 280 DL Jr. Huntsville, Texas93 Justin Cordova 6-2 285 DL Sr. McKinney, Texas95 Devante Richardson6-3 280 DL Fr. Fort Worth97 Brian Madunezim 6-3 240 DL Fr. Houston

UTEP ROSTER


WHEN OKLAHOMA HAS THE BALL WHEN UTEP HAS THE BALL

WR

:17

, Tre

y M

etoy

er18

, LaC

olte

n Be

ster

SR

:4,

Ken

ny S

tills

3, S

terlin

g Sh

epha

rd

LT: 69, Lane Johnson71, Tyrus Thompson

TB: 8, Dominique Whaley24, Brennan Clay26, Damien Williams

FB: 33, Trey Millard48, Aaron Ripkowski

C:

64, G

abe

Ikar

d56

, Ty

Dar

lingt

on

LG

:74

, Ada

m S

head

54, N

ila K

asita

ti

RG

:68

, Bro

nson

Irw

in50

, Aus

tin W

oods

QB

:12

, Lan

dry

Jone

s10

, Bla

ke B

ell

RT:

79, D

arry

l Willi

ams

72, D

erek

Far

niok

TE

:85

, Gen

eo G

risso

m88

, Tyle

r McN

amar

a

WR

:19

, Jus

tin B

row

n13

, Dur

ron

Nea

l

FS: 24, Richard Spencer21, Derrick Morgan

DT: 99, Marcus Bagley76, Ruben Munoz

DT: 61, Germard Reed92, Adam AyalaC

B:

10, D

rew

Tho

mas

3, T

raun

Rob

erso

n

DE

:33

, Hor

ace

Mille

r18

, Jam

es D

avid

son

DE

:44

, Gre

g W

atki

ns43

, Roy

Rob

erts

on

SS: 2, DeShawn Grayson13, Wesley Miller

LB

:56

, Jos

h Fe

ly53

, DeA

ndre

Litt

le

LB

:4,

Jam

ie Ir

ving

11, A

.J. R

opat

i

LB

:48

, Aub

rey

Alex

ius

34, A

ntho

ny P

uent

e

WR

:11

, Mal

colm

Tra

il28

, Fel

ix N

eboh

WR

:9,

Jor

dan

Lesli

e15

, Dev

in P

atte

rson

LT: 58, Brander Craighead75, James Martin

TB: 25, Nathan Jeffery20, Josh Bell

C:

63, E

loy

Atki

nson

59, P

aulo

Mal

inde

z

LG

:69

, Jer

el W

atki

ns66

, Way

ne F

razie

r

RG

:62

, Kyle

Bro

wn

79, C

orin

Bro

oks

QB

:7,

Nic

k La

mai

son

13, C

arso

n M

eger

RT:

68, J

ames

Nel

son

65, M

ike

Amda

l

TE

:82

, Kev

in P

erry

87, E

ric T

omlin

son

WR

:6,

Mic

hael

Edw

ards

86, I

shm

ael H

arris

on

FS: 1, Tony Jefferson42, Jesse Paulsen

DT: 90, David King80, Jordan Phillips

DT: 53, Casey Walker97, Jamarcus McFarlandC

B:

14, A

aron

Col

vin27

, Gar

y Si

mon

CB

:5,

Der

ren

Woo

dard

1, A

dria

n Ja

mes

CB

:6,

Dem

ontre

Hur

st15

, Lam

ar H

arris

DE

:11

, R.J

. Was

hing

ton

10, R

asho

d Fa

vors

DE

:98

, Chu

ka N

dulu

e84

, Mik

e O

nuoh

a

SS: 30, Javon Harris9, Gabe Lynn

LB

:9,

Gab

e Ly

nn2,

Jul

ian

Wils

on

LB

:21

, Tom

Wor

t20

, fra

nk S

hann

on

LB

:7,

Cor

ey N

elso

n25

Aar

on F

rank

lin


KENNY STILLS4 ■ WR ■ 6’4 ■ 190

Encinitas, Calif.Career to date: 25 starts,

122 catches, 1,635 yards, 13 TDs

Photo by Jerry Laizure

TEAM 8 -47 -5.9 0 0 -6.7Total 469 2118 4.5 30 64 162.9Opp. 476 1751 3.7 15 56 134.7

PassingEff C-A-I Pct Yds. TD

Jones 141.56355-562-15 63.2 4463 29Allen 93.52 9-16-0 56.2 71 0Bell -8.20 1-4-1 25.0 8 0TEAM 0.00 0-1-0 0.0 0 0Total 138.98365-583-16 62.6 4542 29Opp. 116.05257-474-15 54.2 3139 18

ReceivingNo. Yds. Avg. TD Lg A/G

Broyles 83 1157 13.9 10 64 128.6Stills 61 849 13.9 8 58 77.2Reynolds 41 715 17.4 5 62 71.5Finch 34 296 8.7 0 47 22.8Hanna 27 381 14.1 2 54 29.3Miller 22 245 11.1 1 23 18.8Franks 22 196 8.9 0 24 17.8Clay 18 104 5.8 0 16 9.5Whaley 15 153 10.2 0 24 21.9Millard 13 127 9.8 1 23 9.8Jackson 12 165 13.8 0 24 15.0Ratterree 10 101 10.1 2 25 7.8Haywood 6 42 7.0 0 19 7.0Miller 1 11 11.0 0 11 11.0Total. 365 4542 12.4 29 64 349.4Opp. 257 3139 12.2 18 87 241.5

Tackles (leaders)S A T Loss Sack

Colvin 58 26 84 4.5-21 0.5-4T. Lewis 53 31 84 4.0-12 1.0-8Jefferson 51 23 74 7.5-43 4.5-37Wort 36 35 71 4.5-28 3.5-24Fleming 49 11 60 4.0-6R. Lewis 33 26 59 13.0-83 5.5-58Nelson 29 30 59 8.5-40 5.5-34Hurst 42 13 55 4.0-6Alexander 35 19 54 19.0-81 8.5-49Harris 28 19 47 1.0-6King 18 13 31 4.0-22 2.0-19

Sept. 1 at UTEP 9:30 p.m.Sept. 8 Florida A&M 6 p.m.Sept. 22 Kansas St. TBAOct. 6 at Texas Tech TBAOct. 13 Texas TBAOct. 20 Kansas TBAOct. 27 Notre Dame TBANov. 3 at Iowa State TBANov. 10 Baylor TBANov. 17 at W. Virginia TBANov. 24 OSU TBADec. 1 at TCU TBA

SCHEDULE

STATS2011

RushingAtt Yds A/C TD Lg Y/G

Whaley 113 627 5.5 9 64 89.6Finch 111 605 5.5 3 55 46.5Clay 75 274 3.7 1 12 24.9Williams 46 219 4.8 0 17 27.4Bell 44 171 3.9 13 28 24.4Millard 24 169 7.0 2 61 13.0Franks 7 100 14.3 0 45 9.1Miller 7 20 2.9 0 8 20.0Broyles 1 3 3.0 0 3 0.3Stills 1 1 1.0 0 1 0.1Jones 32 -24 -0.8 2 11 -1.8

QB: Jones returns to Sun Bowlthat behind you. I have allthe confidence in the worldin him.”

Jones is aware of the per-ception.

“For me, I haven’t reallynoticed it much but obvi-ously guys have been notic-ing it,” he said. “I think it’sjust confidence and knowingwhat you want and settingthose expectations.”

Confidence is what Joneslacked in 2009. He wasthrust into the job as a red-shirt freshman after the sea-son-ending shoulder injuryto Sam Bradford and it wasa roller coaster ride through-out that first year. However,he finished the season on anupward swing, throwing for

418 yards and three touch-downs in a Sun Bowl victoryover Stanford.

“I don’t want to say it waspart of him growing into theplayer that he became, but itwas a stepping stone, thatwhole month leading into it,”offensive coordinator JoshHeupel said.

The ups and downs con-tinued in the two seasonssince that Sun Bowl victory.He led OU to a Big 12 cham-pionship in 2010. He strug-gled down the stretch of the2011 season as the Soonerswent from national champi-onship contenders to tied forthird place in the Big 12 con-ference.

The eight months leadinginto this season have been

about Jones making thejump from very good (93touchdown passes over thelast three seasons), to trulyelite. Elite quarterbacks leadtheir teams to champi-onships.

Doing that is the onlything missing from Jones’resume. The Sooners are 7-7 in true road games sinceJones became starting quar-terback. Tonight, OU canget the 2012 season off onthe right note by winning onthe road.

Jones knows that whathappens this season will ulti-mately define his career.Expectations are very high.Few teams have the luxuryof playing with a quarter-back with 37 career starts

behind him. It’s an advan-tage that doesn’t comearound often.

Jones and the Soonersmust capitalize on thatadvantage.

It could be years before asimilar opportunity arrises.That’s why it’s fitting theSooners begin the 2012 sea-son at the place where Jonesfirst embraced his future asOU’s quarterback. Every-thing that’s happened sincehas built toward this season.

Jones gets it.“This is my last time to

put on an OU jersey, so I def-initely want to go out theway I want to go out,” hesaid.

John ShinnFollow me @john_shinn

[email protected]

• Continued from Page 4


Perry 1 1 1.0 0 1 0.1Smith 6 0 0.0 1 12 0.0TEAM 5 -7 -1.4 0 0 -1.8Hall 12 -48 -4.0 0 13 -16.0Total 410 1859 4.5 24 83 154.9Opp. 434 2278 5.2 24 71 189.8

PassingEff C-A-I Pct Yds. TD

Lamaison131.21130-224-1058.0 1718 12Carson 110.53 71-112-5 63.4 669 2Hall 0-1-0 0.0 0 0Total 116.44225-399-17 56.4 2707 14Opp. 129.82242-404-12 59.9 3020 16

ReceivingNo. Yds. Avg. TD Lg A/G

Edwards 50 657 13.1 3 74 54.8Jordan 30 430 14.3 2 45 35.8Lopez 25 233 9.3 0 25 19.4Kemp 23 456 19.8 1 46 38.0Perry 17 203 11.9 1 27 16.9Frazier 13 56 4.3 0 19 4.7Carr 12 119 9.9 0 31 9.9Banyard 12 67 5.6 0 24 5.6Jeffery 10 124 12.4 2 36 10.3Williams 8 62 7.8 0 12 5.2McGhee 8 55 6.9 1 24 6.9Tomlinson 6 83 13.8 2 24 6.9Wenrick 4 105 26.2 2 66 9.5Tucker 3 29 9.7 0 12 2.9Trail 3 16 5.3 0 7 2.3Patterson 1 12 12.0 0 12 1.3Total 225 2707 12.0 14 74 225.6Opp. 242 3020 12.5 16 84 251.7

Tackles (leaders)S A T Loss Sack

Springer 31 39 70 5.0-8Grayson 38 29 67 1.0-1Fely 34 27 61 5.5-32 3.0-27Carter 26 28 54 4.5-17 1.0-9Nixon 31 19 50 1.5-2Thomas 35 14 49 2.0-6Spencer 31 16 47 3.5-19 2.0-15

Sept. 1 Oklahoma 8:30 p.m.Sept. 8 at Ole Miss 4 p.m.Sept. 15 N. Mexico St. 5 p.m.Sept. 22 at Wisconsin TBASept. 29 at E. Carolina 4 p.m.Oct. 6 SMU 5 p.m.Oct. 11 at Tulsa 5 p.m.Oct. 20 Tulane 5 p.m.Oct. 27 at Houston 1:30 p.m.Nov. 10 Central Florida 4 p.m.Nov. 17 at So. Miss. 5 p.m.Nov. 24 Rice 4 p.m.

SCHEDULE

STATS2011

RushingAtt Yds A/C TD Lg Y/G

Banyard 127 832 6.6 6 77 69.3Frazier 61 434 7.1 3 83 36.2Myers 106 368 3.5 12 19 30.7Jeffery 26 166 6.4 1 43 13.8Lamaison 40 39 1.0 1 33 4.3Campbell 1 19 19.0 0 19 1.6Edwards 3 17 5.7 0 10 1.4meger 15 12 0.8 0 12 1.0McGhee 2 12 6.0 0 8 1.5Williams 2 10 5.0 0 6 0.8Bell 3 4 1.3 0 3 2.0

Watch: Time to slow it down?season.

2. Defenisve line: Thedefensive line is going tobe thin tonight. Defensivetackle Stacy McGee won’tbe on the field due to asuspension and the statusof defensive tackle CaseyWalker is uncertain. Thatmeans OU could start theseason with no returningstarters from last season’sdefensive line. This groupneeds to prove it’s ready forprime time. If UTEPquarterback Nick Lamai-son has a nice pocket andplenty of time to survey thefield, the Sooners could bein for a long season.

3. Secondary: TheSooners will give up some

passing yards tonight. Therealities of defendingspread offenses dictatesome ground being ceded.OU’s goal against UTEP isto make sure those yardsaren’t coming in chunks.The secondary struggledgetting burned on deeppasses last season. Keepingcompletions in front of it isthe primary goal tonight.The thing to watch islength of UTEP’s drives. Ifits needs 10 or more playsto get in the end zone, thatmeans the Miners areexecuting. If it scores onjust a handful of plays, itmeans OU’s secondary haslet down.

4. Pace: OU was apioneer of the up-tempo

offense, but this gamecould signal a change inthe speed the Sooners play.The only wide receiverwith a career start at OU isKenny Stills and theoffensive line is very thin.Slowing things down just atad could be necessary as aresult of thin depth andlack of experience. TheSooners won’t huddletonight, but watch the playclock. If its getting insidethe 10-second mark beforeOU snaps it, it’s an indica-tion the Sooners are takingit easy. If the ball is gettingsnapped with 20 or moreseconds left, OU will be inhigh gear.

5. Trey Metoyer: The oneplayer everyone should

watch is the freshmanreceiver. OU hasn’t had afreshman create this kindof positive buzz withteammates and coachessince Adrian Peterson in2004. Even Peterson had towait a couple games beforebecoming a starter.Metoyer has jumped rightinto the starting lineup andtonight is his chance toshow why. Watch and seehow many times he’stargeted deep. It’s doubtfulUTEP will throw a ton ofdouble coverage at a truefreshman. Metoyer couldget a lot of one-on-oneopportunities tonight.

John ShinnTwitter: @john_shinn

[email protected]



COLLEGE FOOTBALL SATURDAYToday’s GamesEASTNotre Dame vs. Navy at Dublin, 8 a.m.Marshall at West Virginia, 11 a.m.Ohio at Penn St., 11 a.m.Northwestern at Syracuse, 11 a.m.Monmouth (NJ) at Lehigh, 11:30 a.m.Marist at Bryant, 2 p.m.Miami at Boston College, 2 p.m.Colgate at Albany (NY), 5 p.m.Youngstown St. at Pittsburgh, 5 p.m.CCSU at Stony Brook, 5 p.m.

SOUTHAppalachian St. at East Carolina, 11 a.m.Troy at UAB, 11 a.m.Buffalo at Georgia, 11:21 a.m.Elon at North Carolina, 11:30 a.m.Sacred Heart at Morgan St., noonVMI at Delaware St., 1 p.m.Brevard at Presbyterian, 1 p.m.William & Mary at Maryland, 2 p.m.Richmond at Virginia, 2 p.m.Bowling Green at Florida, 2 p.m.Howard at Morehouse, 2 p.m.Furman at Samford, 3 p.m.NC A&T at Coastal Carolina, 5 p.m.Georgetown at Davidson, 5 p.m.Murray St. at Florida St., 5 p.m.Wofford at Gardner-Webb, 5 p.m.Jacksonville at Georgia Southern, 5 p.m.St. Francis (Pa.) at James Madison, 5 p.m.Concordia-Selma at MVSU, 5 p.m.Fayetteville St. at NC Central, 5 p.m.Virginia St. at Norfolk St., 5 p.m.Duquesne at Old Dominion, 5 p.m.Charleston Southern at The Citadel, 5 p.m.Liberty at Wake Forest, 5:30 p.m.Tuskegee vs. Alabama A&M, Ala., 6 p.m.Grambling St. vs. Alcorn St., 6 p.m.Clemson vs. Auburn at Atlanta, 6 p.m.FIU at Duke, 6 p.m.North Texas at LSU, 6 p.m.Lamar at Louisiana-Lafayette, 6 p.m.UT-Martin at Memphis, 6 p.m.Cent. Arkansas at Mississippi, 6 p.m.Jackson St. at Mississippi St., 6 p.m.Chattanooga at South Florida, 6 p.m.Florida A&M at Tennessee St., 6 p.m.Austin Peay at W. Kentucky, 6 p.m.Rutgers at Tulane, 7 p.m.

MIDWESTW. Michigan at Illinois, 11 a.m.

Miami (Ohio) at Ohio St., 11 a.m.Dayton at Illinois St., 1 p.m.Iowa vs. N. Illinois at Chicago, 2:30 p.m.Southern Miss. at Nebraska, 2:30 p.m.E. Kentucky at Purdue, 2:30 p.m.N. Iowa at Wisconsin, 2:30 p.m.Tulsa at Iowa St., 2:30 p.m.S. Dakota St. at Kansas, 6 p.m.Missouri St. at Kansas St., 6 p.m.SE Louisiana at Missouri, 6 p.m.Robert Morris at N. Dakota St., 6 p.m.Grand View at Drake, 7 p.m.Indiana St. at Indiana, 7 p.m.

SOUTHWESTLangston vs. Ark.-Pine Bluff, Ark., 5 p.m.Jacksonville St. at Arkansas, 6 p.m.Savannah St. at Oklahoma St., 6 p.m.Northwestern St. at Texas Tech, 6 p.m.Texas St. at Houston, 7 p.m.Wyoming at Texas, 7 p.m.Prairie View at Texas Southern, 7 p.m.Michigan vs. Alabama at Arlington, Texas, 7 p.m.Oklahoma at UTEP, 9:30 p.m.

FAR WESTIdaho St. at Air Force, 1 p.m.Nevada at California, 1 p.m.South Dakota at Montana, 2:30 p.m.Colorado St. vs. Colorado at Denver, 3 p.m.Southern U. at New Mexico, 4 p.m.San Diego at Cal Poly, 6:05 p.m.Hawaii at Southern Cal, 6:30 p.m.Carroll (Mont.) at Portland St., 7:05 p.m.Azusa Pacific at UC Davis, 8 p.m.Chadron St. at Montana St., 8:05 p.m.Weber St. at Fresno St., 9 p.m.Toledo at Arizona, 9:30 p.m.Arkansas St. at Oregon, 9:30 p.m.San Diego St. at Washington, 9:30 p.m.

Sunday’s GamesSOUTHAlabama St. vs. Bethune-Cookman atOrlando, Fla., 11 a.m.Kentucky at Louisville, 2:30 p.m.

SOUTHWESTSMU at Baylor, 5 p.m.

An historic matchupMichiganquarterbackDenardRobinsonwill lead theWolverinesinto CowboysStadium tomeetAlabamatoday.

AP Photo

By John ZenorAP Sports Writer

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. —Colossal college football pro-grams Alabama and Michi-gan have combined for 1,709wins and 25 national titles butseldom tangle on the field.

When they do, it’s usuallyat some big bowl game notstarting the season on Sept. 1.

The No. 2 Crimson Tideand No. 8 Wolverines aregearing up for their openertonight at Cowboys Stadiumwith an address that fits theiconic history of these pro-grams: One Legends Way.

Alabama receiver KevinNorwood knows it well. Hehas a picture of the stadiumon his phone.

“I’ve been looking at thatstadium for like monthsnow,” Norwood said.

That both these teamsopen the season in the Top 10is, in some ways, just a nicebonus in this rare meeting of

storied programs. For all their outsized his-

tory, Michigan and Alabamahave only met three times, allin January bowls, two won bythe Wolverines. The totalmargin: Michigan 77, Alaba-ma 75 with the last meetingbeing the Wolverines’ 35-34overtime win in the OrangeBowl on Jan. 1, 2000.

Tradition aside, the Tide istrying to show it’s a legitimatecontender for a secondstraight national title andthird in four years.

Michigan is aiming to buildon an 11-win season and BCSbowl victory over VirginiaTech but not — coach BradyHoke wants to make this clear— to reestablish that power-house reputation for a pro-gram three years removedfrom losing a school-recordnine games. That never wentaway, Hoke says.

“I don’t buy into that andnever have,” he said. “But Ido think it’s a great marker

for where we’re at as a pro-gram and what we can be. Ithink every first game everyyear though you learn a lotabout yourselves, becauseevery team is different.

“I went back and thoughtabout last year at this time. Ididn’t know if we were goingto win two games let alone 11,

because you don’t know untilyou get in the real deal as faras playing games. Honestly,we’ll find out.”

That’s what openers arefor, right? A learning experi-ence. Some are built thesedays for TV ratings, too.

• See MATCHUP Page 12

Alabama, Michigan on tap today


Matchup: Big game will be a telling barometer

Associated Press

LAWRENCE, Kan. —Dayne Crist took the field atpractice with a play, then atthe last second had tochange his plan. He calledan audible the team hadheard but never practiced.

Crist and coach CharlieWeis crafted the play threeyears ago and had nottouched it since, but Weisrecognized it almost imme-diately. The play resulted ina 30-yard run, the kind ofsuccess that surprisedeveryone but Weis.

The Jayhawks’ newcoach called that kind ofplay an “‘Atta boy.” When itworks out, Crist getspraised. When it doesn’t,Weis asks, “What are youdoing?” The fact that Cristeven has the gumption tocall such a play is whatmakes Weis beam when-ever he talks about him.

“I’m flattered that I havethe ability to have an arse-nal,” Crist said, “but I think itgoes back to the relationshipthat we have.”

Weis recruited Crist toNotre Dame, and mentoredhim for two years. But Weiswas fired and things souredquickly for Crist under anew regime, and he beganto look elsewhere to play.

After two season-endingknee injuries at Notre Dame,Crist decided to follow Weisto Kansas, where they’rehoping to rebuild a programnot long removed from theOrange Bowl, but morerecently has been at the bot-tom of the conference.

Both of them will gettheir first chance to showwhether progress has beenmade on Saturday nightagainst South Dakota State.

Weis has no doubt Cristis the man for the job. Hetalks about his leadershipability and talent, not tomention the convenience ofhis knowing the system.

“Great quarterback,great leadership,” saidsophomore running backTony Pierson, who isexpected to start behindCrist on Saturday. “Hebrings experience.”

Growing pains in StillwaterPlayers learning on the job is a difficult adjustment for OSU coachesBy Jason ElmquistStillwater News Press

STILLWATER — With theOklahoma State offense pre-pared to take the field for Sat-urday’s opener against Savan-nah State with a completelydifferent personnel look,coach Mike Gundy said theplay calling won’t change,even with true freshman quar-terback Wes Lunt at the helm.

“We haven’t had to simpli-fy any of it,” Gundy said.

But that’s not to say Gundydoesn’t have some reserva-tions heading into the 6 p.m.kickoff at Boone Pickens Sta-dium.

“Any time you are going tohave a guy that’s going to

touch the ball 75 to 85 times agame that’s never played (atthe college level) that’s alwaysa concern,” Gundy said.

While Gundy knows whatit is like to be a true freshmanquartertback, he said Lunthas reached the point wheretalking him up will only hin-der the rookie QB.

“I think (offensive coordi-nator) Todd Monken is avery smart football coach andI think he’s handled him verywell,” he said. “The way thosetwo are working right now,I’m just kind of watching andseeing him develop.”

Another area of his teamGundy is concerned about ishis defensive line.

“I want to see some pro-

duction and difference upfront on defense because Ithink we are good enough todo it this year,” Gundy said.

Monken’s trying to take itin stride that this year’soffense isn’t going to be aspolished as a year ago.

“I have got to be better inunderstanding that guys aregoing to develop. It happensat different stages for differentguys,” Monken said. “JustinBlackmon redshirted …Brandon Weeden was a walk-on. You have to keep remind-ing yourself of that we’re in abusiness where nobodywants to wait.”

At least the Cowboys won’thave to wait any longer to seeit on the field.

Big 12 Standings Con. Overall

Baylor 0 0 .000 0 0 .000Iowa State 0 0 .000 0 0 .000Kansas 0 0 .000 0 0 .000Kansas State 0 0 .000 0 0 .000Oklahoma 0 0 .000 0 0 .000Oklahoma St. 0 0 .000 0 0 .000TCU 0 0 .000 0 0 .000Texas 0 0 .000 0 0 .000Texas Tech 0 0 .000 0 0 .000West Virginia 0 0 .000 0 0 .000

Today’s GamesMarshall at West Virginia, 11 a.m.Tulsa at Iowa State, 2:30 p.m.South Dakota State at Kansas, 6 p.m.Missouri State at Kansas State, 6 p.m.Savannah St. at Oklahoma St., 6 p.m.Northwestern St. at Texas Tech, 6 p.m.Wyoming at Texas, 7 p.m.Oklahoma at UTEP, 9:30 p.m.

Sunday’s GameSMU at Baylor, 5:30 p.m.

Weiss happy tohave QB in fold


There’s no grace period forAlabama or Michigan to easeinto the season or for newstarters and key backups toget acclimated to new roles.The Tide has gotten used to

it, with early nonconferencegames against Penn State thepast two years and previousopeners against VirginiaTech and Clemson. They’re4-0 in those games.

Alabama coach NickSaban said opening with

these types of games providea boost in offseason work.

“It really gives the playerssomething to look forward toin the first game and it givesthe fans a lot to look forwardto in the first game,” saidSaban, who coached Michi-

gan rival Michigan State from1995-99. “I think it’s good forcollege football when we havethese kinds of games. Weenjoy playing in them. It’sgoing to be very challengingfor us and we’ll certainly seewhere we are as a team.”


THE WAY WE SEE IT

Clay Horning

OU (-30 1/2) at UTEPPick: OU 48-20

Wyoming (+29) at TexasPick: Texas 42-10

Marshall (+24) at West VirginiaPick: West Virginia 52-24*

Tulsa (-1 1/2) at Iowa StatePick: Iowa State 27-24

SMU (+10 1/2) at BaylorPick: Baylor 31-17

Clemson (-3) at AuburnPick: Clemson 24-19

Hawaii (+39 1/2) at USCPick: USC 52-13

Notre Dame (-16) vs. NavyPick: Notre Dame 31-17

Michigan (+13 1/2) at AlabamaPick: Alabama 20-10

Ohio (+6) at Penn StatePick: Penn State 31-24

Miami (-1) at Boston CollegePick: Miami 27-24

Colorado St. (+6) at ColoradoPick: Colorado 28-24

Last week (overall)Straight up: 0-0 (0-0)Spread: 0-0 (0-0)* Lock: 0-0 (0-0)



Marshall (+24) at West VirginiaPick: West Virginia 56-31*

Tulsa (-1 1/2) at Iowa StatePick: Iowa State 24-21

SMU (+10 1/2) at BaylorPick: SMU 31-28











Marshall (+24) at West VirginiaPick: West Virginia 45-17

Tulsa (-1 1/2) at Iowa StatePick: Tulsa 38-31


Clemson (-3) at AuburnPick: Auburn 24-17

Hawaii (+39 1/2) at USCPick: USC 52-21*









Marshall (+24) at West VirginiaPick: W.V. 30-14

Tulsa (-1 1/2) at Iowa StatePick: Iowa St. 28-27




Notre Dame (-16) vs. NavyPick: Notre Dme 34-22


Ohio (+6) at Penn StatePick: Penn St. 28-10

Miami (-1) at Boston CollegePick: Miami 24-18*

Colorado St. (+6) at ColoradoPick: CSU 23-10


John Shinn Corbin Hosler Michael Kinney

Cookman, Howard, SouthFlorida (by 53 points) andHampton.

OU has one chance towork out the kinks againstDivision I athletes. It hasone chance to develop realconfidence in a reworkedsecondary, a linebackingcorps without a provenleader, a defensive linethat’s in tatters, an offensiveline that’s taken hits to itsdepth and a running gamethat will be a question markuntil Dom Whaley proveshe’s still got it or DamienWilliams becomes the nextbig thing.

Landry Jones is a given.That has to be reassuring.But OU can’t know awhole lot more.

That it could still be agame in the fourth quartertonight (early Sundaymorning?) seems impossi-ble. That the Sooners mightbe seriously tested in theirfirst season opener since …well, actually, BYU beat OUin Dallas three years ago andOU only beat Utah State 31-24 two years ago. Maybe itbeing a game in the fourthquarter isn’t so crazy.

It only underlines the

importance of tonight.It is a truism about Bob

Stoops’ teams. They getbetter over time. Anothertruism? Sometimes thattime comes too late.

There’s so much to takein tonight.

Has there ever been somuch on one player onlynow given a chance toreally shine as there is onR.J. Washington? He andDavid King were supposedto be literal bookends,maybe even the strength ofthe front seven. But injuryhas forced King inside,leaving Washington at aposition OU’s been great atfor several seasons.

Has there ever been somuch riding on Whaley’sbeing able to return toform? For that matter,who’s the No. 1 receiver?

After Kansas State, theSooners head to Lubbock.The Red Raiders aren’tgreat but they won inNorman last season. ThenTexas, and the Longhornscan’t stink forever.

It will happen very fast.Tonight, it begins.

Clay HorningFollow me @clayhorning

[email protected]

Horning: Big game



game day - sept. 1

Documents

n predictions

n stats

n poster

n breakdown

n rosters

norman transcript n

bowl n fox sports net

n national schedule