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Chisholm's season has gone pretty much as expected

If 4-5 Chisholm beats 1-8 Mooreland Friday, the Longhorns 2008 season would finish pretty much as well as the preseason pundits saw for CHS.
The Longhorns were picked fifth in District A-1 by one preseason publication and fourth by the other.
“I guess people didn’t give us much of a chance,’’ said Chisholm coach Dan Maly. “It would have been nice to have gotten that fifth victory.’’
Chisholm’s district losses came to the four district representatives to the playoffs — Texhoma (14-7), Okeene (55-0), Turpin (34-3) and Hennessey (45-7).
The district wins came over 0-9 Hooker (54-6), 3-6 OBA (21-14), 2-7 Beaver (28-17) and 3-6 Pioneer (24-17).
That puts Chisholm squarely in the middle of the district — neither a powerhouse or a weak sister.
“We had some opportunities in games that we didn’t win,’’ Maly said. “We just didn’t get it done. There were some tight games that we won. It’s just one of those things.’’
The one game he would have liked to have back was Texhoma, a game where CHS committed six turnovers.
Coaches were telling the Longhorns Tuesday they were six turnovers away from making the playoffs.
Pass interception returns for touchdowns were the differences in the losses both to Texhoma and non-district foe Crescent (21-14).
“We did a lot of things right,’’ Maly said. “I just wish we could have been more consistent. We did a lot of good things offensively and defensively.’’
The Longhorns lose only two starters — linemen Bryant Jackson and Austin Hula. They were especially special to Maly because they are the first two players to have played for Maly from their freshman to senior seasons.
Steve Trumell and Barron Lawrence are the other seniors.
“I really like this class,’’ Maly said. “I want our kids to do their best at the end of the year to get them a victory.’’
The Longhorns inconsistency could be seen in their rushing defense. They allowed 302 yards against Okeene, 372 against Turpin and 338 in a 45-7 loss to Hennessey Friday.
The Eagles’ Augie McCulley topped the 300-yard mark by himself, scoring on runs of 13, 53, 55, 46 and 43 yards.
“It was just blocking and tackling,’’ said Maly looking back on the Hennessey game. “We preach every week that you have to block and tackle. He broke quite a few tackles. He just runs hard. He did a good job but we could have done a better job against him.’’
Maly, while disappointed in the results at times, was proud of how hard his team played.
“We did a great job effort wise,’’ he said.
Besides having a more experienced team, Maly said Chisholm should benefit by knowing its opposition better. Hennessey and OBA were the lone common opponents from 2007 when Chisholm went 5-5.
“I think we will have more of a feel for them and have a better understanding of what their kids are about,’’ Maly said.
Maly’s first priority is to increase the numbers. Chisholm often suited up 18 to 20 players in a game.
“There’s not too many teams that suited up 18 to 20 players that won four or five games this season,’’ he said. “I think all of our kids made a lot of progress.’’
Tyler Carroll, Maly said, typified Chisholm’s determination by playing with a broken hand. Will Barney played much of the season on a bad ankle.
“We had a lot of kids playing with different kinds of injuries,’’ Maly said. “That just shows the commitment the kids made to just being out there.’’

November 04, 2008 11:39 pm

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Will Sooners drop after Tech win?

One interesting question after Oklahoma’s 62-28 win over Nebraska Saturday.
With No. 5 Texas Tech upsetting No. 1 Texas 39-33 Saturday will the Sooners drop in the polls?
Obviously Tech will move up ahead of the Sooners.
Texas, having beaten the Sooners, should still be ahead of OU.
Will Florida’s impressive win over Georgia jump the Gators over OU?
The important thing for the Sooners is they have a much better chance for the Big 12 South title than they did at this time last week.
OU coach Bob Stoops had a good feeling about it.
“You just know you have a better chance,’’ he said. “In the end, you focus on getting better this week and do what you’re able to do and hopefully, that’s play well and win.’’
Stoops said it’s the most interesting Big 12 South race he’s seen. Tech is 5-0 with OU, Texas and Oklahoma State tied for second at 4-1.
“We got three more games to go and we have to keep making improvements,’’ Stoops said. “We have to keep after it.’’
Stoops said he could figure out quickly Tech was ahead during the game when he heard the roar of the crowd.
OU offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said the Sooners can’t worry about the rankings.
“I told them afterwards they could watch that scoreboard all they want, it doesn’t matter,’’ said OU offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson. “It’s what we do.
They (Tech, Texas and Oklahoma State) have a lot of ball left and we have a lot of ball left. The worst thing that could happen is scoreboard watch.’’
Wilson challenged his players to concentrate on playing better in the second half instead of watching the scoreboard for Tech-Texas.
“All that matters is we have a good week (next week),’’ Wilson said. “We can talk about weeks to come and scenarios ... but the team that’s going to win it is the one that plays the best. We’re going to try to keep our mind on what we’re doing and not worry about style points or ratings.’’
OU quarterback Sam Bradford echoed Wilson’s feelings.
“It doesn’t change anything,’’ he said. “We still have to win every week. It doesn’t change our mindset at all.’’
Bradford and his teammates were watching the end of the Tech-Texas game.
“Obviously, everyone was excited,’’ said Bradford about the Sooners’ reaction to the Tech win. “Coach talk about it before we even started watching it. It doesn’t matter what happens in that game if we go out and don’t take care of our business so nothing changed for us. We have to win every game from here on out.’’
Defensive lineman Frank Alexander was excited.
“Now we’re back in control of our destiny,’’ he said. “We should have never lost to Texas and we wouldn’t have to worry about this.
“Since we did and Texas just lost, it helps us out a lot. We’re back in control of our destiny. If we just take care of our business we’ll be all right.’’

November 01, 2008 11:46 pm

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Will Sooners drop after Tech win?

November 01, 2008 11:45 pm

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OU-Nebraska pregame notes

Travis Lewis is within striking distance of breaking the Oklahoma record for tackles by a freshman.
Lewis goes into tonight’s Nebraska game with 84 tackles. Brian Bosworth holds the mark with 133.
Lewis already has more tackles than Rocky Calmus (55) had when he was a freshman with the Sooners in 1998.

There are some other positives for a much-maligned OU defense.
The Sooners rank No. 10 nationally in turnover margin (plus 1.13) with 16 takeaways against only seven turnovers.
OU had a season-high five takeaways in a 58-35 rout of Kansas State last week.
Seven different Sooners have forced a fumble this season.

OU-Nebraska this year can be a reunion of Cardinal Mooney High School of Youngstown, Ohio.
It’s the alma mater of both head coaches — OU’s Bob Stoops and Nebraska’s Bo Pelini. NU assistants Carl Pelini and Tim Beck also went to Cardinal Mooney.
Stoops’ late father, Ron, was a long-time defensive coordinator there.

Think of Heisman Trophy winners don’t come from small town America.
Small towns have produced four Heisman winners at OU — Billy Vessels (Cleveland, Okla.), Steve Owens (Miami, Okla.), Billy Sims (Hooks, Texas) and Jason White (Tuttle).
The total population of the four towns is 24,038, according to the OU sports information department.

Nebraska, with an all-time record of 813-336-40, is just one of five schools with 800 all-time victories. OU’s all-time record is 786-296-53.
One would be hard-pressed to find a game with the two opponents having a total of 1,599 victories.
The two schools have combined for 12 national championships, 84 conference championships, 150 All-Americans and seven Heisman Trophy winners.

OU hosted a dinner Friday night for players involved in the 1971 OU-Nebraska game (a.k.a. The Game of the Century).
Former coaches Chuck Fairbanks, Barry Switzer and Tom Osborne were among those attending. Johnny Rodgers, the 1972 Heisman Trophy winner from Nebraska, was there as were OU All-Americans Greg Pruitt and Tom Brahaney.
The players will be recognized at halftime.

Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray became the 66th and 67th players from OU to top the 1,000-yard career rushing mark with their performances against K-State last weekend. Brown had 142 yards while Murray had 104.

Tonight’s game can be seen on ESPN (channel 25, Suddenlink). Mike Patrick will be doing the play-by-play with Todd Blackledge doing the color. Holly Rowe is handling the sidelines.
This is the second time OU has been on ESPN. The All-Sports Network previously carried the Sooners’ 55-14 rout of Washington Sept. 13.
Kickoff time for next Saturday’s game with Texas A&M will be announced Sunday.

OU has the nation’s longest home winning streak with 22 straight wins.

November 01, 2008 06:08 pm

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Pioneer not blaming officials for loss

Pioneer coach Ron Sunderland isn’t playing the blame game after a 24-17 loss to Chisholm Friday.
Chisholm was called for pass interference on a second and 11 from the Pioneer 18.
Officials moved the ball halfway to the goal, but failed to give the Mustangs a first down. Officials apologized to Pioneer coaches for the mistake.
Pioneer lost five yards the next two plays and had to settle for a 32-yard Edward Layton field goal.
“That could have gone one way or the other,’’ Sunderland said. “No one has played a perfect game or called a perfect game. I thought the officials did a good job. I’m not hanging anything on that one call. It doesn’t matter.’’

Sunderland said mental mistakes — not the officials - were to blame for the 106 yards PHS had in penalties Friday.
What especially hurt the Mustangs were the timing of the calls. The penalties took the Mustangs out of some third and shorts and took Chisholm out of some third and longs.
“The kids feel like they should have won that game,’’ Sunderland said. “Mistakes and penalties cost us. We realize what needs to be fixed.’’

The key play in the Pioneer-Chisholm game might have been an interception by the Longhorns’ Jason Gillpatrick after Pioneer had marched to the Chisholm 26. Pioneer was facing an third-and-10 after two running plays were stopped for no gain.
Pioneer led at the time 17-12 and had momentum.
“I felt like if we had scored there, we would have won the game,’’ Sunderland said.

Despite the disappointment, there were several positives from the game. Sunderland said his team showed more fire than they have in the past.
“We were in a position to win the game,’’ he said. “The kids played as hard in that game as they have all year. We saw some things that we had been looking for all year as far as being physical and being fired up. If we do that again this week (at Beaver), we’ll give ourselves a chance to win.’’
Freshman Derek Gabriel had a strong game in place of an injured Johnny Long. Gabriel sparked a third-quarter scoring drive with a nifty 33-yard run.
“Our freshmen aren’t playing like freshmen anymore,’’ Sunderland said. “Derek is a very gifted athlete. He loves to play. He will do anything you ask him to do.’’

Beaver, this week’s Pioneer opponent, reminds Sunderland a lot like the Mustangs. Both teams are in a bit of a rebuilding mode.
The Dusters have been outscored 210-111, but have narrow losses to both Oklahoma Bible Academy (28-20) and Chisholm (28-17). Beaver has been shut out its last two games — Texhoma (27-0) and Beaver (30-0).
“We match up pretty well,’’ Sunderland said. “Beaver has always been a track school, but they don’t appear to have as much speed as Turpin or Texhoma.’’
Pioneer is making its third trip to the Panhandle. The Mustangs are 1-1 on the trips, having lost to Turpin (51-0) and beating 0-8 Hooker (30-14).
“We haven’t played well going over there (Panhandle),’’ Sunderland said. “That’s something we will have to overcome.’’
The Mustangs will continue to stop halfway there to stretch their legs. Beaver is a closer trip than either Hooker or Turpin.

The best playoff scenario for Chisholm would be for the Longhorns to beat Hennessey, Texhoma to beat Turpin and for Turpin to beat Hennessey the next week.
Barring unforseen circumstances, that would tie Chisholm and Hennessey for fourth in the district at 6-3 and would tie Texhoma and Turpin for second at 7-2.
If Turpin beat Texhoma and Hennessey and Chisholm beat Hennessey, there would be a three-way tie for third between Texhoma, Hennessey and Chisholm at 5-3.
The tie would be broken by the Arkansas Plan. Texhoma currently has 45 points, Hennessey 72 and Chisholm three.
The maxiumum Chisholm could get would be 33 points. The minimum Hennessey could drop is 42. Texhoma would have to lose to Turpin by 15 or more points and then beat Hooker by less than three points.
Not a good scenario for Chisholm.
If Hennessey beats Turpin, the Longhorns are out of the playoffs, no matter what they do against the Eagles. Texhoma and Turpin both have the head-to-head over the Longhorns.
Chisholm coach Dan Maly still will be aware of the points against Hennessey.

October 29, 2008 04:52 pm

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Teams making successful transition

There was a little controversy when some long-time 8-man schools had to move up to Class A this season.
But many of those schools are doing quite well in 11-man this fall.
Morrison, the three-time defending state Class B champion, is ranked No. 2 in Class A with a 8-0 record.
Dewar, which fell to the Wildcats in the state finals, is ranked No. 7 with a 7-1 mark.
Cashion, another playoff team, is 6-2 in District A-2, its losses have come against one-time 8-man powers Oklahoma Christian School and Christian Heritage.
Christian Heritage, which moved up to 11-man in its first year of the OSSAA, is 6-2 and leading A-2 with a 6-1 record. The Crusaders can clinch the district title with a win over Thomas Friday.
Christian Heritage has won six straight games after opening the season with losses to Lincoln Christian (43-0) and Watonga (31-12).
Burns Flat, the other Class B playoff team which moved up to 11-man, is currently 1-7. The Eagles have lost seven straight games after an opening night 26-8 win over Dibble.
Pioneer, 2-8 in its last season of 8-man football, has been competitive in its return to 11-man.
The Mustangs are 2-6, but gave Chisholm all it wanted before falling 24-17 last week. Pioneer’s five losses have been to 8-0 Morrison, 8-0 Okeene, 7-1 Turpin, 6-2 Hennessey and 5-3 Texhoma.
This was not a good year for Pioneer to move up since the enrollment was actually down from the years the Mustangs were an 8-man power.
Seiling, which moved down from Class A to Class C, takes a 5-3 record against Kremlin-Hillsdale Friday. The Wildcats loses have come against 6-2 Covington-Douglas, 8-0 Timberlake and 7-1 DCLA.
Bartlesville Wesleyan Christian, one of the many church schools to join the OSSAA, is 2-6 so far this season.
The Mustangs have shown an explosive offense, though. They have scored 233 points but have allowed 292 points.
The team showed its class after a loss to Kremlin-Hillsdale. They asked the Broncs if they wanted to pray with them after the game.
Kremlin-Hillsdale accepted, which builds sportsmanship.
A belated dart to Oklahoma Bible Academy for its homecoming floats at halftime of its game with Okeene recently.
One float read “Vick the Whippets,’’ Vick, as in Michael Vick, who is currently in prison for his dog fighting activities.
This goes beyond any good naturing kidding of an opponent.
As a friend in Washington, D.C., mentioned, those kids on the float should watch some films of dog fighting. It’s nothing to kid about.

October 28, 2008 05:27 pm

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Chisholm fans need to root for Okeene

Chisholm fans might want to root for Okeene when the Whippets face Hennessey Friday in a District A-1 showdown.
A Hennessey loser would probably give Chisholm its best hopes of keeping its playoff hopes alive.
The Eagles currently share first place in the district with Okeene with perfect 6-0 records.
Hennessey faces Chisholm next week and will travel to Turpin the next week.
That gives the Longhorns hopes Hennessey could lose its next three games to drop to 6-3 in district play.
If Chisholm wins its last three games (Pioneer, Hennessey and Mooreland), the Longhorns would finish the district at 6-3.
Chisholm also would want to root for Texhoma to beat Turpin next week.
That would likely tie the teams in the district at 6-2, going into the final week of the season.
Then if Turpin beats Hennessey and Texhoma beats Hooker, those two teams tie for second at 7-2.
Chisholm gets fourth over Hennessey for the win over the Eagles.
Right now, that could be a big “if’’
Hennessey can all but knock the Longhorns out of the playoffs with a win over Okeene.
The Eagles will be favored over the Longhorns next week.
The eighth week of the season is often too early to start thinking playoff scenarios. Too many ifs and buts. We’re know a lot more after Friday’s games.
Chisholm has to beat Pioneer first anyway.

More playoff talk.
Let’s look at District B-1.
Garber is first at 6-0, followed by Laverne (4-1), Canton (4-1), Ringwood (4-2) and Geary (3-3).
Garber is in the playoffs, but is not assured of a home playoff berth yet. The Wolverines still have to play Laverne and Canton.
Canton can clinch a playoff berth by beating Geary. Ringwood can eliminate Geary by beating Cherokee next week.
Laverne could put itself in the drivers seat by beating Garber. The Tigers would be district champs if they win out. They have to face Waukomis and Merritt in the last two weeks of the season.
The Tigers, with a loss to Garber, could end up as low as fourth in the district.
Again, we’re know a lot more after Friday. Still too many ifs and buts.

Timberlake (6-0) controls its destiny in District C-3 with Braman and DCLA still on the schedule.
DCLA (5-1) can confuse things if they beat Timberlake the last week of the season.
Covington-Douglas (4-1) isn’t in complete control of its destiny for a home playoff berth. The Wildcats, though, are in good shape since they have a win over DCLA.
The Seiling/Kremlin-Hillsdale winner should be the fourth-place finisher.

One positive of Pioneer moving to 11-man is the renewal of its series with Chisholm.
The late Harvey Griffin, when he was coaching at Chisholm in the mid-1980s, wanted to renew the series with Pioneer.
The schools are approximately 12 miles apart. That saves a lot of gas, especially for two schools who have to go to the Panhandle twice a year.
With Oklahoma Bible Academy in the district, it makes for much better rivalries.
How about an Enid business sponsoring those games. Maybe a little trophy like the Bedlam bell.
Bragging rights are important.

October 22, 2008 11:58 pm

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OU-Nebraska still has appeal

The announcement the Oklahoma-Nebraska game will be ABC’s prime time game Nov. 1 shows how much sex appeal the game still has.
It’s not 1970s or 1980s when the game decided the Big Eight Championship every year.
Nebraska is 4-3 and not ranked.
OU shouldn’t need much “Sooner Magic’’ to beat the Cornhuskers this year.

Sam Bradford is making 300-yard passing games routine. It’s getting to be if he doesn’t have 300 yards by halftime, there’s something wrong.
His numbers are way ahead of this time in his freshman season.
He threw for 1,683 yards and 19 touchdowns at this time of the season a year ago.
Bradford now has thrown for 2,520 yards and 26 TDs.
If OU had beaten Texas, Bradford — not Colt McCoy — would be the Heisman favorite.
Of course, as we know, the quarterback of the No. 1-ranked team is the front runner for the Heisman these days.
It certainly benefited Jason White in 2003 and 2004.
Don’t fret. If Bradford plays all four seasons, he will certainly win a Heisman some day.

What should OU fans do Saturday when Oklahoma State invades Texas in a battle of unbeatens.
Logic tells you to root for OSU. Texas has to lose twice for OU to get in the Big 12 championship game. That is, if the Sooners win the rest of their games.
The big picture may tell you to root for Texas.
There’s a good chance Alabama and Penn State, rated No. 2 and No. 3 in the BCS ahead of the Sooners, will lose a game sometime this season.
If Texas goes undefeated and OU wins out, there could be a rematch in the BCS Championship game. A team doesn’t need to win its conference or division to reach that game.
Nothing is certain in today’s college football climate.
The Sooners can’t worry about what the Longhorns do. Just the Sooners winning out will be a challenge with Texas Tech and OSU still left on the schedule.
Who knows if OSU beats Texas, the Sooners and Cowboys could be playing for a share of the Big 12 South title on Nov. 29.
As one observer said, OU fans need to root for Ohio State against Penn State Saturday because that could be the Lions’ final serious test of the season.

October 20, 2008 01:19 pm

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OU-KU halftime notes

Enid’s Austin Box was announced as Oklahoma’s starting middle linebacker before the Sooners’ game with Kansas Saturday.
However, Box did not play a down in the first half as both Travis Lewis and Nic Harris lined up in the spot vacated by Ryan Reynolds, who tore his ACL in a 45-35 loss to Texas last week.
This could be a sign the Sooner coaches aren’t comfortable yet with Box in the middle. He had been the starting weakside linebacker until he suffered a knee surgery early in spring practice.
Lewis was shaken up on a kickoff, but returned without missing a play.

The Sooners had seven starters on their kickoff team in the first half, including fullback Matt Clapp.
Other starters were Lewis, Brian Jackson, Lendy Holmes, Dominique Franks, Harris and Keenan Clayton.
Jocques Crawford returned the first kickoff to the 42, but OU did better on the next two.
KU only got to the 19 on the second return and Matt Moreland kicked the third into the end zone.

A sign of the times.
OU had 313 yards passing and KU had 235 yards passing in the first half. It wasn’t too long ago when that would have been called a passing circus in the first half.

Some OU streaks were stopped in the first half.
For the first time, the Sooners failed to score on their first drive of the game when Jimmy Stevens missed a 30-yard field goal.
That was the first time this season OU had failed to score in the red zone this season. OU was 28 of 28 before the missed field goal. Twenty-seven of those had been touchdowns.

The Sooners suffered a major blow in the first half when Manny Johnson left the game after catching a 21-yard pass from Sam Bradford. It’s been reported Johnson broke his arm. There was no press box confirmation about the injury.

Juaquin Iglesias broke a OU school record when he caught 10 passes for 178 yards in the first half. Johnson holds the school record with 206 yards against Texas Christian earlier this season.

The Sooners ran 59 plays in the first half while KU ran 34.
Bradford has already attempted 34 passes. The most pass attempts he’s had in a game was 39.
He is in a position to break the school record for attempts held by Josh Heupel, who threw 58 passes in a 1999 loss to Colorado.

KU quarterback Todd Reesing has completed 13 of 21 passes for 220 yards in the first half. He’s an example of outstanding quarterback that’s overlooked in a field full of top-notch signal callers.
KU’s Dezmon Briscoe had nine receptions for 193 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown strike.

Stevens’ first half miss made him the butt of some jokes in the press box. There were some jabs questioning if OU was in Stevens’ range when the Sooners were inside the 10 late in the second quarter.
He did kick his second field goal of the season when he booted a 19-yard three-pointer with four seconds to go.

The Sooners are running the ball better. OU had 106 yards rushing in the first half. DeMarco Murray had 61 yards on 12 tries. He was getting a lot of his yardage on second effort.

October 18, 2008 04:47 pm

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OU-Kansas pregame notes

Kansas’ Todd Reesing is one of the many Big 12 quarterbacks who are flying under the radar.
While he doesn’t get the attention of Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, Texas’ Colt McCoy or Missouri’s Chasd Daniel, Reesing has made an impact in his second year as the Jayhawks starting quarterback.
He already owns 28 school records and could add to that against the Sooners.
He needs six compilations to pass Frank Seuer (467) for the KU career completion record.
He needs just 38 yards to pass Seuer (6,112) for the KU career total offense record.
He needs only one 300-yard passing game to tie his school record of five that he set last year.

The Jayhawks have not fared well against teams ranked in the top five in the Associated Press poll. The Sooners come into the game ranked No. 4 in AP.
KU has a 6-46-1 record against the teams in the top five.
Two of those wins were over OU — 23-3 in 1975, handing Barry Switzer his first loss as the Sooner head coach and 28-11 in 1984.
KU’s other upset wins were 23-7 against No. 1 Missouri, 1960; 28-10 against No. 5 Texas A&M, 1974; 40-24 over No. 4 Colorado, 1995 and 24-21 over No. 5 Virginia Tech in last year’s Orange Bowl.

The Sooners lead the series 66-27-6 with OU winning the last four meetings.
One of the most memorable games of the series came in 1964 when KU scored on the opening kickoff and the last play of the game (a two-point conversion) to beat the Sooners 15-14.
KU gave OU a scare in 1978 when the Sooners squeaked out a 17-16 win with future Congressman J.C. Watts directing the attack in place of an injured Thomas Lott.

There are some OU-KU connections.
Jayhawks head coach Mark Mangino was an OU assistant coach from 1999-2001, helping direct the Sooners to a national championship.
Former OU legendary coach Bennie Owen, whom the OU playing field is named after, played at KU from 1887-89.
Jack Mitchell, one of the first Split T-quarterbacks for the Sooners, coached the Jayhawks from 1958-1966.
He was 2-6-1 against the Sooners.

The Sooners have won 21 straight home games, the longest current streak in the nation.

The game is being relevised by ABC with a crew of Ron Franklin, Ed Cunningham and Jack Arute. This is the Sooners’ 158th game that has been nationally televised.

Redshirt freshman linebacker Travis Lewis tied a Sooner record for tackles by a freshman with 19 stops against Texas. Brian Bosworth set the original mark against Nebraska in 1984.

OU has started off fast in every game. The Sooners have scored a touchdown on its first drive in every game.
The Sooners have yet to lose a fumble this season. OU is No.1 in the nation in red zone scoring (28 of 28) with 27 TDs.
OU quarterbacks have completed passes to 16 different receivers. That ranks the Sooners No. 3 nationally.

OU quarterback Sam Bradford has average a touchdown pass every eight attempts. He has thrown one interception for every 37 attempts.

The Sooners rank No. 17 nationally for third down attempts. Opponents have converted only 27 of 90 third downs for 30 percent.
An injury to middle linebacker Ryan Reynolds has stopped a streak of six straight games where the Sooners have started the same defensive lineup.

The OU media flip chart has Enid freshman Austin Box and sophomore Brandon Crow listed as the starting linebacker for the Kansas game.
The starter will be a game time decision.

Be interesting to see the changes on the OU kickoff team. Jordan Shipley’s 96 yard kickoff return for a touchdown last week was one of the turning points in Texas’ 45-35 win over the Sooners last week.