Sooners forced to take four FGs in Bradford's return: Sam Bradford came back Saturday. And as he did so often during his 2008 Heisman-winning season, the Oklahoma quarterback threw for big yardage (389). The Sooners' offense also put up some circa-'08 numbers (589). So why, then, did the 19th-ranked Sooners, now 3-2, still struggle to put the ball in the end zone for much of their 33-7 win over Baylor? Why did OU lead just 14-7 at halftime on the Robert Griffin-less Bears and go nearly the entire second half without a touchdown? Because as great as it is to have Bradford back, the Sooners still miss Ryan Bryoles. And Jermaine Gresham. And all those offensive linemen from last year. (SI/Stewart Mandel)

Stats:

Labels: Baylor, Oklahoma Sooners

Bradford's back, and he has a chance to help himself and OU: The Oklahoman

The OU Blitz Package with David Ubben: The Oklahoman

Time for Sooner fans to hit the reset button: The Oklahoman

This Sooner squad a lot like OU's 2005 team: Tulsa World

Can we get a do-over for OU and OSU? Tulsa World

Right move for Bradford? KC Star's Campus Corner

Bradford's return to OU's lineup not a surprise: ESPN.com

Golden Hat Or Bust: One Last Shot At BCS For Oklahoma: Bleacher Report

Baylor Bears embrace supreme task at fortified Oklahoma: Waco Tribune Herald

Labels: Baylor, Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford to start against Baylor: Sam Bradford, winner of the 2008 Heisman Trophy, will start at quarterback for Oklahoma in the Sooners' game against Baylor, Saturday. The junior has been out since the season opener (Sept. 5) when he suffered a sprained shoulder joint. "Sam has had a great week of practice and is ready to play," said OU Head Coach Bob Stoops after a morning meeting with Bradford. "We're obviously excited to have him back. "We remain very pleased with the work Landry Jones did in replacing Sam and our entire program has a lot of confidence in his ability," Stoops added. (SoonerSports PR)

Labels: Baylor, Oklahoma Sooners, Sam Bradford

ABC/ESPN has released the network coverage map for this weekend's Baylor vs Oklahoma. OU-Baylor is regionally televised on ABC, otherwise the game is available on ESPN's GamePlan PPV package.

Labels: ABC, Baylor, Oklahoma Sooners, Television

Oklahoma vs Baylor kickoff set for 2:30 on ABC: It was announced Monday morning by conference officials, Oklahoma's football game against Baylor next Saturday (Oct. 10) will kickoff at 2:30 p.m. and will be televised regionally on ABC.

Related:
2009 Oklahoma Sooners Football Schedule

Labels: Baylor, Oklahoma Sooners, Television

Limited OU vs Baylor tickets made available: A limited number of tickets have been returned by Baylor University for their matchup against the Sooners on Saturday, October 10, at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Tickets are on sale now through the OU Athletics Ticket Office for $69 each. A kickoff time has not yet been announced. To order tickets, purchase online or call toll-free at (800) 456-GoOU. If availability remains on game day, tickets will go on sale five hours prior to kickoff at Gate 5 of Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. All orders will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis and are subject to availability. (SoonerSports PR)

Related:
2009 Oklahoma Sooners Schedule

Labels: Baylor, Oklahoma Sooners, Tickets

Oklahoma Sooner Football Articles and Notes

Sooners, Bears, Jayhawks, Tigers to meet the media: Day two at Big 12 media days gets underway at the top of the hour (9:00 AM) from Irving, Texas. Team representatives from Oklahoma, Baylor, Kansas and Missouri are scheduled today. Live streaming coverage is available at Big12Sports.com.

Today - Full Schedule
* Missouri: Head Coach Gary Pinkel, LB Sean Weatherspoon, NT Jaron Baston, OG Kurtis Gregory (approx. 9:00 AM)
* Baylor: Head Coach Art Briles, Defensive Coordinator Brian Norwood, QB Robert Griffin III, FS Jordan Lake, LB Joe Pawelek, C J.D. Walton (9:45 AM)
* Kansas: Head Coach Mark Mangino, QB Todd Reesing, WR Kerry Meier, DE Max Onyegbule (10:30 AM)
* Oklahoma: Head Coach Bob Stoops, QB Sam Bradford, DT Gerald McCoy, TE Jermaine Gresham (11:15 AM)

Noteworthy links
Baylor - Official
Kansas - Official
Missouri - Official
Oklahoma - Official
Big 12 Sports Official Site

Twitters to follow @Big12Conference Media Days
@SooonerSportscom
@SchadJoe
@MikeSherman
@OklaFootball

Quotes and notes from day two will be posted later today.

Labels: Baylor, Big XII, Kansas, Missouri Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma Sooner Football Articles and Notes

Big 12 media preseason poll has Oklahoma, Texas tied for 1st place: Nebraska was predicted to win the North division while Oklahoma and Texas tied for the top spot in the South in the 2009 Big 12 Football Preseason Poll, voted on by media representatives who cover the Conference. Texas compiled 17 first-place votes in the South compared to 15 for Oklahoma, however both finished with 174 cumulative points. Oklahoma State was picked third ahead of Texas Tech, Baylor and Texas A&M. OU, UT and TTU finished tied for the top spot in the South last season. The Sooners won the tiebreaker to compete in the Championship game and captured their third-consecutive and sixth overall Big 12 title. (Big 12 Sports PR)

2009 Big 12 Football Media Preseason Poll North Division
1. Nebraska (17) 172
2. Kansas (12) 164
3. Missouri (3) 124
4. Colorado 100
5. Kansas State 81
6. Iowa State 33

South Division
1. Texas (17) 174
1. Oklahoma (15) 174
3. Oklahoma State 130
4. Texas Tech 89
5. Baylor 75
6. Texas A&M 33
first-place votes in parentheses

Labels: Baylor, Big XII, Colorado Buffalo, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri Tigers, Nebraska, Oklahoma Sooners, OSU, Texas, Texas A M, Texas Tech

Oklahoma Sooner Football Articles and Notes

Sooners defeat Baylor 49-17: Oklahoma remembers how to play the role of No. 1.Sam Bradford threw for 379 yards with two touchdowns, DeMarco Murray ran for two scores and four other Sooners got into the end zone in another lopsided victory over Baylor, 49-17 Saturday in their Big 12 opener.Bradford threw a 53-yard TD to Manuel Johnson only 70 seconds into the game for the Sooners (5-0), who built a 28-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. (Associated Press/Google)

Labels: Baylor, Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma Sooner Football Articles and Notes

Stradford quits team: Wide receiver Tyler Stradford is no longer with the Oklahoma football team. The redshirt freshman from New Orleans was one of the fastest players on the team, but could never convert that into playing time during his two years in Norman. (The Oklahoman)

Stoops has earned reputation as big-game choke artist: CNNSI

Stoops' hire of Leach ignited Big 12 offenses everywhere: The Oklahoman

Welcome to my world -- Mike Knall: The Oklahoman

Is there a reason to be concerned with the OU running game?: The Oklahoman

All eyes on Bears quarterback Griffin: The Oklahoman

OU Notebook: The Oklahoman

OU hopes to dodge big upset: Tulsa World

Three OU-Baylor Storylines: Tulsa World

Baylor lineman predicts "win over OU": Tulsa World

State schools going for unprecedented 5-0 starts: Tulsa World

Dual threat QB a challenge for Sooners: Norman Transcript

Playing well can be its own reward for Sooners: Norman Transcript

Bears don't fear No. 1 Oklahoma: Dallas Morning News

Baylor gets chance to measure progress against top-ranked Oklahoma: Waco Tribune

5 Things to watch: Waco Tribune

Sooners wary of 'smoking fast' Baylor QB: Star-Telegram

Conference play kicks off in the Big 12: Star-Telegram

Labels: Baylor, Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma Sooner Football Articles and Notes

FSN to televise OU-Baylor: Oklahoma's Oct. 4 football game at Baylor has been picked up for telecast by FOX Sports Net through its relationship with the Big 12 Conference. FSN has set the kickoff time for 11:30 a.m. (SoonerSports PR)

Related: 2008 Oklahoma Sooners Football Schedule

Labels: Baylor, Oklahoma Sooners, Television

Oklahoma Sooner Football Articles and Notes

Sooners Sack the Bears: Bob Stoops isn't having a tough time dealing with Oklahoma's turnovers, not when the players making the mistakes are also scoring touchdowns. Plus, the 16th-ranked Sooners have a six-game winning streak and are still in contention for the Big 12 South title after overcoming five miscues Saturday in a 36-10 victory at Baylor. ''I thought we played well. We executed. That's the pleasing part,'' Stoops said. ''There's a bunch of young guys that are moving the football in a good way. ... If we can learn to finish with two hands and not let the ball go, we'll be in great shape.'' Malcolm Kelly had a touchdown catch and an incredible grab to keep alive another scoring drive by Oklahoma (9-2, 6-1 Big 12). But the sophomore was running down the sideline on his way to another apparent long TD play when he dropped the ball trying to fend off a defender. Reggie Smith , another sophomore, returned one of his two interceptions 42 yards for a touchdown and set up another TD with his other. Third-string freshman tailback Chris Brown ran 24 times for 169 yards and a score. But Baylor (4-8, 3-5) got its only scores after fumbles by Smith (who lost two punt returns) and Brown. (AP/SI.com - Stats)

Baylor dips to a new-low: Baylor established a school-record low with minus-48 yards rushing. The Bears had minus-37 rushing yards against Kansas State in 2002. From OU's standpoint, the minus-48 rushing yards allowed was the second-best showing in school history. Most of the total was due to quarterback Blake Szymanski being sacked five times. Szymanski compiled minus-57 rushing yards on nine carries. A safety was also charged to the team as an 8-yard loss. Paul Mosley, Mario Price and Carl Sims had 17 rushing yards combined. (Dallas Morning News)

Peterson Bedlam status? Adrian Peterson on playing Oklahoma State next week with The Oklahoman... Does he want to play against Oklahoma State? "What do you think?" Peterson said, jerking his head in mock disgust at the mere suggestion he'd skip a chance to compete if not for the broken collarbone that has sidelined him since the Iowa State game Oct. 14. Perhaps that reaction more than anything offers the best insight into what the Oklahoma running back will do, if given clearance by doctors this week. For any further clues, maybe an Ouija board is in order. Will he or won't he? Doctors will x-ray and evaluate Peterson early this week, leading to a decision on his availability when the Sooners face OSU on Saturday in Stillwater. "I'll have to get with the doctors (today) or Monday and just see what they think," said Sooners coach Bob Stoops. "Anyone that's throwing out anything else — let me tell you, I haven't conferred with them, because I knew he wasn't playing this week. When I get with them Monday and know something, then I'll have something to say about it. "Anyone else that's talking about it before that is just guessing." (NewsOK.com)

Pair of Sooners Get First Starts: WR Fred Strong and RB Chris Brown made their first career starts. Brown is the third true freshman to make a start for the Sooners in 2006 (C Chase Beeler and RT Trent Williams).

Brown sets Career High: Chris Brown rushed for a career high 169 yards on 24 carries.

Sooners turn to defense: Norman Transcript

Sooners crush Bears but commit five turnovers: Tulsa World

OU throws sack party: Tulsa World

Freshman smashes through Bears: Tulsa World

Two Minute Drill: Tulsa World

Smith's positives prevail: Tulsa World

Sooners continue climb: Tulsa World

OU defense puts clams on Bears: The Oklahoman

OU can't afford five turnovers vs. OSU: The Oklahoman

Sooners find their stride against Baylor: Dallas Morning News

OU puts a wrap on Bears' season: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram

OU's big plays sink Baylor on Senior Day: Waco Tribune

OU ups outweigh downs: Waco Tribune

OU leaves Szymanski seeing red: Waco Tribune

Labels: Adrian Peterson, Baylor, Bedlam, Chris Brown, Fred Strong, Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma Sooner Football Articles and Notes

Sooners prepared for familiar Bears: The good news for the Sooners heading into Saturday's matchup is they've always defended the spread effectively, and they just got a tune-up by defending the Red Raiders last week. "It helps," Stoops said of the familiarity, "because it's an offense that I feel you have to understand and defensively you have to get used to. It isn't like other spread offenses. They don't run the zone-read options and pull-the-ball quarterback runs. "We worked it the entire week last week. We can look at what we didn't do well, change up some things and wrinkles. Hopefully that can help us. Guys are familiar with the routes and schemes and what they want to do." The Sooners might want to do a better job against Dominique Zeigler than they did a year ago, when the Bear wide receiver caught nine passes for 141 yards in OU's 37-30 double-overtime victory. (Tulsa World)

Walker discovers father figure in Peterson's dad: Tulsa World

Prince, Stoops in horse race: Tulsa World

Switzer -- Schembechler was 'a fiery, fiery guy': Tulsa World

Getting OU into BCS takes some calculating: The Oklahoman

OU-Baylor Story lines: The Oklahoman

Welcome to my world -- Defensive tackle Cory Bennett: The Oklahoman

Preview -- Oklahoma at Baylor: Dallas Morning News

Thompson makes most of his last chance: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram

5 Things to watch -- OU-Baylor: Waco Tribune

Labels: Baylor, Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma Sooner Football Articles and Notes

Same Scheme, Different Team: Baylor has made no secret of the fact that they copied Texas Tech's wide-open offense. The only differences, says OU coach Bob Stoops, are in the play-calling. "Some of the plays (Baylor) likes to emphasize is a coach's personality or who is calling the play," Stoops said. "There are a few differences that way. There's still plays that work for both teams. There are certain routes that Baylor might like more than (Texas Tech) has." For OU secondary coach Bobby Jack Wright, playing Texas Tech and Baylor back-to-back made for an easy week of coaching. "(Baylor has) the same schemes, same type of routes, same type of personnel combinations," Wright said. (NewsOK.com)

Patrick Status Uncertain: Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said Wednesday night in his final communication of the week with media that he still didn't know if running back Allen Patrick would be able to play Saturday against Baylor. Patrick, who took over the starting running back chores after Adrian Peterson suffered a broken collarbone, has been nursing an injured ankle and missed last week's game against Texas Tech. Stoops said Patrick is improving. "We're trying to work him up to the mode he'll (be able to play)," he said. "He's getting better and improving all the time." Stoops said ankle injuries are difficult to gauge, recalling how Peterson dealt with a similar injury last season. (Norman Transcript)

M. Walker on roommate Peterson: No one knows more about Adrian Peterson's possible return next week than his roommate, cornerback Marcus Walker. And Walker says he still doesn't know. "He's still working out," Walker said. "I think he works out like four or five times a week, lifting and doing what he needs to do to be ready to play once his shoulder's healed. Whenever they clear him to play, he'll still be the same old Adrian Peterson. Probably still run for 200 yards. So, ain't nothing changed." (Tulsa World)

Freshman latest running back to answer call for Sooners: The Oklahoman

OU's Thompson making most of his last chance: Waco Tribune

Saturday's Oklahoma vs. Baylor Matchups: Waco Tribune

Baylor seniors came close, and yet so far: Waco Tribune

Sooners Thinking Big Heading Into Baylor: KXII.com

Sooners still have Big 12 chance: The Sporting News

Labels: Adrian Peterson, Allen Patrick, Baylor, Injuries, Marcus Walker

Oklahoma Sooner Football Articles and Notes

Injury Report: The Sooners emerged from a rugged game at A&M with some hurts, but no apparent major injuries. On Sunday, Bob S toops said Patrick (ankle sprain) should be "fine" and offensive guard Brandon Walker (shoulder) was not believed to be serious. Walker, who left the game at one point, returned and finished on the field, as did linebacker Zach Latimer (neck). (NewsOK.com)

Peterson targets Bedlam return: Injured OU running back Adrian Peterson said Saturday he wants to return for the regular-season finale vs. Oklahoma State on Nov. 25. "Hopefully Oklahoma State, that's a possibility," Peterson said during a sideline interview with ABC. "But I've got to check with the doctors, take X-rays and see how it heals." (Dallas Morning News)

Lack of execution in second half: OU's offensive line opened gaping holes for running back Allen Patrick in the early going, leading to two scoring drives and 101 rushing yards for Patrick — in the first quarter. The success slowed in the second half, with the Sooners managing only 29 of its 224 rushing yards over the final two periods. "Just us not executing as cleanly," OU offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said. "And they did a better job of getting off blocks and playing physical." (NewsOK.com)

Venables praises Holmes: Oklahoma cornerback Lendy Holmes made one of the biggest defensive plays of the season Saturday, and it came on Texas A&M's longest gain of the night. Aggies tailback Michael Goodson ran by safety Nic Harris on an option and sped for 58 yards on his second play from scrimmage. The run would have covered 71 yards, and scored a touchdown, had Holmes not hustled after Goodson and caught him from behind. "Tremendous," OU defensive coordinator Brent Venables said Sunday. "Just a great effort play. A great example. It will be a tremendous teaching tool on why you don't ever give up on a play." (Tulsa World)

OU-Baylor game set for 11 AM FSN: The Big 12 Conference announced Monday that OU's football game at Baylor on Nov. 18 will kick off at 11 a.m. and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Net. With the announcement, FSN is scheduled to televise the Sooners' three remaining regular-season games. (SoonerSports PR)

Risky Business: Norman Transcript

Texas Tech at a glance: The Oklahoman

OU's bowl prospects and calls at Kyle Field: The Oklahoman

Stoops deserves recognition: The Oklahoman

Strange sequence of plays may define year: Tulsa World

OU Scouting Report -- Texas Tech: Tulsa World

OU Three questions: Tulsa World

Around the Big 12: Dallas Morning News

Big 12 has been wild, unpredictable: Dallas Morning News

Challenges lie ahead for Tech: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Labels: Adrian Peterson, Baylor, Bedlam, Lendy Holmes, Offense Line