ESPN College GameDay to broadcast live from Stillwater: It became official late Sunday morning that ESPN College Football Gameday will broadcast its show from outside Boone Pickens Stadium Saturday before the Oklahoma State-Oklahoma game. GameDay, hosted by Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso and Desmond Howard, will set up on the library lawn for shows on Friday and Saturday. (The Oklahoman)
College Game Day live from Norman: ESPN College GameDay is headed to Norman. The weekly college football show will broadcast live from OU's campus on Saturday, Nov. 22, as the No. 5 Sooners host No. 2 Texas Tech at Owen Field. The show goes live at 9 a.m. CT on Saturday. The set will be located inside the track at the John Jacobs Track & Field Complex immediately east of Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The site is the same location as the last broadcast in Norman on Oct. 13, 2007, when the Sooners defeated Missouri. It will be the 20th time the show has been on hand for an Oklahoma game and the sixth time the program has televised live from Norman. (SoonerSports PR)
ESPN College GameDay at Cotton Bowl: ESPN's College GameDay will be at the OU-Texas football game this week at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The show starts at 9 a.m. Saturday, two hours before kickoff between OU and Texas. The Sooners' game against the Longhorns will be televised on ABC HD. College GameDay will be on ESPN HD. GameDay is hosted by Chris Fowler, with analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard. According to a press release from ESPN, the first hour of the show will originate from outside the Cotton Bowl. The second hour will originate from the field inside the stadium. (Tulsa World)
Injury update; Granger, McCoy expected to play: After practice on Monday, coach Bob Stoops raised the hopes of Sooner fans everywhere. "Everyone practiced to some degree today," Stoops said. "And right now our trainers are pretty optimistic and feel that everyone will be ready to play. Now, I'm not going to detail it all week on who is where, what percentage — I don't know how to do any of that. It's their feeling today that everyone's expected to play. If I know at one point that someone isn't going to play, then I'll say so." The question marks surrounded a pair of captains in defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and center Jon Cooper, and defensive tackle DeMarcus Granger, a former starter who hasn't played since a foot injury at Washington. (Tulsa World)
ESPN's Mel Kiper praises Sam Bradford:From ESPN SportsNation chat, NFL Draft guru, Mel Kiper talks about Sam Bradford's potential.
Q: Rob (Omaha, NE): Better QBs: Big 12 or NFC West? Mel Kiper: Oh boy... in the NFC West, you have (Matt) Hasselbeck, Trent Green, JT O'Sullivan and Kurt Warner. But you can't compare the two. The Big 12 has some great college QBs. The best is Sam Bradford. By far. It's not even close when you project to the NFL. He's tremendously accurate. Unbelieveable smarts and intelligence. He's tall. Makes great decisions. Excellent talent around him. He's going to have a decision to make in January. (Missouri's) Chase Daniel could win the Heisman, but he's not going to project highly in the NFL. (More at ESPN.com)
More Bradford & ESPN...
ESPN College GameDay to feature Sam Bradford: ESPN College Gameday's Desmond Howard was in Norman Wednesday filming a piece on Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford against the backdrop of Bradford's favorite hobby, golf. The two talked while hitting putts and sand shots at the Charlie Coe Golf Center on the University of Oklahoma campus. During the interview, which lasted 45 minutes, Howard asked Bradford about the similarities of golf and football, and a myriad of other topics. The segment will air this Saturday during the Gameday show. ESPN College Gameday runs from 9-11 a.m. CT. (SoonerSports PR)
Coaches on Bradford's performance: Quarterback Sam Bradford passed another test with his first win over Texas. His performance was hardly a fluke, said offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson. "We had a pretty good blitz period Wednesday and he made some great plays, and (passing game coordinator) Kevin Sumlin said to him, 'That's a good blitz period,' and he said, 'We're going to do that Saturday,' " Wilson recalled. "He was just very assertive about it. I think he's a prideful kid. We didn't play well the previous game, and I think he took that personally as well. He had a great week of practice." (Tulsa World)
ESPN GameDay location: ESPN's College GameDay will originate from Norman this weekend and University of Oklahoma officials have announced logistics for fans wanting to be part of the event. The location for the set will be the infield of John Jacobs Track, which is immediately east of Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Fans may enter from gates that will be open only on the southwest corner of the track facility. Officials are stressing that the track itself will be closed and all pedestrians should restrict themselves to the grass infield or bleachers on the south side of the track. The first time that ESPN will originate from Norman is Friday at 4 p.m. Gates will be open to fans at 3:00 p.m. The Saturday morning show originates at 9 a.m. ESPN has requested that fans be in place by 8 a.m., and gates will be open at 7 a.m. The parking lots adjacent to the track will be controlled on Friday and Saturday as they are on all game weekends. Those attending GameDay functions will need to make alternate parking plans. (SoonerSports PR)
ESPN College GameDay Live! from Norman: ESPN College GameDay is headed for Norman again. Officials with the weekly college football show contacted the Oklahoma Athletics Department Sunday morning with the word that the network had selected this week's homecoming game with the Missouri Tigers. It will be the 14th time the show has been on hand for an Oklahoma game, including last year's game at Texas A&M. GameDay's last visit to Norman was for the 2003 Oklahoma State game. Other trips to Norman included the 2000 Nebraska game, the 2001 Kansas State game and the 1995 Colorado game. The exact location for the GameDay set will be determined later this week. GameDay features host Chris Fowler and analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard, who spend two hours each Saturday morning providing in-depth coverage of college football. (SoonerSports PR)
Brown returned with eight carries: Chris Brown, who took a blow to the head at Tulsa and carried just once at Colorado last week, rejoined OU's tailback rotation. He carried eight times for just 24 yards, but converted on third-and-short during two touchdown drives. (Tulsa World)
Peterson on the OU sideline: Former OU star running back Adrian Peterson cheered the Sooners from the sidelines Saturday. His new team, the Minnesota Vikings, is off this week. "It felt like he was still one of us," junior wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias said. "After every play, he was hitting you and saying congratulations. He was one of those great players, and I still feel like he's part of this team." (Dallas Morning News)
Harris celebrates 21st birthday with eight tackles: Oklahoma free safety Nic Harris couldn't have envisioned a much better 21st birthday. The Alexandria, La., native turned 21 Saturday and celebrated with the first victory over Texas in his three seasons at OU. Harris had a team-high eight tackles and one quarterback sack. (NewsOK.com)
Play of the Game? With the score tied 14-14 at halftime, Texas came out firing to start the second half. The Longhorns marched 64 yards in seven plays to set up first-and-goal from the Oklahoma 8. A delay of game penalty pushed the ball back to the 13. Texas running back Jamaal Charles rushed over left tackle and was headed toward the end zone when OU linebacker Curtis Lofton grabbed him from behind and used his right hand to slap the football from Charles' grasp. Stoops called it the "play of the game." OU defensive tackle Gerald McCoy recovered the fumble at the OU 4-yard line. (Dallas Morning News)
Gerald McCoy returned to starting lineup: Oklahoma redshirt freshman Gerald McCoy returned to the starting lineup at defensive tackle for the first time since the second week of the season. McCoy broke a bone in his right hand against Miami and sat out the following week. McCoy has played the last two games as a backup, with his hand in a cast. (Dallas Morning News)
Hartley among Groza Semifinalist: Oklahoma kicker Garrett Hartley has been named a semifinalist for the 2006 Lou Groza Award by the Palm Beach County Sports Institute and Sports Commission. The honor is presented annually to the nation's top placekicker. Twenty players have advanced to the semifinal round. The winner will be announced Dec. 7 during the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show. Hartley, a junior from Southlake, Texas, has been brilliant through the first eight games. He has made 14-of-15 field goals and all 29 of his point after touchdown kicks. His lone miss came at Oregon when, after kicking a career-high four field goals, his final attempt of the game was blocked. Hartley ranks No. 4 in nationally in field goals made per game at 1.75 and No. 14 in scoring with 8.88 points per game. His field goals made percentage of .933 ranks first among kickers with more than 10 makes. A group of head coaches, sports writers and sportscasters, conference representatives, professional kickers and previous Groza Award finalists vote on the honor. (SoonerSports PR)
More Brown to Come: Both Stoops and offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson anticipate the reappearance of tailback Chris Brown, the true freshman who carried four times late against Colorado two weeks ago, but did not get in the game at Missouri. "It wasn't like he had a bad week or anyone was upset with him," Wilson said. "I think we just got into a deal where on the road, in a close game, ball security (was an issue). Us as coaches were being a little cautious." Wilson said running backs coach Cale Gundy determines game-day reps for the tailbacks. "I was surprised probably like a lot of people that Chris Brown wasn't in," Wilson said. "But at the same time, the way it worked out, we didn't need him." (Tulsa World)
College GameDay from College Station FYI: The show will be carried from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Fans are encouraged to be at the site as early as 6 a.m. and will be allowed into the area at 7 a.m. No tents or alcohol are permitted, and signs will be inspected.
Smith sits out practice, plans to play Saturday: Sophomore strong safety Reggie Smith missed his second straight day of practice Tuesday with an infection on his left shin, but said there is "no way" he'd miss the game with No. 7 Texas on Saturday. Smith said he sustained a turf burn in the game at Oregon on Sept. 16 and contracted an infection Saturday. "I guess I wasn't cleaning it good enough," Smith said. "They cut it open and let all the fluids drain out, and hopefully I'll be ready to go by tomorrow." Head coach Bob Stoops said earlier Tuesday that Smith would play against the Longhorns. "I'm missing physical reps, but mentally, I'm still in there," Smith said. (Tulsa World)
Bomar apologizes saying it was 'very bad mistake': In a letter sent to the NCAA, former Oklahoma quarterback Rhett Bomar apologized, saying he didn't use proper judgment and "got caught up in the limelight" as reasons why he took money from a booster. In a letter dated Aug. 24, Bomar wrote that he wasn't blaming anyone and he was truly sorry. Bomar said he had embarrassed himself, his family and OU for the negative publicity. "I know the difference between right and wrong," Bomar wrote. "I had no intention of taking money for not working. I got caught up in a situation and listened to the wrong person. I made a very bad mistake." The News received the letter Tuesday as part of an open records request from Bomar's new school, Sam Houston State. The document did not mention how much money Bomar received from Big Red Sports/Imports, a Norman, Okla., car dealership, for work he did not perform. (Dallas Morning News)
Iowa State-Oklahoma Tickets Available: Oklahoma fans have been filling Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium to overflowing this season and now another opportunity is availing itself. Iowa State has returned 350 tickets for the Oct. 14 game featuring the Sooners and the Cyclones. The tickets are on sale now. The cost of the tickets is $67 each. They may be purchased online at SoonerSports.com, on the phone at 1-800-456-GoOU or in person at the office located on the west side of the stadium. The kickoff time for the Sooners and Cyclones is yet to be announced. (SoonerSports PR)
No ESPN Game Day in Dallas: ESPN's "College Game Day" won't be at the State Fair of Texas Saturday. ESPN decided to send host Chris Fowler and analysts Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso to Gainesville, Fla., Saturday for the Florida-LSU game. Stoops was asked if he was going to miss the hysteria Corso creates with his pregame prediction. "I'm sure he'll have his pick regardless of where he's at," the coach said. "Hey, it's going to be an exciting atmosphere regardless. There's been plenty of games where they haven't been there." (Norman Transcript)
OU-Texas fans to flip endzones after Saturday: To keep the Texas-Oklahoma series in Dallas through 2010, OU officials had to make a major concession during negotiations. OU will give up its seats in the Cotton Bowl's south end zone next year and end a decades-long tradition of Sooners fans sitting over the tunnel entrance, which enables them to cheer their team and harass their rivals. UT fans normally sit on the north end of the stadium, but school officials asked OU to flip sides last year as part of a gentleman's agreement. OU balked at that idea. Now, it's written into the five-year contract extension that the home team will choose its side, athletic directors at both schools said. "We didn't have to agree to anything," Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione said. "Let's make it loud and clear to everybody, there are always choices. Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds said it was the fair thing to do, and he praised Castiglione for agreeing to include the new seating option. Castiglione said officials thought the decision through. (Dallas Morning News)
