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
Sam Bradford named to Maxwell watch list: Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford has been added to the watch list for the Maxwell Award. The honor is presented annually to the top player in college football by the Maxwell Football Club of Philadelphia. Bradford, a redshirt freshman, leads the nation in passing efficiency with a rating of 181.15. He has completed 128-of-181 passes for 1,689 yards and 20 touchdowns with only four interceptions. His 20 touchdown passes are tied for the sixth-best total in school history. Bradford's position coach, Josh Heupel, also threw 20 in the 2000 national championship season. The school record of 40 was set by Jason White in 2003. Bradford has multiple TD passes in six games, including five in the season opener. That effort tied White's school record. He has completed at least 65% in six games, has no interceptions in four games and has at least one 30-yard pass in every game. Oklahoma players have won the Maxwell Award twice. Tommy McDonald captured the honor in 1956 and White followed in 2004. (SoonerSports PR)
Iglesias career milestone: With seven catches against the Tigers, junior WR Juaquin Iglesias has 102 for his career. He becomes the 12th Sooner with more than 100 career catches all-time and the eighth under Bob Stoops.
Hold that phone: Bob Stoops couldn't help but interrupt his weekly teleconference with beat writers Sunday afternoon. He was watching Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings beat Chicago. "You guys watching Adrian tear it up?" Stoops said. "He just ripped off about a 30-yard run . . . I take that back. It was about a 50-yarder."(Tulsa World)
OU-Iowa State kickoff set for 11:30 FSN: Oklahoma's football game at Iowa State this Saturday will kickoff at 11:30 a.m., and will be televised by Fox Sports Net. The network made the announcement Sunday afternoon. The No. 4-ranked Sooners will be playing at Ames, Iowa, for the first time since 2003. The homestanding Cyclones, 1-6, 0-3, will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak. Last season, Oklahoma turned back Iowa State in Norman, 34-9. (SoonerSports PR)
McCoy first career sack: Freshman DL Gerald McCoy recorded his first career sack against the Tigers.
Baker career best: Senior LB Lewis Baker recorded a career-best 11 stops against Missouri.
Allen Patrick fine after suffering cramps; remains starter: Running back Allen Patrick is fine and, despite DeMarco Murray's 128 yards and 65 yard score, won't lose his starting job, running backs coach Cale Gundy said. Patrick "just cramped. It was very humid down there. He's got the lowest body fat on the team, which is in the low 4s (4 percent), which is not normal, I don't think. So he doesn't have a whole lot to give up. He did against Miami. It was extremely hot and humid. Any time you have low body fat and it's extremely hot and humid, sometimes it can affect you." (Tulsa World)
Reggie Smith named Big XII Defensive Player of the Week: For the second time this season, Oklahoma cornerback Reggie Smith has been named the Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Week. He received the honor for his play in the Sooners' 28-21 win over Texas last Saturday. Smith, a junior from Edmond, Oklahoma's Santa Fe High School, was credited with six tackles, two pass deflections and one interception, which he returned 33 yards. Two of Smith's key plays came at critical times in the fourth quarter. His interception came on the heels of OU's final and decisive touchdown. Then on the next Texas drive he batted away a long pass intended for UT's Limas Sweed while in single coverage. That play occurred inside the Sooner 10-yard line. Smith's play helped preserve the victory, which was Bob Stoops' sixth in nine meetings with Texas. (SoonerSports.com)
Oklahoma at Iowa State tickets available: The University of Oklahoma Athletics Ticket Office is currently selling a limited number of tickets for the Sooners' football game at Iowa State on Oct. 20. Tickets are available online 24 hours a day, by calling the Athletics Ticket Office at 800-456-4668 or 405-325-2424 during regular business hours Monday-Friday between 8 a.m.-5 p.m., or in person at the Athletics Ticket Office on the west side of Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Tickets for the game are $60 each and are available on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last. (SoonerSports PR)
Peterson to NFL after junior year "is common sense," Wilson, says: Most observers assume Adrian Peterson's departure to the NFL is a foregone conclusion after his junior season. Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson even figured as much on Tuesday while assessing quarterback recruiting. Asked to elaborate on Peterson, he said the running back's declaration for the NFL after this season is "common sense. "He'd be surrounded by a great college team coming back," Wilson said. "But the money that's being thrown out there, if he continues to play -- I'm sure coach (Bob Stoops) will get with him and the NFL people to see what his true stock value is, and if it's in the high end, I don't know any of us that will say, 'You should come back and not go be one of the top three or four guys picked.' "If you're going that high, you look at this year, those guys are getting 60 million bucks out the gate. It's hard to come back and go to study hall. Nothing against study hall." (Tulsa World)
Sooners ready to chase ISU's Meyer: OU defensive end Larry Birdine said he's tired of chasing guys and would prefer a drop-back passer. He asked: "Where's all the Drew Bledsoes at?" (Dallas Morning News)
No decision yet on McCoy redshirt: Gerald McCoy is becoming a better football player. Oklahoma coaches have said so. His teammates have said so. That doesn't mean McCoy, the Sooners' true freshman defensive tackle from Southeast High School, will play this season. Nor does it mean he won't. It simply means he's getting better, and his mother said McCoy is OK with that. "He's handling it well," Pat McCoy said of her son. "He feels like maybe it's for his betterment to learn and sit back and be an apprentice." Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said Tuesday no final determination has been made as to whether McCoy will redshirt. (NewsOK.com)
OU- Iowa State game time set for 11:30 FSN: Oklahoma and Iowa State will kickoff at 11:30 a.m., when the two collide in Norman, Saturday. The game will be televised live by Fox Sports Network. It is the Big 12 home opener for the Sooners. Oklahoma and Iowa State have not played since the 2003 season when the Sooners rolled to a 53-7 victory at Ames, Iowa. The Cyclones' last trip to Norman 2002) resulted in a 49-3 OU triumph. This is the first of two straight home games for OU, which will entertain Colorado the following week. (SoonerSports Release)
Mistakes cost Sooners' offensive: Kevin Wilson calls it an S.I.W. Self-inflicted wounds. False starts, fumbles, sacks, dropped passes. Plays where the offense stops itself, rather than the defense stopping it. The Sooners fumbled six times, losing three, and were flagged for moving before the snap five times. "We had 63 plays as an offense, and we're looking at about 15 to 18 of those being negatives," Wilson said Sunday. "We'll have this outcome again if we don't learn from those mistakes." (NewsOK.com)
McCoy escape allows UT touchdown: Both Stoops and defensive coordinator Brent Venables reviewed Sunday a costly play the OU defense failed to make during Texas' first touchdown drive. On third-and-10 from the Sooners' 37, Colt McCoy rolled left to elude the rush of both safety Nic Harris and linebacker Zach Latimer, then found Quan Cosby for 16 yards. "We've got a blitz on and come free and let him escape us," Stoops said. Instead of punting, the Longhorns ran two more plays before Selvin Young's 15-yard touchdown run. (Tulsa World)
More playing time for younger players: OU offensive tackle Chris Messner wasn't hurt when he left Saturday's game in the final minutes. Wilson said he was simply trying to get one of his younger players, true freshman Trent Williams, some playing time. Williams played guard, and Branndon Braxton moved out to tackle. (NewsOK.com)
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)
