Oklahoma faces Miami at 11 a.m. Saturday at Owen Field. The early start is a source of disdain from most fan, who would prefer to sleep in a little on a Saturday before heading off to a game. Players, however, see things from a different perspective.
“I prefer the 11 a.m. games,” center Jon Cooper said. “You don’t have to sit around the hotel all day. You get up, eat, watch a little film and then go play.”
OU coach Bob Stoops agreed, but apologized to fans for being in the minority.
“Let me say this just for our fans. Selfishly, for us, it’s great. And the players as well,” he said. “You get up, you’re not having to sit around and think about it or wait for it all day. Here it is, you go. So, for us, we love it.
“But I recognize for the fans and everyone else, that it is not the best. That we have no say-so whatsoever in scheduling. That’s all TV. We just play when they tell us too.”
Almost a Hurricane
Both Miami and Oklahoma recruit nationally and have bumped heads many times over recruits.
OU tight end Jermaine Gresham was close to going to Miami before he settled on the Sooners.
“It was hard for me to pick OU over Miami,” Gresham said. “Here felt more like home, though.”
But there’s a reason why a tight end prospect would be very interested in playing for the Hurricanes. They’ve had four tight ends (Bubba Franks, Jeremy Shockey, Kellen Winslow and Greg Olsen) selected in the NFL draft’s first round since 2000.
“I knew it when I got down there,” Gresham said. “Their pictures are all over the walls. They have a great history with tight ends.”
Sooners rising
Michigan became the first team to go from the top five in the Associated Press Top 25 to unranked following last Saturday’s loss to Division-IAA Appalachian State. The Wolverines’ plummet, however, is not unprecedented.
OU started the 1959 season ranked No. 2, but dropped out of the ranking, then the top 20, after a season-opening 45-13 loss at Northwestern.
OU finished that season 7-3 and won the Big 8 championship.
Where is
Appalachian State?
Since Michigan’s shocking loss, Appalachian State has become the darling of college football. But few actually know where the school is located. Stoops, however, wasn’t stumped.
“Boone, North Carolina,” he correctly replied.
But there’s a reason he knew other than the school.
“Way back about 16, 17 years ago someone sold me a timeshare there,” he said drawing a few laughs. “I never been to it, so if anybody’s looking for one up in Boone, they can have it actually.
At full strength
The Sooners have no injuries heading into Saturday’s game. Running back Allen Patrick returned to practice Monday and is expected to start.
His injured ankle was the only medical question the Sooners had going into the season opener.
“We had everyone practice yesterday and everyone looks good,” Stoops said.
Patrick will start Saturday and Chris Brown should play after missing the North Texas game due to a one-game suspension.
“Like we planned all along, we want to rotate those guys in,” Stoops said. “Give a guy a series here, give him a break here. If a guy’s hot, stay with him a little longer.
“You know how it is, if a guy busts a nice run they’re usually gassed a little. We’ll throw the other guy in there and he’s going to be awfully fresh. Then, hopefully in the fourth quarter you still have fresh guys coming at them.”
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.com
OU Sports
Sooners like early start
John Shinn's OU Football Notepad
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