Game Primer: OU vs. UCF - University of Oklahoma (2024)

OPENING KICK

• No. 6/7 Oklahoma (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) hosts league newcomer UCF (3-3, 0-3) on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The Homecoming game will be televised by ABC with Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek and Tom Luginbill announcing.

• Saturday's game will mark the first between Oklahoma and UCF.

• Since the start of the 1999 season (Bob Stoops' first as OU head coach), the Sooners are 23-1 in their games immediately following their annual contest against Texas. The lone defeat came in 2014 (31-30 vs. Kansas State in Norman). In the 23 wins, OU outscored its opponents by 587 points (average of 25.5 points).

• A win on Saturday would give the Sooners just their third 7-0 start over the past 18 years (7-0 in 2019 and 9-0 in 2021). OU started 7-0 or better each season from 2000-04.

• Oklahoma and Alabama are tied for the most seasons (seven) with a seven-plus-game winning streak over the previous eight seasons. An OU win Saturday would result in its eighth winning streak of at least seven games since the start of the 2015 season (would be the national outright lead).

• OU's No. 6 AP ranking is its highest since it was also ranked sixth in the Sept. 19 poll last season. The Sooners' 628 all-time weeks in the AP's top 10 are the second most nationally (Ohio State; 693).

• Oklahoma is 158-35 (.819) since the start of the 2000 season as an AP top-10 team, which includes an 84-8 (.955) home mark. The Sooners have won 25 of their last 27 home games when ranked in the top 10 (lone losses were to Kansas State in 2020 [38-35; OU was ranked No. 3] and 2022 [41-34; OU was ranked No. 6]).

• Oklahoma's 16.0 improvement from last season in opponent points per game (30.0 to 14.0) is best among Power Five programs and second best in the country (SMU is first; 16.8).

• The Sooners' 84 points allowed are their fewest over the first six games of a season since 2009 (gave up 68).

• OU is one of just two teams (Penn State is the other) that ranks in the top seven nationally in both scoring offense (No. 3 at 47.4 ppg) and scoring defense (No. 7 at 14.0 ppg).

• The Sooners have trailed for just 12 minutes and 11 seconds out of 360 minutes this season (a 7:05 stretch in the first quarter at Cincinnati [3-0] and for 5:06 against then-No. 3 Texas). They have led for 312:55.

• The 2023 season marks OU's last as a member of the Big 12. The Sooners move to the Southeastern Conference on July 1, 2024. UCF joined the Big 12 on July 1, 2023.

• Oklahoma has won 14 Big 12 championships in the league's first 27 years. No other program has won more than three.

• The Sooners are a league-best 172-58 (.748) in regular season Big 12 play since the conference began in 1996. The current Big 12 program with the next best winning percentage is Texas, almost 100 points behind (151-79; .657).

• The 2023 season marks the 129th in OU football history. The Sooners lead the country with their 50 all-time conference championships, 27 11-plus-win seasons, 33 AP top-five finishes, seven Heisman Trophy winners (tied) and five No. 1 overall NFL Draft picks (tied). They rank second with their 431 all-time weeks in the top five of the AP poll, third with seven AP national championships and their 101 weeks as the AP's No. 1 team, and fourth with their 56 bowl appearances and 414 NFL Draft picks.

FOR THE FANS

• Approximately two hours and 15 minutes before each home game (8:45 a.m. this Saturday), OU players and coaches will arrive at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium via team buses and walk to their stadium entrance while being cheered by fans. This year's "Walk of Champions" path has changed. OU's buses will drop off players and coaches on Lindsey Street, south of the stadium. The Sooners will walk east on Lindsey before turning north (left) on Jenkins Avenue and enter the stadium at Gate 13. The team will be led by the Sooner Schooner and OU Spirit, and the Pride of Oklahoma will perform during the procession.

• Once again, "Party at the Palace, Presented by Allstate" will be held on the lawn immediately north of Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, this week running from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. Sooner fans of all ages can access Party at the Palace and take part in the festivities, which this week includes autograph sessions with the reigning three-time NCAA-champion softball team(from 9-10 a.m.) and the men's basketball team (9:30-10:30 a.m.)near the mini football field by Gate 6of the stadium. Other highlights include sponsor giveaways, music, food vendors and more. Food trucks from Midway Deli, Supermercados Morelos, HteaO and Kona Ice will be on hand and Devon Energy's innovative STEM program "SportsLabs" will once again take place on the lawn immediately north of Heisman Park on the east side of Jenkins Ave. Additionally, the Sooner Radio Network (flagship 107.7 The Franchise) originates the start of its pregame show live from Party at the Palace beginning two hours prior to kickoff.

• In mid-August, OU announced changes to its tailgating policies, including the addition of a public tailgating location designated along the south side of Lindsey Street between Asp and Jenkins Avenues. In this location, tailgating may only take place on the grassy area between the Lindsey Street curb and the north side of the sidewalk. Other campus areas designated for private and public tailgating will remain the same as the 2022 season. A map indicating designated tailgating areas and game day road closures, as well as the university's tailgating policies, can be found here.

• For a full list of OU game day policies, procedures and additional fan information, click here

OWEN FIELD TURNS 100

• This Friday (Oct. 20) marks the 100th anniversary of the first game played at OU's current stadium site, a 62-7 win over Washington University (Mo.). Owen Field is named after former Sooners head coach and athletics director Bennie Owen, who was a charter member of the National College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.

• OU owns a 418-90-16 (.813) record at Owen Field. Oklahoma Memorial Stadium was born in 1925 when the first stadium grandstands were built (seated 16,000 fans). The 2024 season will mark the 100th of the stadium.

• Owen coached the OU football team to a 122-54-16 (.677) record from 1905-26 and served as athletics director from 1926-34. He was also OU's men's basketball head coach (1908-21) and baseball head coach (1906-22). Owen was born in 1875 and died in 1970 at the age of 94.

KEY STORYLINES

• Saturday's game will feature two of the nation's most potent offenses. UCF ranks fourth in the country (first in Big 12) by averaging 516.7 yards of total offense per game, while OU ranks sixth (second in Big 12) with its 506.0 yards per game. The Sooners rank fourth nationally by averaging 45.2 points per game, while UCF ranks 27th (34.7 ppg).

• Oklahoma redshirt senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel began his collegiate career at UCF, starting 12 of 13 games as a true freshman in 2019, all 10 contests in 2020 and the first three games of the 2021 season before sustaining a broken collarbone (he didn't play the rest of that year). Gabriel guided UCF offenses that ranked second nationally in yards per game in 2019 (540.5) and 2020 (568.1). He passed for 281.0 yards per game as a freshman (29 TDs, 7 INTs) and 357.0 as a sophom*ore (32 TDs, 4 INTs). Gabriel threw for at least 400 yards a UCF-record four times (13 games of at least 300 yards) and set school career records for yards per pass attempt (8.8) and interception-to-pass attempt ratio (.015). He left UCF ranked second in program history with his 14.5 yards per completion.

• Gabriel is one of just two FBS players since the start of the 1996 season — and the only one over the last 25 years — to complete at least 72% of his passes through his team's first six games of a season while throwing for at least 16 TDs and two or fewer interceptions, and rushing for at least 200 yards and five TDs. The only other player to do that since the start of the 1996 campaign was UCF's Daunte Culpepper in 1998.

• OU offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby spent two seasons at UCF under then-head coach and former Oklahoma All-America quarterback Josh Heupel. Lebby was the Knights' quarterbacks coach in 2018 before being promoted to offensive coordinator for the 2019 season. In 2019, with Gabriel under center, UCF set a school record and ranked second nationally in total offense (540.5 ypg) and ranked fifth in the country in scoring offense (43.4 ppg). The 2019 UCF offense was one of only two units in the nation to average more than 300 passing yards and 200 rushing yards per game. The other was Oklahoma.

• OU faced UCF head coach Gus Malzahn when he was Auburn's head coach, and the No. 7 Sooners downed the No. 17 Tigers 35-19 in the Sugar Bowl to conclude the 2016 season. The game resulted in OU's 10th straight win that year and served as Bob Stoops' final contest before retiring five months later (Stoops returned as interim head coach to direct the Sooners to a 2021 Alamo Bowl win over Oregon). Baker Mayfield passed for 296 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Joe Mixon finished with team highs of 91 rushing yards (two TDs) and 89 receiving yards. Fellow running back Samaje Perine rushed for 88 yards (one TD), pushing him past Billy Sims and into first on OU's career rushing yards list (4,122). The Sooners outscored Auburn 21-0 in the second half until the Tigers found the end zone on the game's final play.

• Gabriel is off to a pristine start this season, ranking in the top 10 nationally in many categories. The Mililani, Hawaii, product ranks third in total offense (347.7 ypg), fourth in points responsible for per game (21.0), sixth in passing efficiency rating (178.2), seventh in passing offense (313.0 ypg), eighth in passing touchdowns (16) and ninth in pass completion percentage (.723; for perspective the OU single-season record is .709 by Baker Mayfield in 2016). He leads the Big 12 in all of those categories. Gabriel will face a UCF squad that leads the Big 12 in passing defense (190.0 ypg), opponent completion percentage (.535) and passing TDs allowed (four).

• The Sooners rank second nationally with their 12 interceptions. That's their most through the first six games of a season since 2000. OU is the only Power Five team with at least four players with two or more interceptions this year (Gentry Williams has three while Billy Bowman, Kendel Dolby and Key Lawrence have two each). UCF's six interceptions thrown are fifth most in the Big 12.

• OU is tied with Iowa, Texas A&M and UCLA for the national lead by allowing just one rushing TD. UCF ranks third in the Big 12 with 14 rushing TDs and leads the league by averaging 246.3 rushing yards per game.

• After ranking 49th nationally last year in third-down conversion percentage (.405) and 87th in third-down conversion percentage defense (.409), OU has been much stronger in both categories in 2023. The Sooners have converted 42 of their 81 third downs through six games, good for the nation's 10th-best percentage (.519) out of 130 teams. And OU has allowed foes to convert just 26 of their 90 combined third-down tries. The .289 opponent conversion figure has the Sooners ranked 11th in the country. UCF ranks 13th nationally in third-down conversion percentage (.500) and 114th in third-down conversion percentage defense (.459).

• The Sooners have allowed just 16 scores by opposing offenses (seven touchdowns and nine field goals for 77 total points) on 72 possessions through six contests. They didn't permit a touchdown until the fourth quarter by SMU in the second game. OU has allowed an offensive touchdown in just six of 24 quarters. It has not permitted an offensive touchdown in the first or third quarter and has allowed just 27 points after halftime (4.5 points per second half).

• OU leads the country with its +1.8 turnover margin per game. The Sooners rank first nationally with their 2.5 takeaways per contest and have committed just four turnovers (rank eighth with 0.7 per game). They also blocked a punt against SMU that led to a touchdown and one vs. Iowa State that resulted in a safety.

HOME IS WHERE THE "W" IS

• Oklahoma is 137-13 (.913) at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium since the start of the 1999 season, giving the Sooners more Big 12 championships during the period (14) than home defeats. It is the best home winning percentage in the country over the last 24-plus seasons (Boise State [.902] and Ohio State [.893] are next). OU has outscored its opponents by an average of 43-18 in those games.

• OU has posted 149 straight sellouts of originally scheduled home games dating back to the start of the 1999 season (Bob Stoops' first as head coach). Only Nebraska (FBS-record 395) has a longer current streak.

• OU has recorded 41 unbeaten seasons at home, including 15 in the last 24 years.

RECAPPING THE WIN OVER TEXAS

• Quarterback Dillon Gabriel accounted for 398 total yards and threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Nic Anderson with 15 seconds remaining to give No. 12 Oklahoma a 34-30 over No. 3 Texas at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on Oct. 7. It was OU's fifth win in its last six meetings with UT and 11th in the last 15 matchups.

• The Sooners, who led for the majority of the day, fell behind 30-27 with 1:17 remaining. OU's ensuing 75-yard touchdown drive consumed 1:02 of game clock.

• OU gained 486 yards (285 passing, 201 rushing) and scored 34 points against a Texas team that entered the day giving up 290.8 yards and 12.8 points per game.

• The Sooners' defense registered three takeaways (interceptions by Gentry Williams and Kendel Dolby on UT's first two possessions and a fumble recovery by Williams [forced by freshman defensive back Peyton Bowen]) while the offense finished with no turnovers.

• Gabriel completed 23 of 38 passes for 285 yards and a touchdown and rushed for a career-high 113 yards and a TD on 14 carries (8.1 yards per rush). He became the first Sooner to ever throw for at least 250 yards and rush for at least 100 yards in a game vs. Texas. He was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, Maxwell Award Player of the Week, Walter Camp FBS Offensive Player of the Week and Davey O'Brien National Quarterback of the Week.

• OU rushed for 201 yards, its second-highest total of the season, against a Texas team that was allowing 94.6 rushing yards per game. Junior running back Tawee Walker rushed for 46 yards and two TDs.

• Wide receiver Jalil Farooq was named the Paul Hornung Award National Player of the Week after catching five passes for a career-high 130 yards, rushing three times for 13 yards and returning two kickoffs for 37 yards (long of 31).

• Redshirt senior left tackle Walter Rouse was named the Outland Trophy National Player of the Week, largely for simultaneously blocking two Texas defenders on OU's game-winning pass play.

• Sophom*ore linebacker Jaren Kanak registered a career-high 13 tackles, one of them a sack for five yards. Junior safety Billy Bowman tied a career high with 11 tackles, including a stop inside the OU 1-yard line on a fourth-quarter pass play on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line. He also broke up a pass that resulted in an interception at the OU 3-yard line in the first quarter.

• The Sooners finished with 10 tackles for loss (42 yards) while Texas had five (nine yards).

• OU registered a season-high five sacks and allowed just one. Junior defensive end Ethan Downs logged two of the Sooners' sacks for 16 yards.

GABRIEL A TD MACHINE

• Redshirt senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who has started 43 of his 44 career games between UCF (2019-21) and OU (2022-23), including each of his last 43, ranks second nationally since the start of the 2019 with his 111 touchdown passes despite missing 11 games during the span due to injury (he is one behind current Notre Dame and former Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman, who has played in three more games).

• Gabriel ranks first nationally since the start of 2019 with his 13,078 passing yards. Hartman is second (12,821 in 47 games) and Oregon's Bo Nix is third (12,640 in 53 games).

• Gabriel needs 20 TD passes to move into the top five in FBS career history. He ranks 18th on the all-time chart and needs three to tie Florida's Danny Wuerffel (114) for 15th.

• If Gabriel continues to average 2.5 TD passes per contest like he did in his first 38 games entering this season (he is averaging 2.7 this season), he would finish with 127 career TDs in a 13-game 2023 campaign, which he would accomplish in a 51-game career. The 127 passing touchdowns would rank seventh in FBS history. Landry Jones is the OU record-holder for career passing TDs with 123 in 52 games (Baker Mayfield passed for 131 career TDs, but 12 of those were as a Texas Tech Red Raider).

• Through six games this season, Gabriel has accounted for 21 touchdowns and three turnovers (two interceptions and one fumble). He ranks sixth nationally with his 178.2 pass efficiency rating and ninth with his .723 completion percentage, going 141 for 195 for 1,878 yards (313.0 average) and 16 TDs. He has also rushed for 208 yards and five TDs.

MORE ON THE OFFENSE

• The Sooners rank in the top 10 nationally in a multitude of categories through six games, including third in first downs per game (27.3), fourth in scoring offense (45.2 ppg) and passing offense (341.2 ypg), sixth in total offense (506.0 ypg) and pass efficiency rating (.181.6), ninth in sacks allowed (0.8 per game) and 10th in passing touchdowns (18), third-down conversion percentage (.519), fourth-down conversion percentage (.778) and passing yards per attempt (9.7).

• Fourteen Sooners have scored at least one offensive touchdown this season. Only Georgia, Notre Dame and USC have more (15 players each).

• OU is one of only two teams in the country to score at least 60 points twice this season (Penn State is the other).

• The Sooners rank second nationally with their 1.7 pass plays per game of at least 40 yards (10 plays in six games). They rank eighth with their 12.8 pass plays per game of at least 10 yards and sixth with their 5.2 pass plays per game of at least 20 yards.

• Junior wide receiver Jalil Farooq ranks 14th nationally with his 20.8 yards per reception.

• Redshirt freshman wide receiver Nic Anderson has six touchdowns on 11 catches. That's the fewest total receptions in the country by any player with at least five TD catches (the next fewest is 15 receptions [five TDs] by Kentucky running back Ray Davis).

• Quarterback Dillon Gabriel leads the Big 12 in total offense (347.7 ypg; next most is 299.5), passing offense (313.0 ypg; next most is 284.0), total touchdowns (21; next most is 17), passing TDs (16; next most is 13), completion percentage (.723; next best is .696), passing efficiency rating (178.2) and points responsible for per game (21.0; next most is 17.0). He also ranks second in yards per pass attempt (9.6).

• Freshman quarterback Jackson Arnold was the 2022 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year at Guyer High School in Denton, Texas, enrolled at OU in January and won the backup job. All Arnold has done in his four games is complete 13 of 15 passes (86.7%) for 169 yards and two touchdowns, and run 12 times for 54 yards and one TD. He was 11 for 11 for 114 yards and a touchdown in his debut against Arkansas State and threw a 50-yard bomb to Anderson for a TD at Tulsa in week three.

MORE ON THE DEFENSE

• With 19 returning defensive letterwinners (26 total returning defensive players) and 32 total newcomers (nine transfers, 22 freshmen and one junior college transfer), the Sooners have a deeper group of players on that side of the ball in 2023.

• After ranking 98th in scoring defense (30.0 ppg) and 121st in total defense (461.0 ypg) last year, the Sooners rank seventh (14.0 ppg) and 52nd (352.8 ypg), respectively, this season. OU also ranks second nationally with its 12 interceptions, third in tackles for loss per game (8.7), seventh in defensive touchdowns (two), 11th in third-down conversion percentage defense (.289), 21st in pass efficiency defense rating (113.6), 31st in opponent yards per play (5.0) and 32nd in opponent pass yards per attempt (6.6).

• Oklahoma has allowed a total of 27 points after halftime this season (eight by SMU, three each by Tulsa and Cincinnati, and 13 by Texas) and just 911 total yards for an average of 151.8 yards per second half. OU has limited two opponents (Tulsa [92] and Iowa State [82]) to fewer than 100 total yards in the second half. The Sooners have allowed just nine points in the third quarter (three field goals).

• One year after leading the Big 12 in tackles, junior linebacker Danny Stutsman is at it again by averaging a league-high 9.7 stops per game (next most is 9.0). The midseason All-American by AP, The Athletic, CBS Sports, ESPN, FOX Sports and USA Today has led OU in tackles in five of six games and against SMU in week two was named Walter Camp National FBS Defensive Player of the Week after logging 17 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a QB hurry and a fumble recovery. Stutsman also ranks second in the league and sixth nationally with his 1.8 TFLs per game and returned an interception for a touchdown at Tulsa.

• OU's lone preseason All-Big 12 selection, junior defensive end Ethan Downs has a team-high 3.5 sacks and ranks second on the squad with his 5.0 tackles for loss. Downs earned second-team All-Big 12 honors last season when he started all 13 games and led the team (ranked fourth in Big 12) with his 13.5 TFLs. He tied for the team lead with 4.5 sacks and paced the Sooners with nine QB hurries.

• OU signed nine defensive scholarship transfers in the offseason, six of them defensive linemen in redshirt seniors Rondell Bothroyd (Wake Forest), Trace Ford (Oklahoma State), Jacob Lacey (Notre Dame), Phil Paea (Utah State), Davon Sears (Texas State) and Da'Jon Terry (Tennessee). The sextet combined for 185 games played, 58 starts, 62 tackles for loss and 33.5 sacks. Bothroyd has started all six games this season, while Lacey has started five and Ford and Terry one each.

• Defensive back Peyton Bowen, a five-star player last year at Guyer High School in Denton, Texas, has made an early impact with his 23 tackles, team-high four pass breakups (one on fourth down late vs. SMU) and blocked punts vs. SMU and Iowa State (the latter for a safety). The midseason true freshman All-American (by On3) is one of just two players nationally with two blocked punts this season. Bowen made his first career start in week three at Tulsa, getting the nod at OU's "Cheetah" position.