Game Primer: OU at Mississippi State - University of Oklahoma

Saturday, October 24

Starkville, Miss.

2:30 p.m. CT

University of Oklahoma

Mississippi State

Kip Lewis looks on before the snap at Georgia

October 22, 2026 | Football

Game Center Game Notes

Oklahoma

Mississippi State

Saturday, Oct. 24 / 2:30 p.m. CT / Davis Wade Stadium

SECN / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes

KEY STORYLINES

• Oklahoma (3-3 overall, 1-2 SEC) and RV/RV Mississippi State (4-2, 2-2) face each other for the first time when the teams meet on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss. The game will be televised by SEC Network with Dave Neal, Cole Cubelic and Tori Petry announcing.

• Mississippi State is the lone SEC program Oklahoma has never played in football. Saturday's game will mark OU's second in the Magnolia State (the Sooners lost to Ole Miss in 2024).

• Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby joined Oklahoma as an offensive lineman as part of the 2002 signing class and later served as the Sooners' offensive coordinator for the 2022-23 seasons (Brent Venables' first two years as OU's head coach). Lebby, whose playing career was cut short due to injury, transitioned to a student assistant role for four years and later directed a 2023 OU unit that ranked No. 3 nationally in total offense (507.0 ypg), No. 4 in scoring offense (41.7 ppg) and No. 6 in passing offense (324.8 ypg).

• MSU athletics director Zac Selmon is a Norman native who served as OU's senior associate athletics director for administration and development and later as deputy AD for external engagement and advancement. He is the son of College Football Hall of Famer Dewey Selmon (played at OU from 1972-75) and the nephew of fellow Sooner standouts Lucious Selmon (1970-73; unanimous first-team All-American in 1973) and Lee Roy Selmon (1972-75; College Football and Pro Football Hall of Famer).

• Two Mississippi State assistant coaches were offensive linemen for the Sooners. Second-year Bulldogs offensive line coach Phil Loadholt starred for the Sooners as an offensive tackle during the 2007 and '08 seasons when OU went 23-5 (won Big 12 titles both years). He was a first-team all-league pick as a senior and a second-teamer as a junior, and served as an OU offensive analyst during the 2022-23 seasons. Tight ends coach and run game coordinator Jon Cooper, who is in his third year at MSU, was a center for OU from 2005-08. Cooper was a 2008 second-team All-Big 12 pick and his squads won three league crowns under head coach Bob Stoops. He also served as an offensive analyst for the Sooners during the 2022 season.

• Mississippi State climbed to No. 16 in the AP poll on Sept. 27 and Oct. 11, tied for the program's highest ranking since 2018. Since the start of the 2000 campaign, the Bulldogs have been ranked higher than No. 16 in just five seasons (peaked at 13th in 2000, 15th in 2010, 13th in 2012, 1st in 2014 and 14th in 2018).

• Oklahoma is 1-2 in SEC play. In the win against No. 1 Texas, the Sooners had two takeaways and no giveaways and outscored the Longhorns 10-0 off turnovers (not including a blocked punt OU recovered for a touchdown). In the losses at No. 2 Georgia and vs. No. 15 Kentucky, OU combined for two takeaways and eight giveaways and was outscored 31-6 off turnovers.

• Oklahoma's defense leads the nation by allowing just 13.0 first downs per game, and ranks in the top 20 nationally in six additional categories: No. 2 in third-down-conversion percentage (25.6), No. 5 in total defense (260.7 ypg), No. 6 in passing defense (151.3 ypg), No. 7 in red-zone-conversion percentage (66.7), No. 14 in sacks per game (3.0) and No. 19 in yards per play allowed (4.6).

• The Sooners boast a veteran, home-grown defense. In fact, all 14 defensive starters this season began their college football careers at OU.

• Through six games, the Sooners' defense has allowed just 34 second-half points (5.7 average), including only three points in the third quarter (Georgia kicked a field goal after recovering a fumble at the OU 28-yard line and gaining one yard).

• This marks the first season in OU history in which each of its first three conference opponents were ranked in the AP poll (at No. 2 Georgia, vs. No. 1 Texas and vs. No. 15 Kentucky). Prior to this year, the only times the Sooners' first two league foes were ranked in the AP poll were in 1999 (vs. No. 23 Texas and No. 13 Texas A&M) and 2001 (vs. No. 11 Kansas State and No. 5 Texas).

• OU entered Saturday's Kentucky game with five drives this season that lasted at least 10 plays. It had four such drives against the Wildcats, including each of its first three possessions.

• Linebacker Owen Heinecke, who is in his fifth year at Oklahoma (was on Ohio State's lacrosse team in the 2021-22 school year), has led OU in tackles in five of six contests this season and boasts a team-high 44 stops on the year (4.5 for loss). He was a walk-on his first three years with the Sooners.

• Oklahoma's tight ends combined for one receiving touchdown last season (by the now-departed Kaden Helms), but first-year Sooner tight ends Rocky Beers (40-yarder vs. UTEP; 17-yarder at Georgia; 20-yarder vs. Kentucky) and Hayden Hansen (29-yarder vs. New Mexico) have combined for four this season. Under the direction of first-year tight ends coach Jason Witten, Beers, a sixth-year player who most recently played at Colorado State, ranks second on the team with 26 catches and 329 yards, while Hansen, who played the last four years at Florida, has six grabs for 79 yards.

• Beers leads the SEC and ranks fifth nationally among tight ends with his 54.8 receiving yards per game.

• In their 28 wins since the start of the 2023 season, the Sooners have outscored opponents 236-52 off turnovers (17-3 this year). In their 15 losses during the same span, they have been outscored 146-33 off turnovers (38-6 this season).

OPENING KICK

• The 2026 season marks the 132nd in OU football history. The Sooners lead the nation with their 50 all-time conference championships and 33 AP top-five finishes. They rank second with their seven Heisman Trophy winners (tied), five No. 1 overall NFL Draft picks (tied) and 27 11-plus-win seasons, third with seven AP national championships, their 101 weeks as the AP's No. 1 team and 431 total weeks in the AP Top 5, fifth with 59 bowl appearances and sixth with 426 NFL Draft picks.

• Saturday's contest will mark the 1,371st in OU history. The Sooners rank fifth nationally with their .722 all-time winning percentage (963-354-53 record), trailing Ohio State (.737), Alabama (.733), Notre Dame (.733) and Michigan (.732). Since the end of World War II (1946 season to present), OU leads all programs with 719 wins (25 more than Alabama, the program with the next most).

• The SEC leads the country with its nine teams ranked in this week's AP Top 25, and five of those squads are in the top 13. The Big Ten ranks second with six top-25 teams (four in top 15) and is followed by the Big 12 with five, ACC with three and Pac-12 one. The other team is Notre Dame (independent).

• Oklahoma went 10-3 overall and 6-2 in the SEC in 2025 and earned the No. 8 seed in the College Football Playoff (lost 34-24 to No. 9 seed Alabama in Norman). Mississippi State went 5-8 overall and 2-6 in SEC play and lost to Wake Forest in the Duke's Mayo Bowl, 43-29.

• OU went 3-0 in SEC road games last season, posting wins over South Carolina (26-7), No. 14 Tennessee (33-27) and No. 4 Alabama (23-21). It lost 41-13 to No. 2 Georgia in its only SEC road contest this season.

RECAPPING THE KENTUCKY GAME

• Oklahoma outgained Kentucky 346 to 230 in total yards (270 to 158 passing), but turnovers cost the Sooners in a 21-13 home defeat to the No. 15 Wildcats on Saturday. It was just the fourth all-time meeting between OU and Kentucky, the first since 1982 and the first in Norman since 1980.

• OU led 10-7 at halftime and 13-7 after three quarters, but was outscored 14-0 in the fourth quarter. With the Sooners up six and reaching the UK 38-yard line, the Wildcats registered their second interception on the third quarter's penultimate play and later converted it into a touchdown for a 14-13 lead. Then with just over a minute remaining, UK returned another interception 41 yards for a touchdown and the game's final points.

• The Sooners scored on two of their first three possessions of the game to take a 10-7 lead. On its opening drive, OU went 49 yards in 7:03 and got a 44-yard field goal from Tate Sandell to make the score 7-3. Two possessions later, it drove 90 yards in 12 plays and quarterback John Mateer connected with tight end Rocky Beers for a 20-yard touchdown to give OU a 10-7 lead. Sandell added a 26-yard field goal with 6:32 left in the third quarter to extend the lead to 13-7.

• Mateer completed 24 of 40 passes for 270 yards and a TD, and had three interceptions. In his first career start, sophomore wide receiver Manny Choice registered career highs of five receptions and 98 yards. Wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III made eight catches for 83 yards and Beers recorded four grabs for 45 yards.

• Freshman defensive lineman Jake Kreul tallied 2.5 sacks, the most in school history by a true freshman and most by any OU freshman since 1984 when redshirt freshman Brian Bosworth had 3.0 sacks vs. Iowa State. Kreul, who entered the game with three tackles and 0.5 TFL all season, logged a career-high six stops on the night.

• Linebackers Kip Lewis and Owen Heinecke led the team with eight tackles and two QB hurries each. Lewis made two assisted TFLs (0.5 sack).

DALLAS, TX - October 10, 2026 - Oklahoma Defensive Back Courtland Guillory (#4) during the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, TX. Photo By Sutton Spinner/University of Oklahoma

OU ROAD SHOW

• Oklahoma has won 38 of its last 52 true road games (.731) going back to 2014, with nine of the 14 losses by one score.

• OU has scored at least 30 points in a nation-leading 43 of its last 56 true road games (school-record 35- game streak was stopped in 2021 at Baylor).

• The Sooners have outgained their opponent in 35 of their last 52 true road games.

• OU's 2019 defeat at Kansas State snapped the Sooners' 22-game true road winning streak (it hadn't lost since Oct. 4, 2014, at TCU), which was the second longest such streak nationally since at least the end of World War II. During the 22-game streak, OU outscored foes 1,076-626 (49-28 average).

YEAR THREE IN THE SEC

• Oklahoma and Texas officially joined the Southeastern Conference on July 1, 2024, after 28 years in the Big 12 Conference. OU won half (14) of the Big 12's football titles in its 28 years in the league and posted a 187-61 (.754) record against conference competition (includes an 11-1 record in Big 12 championship games).

• Oklahoma's 14 Big 12 titles were 10 more than the program with the next most (Texas won four). From 2010 through 2023, OU won eight Big 12 titles and was followed by Baylor (three), Kansas State (two) and Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas (one each).

ANOTHER SCHEDULE GAUNTLET

• OU has already faced four top-25 opponents this season (at No. 24 Michigan [coaches poll], at No. 2/2 Georgia, vs. No. 1/1 Texas and vs. No. 15/17 Kentucky), and three of its remaining six foes are ranked in this week's poll: at No. 20/24 Florida, vs. No. 7/7 Ole Miss and at No. 22/21 Missouri.

• This is the third straight season Oklahoma's schedule is among the nation's most challenging. Entering the year, the Sooners' strength of schedule was ranked as the country's second toughest in ESPN's FPI. OU's 2025 schedule was rated as the most difficult in the nation entering that campaign.

AYE AYE

• For the second straight year, the Sooners have season-long team captains (OU named weekly captains each of Brent Venables' first three years). This season's nine captains are senior defensive back Peyton Bowen, sophomore offensive lineman Michael Fasusi, sixth-year linebacker Owen Heinecke, fifth-year linebacker Kip Lewis, fifth-year offensive lineman Jake Maikkula, fifth-year quarterback John Mateer, junior offensive lineman Eddy Pierre-Louis, junior defensive lineman David Stone and senior defensive lineman Taylor Wein. Lewis and Mateer were captains last season.

NORMAN, OK - September 04, 2026 - Oklahoma Tight End Rocky Beers (#81) during the game between the UTEP Miners and the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, OK. Photo By Peyton Martin/University of Oklahoma

NOTING THE OFFENSE

• In its 13 games last season, Oklahoma registered 11 touchdown passes of at least 20 yards. Through six games in 2026, John Mateer has already registered seven such plays (53, 48, 40, 34, 29, 22 and 20 yards). He also has passing TDs of 17 and 14 yards.

• After converting nearly all of its red-zone opportunities into points last season (34 of 35; 25 touchdowns), OU has scored on 11 of its 13 trips into the red zone (85%) this season. The Sooners have scored six red-zone TDs and made five field goals.

• Mateer is 114 for 175 passing (65%) for 1,308 yards and nine touchdowns (seven interceptions) and has rushed for 79 yards this season. He has completed more than 70% of his passes in two games (76% vs. New Mexico and 74% at Georgia) and completed 69% against Texas. In his fifth year of college overall and second as OU's starter, he has totaled 4,703 offensive yards and 31 touchdowns as a Sooner (4,193 yards and 23 TDs passing and 510 yards and eight TDs rushing).

• Fifth-year wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III leads the Sooners with 33 receptions for 414 yards and has two touchdowns (34 yards vs. UTEP and 53 yards vs. New Mexico). He has four TD receptions of at least 50 yards at OU, including ones of 58, 76 and 87 yards last season. He also has five career 100-yard receiving games, all as a Sooner. Sategna is averaging 5.5 receptions per game this year and has recorded eight catches twice (at Georgia and vs. Kentucky). Including kickoff and punt returns, Sategna is averaging a team-best 113.5 all-purpose yards per game, which ranks 30th nationally and fourth in the SEC.

• Sixth-year tight end Rocky Beers (transfer from Colorado State) ranks fifth nationally (first in the SEC) among tight ends with his 54.8 receiving yards per game. His team-high three TD receptions through six games are the most by an OU tight end in a season since 2022 when Brayden Willis had seven in 13 games.

• Junior transfer running back Lloyd Avant (Colorado State) leads OU in rushing through six games with his 267 yards on 60 carries (two TDs on rushes of 1 yard vs. UTEP and 2 yards vs. Texas) and has 943 career rushing yards and eight TDs. His 42-yard run in the third quarter vs. Texas was OU's longest rushing play of the season. Avant is averaging 4.5 yards per carry this season, but is averaging 5.7 yards per rush (103 yards on 18 totes) over the last two games vs. Texas and Kentucky.

• Junior Xavier Robinson (421 rushing yards and four touchdowns last season; 50 yards on 13 carries in four games this season) and sophomore Tory Blaylock (team-high 480 rushing yards and four TDs as a freshman; 45 yards on 17 carries in five games this year) are OU's top returning running backs from last year. Freshman Jonathan Hatton Jr. (No. 5 running back prospect in the country) started vs. Texas and has 68 yards on 22 carries in his five games this season.

• Oklahoma added plenty of size to the tight end room via the transfer portal for this season in addition to the 6-5, 240-pound Beers. Fifth-year senior Hayden Hansen (6-8, 270-pound transfer from Florida) has made six catches for 79 yards and a touchdown and sophomore Jack Van Dorselaer (6-4, 250-pound transfer from Tennessee) has played in five contests (missed the Texas game due to injury). Returning sophomore Trynae Washington (6-3, 260) played in each of the first four games (missed the last two due to injury).

• Sategna is OU's only returning wide receiver who made at least 10 catches last season. Fifth-year transfer Trell Harris (Virginia) totaled six receptions for 104 yards and a TD over the UTEP and Michigan contests, but has missed the last four games due to injury. Junior Mackenzie Alleyne (Washington State), who made his first catch as a Sooner on a 22-yard touchdown play at Michigan, has four receptions for 40 yards and made his first career start at Georgia, while junior Parker Livingstone (Texas) has six catches for 51 yards. Harris caught 59 passes for 847 yards and five TDs last season, while Livingstone registered 516 yards and two scores. Sophomore Elijah Thomas (five receptions for 49 yards) has started four games this year and sophomore Manny Choice (eight catches for 122 yards) scored his lone TD on a 14-yard catch at Georgia. Choice made his first career start vs. Kentucky, recording a team-high 98 yards on five grabs.

• Fourteen Sooners have caught a pass this season, led by Sategna's 33 receptions and Beers' 26. Eight players have made at least five receptions (Avant has nine, Choice has eight, Hansen, Harris and Livingstone each have six and Thomas has five).

• Entering the season, the offensive unit with the most returning experience was the line. Five 2026 Sooners started at least six games last season and have now combined for 80 career starts: fifth-year senior Jake Maikkula (31 career starts, 15 at OU), senior Heath Ozaeta (18 career starts), junior Eddy Pierre-Louis (nine career starts, including eight of the last nine games in which he played) and sophomores Michael Fasusi (11 starts at left tackle) and Ryan Fodje (started each of the final six contests at right tackle or right guard last season and has started the last five games at left tackle). However, due to injury, none of those five players has played in every game this season. Due to injury, Fasusi, a true freshman All-American last season and preseason All-SEC pick, has not played since the season opener vs. UTEP. Maikkula and Fodje have both started each of the last five contests after missing the opener, Pierre- Louis has missed the last two games and Ozaeta was out for the Kentucky game.

• The only two offensive linemen who have played in and started all six games this season are fifth-year senior E'Marion Harris (transfer from Arkansas) and freshman Noah Best. Harris (30 career starts) has started all six games at right tackle, while Best started the opener at center, the next three at right guard and the last two at left guard.

• Sophomore transfer Peyton Joseph (Georgia Tech) made his first career start last game vs. Kentucky at right guard.

NOTING THE DEFENSE

• Through six games, Oklahoma's opponents have scored on just 17 of their 70 offensive possessions (24%). That includes 11 touchdowns (only seven on drives of more than 50 yards).

• OU boasted one of the country's best defensive units last season and is off to a strong 2026 start. The Sooners rank first nationally in opponent first downs (13.0 per game), second in third-down-conversion defense (25.6%; leads SEC), fifth in total defense (260.7 ypg; second in SEC), sixth in passing defense (151.3 ypg; leads SEC), seventh in red-zone defense (66.7%; leads SEC), 14th in sacks (3.0 per game; sixth in SEC), 29th in tackles for loss (6.3 per game; sixth in SEC), 30th in scoring defense (18.2 ppg; sixth in SEC) and 31st in rushing defense (109.3 ypg).

• Oklahoma has yet to allow a 100-yard rusher this season, and only two opponent rushers have gained more than 50 net yards in a game this season (Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood had 87 and Georgia running back Dwight Phillips Jr. had 84). OU has not allowed a 100-yard rusher in its last 17 games. The last opposing rusher with 100 yards against the Sooners was Michigan's Justice Haynes on Sept. 6, 2025 (125 yards on 19 carries).

• In 32 games since the start of the 2024 season, Oklahoma has allowed fewer than 100 net rushing yards 16 times, including twice this season (69 by New Mexico and 72 by Kentucky).

• The Sooners have been even better in defending the pass this season. Oklahoma has held five of six opponents to under 180 passing yards (Texas had 260). OU's first three foes each threw for under 120 yards.

• OU has been especially strong on third downs since Brent Venables took over defensive play-calling duties prior to the 2025 season, ranking second nationally by limiting opponents to a 27.3% percent conversion rate (only Texas A&M at 25.0% has allowed a lower conversion rate during that span).

• The Sooners are 11-2 in the Venables era when they score a defensive touchdown, including 4-0 since the start of the 2025 season. The last three such wins came against ranked teams (at No. 14 Tennessee and at No. 4 Alabama last season and vs. No. 1 Texas two games ago).

• Oklahoma's stout defense has been a group effort. Twenty-nine defensive players have notched a tackle this season, 14 have recorded at least 10 tackles and none has registered more than 45 tackles through six games (linebacker Owen Heinecke has a team-high 44). Eighteen players have recorded at least 0.5 tackle for loss (lineman Taylor Wein leads the team with 5.5), 15 players have at least 0.5 sack (linemen Jake Kreul and Adepoju Adebawore lead the team with 3.0 and 2.5 sacks, respectively), 11 different players have recorded a pass breakup (safety Peyton Bowen leads with five) and nine players have been credited with at least one QB hurry (Heinecke leads with four).

• OU's line is once again is one of the team's strongest units. Returning primary contributors are seniors Wein and Adebawore, and juniors Jayden Jackson, Danny Okoye and David Stone, who have totaled 59.5 career tackles for loss and 27.0 career sacks. Returning junior Wyatt Gilmore and sophomore Trent Wilson, as well as fifth-year senior Bishop Thomas (transfer from Georgia State), junior Kenny Ozowalu (UTSA) and freshman Kreul, have joined the rotation this season. Gilmore has made eight tackles (1.5 TFLs), Wilson has made five stops (2.5 TFLs, 1.0 sack), Thomas has made eight (0.5 sack, 1.0 TFL) and Kreul has made nine (3.5 TFLs and a team-high 3.0 sacks). Kreul's 2.5 sacks vs. Kentucky were the most in school history by a true freshman.

• The Sooners' linebacker corps returned fifth-year senior Kip Lewis, who has made 35 career starts and totaled 229 career tackles (20.5 for loss). Sixth-year senior Heinecke was extremely productive in his breakout 2025 season and has now started each of the last 11 contests. He ranked second on the team with 74 tackles (12.0 for loss) last year and leads the squad with 44 stops this season (4.5 for loss, 1.0 sack). OU also returned junior James Nesta, who has made 17 tackles in five games this season (with a pass breakup, a QB hurry and a fumble recovery), including five in his first career start vs. New Mexico, and brought in highly regard transfer Cole Sullivan, who registered 44 tackles in 11 games and three starts at Michigan last year. Sullivan has six tackles (0.5 TFL) and a pass breakup this season, but left the Michigan game early and missed the next two due to injury. He returned vs. Texas.

• The defensive backfield is stout again with six returners who have now combined for 75 career starts. Senior Peyton Bowen (26 starts) logged career highs of 47 tackles, two interceptions and seven pass breakups last season and ranks second on the team with his 29 stops this year (2.5 for loss, 1.0 sack). He also has a team-high five PBUs and returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown vs. Texas. Junior Eli Bowen (21 career starts at cornerback) has notched 12 tackles and two PBUs in his four starts this season (missed the Texas and Kentucky games due to injury) after recording 24 tackles, two interceptions (including an 87-yarder for a TD in a win at No. 4 Alabama) and four PBUs in nine contests last year. Sophomore Courtland Guillory has made 17 career starts (six this season) at cornerback and has three PBUs and registered his first career interception vs. Texas. Junior Reggie Powers III has started each of the first six games this season at the "Cheetah" position and ranks third on the team with 26 tackles (4.0 for loss and 2.0 sacks) and has two PBUs and a QB hurry. Junior Michael Boganowski has 55 tackles in 30 career games (three career starts; two this season) and senior Jacobe Johnson has three career interceptions in 41 games (two starts).

• A pair of sophomore defensive backs have stepped into larger roles this season, as Omarion Robinson has started each of the last four games at safety and Trystan Haynes each of the last two at cornerback. In six games this season, Robinson ranks fourth on the team with his 25 tackles, has one of OU's three interceptions, a pass breakup and a QB hurry (the hurry was on Guillory's late interception vs. Texas). Haynes has 11 tackles this season, including seven stops and his first career PBU in his first start vs. Texas.

A LOOK AT SPECIAL TEAMS

• Oklahoma's special teams have drastically improved since the arrival of coordinator Doug Deakin. After finishing No. 127 in ESPN's special teams efficiency ratings in 2023 (the year before Deakin's arrival), the Sooners jumped to No. 41 in 2024 and to No. 10 in 2025.

• OU returned all four major players in the kicking game from last season, including reigning Lou Groza Award winner Tate Sandell and first-team All-SEC punter Grayson Miller. Three-year standout long snapper Ben Anderson and holder Jacob Ulrich are also back this season. Ulrich started last season as OU's punter before giving way to Miller due to an injury, and has served as the team's punter the last three games against Georgia, Texas and Kentucky. Anderson is OU's long snapper for the fourth straight year.

• Sandell, who transferred to OU from UTSA last year, is 7 for 10 on field goal attempts this season (made his last four) and 31 for 37 in his year-plus at OU. He is also 48 for 48 on PATs at OU (13 for 13 this season). After missing three straight field goal attempts (from 41 yards vs. New Mexico, 54 yards at Georgia and 53 yards vs. Texas), Sandell converted from 53 and 47 yards against the No. 1 Longhorns (the 47-yard game-winner came as time expired) and from 44 and 26 yards against No. 15 Kentucky.

• Sandell has made 19 field goals of 40 or more yards in his 19 games as a Sooner (19 of 24 since the start of the 2025 season). He ranks second in school history in made field goals of 40-plus yards behind Gabe Brkic, who made 21 of 30 attempts in 37 games from 2019-21.

• Ulrich has averaged 44.4 yards on 19 punts this season, with six of 50-plus yards and a long of 56. Miller has averaged 45.0 yards on 10 punts this season, including three of longer than 50 yards (long of 62). Miller set an OU record for punts longer than 50 yards last season (24).

• Isaiah Sategna III ranks fourth nationally and first in the SEC this season by averaging 18.3 yards on his eight punt returns. He took his first punt return of the year 88 yards for a touchdown. He averaged 13.3 yards on 24 returns last year. Sategna has also averaged 21.0 yards on five kickoff returns this season.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S BEST

• During the modern era of college football (since the end of World War II), the Sooners are the nation's No. 1 team with more wins (719) than any other program (next most is 694 by Alabama).

• Oklahoma has finished in the top 5 of the AP poll a nation-leading 33 times (Ohio State is second with 32).

• OU leads all FBS programs with 50 all-time conference championships. The rest of the top five includes Nebraska (46), Michigan (44), Ohio State (39) and USC (37). The Sooners' 14 league titles since 2000 are the most among Power Five programs (Ohio State ranks second with 11).

• Since the start of the 2000 season, OU ranks second with 19 seasons of at least 10 wins.

• Since former head coach Bob Stoops arrived in Norman in 1999, OU leads the country with its 13,559 points scored. Boise State (13,317) is second and Oregon (13,154) third.

EXTRA POINT

• Mississippi State's roster features three former OU players. They are sixth-year defensive back Kendel Dolby (2022-25 at OU), third-year receiver Zion Ragins (2024-25) and third-year offensive lineman Isaiah Dent (2024-25). Dolby has 18 tackles and a fumble recovery this season, while Ragins has 12 catches (four TDs) for 188 yards. Dent has played in five of the team's six games.

• OU leads all SEC programs with its 925 all-time AP poll appearances. Alabama ranks second (915), Texas third (814), Georgia fourth (703) and LSU fifth (694).