Game Primer: OU at Georgia

Saturday, September 26

Athens, Ga.

2:30 p.m. CT

University of Oklahoma

Georgia

September 24, 2026 | Football

Game Center Game Notes Scene Setter

Oklahoma

#2 Georgia

Saturday, Sept. 26 / 2:30 p.m. CT / Sanford Stadium

ESPN / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes

KEY STORYLINES

• No. RV/24 Oklahoma (2-1, 0-0) opens SEC play when it faces No. 2/2 Georgia (3-0, 1-0) on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga. The game will be televised by ESPN with Bob Wischusen, Louis Riddick and Stormy Buonantony announcing. The contest will mark the second between the programs and the first on a campus.

• Georgia is one of just three SEC programs at which Oklahoma has never played a football game. The others are Florida and Mississippi State. In 2019, OU and Georgia announced a non-conference home and-home series, with the programs scheduled to meet in Norman in 2023 and in Athens in 2031. With the Sooners set to join the SEC on July 1, 2024, the series was eventually canceled.

• Since the start of the 2015 season, Oklahoma owns the nation's best true road game record against AP top-five opponents. The Sooners are 3-0 in such contests (won 44-34 at No. 4 Baylor in 2015, 31-16 at No. 2 Ohio State in 2017 and 23-21 at No. 4 Alabama last year). At .625 (5-3), OU also owns the best true road game winning percentage vs. AP top-five foes since the start of the 2000 season (among programs who have played at least five such contests).

• Saturday's game will mark just OU's second in the state of Georgia. The other was a 2019 Peach Bowl loss to LSU in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

• Oklahoma won its SEC road opener each of its first two seasons in the league, posting a 27-21 win at Auburn in 2024 and a 26-7 victory at South Carolina last year. Georgia is 7-3 in SEC home openers during the Kirby Smart era, with the losses coming to No. 11 Tennessee (34-31) in 2016, South Carolina (20-17 in 2OT) in 2019 and No. 17 Alabama (24-21) last year.

• OU went 6-2 in SEC play last season, including 3-0 in true road games. The Sooners posted road victories over South Carolina (26-7), No. 14 Tennessee (33-27) and No. 4 Alabama (23-21). Their SEC losses came vs. Texas (23-6 in Dallas) and at home to No. 8 Ole Miss (34-26).

• Saturday's game will pit a Georgia team that leads the country in scoring (59.3 ppg) and ranks fourth in total offense (539.0 ypg) against an Oklahoma squad that ranks fourth in scoring defense (7.7 ppg) and ninth in total defense (215.3 ypg). OU also ranks in the top 10 nationally in passing defense (104.3 ypg; third), sacks per game (4.0; fourth), third-down-conversion percentage (22.5; fifth), red-zone-conversion percentage (57.1; fifth), first downs allowed per game (12.0; 6th), tackles for loss per game (8.7) and yards per play allowed (3.8; 10th).

• OU'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) and Hayden Hansen (29-yarder vs. New Mexico) have each recorded one 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 10 catches and 171 yards, while Hansen, who played the last four years at Florida, has four grabs for 64 yards.

• All of the Sooners' defensive starters in each of the first three games began their college football careers at OU.

• In its 13 games last season, OU registered 11 touchdown passes of at least 20 yards. Through three games this season, quarterback John Mateer already registered six such plays (53, 48, 40, 34, 29 and 22 yards).

• A 2025 second-team All-SEC performer, defensive end Taylor Wein led OU with 15.0 tackles for loss and 7.0 sacks last year. The senior has picked up where he left off, ranking fifth in the SEC with his 4.5 TFLs this season (1.0 sack). His five tackles in the opener against UTEP marked a career high, only to be topped by his seven stops (3.0 for loss) in week two at Michigan. He also forced a fumble against the Wolverines. Junior defensive back Reggie Powers ranks seventh in the SEC with his 4.0 TFLs and second with his 30 TFL yards.

• In their 28 wins since the start of the 2023 season, the Sooners have outscored opponents 226-52 off turnovers. In their 13 losses during the same span, they have been outscored 115-27 off turnovers.

• Fifty percent of the defensive players on OU's depth chart (17 of 34) are in at least their third year in the program. Conversely, 15% of the offensive players on the depth (five of 33) are in their third year or more. Fifteen offensive players on the depth chart are first-year Sooners and 13 are in their second seasons.

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 1,368th in OU history. The Sooners rank fifth nationally with their .723 all-time winning percentage (962 352-53 record), trailing Ohio State (.736), Alabama (.734), Notre Dame (.733) and Michigan (.733). Since the end of World War II (1946 season to present), OU leads all programs with 718 wins (26 more than Alabama, the program with the next most).

• Georgia has won three of the last four SEC titles, including each of the last two. It also won the 2017 SEC crown under head coach Kirby Smart, who directed the Bulldogs to the 2021 and '22 national titles. u The SEC leads the country with its 10 teams ranked in this week's AP Top 25, and five of those squads are in the top 10. The Big Ten ranks second with seven top-25 teams and is followed by the Big 12 with four and ACC with three. The other team is Notre Dame (independent).

• Oklahoma is coming off a 10-3 season in which it went 6-2 in the SEC and earned the No. 8 seed in the College Football Playoff (lost 34-24 to No. 9 seed Alabama in Norman). Georgia went 12-2 overall and 7-1 in SEC play before beating Alabama 28-7 in the SEC Championship Game. As the No. 3 seed, the Bulldogs fell to No. 6 seed Ole Miss 39-34 in the CFP Quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl.

RECAPPING THE WIN OVER NEW MEXICO

• John Mateer threw two touchdown passes and Oklahoma held a second opponent under 200 total offensive yards this season in a 14-6 home win over New Mexico on Saturday night.

• The game marked the second this season (also in the opener vs. UTEP) and the 11th under fifth-year head coach Brent Venables that OU did not allow a touchdown. u Oklahoma limited New Mexico to 185 total offensive yards (69 rushing), 1.8 yards per rush and 8-of-19 passing (42%).

• OU held a Lobos team that was averaging 54.0 points per game entering the day to negative yardage on four of its six first-half possessions (including each of the first three), and to fewer than 10 yards on two of its four second-half possessions. UNM's longest drive was 53 yards and it punted on seven of its 10 possessions (first four of first half and first three of second half).

• Mateer completed 19 of 25 passes for 238 yards. His 76% completion rate was his highest since his OU debut in the 2025 season opener vs. Illinois State (81%). His touchdown passes went for 29 yards (to tight end Hayden Hansen) and 53 yards (to wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III).

• Sategna registered game highs of six catches and 101 receiving yards. It was his fifth career 100-yard receiving game and his TD reception was his fourth of more than 50 yards at OU. Hansen made three catches for 49 yards, one yard shy of his career high.

• Junior defensive lineman David Stone logged a career-high eight tackles, including 2.0 for loss and 0.5 sack. It was the most tackles by an OU defensive lineman since the 2018 season. Sixth year linebacker Owen Heinecke tied Stone for game-high honors with eight tackles (five solo), including 1.5 for loss and 1.0 sack. Senior defensive back Peyton Bowen made four tackles (1.5 for loss, 1.0 sack), and had a career-high-tying two pass breakups. Senior defensive lineman Adepoju Adebawore recorded a team-high 1.5 sacks.

• Three players made their first OU starts: sophomore wide receiver Elijah Thomas, junior linebacker James Nesta and sophomore defensive back Omarion Robinson.

NORMAN, OK - September 19, 2026 - Oklahoma Defensive Lineman Danny Okoye (#16) and Oklahoma Linebacker Owen Heinecke (#38) during the game between the New Mexico Lobos and the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, OK. Photo By Brendall Vargas/University of Oklahoma

OU-GEORGIA SERIES HISTORY

• The lone previous Oklahoma-Georgia matchup came on Jan. 1, 2018, a 54-48 Bulldogs double-overtime win in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
• The No. 2-seeded Sooners built a 31-14 lead with six seconds left in the first half when quarterback Baker Mayfield caught a two yard TD pass from wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. Georgia fielded the ensuing squib kick, completed a pass and kicked a 55-yard field goal to make the score 31-17 at halftime.

• The third-seeded Bulldogs scored the first 21 points of the second half to go ahead 38-31 early in the fourth quarter before Mayfield found H-back Dmitri Flowers for an 11-yard TD pass to knot the score at 38.

• The Sooners appeared to take control when safety Steven Parker picked up a fumble and returned it 46 yards for a TD and a 45-38 lead with 6:52 to go in the fourth. But Georgia engineered a seven-play, 59-yard drive that culminated in a Nick Chubb two-yard TD rush with 55 seconds left to even things at 45.

• The teams traded field goals in the first overtime. After Georgia blocked Austin Seibert's 27-yard attempt in the second overtime, Sony Michel ran for a 27-yard game-winning touchdown. The Bulldogs went on to lose to Alabama in the CFP National Championship, 26-23, in overtime.

• In his last career game, Mayfield threw for 287 yards and two TDs (one interception). Marquise Brown had game highs of eight catches and 114 receiving yards, and scored the game's first points on a 13-yard TD.

• OU running back Rodney Anderson carried 26 times for 201 yards and two touchdowns, while Michel rushed 11 times for 181 yards and three TDs and Chubb had 14 rushes for 145 yards and a pair of scores.

OU ROAD SHOW

• Oklahoma has won 38 of its last 51 true road games (.745) going back to 2014, with nine of the 13 losses by one score.

• OU has scored at least 30 points in a nation-leading 43 of its last 55 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 51 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 championships 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

• For the third straight season, Oklahoma's schedule is among the nation's most challenging. The Sooners' strength of schedule is 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 the campaign.

• OU is scheduled to play four of the top 10 teams in the AP preseason poll and six of the top 25 squads: No. 3 Georgia (away), No. 5 Texas (neutral site), No. 8 Texas A&M (home), No. 9 Ole Miss (home), No. 16 Michigan (away) and No. 25 Missouri (away). Oklahoma will also face Florida (away), South Carolina (home) and New Mexico (home), all of which received votes in the preseason AP poll.

AYE AYE

• For the second straight season, 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.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS

• Six Sooners earned 2026 preseason All-America recognition (three on defense, two on special teams and one on offense).

• Fifth-year kicker Tate Sandell was a first-team preseason All American by the Associated Press, The Athletic, CBS Sports, ESPN, USA TODAY and Walter Camp, and a second-team honoree by Phil Steele and Sporting News. Sandell won OU's first Lou Groza Award in 2025 en route to first-team All-America honors. He set the OU and single-season SEC records for most consecutive made field goals (24). His eight makes of 50-plus yards and 16 conversions of 40-plus yards also set school standards.

• Fifth-year long snapper Ben Anderson was a first-team preseason All-American by Phil Steele following a second-team All-SEC season as a senior in 2025. Also a two-time semifinalist for the Patrick Mannelly Award for the nation's best long snapper, he has handled all the team's long snapping duties the last three years.

• Junior defensive lineman David Stone was a first-team preseason All-American by the Associated Press, CBS Sports, Phil Steele and Sports Illustrated and a second-teamer by Sporting News and Walter Camp. Stone played in all 13 games (two starts) last season and registered 42 tackles, the most on the team among defensive linemen. He also tallied 8.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and six QB hurries.

• Fifth-year linebacker Kip Lewis was a first-team preseason All-American by Phil Steele and second-team selection by USA TODAY. Lewis led the team last season with 76 tackles and totaled 10.5 tackles for loss, 4.0 sacks and four pass breakups.

• Senior defensive back Peyton Bowen was a second-team preseason All-American by Sports Illustrated. Bowen, a 2025 All-SEC Second Team selection by the league's coaches, started all 13 games at safety last season and totaled 47 tackles, two interceptions and a team-high seven pass breakups. In his 39 career games, he has compiled 117 tackles (3.5 for loss), two interceptions and 12 pass breakups.

• Fifth-year wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III picked up fourth-team preseason All-America honors from Phil Steele. Sategna was a first-team All-SEC pick by the media and a second-team selection by the coaches at both wide receiver and return specialist in 2025. He led OU and ranked second in the league in receptions (68) and third in receiving yards (965) and receiving TDs (eight) last season.

COLUMBIA, SC - October 18, 2025 - Oklahoma Linebacker Kip Lewis (#10) during the game between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Oklahoma Sooners at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, SC. Photo By Morgan Givens/University of Oklahoma

PRESEASON ALL-SEC HONOREES

• Ten Sooners were named to the coaches' and media preseason all-SEC teams. On both lists, fifth-year senior kicker Tate Sandell (placekicker and kickoff specialist) and fifth-year senior long snapper Ben Anderson were named to the first team. Fifth-year senior wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III was a second-team selection as a wide receiver and return specialist. Fifth-year senior linebacker Kip Lewis, fifth-year senior punter Grayson Miller, senior defensive back Peyton Bowen, senior defensive lineman Taylor Wein, junior defensive back Eli Bowen, junior defensive lineman David Stone and sophomore offensive lineman Michael Fasusi were all named to the second team. Sategna was also listed on the coaches team as a second-team all-purpose player.

• Sandell (Lou Groza Award and a first-team All-American), Sategna (at both wide receiver and return specialist) and Miller were first-team All-SEC selections last season by both the coaches and media.

• Anderson, Peyton Bowen and Wein earned 2025 second-team All-SEC honors, and Eli Bowen was a third-team pick.

NOTING THE OFFENSE

• After converting nearly all of its red zone opportunities into points last season (34 of 35; 25 touchdowns), Oklahoma has scored on each of its six trips into the red zone through the first three games of this season. The Sooners have scored two red zone touchdowns and made four field goals.

• Oklahoma returned 19 letterwinners on offense, including eight players who started at least six games last season, and welcomed 13 newcomers on that side of the ball for the 2026 season. The most returning experience is on the offensive line. Five 2026 Sooners started at least six games last season and have combined for 72 career starts: fifth-year senior Jake Maikkula (28 career starts, 12 at OU), senior Heath Ozaeta (16 career starts), junior Eddy Pierre-Louis (nine career starts, including each of the last eight games) 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 two games at left tackle).

• Three offensive line transfers have combined for 44 career starts: fifth-year senior E'Marion Harris (Arkansas) has made 27 career starts (three this season at OU), senior Caleb Nitta (Western Kentucky) has 10 and junior Fred Hinton (Eastern Kentucky) has seven. The Sooners also signed two freshman offensive linemen in top-35 inside offensive line prospects Noah Best and Deacon Schmitt. Best has started each of the first three games this season (center vs. UTEP and right guard against Michigan and New Mexico).

• Fifth-year wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III leads the Sooners with 12 receptions for 186 yards and two touchdowns (34 yards vs. UTEP and 53 yards vs. New Mexico). He has four touchdown receptions of at least 50 yards at OU. He had TD catches of 58, 76 and 87 yards last season. He also five career 100-yard receiving games, all as a Sooner.

• Fifth-year quarterback John Mateer, in his second season as OU's starter, has totaled 4,037 offensive yards and 28 touchdowns since the start of last season (3,537 yards and 20 touchdowns passing and 500 yards and eight TDs rushing). All six of his touchdown passes this season have been from more than 20 yards. Junior Whitt Newbauer saw action in three games in his first season at OU last year after starting seven games at Mercer in 2024, and played in the 2026 season opener vs. UTEP, completing his only pass attempt for six yards and scoring on a three-yard touchdown rush. Jett Niu (played in one game as a freshman last year) also returned, while freshman Bowe Bentley was a consensus four-star and top-eight QB prospect nationally.

• Junior transfer running back Lloyd Avant (Colorado State) leads OU in rushing through three games with his 141 yards on 32 carries (one touchdown) and has 817 career rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Junior Xavier Robinson (421 rushing yards and four touchdowns last season; 36 yards on 10 carries this season) and sophomore Tory Blaylock (team-high 480 rushing yards and four TDs as a freshman) are OU's top returning running backs. The Sooners brought in a pair of transfers in Avant and Ben McCreary (Incarnate Word), while freshmen Jonathan Hatton Jr. (No. 5 running back prospect in the country) and DeZephen Walker were both four-star recruits in the class.
• Oklahoma added plenty of size to the tight end room in the transfer portal, bringing in 6-5, 240-pound sixth-year senior Rocky Beers (Colorado State), 6-8, 270-pound fifth-year senior Hayden Hansen (Florida) and 6-4, 250-pound sophomore Jack Van Dorselaer (Tennessee) to go with returning fifth-year senior John Locke Jr., senior Kade McIntyre and sophomore Trynae Washington. Beers leads the group with 10 receptions and 171 yards (one TD) this season, while Hansen has four catches for 64 yards and a touchdown.

• Sategna is OU's only returning wide receiver who made at least 10 catches last season. Fifth-year transfer Trell Harris (Virginia) has made six receptions for 104 yards and a TD, and junior Mackenzie Alleyne (Washington State), who made his first catch at OU with a 22-yard touchdown reception at Michigan, and Parker Livingstone (Texas) has four catches for 34 yards so far this season. Harris caught 59 passes for 847 yards and five touchdowns last season, while Livingstone registered 516 yards and two scores in 2025. Those four receivers combine with returning senior Jer'Michael Carter, juniors Ivan Carreon and Jacob Jordan, sophomores Manny Choice and Elijah Thomas (three receptions for 33 yards this season) and incoming freshmen Daniel Odom, Xavier Okwufulueze, Jayden Petit and Jahsiear Rogers to provide a deep and talented receiving corps

NOTING THE DEFENSE

• Oklahoma's three opponents have scored on just five of their 34 possessions (15%). That includes only two touchdowns (both rushing by Michigan and one of them on a six-yard drive).

• OU boasted one of the best defensive units in the country last season and is off to a strong 2026 start. Through three games, the Sooners rank third nationally in passing defense (104.3 ypg; leads SEC), fourth in scoring defense (7.7 ppg; leads SEC) and sacks (4.0 per game; third in SEC), fifth in third down conversion defense (22.5%; leads SEC), sixth in tackles for loss (8.7 per game; leads SEC) and red zone defense (57.1%; leads SEC) and ninth in total defense (215.3 ypg; second in SEC).

• The Sooners have been especially strong on third downs since head coach Brent Venables took over defensive play calling duties prior to the 2025 season, ranking second nationally by limiting opponents to a 27% percent conversion rate (only Texas A&M at 23% has allowed a lower conversion rate in that span). Since Venables arrived ahead of the 2022 campaign, Oklahoma has only permitted teams to convert 34% of third downs, which ranks 12th nationally over the last four-plus seasons.

• Defensive success begins up front, and the line once again is one of the team's strongest units. The returning group of primary contributors in seniors Taylor Wein and Adepoju Adebawore and juniors Jayden Jackson, Danny Okoye and David Stone have totaled 57.0 career tackles for loss and 25.5 career sacks. Returning junior Wyatt Gilmore and sophomore Trent Wilson have joined the rotation this season, along with fifth-year senior Bishop Thomas (transfer from Georgia State), junior Kenny Ozowalu (UTSA) and freshman Jake Kreul. Gilmore (1.5 TFLs) and Thomas (0.5 sack, 1.0 TFL) each have made five tackles this season.
• The Sooners' linebacker corps returned fifth-year senior Kip Lewis, who has made 32 career starts and totaled 212 career tackles (19.0 for loss). Sixth-year senior Owen Heinecke was extremely productive in his breakout 2025 season and has now started each of the last eight contests. He ranked second on the team with 74 tackles (12.0 for loss) last year and leads the squad with 24 tackles this season. OU also returns junior James Nesta, who has made 12 tackles in three games this season, 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.

• The defensive backfield is stout again with six returners who have now combined for 65 career starts. Senior Peyton Bowen (23 starts), logged career highs of 47 tackles, two interceptions and seven PBUs last season and has totaled 14 stops (2.5 for loss) and four PBUs this season. Junior Eli Bowen has made 20 career starts at cornerback (three this season), including nine last season when he recorded 24 tackles, two interceptions (including an 87-yarder for a TD in a win at No. 4 Alabama) and four pass breakups. Sophomore Courtland Guillory has made 14 career starts (three this season) at cornerback. Junior Reggie Powers III has started each of the first three games this season at the "Cheetah" position and ranks second on the team with 16 tackles and 4.0 tackles for loss (two sacks). Including junior Michael Boganowski, who has 45 tackles in 28 career games (three career starts; two this season) and senior Jacobe Johnson, who has three career interceptions in 38 games (two starts), six defensive backs have seen action in a total of 177 career games.

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.

• Oklahoma 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. Anderson is OU's long snapper for the fourth straight year.

• Sandell, who transferred to OU from UTSA last year, is 3 for 4 on field goal attempts this season and 27 for 31 in his year-plus at OU, and has made 80 of his 81 career PAT attempts (43 for 43 at OU). Miller is averaging 45.0 yards on 10 punts this season, including three of longer than 50 yards (long of 62). He set an OU record for punts longer than 50 yards last season (24).

• Isaiah Sategna III ranks fifth nationally this season by averaging 21.7 yards on his six punt returns, and took his first punt return of the year 88 yards for a touchdown. He averaged 13.3 yards on 24 returns last year.

• The Sooners also returned kicker Liam Evans, a junior from Moore, Okla., who made a 34-yard field goal vs. UTEP in week 1, and sophomore Preston Tarpley, who is in his second season in Norman. OU brought in kicker Trace Rudd, a five-star prospect by Kohl's Kicking, as part of the 2026 signing class.

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 (718) than any other program (next most is 692 by Alabama).

• Oklahoma has finished in the top 5 of the AP poll a nation-leading 33 times (Ohio State is second with 32). u 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 and is fourth with 273 victories.

• Since former head coach Bob Stoops arrived in Norman in 1999, OU leads the country with its 13,506 points scored. Boise State (13,210) is second and Oregon (13,081) third.

EXTRA POINTS

• Oklahoma is a very respectable 7-12 all-time against the AP's No. 2-ranked team, with the last such meeting resulting in a 31-16 OU win at Ohio State in 2017. All seven wins have come with the Sooners also ranked in the top 10.

• OU owns a 2-2 record in true road games against the AP's No. 2-ranked team. In addition to the 2017 victory at Ohio State, the Sooners won 41-31 at Kansas State in their national championship season of 2000. Losses came in 1986 at Miami, Fla. (28-16) and 1993 at Nebraska (21-7).

• OU leads all SEC programs with its 924 all-time AP poll appearances. Alabama ranks second (910), Texas third (809), Georgia fourth (698) and LSU fifth (689).

• Georgia (29) and Oklahoma (27) hold the nation's longest active bowl streaks. Alabama (22) is third, Clemson (21) fourth and Iowa and Ohio State (13) fifth.