Game Day - Nov. 17, 2012

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50 cents The Norman Transcript Nov. 17, 2012 Stretch run begins Oklahoma at West Virginia

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Transcript of Game Day - Nov. 17, 2012

Page 1: Game Day - Nov. 17, 2012

50 cents

The Norman Transcript ■ Nov. 17, 2012

Stretch run beginsOklahoma at West Virginia

Page 2: Game Day - Nov. 17, 2012
Page 3: Game Day - Nov. 17, 2012

The Norman Transcript ■ Nov. 17, 2012 GAMEDAY 3

Oklahomaat W. Virginia

Time: 6 p.m.

Place: Milan Puskar Stadium

Series: Tied 2-2

Records: OU 7-2 (5-1 Big 12),W. Virginia (5-4, 2-4 Big 12)

Rankings: OU No. 13Associated Press Top 25; No.12 USA Today coaches poll;West Virginia unranked

Line: OU minus 11

TV: KOKH-25

Radio: KOKC-AM 1520,KRXO-FM 107.7

Inside

■ Road Warriors 4■ Breakdown 5■ Rosters 6■ Two-deeps 7■ Poster 8■ Stats 11■ National Schedule 12■ Big 12 Glance 13■ Predictions 14

AP Photo

Landry Jones shuffles back to hand off the ball during the Sooners’ game againstIowa State in Ames, Iowa.

THE VIEW

Going out strongTwo seasons ago,

Landry Jones playedhis most memorable

football. Oklahoma had given up

its chance at a nationalchampionship, yet fortu-itously found itself inposition to return to the Big12 title game.

Jones threw for 468yards, seemingly all of it inthe fourth quarter, to lift theSooners past their Bedlamrivals to earn a spot againstNebraska the next week inDallas.

There, he helped bringOU back from a 17-0 deficitto win 23-20.

It will remain the onlyconference title Jones haswon, and he wasn’t justalong for the ride, but aprime mover, too. And still,it won’t be what the SoonerNation remembers him for.

It’s about championships,yes, but that’s not whatyou’re remembered forwhen you leave the playing

field. It’s about settingrecords, yes, but that’s not iteither.

It’s about last impressions.It’s why OU’s 8-5 Sun Bowlseason went down easierthan it’s 12-2 BCS title gameseason the year before.

Finishing well with anational championship yoursenior season is the best ofall possible worlds, but justplain finishing well isenough to write the story.

That’s Jones’ task.Before the season began,

most guesses would havehad OU 9-0 to this point andstill, perhaps, unproven.

Remember how the Big12 claims three reigning

ClayHorning

Sports Editor

Home stretch offers Jones opportunity to exit on top

• See HORNING Page 14

Page 4: Game Day - Nov. 17, 2012

By John ShinnTranscript Sports Writer

No one would come outand say it publicly but noone had to. The evidencewas just overwhelming. Agame like tonight’s againstWest Virginia used to be thekind Oklahoma dreaded.

When OU went on theroad to face a good teamwith a hostile crowd, Soon-er mistakes piled up untilfans were rushing the fieldand goal posts were comingdown.

Say whatever you wantabout the 2012 Sooners, butthe challenge of going onthe road is something this

team enjoys. Their 4-0record away from OwenField shows it.

What does this team havethat others lack?

“I think we’re a prettymature team on both sidesof the ball,” quarterbackLandry Jones said. “Wehave strong upperclassmenand leaders on both side ofthe ball. It’s not just one hereor there, but a good group ofguys that are pushing thisthing and pushing it in theright direction right now. It’sgoing to be a challenge forus to go to West Virginiaand play well.”

Soonerstravel well

THE BIG STORY: ROAD WARRIORS

Transcript Photo by Jerry Laizure

Oklahoma defensive tackle Casey Williams gets ready for the next play at IowaState. The Sooners are gunning for another road victory tonight.

“We have strongupperclassmen andleaders on both side ofthe ball. It’s not just onehere or there, but agood group of guysthat are pushing thisthing and pushing it inthe right direction rightnow.”LLaannddrryy JJoonneessOU quarterback

Morgantown trip another chance to continue trend

• See ROAD Page 9

The Norman Transcript ■ Nov. 17, 20124 GAMEDAY

Page 5: Game Day - Nov. 17, 2012

By John Shinn Transcript Sports Writer

As late as early October,tonight’s game at WestVirginia figured to beOklahoma’s toughest testof the season.

Goingon theroad isn’teasy andgoing to astadiumwith a well-earnedreputationas a hostileenviron-ment iseventougher.Throw in the Moun-taineers’ 5-0 start and it’seasy to remember a timetoday’s game appeared tocarry huge repercussions.

Opinions have changed

in the last month. TheMountaineers have lostfour straight games,including two at MilanPuskar Stadium. TheSooners have proven to bea dominant road team.

They’re 4-0 away fromOwen Field with thevictories all by at least twotouchdowns.

Here are the five things

OKLAHOMA at WEST VIRGINIA: BREAK ING DOWN TONIGHT’S GAME

Score fast, takecrowd out of it

OklahomaquarterbackBlake Bellfinishes offhis 55-yardtouchdownrun lastweekagainstBaylor.

Transcript Photo

by Kyle Phillips

John Shinn

Fivethings to

watch

The Norman Transcript ■ Nov. 17, 2012 GAMEDAY 5

• See WATCH Page 11

RUNNING GAME PASSING GAME RUN DEFENSE

PASS DEFENSE SPECIAL TEAMS INTANGIBLES

■ Damien Williams provedhis ankle injury was a thingof the past and the Sooners’offensive line is healthier aswell. The running game willbenefit because of thosefactors. However, AndrewBuie is averaging 4.6 yardsper carry and is a very effec-tive running back. The depthof OU’s running game is thedifference, but WVU can runthe ball.

■ OU’s had the Big 12’smost efficient passing attackthis season. West Virginiagets a slight edge because ifit doesn’t win this phase, thegame is going to be a rout.West Virginia quarterbackGeno Smith is no longer aHeisman candidate, butTavon Austin and SteadmanBailey are still two of themost prolific pass catchersin the Big 12.

■ Baylor found some run-ning room last week. OUbelieves it has corrected theproblem. It all comes downto tackling. The Sooners arecoming off a shaky game.The Mountaineers are goingthrough a shaky season.You have to like the teamthat’s performed well in thepast. The Sooners get thebenefit of the doubt. TheMountaineers do not.

■ OU’s been about thesame team no matter thevenue this season. It’s hon-estly fired up about playingin Morgantown. Still, this hasbeen a target game on theMountaineers’ schedule. It’sgoing to be a raucous envi-ronment that should giveWest Virginia a boost. We’llsee if OU remains matureenough to handle it.

— John Shinn

■ The last time WestVirginia played at MilanPuskar Stadium, kicker TylerBitancurt missed field goalsin an overtime loss to TCU.But the Mountaineers havealso allowed 18 punt returnsof 20 yards or longer. TheSooners have benefittedfrom their best specialteams play in years. Thisedge could very easily beworth 10 points or more.

■ Here’s one of the twobiggest discrepancies in thegame. The Sooners areholding teams under 200passing yards. Or, about170 yards less than theMountaineers allow.Saturday, It’s all about givingup big plays. The Soonerstend to keep them at mini-mum, while West Virginiagives them up in bunches.

Page 6: Game Day - Nov. 17, 2012

1 Tony Jefferson DB 5-11 212 Jr. Chula Vista, Calif.2 Julian Wilson DB 6-2 191 So. Moore3 Sterling Shepard WR 5-10 188 Fr. Oklahoma City4 Kenny Stills WR 6-1 190 Jr. Encinitas, Calif.5 Joseph Ibiloye LB 6-3 218 Sr. Garland, Tx6 Demontre Hurst DB 5-10 183 Sr. Lancaster, Tx7 Corey Nelson LB 6-1 219 Jr. Dallas, Tx8 Dominique Whaley RB 5-11 204 Sr. Lawton8 Joe Powell DB 6-0 173 Jr. Dallas9 Gabe Lynn DB 6-0 199 Jr. Tulsa9 Trevor Knight QB 6-1 197 Fr. San Antonio10 Rashod Favors DE 6-1 250 So. Fort Worth10 Blake Bell QB 6-6 254 So. Wichita,Kan.11 R.J. Washington DE 6-3 256 Sr. Fort Worth11 Kendal Thompson QB 6-1 184 R-Fr. Oklahoma City12 Landry Jones QB 6-4 218 Sr. Artesia, N.M.13 Durron Neal WR 5-11 201 Fr. St. Louis, Mo.14 Aaron Colvin DB 6-0 181 Jr. Owasso15 Drew Allen QB 6-5 226 Jr. San Antonio15 Lamar Harris DB 6-1 186 Sr. Gilmer, Tx16 Jaz Reynolds WR 6-2 198 Jr. Houston, Tx17 Trey Metoyer WR 6-1 190 Fr. Whitehouse, Tx18 Michael Hunnicutt K 6-0 173 So. Richardson, Tx18 Jalen Saunders WR 5-9 160 Jr. Elk Grove, Calif.19 Justin Brown WR 6-3 209 Sr. Wilmington, Del.20 Frank Shannon LB 6-1 230 R-Fr. Dallas21 Tom Wort LB 6-0 237 Jr. New Braunfels, TX 21 Austin Brown WR 6-5 202 R-Fr. Buffalo, Wyo.22 Roy Finch RB 5-7 175 Jr. Niceville, Fla.22 Cortez Johnson DB 6-2 191 So. NewOrleans, La.23 Kass Everett DB 5-10 180 Jr. Philadelphia, Pa.23 Danzel Williams RB 5-8 189 R-Fr. Arlington, Tx24 Brennan Clay RB 5-11 201 Jr. San Diego24 Trey Franks DB 5-10 184 Jr. Orange, Tx25 Aaron Franklin LB 6-1 212 So. Marshall, Tx25 David Smith RB 5-10 193 Fr. Midlothian, Ill.26 Zack Sanchez DB 5-11 170 Fr. Keller, Tx 26 Damien Williams RB 6-0 208 Jr. San Diego27 Gary Simon DB 6-1 180 Fr. St. Petersburg, Fla. 28 Alex Ross RB 6-1 204 Fr. Jenks29 Grant Bothun WR 5-11 183 Fr. Rowlett, Tx 29 Quentin Hayes DB 6-0 181 So. Lancaster, Tx30 Javon Harris DB 5-11 206 Sr. Lawton31 Daniel Franklin LB 6-2 224 Sr. Mount Airy, Ga.32 Marshall Musil FB 6-2 241 Jr. La Crosse, Kan.33 Trey Millard FB 6-2 256 Jr. Columbia, Mo.34 Daniel Brooks RB 5-8 163 Fr. Port Lavaca, Tx35 Julian Winters RB 5-11 169 So. Sacramento, Calif.36 Joel Ossom FB 5-9 235 Sr. Denton, Tx36 Tress Way P 6-1 215 Sr. Tulsa 37 Dylan Seibert P 6-3 215 R-Fr. Tulsa38 Brandon Young DB 5-10 173 So. Frisco, Tx38 Jack Steed K 6-5 200 Fr. Katy, Tx

39 Nick Hodgson K 6-2 189 So. N. Richland Hills, Tx40 P.L. Lindley LB 6-2 240 R-Fr. R. Rock, Tx41 Eric Striker LB 6-0 198 Fr. Seffner, Fla. 42 Jesse Paulsen DB 6-0 193 Sr. Albuquerque, N.M.43 Patrick O’Hara K 6-0 192 Sr. Topeka, Kan. 44 Jaydan Bird LB 6-2 236 Sr. Wichita, Kan. 45 Caleb Gastelum LB 6-1 196 So. Claremore 46 Eric Doughtie DB 6-0 197 Fr. Sugarland, Tx 47 Alex Christiensen FB 6-3 243 Fr. Edmond 47 Eric Hosek K 5-10 150 R-Fr. Sherman, Tx48 Aaron Ripkowski FB 6-1 260 So. Dayton, Ohio49 David Driskill FB 6-1 239 So. Oklahoma City50 Austin Woods OL 6-4 293 Jr. Rockwall, Tx52 John-Philip Hughes OL 6-4 250 R-Fr. Tulsa 53 Casey Walker DT 6-2 309 Sr. Garland, Tx54 Nila Kasitati OL 6-4 309 R-Fr. Euless, Tx56 Ty Darlington OL 6-3 266 Fr. Apopka, Fla. 59 Nathan Hughes OL 6-6 248 R-Fr. Spring, Tx 64 Gabe Ikard OL 6-3 288 Jr. Oklahoma City67 Robert Hollis OL 6-4 333 R-Fr. Tulsa 68 Bronson Irwin OL 6-5 307 Jr. Mustang69 Lane Johnson OL 6-7 303 Sr. Groveton, Tx71 Tyrus Thompson OL 6-5 303 So. Pflugerville, Tx 72 Derek Farniok OL 6-9 319 R-Fr. Sioux Falls, S.D.74 Adam Shead OL 6-4 307 So. Cedar Hill, Tx 75 Tyler Evans OL 6-5 315 Sr. Strafford, Mo. 77 Marquis Anderson DT 6-3 265 R-Fr. Cibolo, Tx 78 Kyle Marrs OL 6-5 320 Fr. San Antonio, Tx79 Daryl Williams OL 6-6 299 So. Lake Dallas, Tx80 Jordan Phillips DT 6-6 318 R-Fr. Towanda, Kan.80 Derrick Woods WR 6-1 185 Fr. Inglewood, Calif.81 Sam Grant TE 6-7 234 Fr. North Royalton, Ohio81 Lacolton Bester WR 6-3 205 Jr. Scooba, Miss. 82 Brannon Green TE 6-2 250 Jr. Altamont, Kan. 84 Mike Onuoha DE 6-5 235 Fr. Edmond 84 Don Caudill WR 6-1 194 Jr. Muldrow85 Geneo Grissom TE 6-4 247 So. Hutchinson, Kan. 86 Brandon Kitchens WR 5-11 161 Fr. Jenks87 Derrick Bradley WR 5-8 173 Sr. Houston, Tx88 Taylor McNamara TE 6-5 234 Fr. San Diego, Calif. 89 Connor Knight TE 6-4 212 Fr. San Antonio, 89 Chase Buck TE 6-3 231 Jr. Edmond90 David King DE 6-5 286 Sr. Houston91 Charles Tapper DE 6-4 265 Fr. Baltimore92 Stacy McGee DT 6-4 299 Sr. Muskogee93 Jordan Wade DT 6-4 290 Fr. Round Rock, Tx94 Torrea Peterson DT 6-3 277 So. San Antonio95 Damon Williams DT 6-3 305 So. Irving, Tx96 Mitch Tate DE 6-4 238 R-Fr. Bartlesville97 Jamarkus McFarland DT 6-2 288 Sr. Lufkin, Tx 98 Chuka Ndulue DE 6-3 256 So. Dallas99 Chaz Nelson DE 6-2 239 Jr. Columbus, Ohio

OKLAHOMA ROSTER1 Tavon Austin WR 5-9 171 Sr. Baltimore, Md.3 Stedman Bailey WR 5-10 195 r-Jr. Miramar, Fla.3 Vernon Davis CB 5-10 175 Fr. Miami, Fla.4 Josh Francis LB 6-0 224 Sr. Damascus, Md.6 Pat Miller CB 5-11 187 Sr. Birmingham, Ala.7 Ford Childress QB 6-5 225 Fr. Houston, Texas7 Nana Kyeremeh CB 5-11 170 Fr. Worthington, Ohio8 Josh Lambert K/P 5-11 203 Fr. Garland, Texas8 Karl Joseph S 5-10 197 Fr. Orlando, Fla.9 K.J. Dillon S 6-1 202 Fr. Apopka, Fla.10 Jordan Thompson WR 5-7 164 Fr. Katy, Texas11 Sean Walters LB 6-1 205 Fr. Hallandale, Fla.12 Mikal Mayo CB 5-10 178 r-Fr. Baltimore, Md.12 Geno Smith QB 6-3 220 Sr. Miami, Fla.13 Andrew Buie RB 5-9 188 So. Jacksonville, Fla.14 Paul Millard QB 6-2 220 So.Flower Mound, Texas14 Nana Twum Agyire CB 6-0 188 r-Fr. Chevy Chase, Md.15 Dante Campbell WR 6-4 213 r-Fr. Clermont, Fla.15 Ricky Rumph CB 5-10 172 Fr. Daytona Beach, Fla.16 Logan Moore QB 5-11 185 Jr. Fairmont, W.Va.16 Terrell Chestnut CB 5-11 180 r-Fr. Pottstown, Pa.17 Dozie Ezemma DL 6-2 230 r-Jr. Pomona, N.Y.17 Sam Eggleston WR 6-0 170 Fr. Houston, Texas18 Terrence Gourdine WR 6-0 194 r-Jr. Miami, Fla.19 KJ Myers WR 6-2 197 r-Fr. Jacksonville, Fla.19 Anthony Vecchio CB 5-11 181 r-So. Morgantown, W.Va.20 Shawne Alston RB 5-11 236 Sr. Hampton, Va.20 Brandon Napoleon CB 5-11 188 Fr. Rahway, N.J.22 Avery Williams CB 5-11 180 So. Washington, D.C.23 Dustin Brown WR 5-10 179 r-So. Craigsville, W.Va.23 Brodrick Jenkins CB 5-10 183 r-Jr. Fort Myers, Fla.24 Cecil Level CB 5-10 186 r-Sr. Fayetteville, Ga.25 Darwin Cook S 5-11 201 r-Jr. Cleveland, Ohio26 Travis Bell S 6-1 192 Jr. Belle Glade, Fla.27 William Marable S 6-0 196 r-Jr. Virginia Beach, Va.27 D.J. Hunt RB 5-10 197 Fr. Raleigh, N.C.28 D'Vontis Arnold RB 5-9 185 Fr. Miramar, Fla.28 Terence Garvin LB 6-3 221 Sr. Baltimore, Md.29 Dustin Garrison RB 5-8 180 So. Pearland, Texas30 Donovan Miles RB 6-1 234 r-Sr. Stafford, Va.31 Isaiah Bruce LB 6-1 225 r-Fr. Jacksonville, Fla.32 Ryan Clarke RB 6-0 226 r-Sr. Glen Burnie, Md.32 Mike Hall S 6-0 181 Fr. Nitro, W.Va.33 Nate Majnaric RB 6-0 232 r-Jr. Akron, Ohio33 Jared Barber LB 6-0 232 So. Mocksville, N.C.34 Ishmael Banks S 6-0 184 r-So. Richmond, Va.35 Nick Kwiatkoski LB 6-2 224 r-Fr. Bethel Park, Pa.35 Anthony Gutta RB 5-10 233 r-Fr. Morgantown, W.Va.36 Shaq Petteway LB 6-0 227 So. Steubenville, Ohio36 Chris Smelley RB 6-0 225 r-Fr. Bridgeport, Ohio37 Wes Tonkery LB 6-2 221 r-So. Shinnston, W.Va.39 Nick Cadwell S 5-9 186 r-Sr. Leesburg, Va.40 Tyler Bitancurt K 6-1 205 r-Sr. Springfield, Va.

40 Austin Copeland LB 6-1 200 Fr. Woodbridge, Va.

41 Curtis Smelley LB 6-0 225 r-Fr. Bridgeport, Ohio

42 Garrett Hope DL 6-3 245 Fr.The Woodlands, Texas

43 Jarrod Harper S 6-0 207 Fr. Frostburg, Md.

44 Corey Smith K/P 6-0 210 r-Sr. Inwood, W.Va.

45 Eric Kinsey DL 6-2 248 Fr. Miami, Fla.

46 Michael Molinari K 6-2 197 r-So. Parkersburg, W.Va.

47 Doug Rigg LB 6-1 241 Jr. Oradell, N.J.

48 Justin Arndt LB 5-11 200 Fr. Martinsburg, W.Va.

49 Troy Gloster LB 5-11 230 r-So. Germantown, Md.

50 Taige Redman LB 6-1 230 r-Jr. Keyser, W.Va.

53 Tyler Anderson LB 6-2 251 r-Jr. Morgantown, W.Va.

56 Jewone Snow DL 6-2 243 r-So. Canton, Ohio

57 Jeff Braun OL 6-5 316 r-Sr. Westminster, Md.

58 Adam Pankey OL 6-5 332 Fr. Hamilton, Ohio

60 John Bassler OL 6-4 308 r-Sr. New Windsor, Md.

62 Curtis Feigt OL 6-7 317 r-Jr. Mercersburg, Pa.

63 Michael Calicchio OL 6-9 313 Jr. Brooklyn, N.Y.

64 Mark Glowinski OL 6-5 298 Jr. Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

65 Tyler Orlosky OL 6-4 285 Fr. Cleveland, Ohio

67 Quinton Spain OL 6-5 334 r-So. Petersburg, Va.

69 Tony Matteo OL 6-4 304 Fr. Clinton, Ohio

70 James Gayeski DL 6-4 240 r-Fr. Deptford, N.J.

70 Brandon Jackson OL 6-3 328 r-Fr. Euclid, Ohio

73 Russell H.-James OL 6-5 311 r-Fr. Plantation, Fla.

74 Joe Madsen OL 6-4 305 r-Sr. Chardon, Ohio

76 Pat Eger OL 6-6 304 r-Jr. Jefferson Hills, Pa.

77 Josh Jenkins OL 6-4 303 r-Sr. Parkersburg, W.Va.

78 Marquis Lucas OL 6-4 312 r-Fr. Miami, Fla.

79 Nick Kindler OL 6-6 296 r-Jr. Camp Hill, Pa.

80 Ryan Nehlen WR 6-3 204 r-Sr. Morgantown, W.Va.

81 J.D. Woods WR 6-1 190 r-Sr. Naples, Fla.

82 Devonte Mathis WR 6-1 219 Fr. Hollywood, Fla.

83 Connor Arlia WR 5-9 183 So. Weirton, W.Va.

85 Devonte Robinson WR 6-2 184 Fr. Delray Beach, Fla.

86 Jerry Cooper LS 5-11 211 r-So. North Port, Fla.

87 John DePalma LS 6-6 235 Fr. Cumming, Ga.

88 Cody Clay RB 6-3 256 r-Fr. Alum Creek, W.Va.

89 Will Johnson WR 6-6 248 Fr. Maple Grove, Minn.

90 Shaq Rowell DL 6-4 308 Jr. Maple Heights, Ohio

91 J.B. Lageman DL 6-3 273 r-Sr. Huntington, W.Va.

92 Trevor Demko DL 6-6 258 r-So. Kulpmont, Pa.

93 Kyle Rose DL 6-4 276 r-Fr. Centerville, Ohio

94 Imarjaye Albury DL 5-11 286 Fr. Miami, Fla.

95 Christian Brown DL 6-3 300 Fr. Bridgeton, N.J.

96 Korey Harris DL 6-4 240 Fr. St. Augustine, Fla.

97 Noble Nwachukwu DL 6-2 259 Fr. Wylie, Texas

98 Will Clarke DL 6-7 271 r-Jr. Pittsburgh, Pa.

99 Jorge Wright DL 6-2 291 r-Sr. Miami, Fla.

WEST VIRGINIA ROSTER

The Norman Transcript ■ Nov. 17, 20126 GAMEDAY

Page 7: Game Day - Nov. 17, 2012

WHEN OKLAHOMA HAS THE BALL WHEN WEST VIRGINIA HAS THE BALL

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The Norman Transcript ■ Nov. 17, 2012 GAMEDAY 7

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Page 8: Game Day - Nov. 17, 2012

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Page 9: Game Day - Nov. 17, 2012

A month ago it looked likeit would be a much biggerone. The Mountaineers (5-4,2-4 Big 12) carry a four-gamelosing streak into tonight.They haven’t won since top-ping Texas on Oct. 6. OnceNo. 5, they’re now out of thepolls.

That doesn’t seem to mat-ter to the 13th-ranked Soon-ers (7-2, 5-1). They stillbelieve this game is thesame massive challengethey figured it would be inAugust.

It’s a testament to thefocus the Sooners have dis-played this season.

“I think as much as any-thing, it should be irrelevantwhere you’re playing inregard to your mindset, inregard to how you prepare,in regard to how you walkon the field ready to play,”OU coach Bob Stoops said.“All that matters is whatyou’re doing inside thoselines. I think we’ve beenmore consistent inapproaching it that way.”

The Sooners haven’t hadthat in past seasons. TheSooners haven’t won all their

games away from OwenField since the last time theywon all their games — the2000 national championshipseason — period.

This year’s bunch won’tbring home the hardwarethat team did. Home lossesto Kansas State and NotreDame have OU trailing inthe Big 12 standings and outof the national champi-onship picture.

It has, though, changedthe perception that OU wasdominant at home, but ripe

for an upset away from it.“I feel like we’re focused

more on us than focusing onthe (opponent) like we didlast year,” cornerback AaronColvin said. “We know weare great players and a greatteam. We can be unstop-pable if we’re on our game.We just have been reallyfocusing on us and playingthe technique that we knowwe’re capable of because weknow our talent will take uselsewhere.”

West Virginia’s going to

be as tough an environmentas the Sooners seen this sea-son. It will be loud and row-dy. The Mountaineers knowtonight is a chance to makea declaration in its first Big12 season.

The Sooners mentionedall those things this week.They know what they’re get-ting into. They relish theopportunity.

John ShinnFollow me @john_shinn

[email protected]

Total 307 1584 5.2 26 95 176.0

Opp. 335 1395 4.2 14 71 155.0

PassingEff C-A-I Pct Yds. TD

Jones 144.2 226-345-7 65.5 2691 18

Bell 122.9 8-13-0 61.5 95 0

Total 143.4 234-358-7 65.4 2786 18

Opp. 92.7 140-281-9 49.8 1532 3

ReceivingNo. Yds. Avg. TD Lg A/G

Stills 54 682 12.6 6 68 75.8

Brown 41 537 13.1 4 46 59.7

Saunders 29 373 12.9 0 35 74.6

Shepard 28 387 13.8 3 31 43.0

Millard 21 261 12.4 2 73 29.0

Williams 18 195 10.8 0 38 21.7

Metoyer 16 130 8.1 1 27 16.2

Clay 10 53 5.3 1 14 5.9

Neal 4 62 15.5 0 25 8.9

Whaley 4 14 3.5 0 13 2.3

Green 3 45 15.0 1 18 5.0

Bester 3 29 9.7 0 13 3.2

Finch 2 6 3.0 0 5 0.7

Musil 1 12 12.0 0 12 6.0

Total 234 2786 11.9 18 73 309.6

Opp. 140 1532 10.9 3 75 170.2

Tackles (leaders)S A T Loss Sack

Jefferson 54 25 79 2.5-6 0.5-3

Harris 32 22 54 1.0-4

Wort 17 24 41 3.5-19 1.0-11

Hurst 31 8 39 1.0-2 1.0-2

Nelson 18 19 37 3.5-13 1.0-8

Colvin 24 13 37 0.5-1

Ndulue 17 18 35 5.0-10 4.0-9

Washington15 16 31 2.0-8 0.5-2

Shannon 15 9 24 3.0-13 2.0-12

Lynn 18 6 24 1.5-2

McFarland 10 11 21 5.0-27 3.0-23

King 9 12 21 2.0-9 2.5-8

Franklin 14 5 19 1.0-8 1.0-8

Sept. 1 at UTEP W, 24-7Sept. 8 Florida A&M W, 69-13Sept. 22 Kansas St. L, 24-19Oct. 6 at Texas Tech W, 41-20Oct. 13 Texas W, 63-21Oct. 20 Kansas W, 52-7Oct. 27 Notre Dame L, 30-13Nov. 3 at Iowa St. W, 35-20Nov. 10 Baylor W, 42-34Nov. 17 at W. Virginia 6 p.m.Nov. 24 OSU 2:30 p.m.Dec. 1 at TCU TBA

SCHEDULE

STATS(Nine games)

RushingAtt Yds Y/C TD Lg Y/G

Williams 113 687 6.1 9 95 76.3

Clay 61 398 6.5 5 41 44.2

Whaley 39 243 6.2 1 18 40.5

Bell 46 162 3.5 10 55 18.0

Millard 21 129 6.1 0 20 14.3

Finch 6 61 10.2 1 17 6.8

Stills 2 22 11.0 0 13 2.4

Shepard 1 13 13.0 0 13 1.4

Team 6 -34 -5.7 0 0 -6.8

Jones 12 -97 -8.1 0 5 -10.8

Road: Sooners relish chance• Continued from Page 4

The Norman Transcript ■ Nov. 17, 201210 GAMEDAY

OU Opp.SCORING 358 176

Points per game 39.8 19.6

FIRST DOWNS 230 156

Rushing 81 68

Passing 142 74

Penalty 7 14

RUSHING YARDAGE 1584 1395

Yards gained rushing 1771 1550

Yards lost rushing 187 155

Rushing Attempts 307 335

Average Per Rush 5.2 4.2

Average Per Game 176.0 155.0

TDs Rushing 26 14

PASSING YARDAGE 2786 1532

C-A-I 234-358-7140-281-9

Average per pass 7.8 5.5

Average per catch 11.9 10.9

Average per game 309.6 170.2

TDs Passing 18 3

TOTAL OFFENSE 4370 2927

Total Plays 665 616

Average per play 6.6 4.8

Average per game 485.6 325.2

3rd-DOWN Conversions 62-119 61-147

Percentage 52% 41%

4th-DOWN Conversions 4-6 4-10

Percentage 67% 40%

TE AM NUMBERS

OklahomaoffensivelinemanBronson Irwin,left, and TyDarlingtonkeep Baylor’sNick Johnsonaway fromquarterbackLandry Jones.

Transcript Photo by

Jerry Laizure

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Biggest test yetfor T-Wolves

By Joy HamptonTranscript Staff Writer

Dozens of volunteers and Cleve-land County Election Boardemployees spent more than 10hours tediously recounting by handballots cast in the State House Dis-trict 45 election.

In the end, the recount narrowedthe lead of Republican Aaron Stilesby only two votes.

Around 9:30 p.m., Stiles was cer-tified by the Cleveland County Elec-tion Board with a 16-vote victory.Prior to the recount, Stiles had unof-

ficially won by an 18-vote marginover Democratic challenger PaulaRoberts.

The vote total was Roberts with6,787 votes and Stiles with 6,803votes.

However, the battle isn’t over.Judge Tracy Schumacher will heararguments from Roberts’ attorney,Greg Bledsoe, regarding allegedirregularities at 1 p.m. Tuesday.Bledsoe will argue that these irreg-ularities are cause for a new elec-tion.

Joy Hampton / The Transcript

The Oklahoma House District 45 recount is under way Thursday inthe courtroom of Judge Tracy Schumacher at the ClevelandCounty Courthouse. Schumacher ruled that a recount of 13,550ballots would proceed after both parties agreed all ballots hadbeen secured and were not subject to tampering.

Other revenuesources offsettingNorman’s low salestax collections

By Joy HamptonTranscript Staff Writer

Despite a strong showing inJuly, Norman’s sales taxgrowth figures as compared tolast year’s collections have runbelow budget predictions. Ona more positive note, statewidesales tax collections for Octo-ber were up 4 percent over2011 collections, according toState Treasurer Ken Miller’spress release.

If Norman is lucky, its salestax collections will echo thestate’s numbers when thoseOctober collections are dis-persed to the city in Decem-

Balancingrevenue

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Stiles by a sliver

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A l w a y s C o n n e c t e d

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a n y t i m e . . . a n y w h e r e

TAKE US TO THE

Page 10: Game Day - Nov. 17, 2012

the Sooners must do wellto maintain their trend ofplaying well on the road.

Score on the openingdrive: OU has been hit andmiss in the category. Itscored touchdowns againstTexas Tech and Texas. Itcame away without points atUTEP and Iowa State. Itisn’t a necessity to win thegame. But if OU wants quietthe crowd, it’s a good idea.Nothing sucks the air out ofstadium like a touchdownfor the road team.

Get some turnovers: OUdefensive coordinator MikeStoops has been poundingthis point home witheverything but a jackham-mer. The Sooners havecreated just one turnover inthe last three games andhave come up with just 16this season. You couldargue the lack of them hasprevented the Sooners fromtruly being a dominantdefense. It needs to changeagainst the Mountaineers.They put the ball in the airtoo many times for OU notsnag at least a couple.

Continue running the ball:

OU’s offense has made anevolution this season. Ittruly is a balanced offenseand it’s on pace to averageover 5 yards per carry forthe first time in Bob Stoops’coaching tenure. It’s amajor reason the Soonershave been such a goodroad team this season.They’re averaging 5.5yards per carry in thosegames.

Tackle well: This was anissue last week againstBaylor. The Sooners’

defensive scheme ispredicated on linebackersand safeties making tacklesin open space. It was themain reason the Bearsrushed for over 200 yards.West Virginia is a spreadteam that thrives onbreaking tackles andpicking up huge chunks ofyards. If the Sooners don’ttackle better tonight, anupset will be brewing.

Keep Geno Smith in thepocket: The Soonerdefensive line will be

gauged on whether it canforce West Virginiaquarterback Geno Smith tostay in thepocket andthrow into clutteredpassing lanes. If that’s thecase it should be a goodnight for the Sooners. Ifhe’s able to run around,OU’s going to give upsome big plays and that’s arecipe for disaster.

John ShinnFollow me @john_shinn

[email protected]

Total 297 1194 4.0 12 70 132.7

Opp. 361 1211 3.4 19 53 134.6

PassingEff C-A-I Pct Yds. TD

Smith 159.19 285-400-3 71.2 3041 31

Millard 116.16 9-18-1 50.0 87 2

Total 157.33 294-418-4 70.3 3128 33

Opp. 174.07 207-312-7 66.3 3107 27

ReceivingNo. Yds. Avg. TD Lg A/G

Austin 96 968 10.1 11 52 107.6

Bailey 75 1055 14.1 16 87 117.2

Woods 45 467 10.4 3 22 51.9

Buie 24 255 10.6 0 34 28.3

Thompson 12 74 6.2 0 15 8.2

Copeland 10 55 5.5 0 14 18.3

McCartney 9 112 12.4 0 52 14.0

Garrison 9 43 4.8 0 11 6.1

Nehlen 6 38 6.3 1 9 4.2

Arlia 4 39 9.8 0 14 7.8

Campbell 2 13 6.5 1 9 1.9

Myers 2 9 4.5 1 6 1.1

Total 294 3128 10.6 33 87 347.6

Opp. 207 3107 15.0 27 94 345.2

Tackles (leaders)S A T Loss Sack

Bruce 47 33 80 6.0-18 4.0-1

Joseph 50 15 65 4.5-19 1.0-12

Garvin 28 24 52 6.0-33 4.0-27

Francis 32 11 43 15.0-53 4.5-33

Rigg 23 18 41 2.5-6 1.0-5

Miller 35 6 41 3.0-25 1.0-7

Cook 33 5 38 2.0-10 1.0-8

Jenkins 24 3 27 1.0-3

Petteway 17 10 27 4.0-16 1.5-14

Rowell 12 11 23 1.0-2

Wright 13 5 18 4.0-21 2.0-10

Rose 10 8 18

Dillon 12 5 17

Banks 15 2 17

Clarke 9 7 16 4.0-11 1.5-8

Sept. 1 Marshall W, 69-34Sept. 15 at J. Madison W, 42-12Sept. 22 Maryland W, 31-21Sept. 29 Baylor W, 70-63Oct. 6 at Texas W, 48-45Oct. 13 at Texas Tech L, 49-14Oct. 20 Kansas State L, 55-14Nov. 3 TCU L, 39-28Nov. 10 at OSU L, 55-34Nov. 17 Oklahoma 6 p.m.Nov. 23 at Iowa State 2:30 p.m.Dec. 1 Kansas TBA

SCHEDULE

STATS(Nine games)

RushingAtt Yds Y/C TD Lg Y/G

Buie 140 646 4.6 5 30 71.8

Alston 38 201 5.3 4 21 40.2

Garrison 38 166 4.4 1 17 23.7

Austin 14 103 7.4 0 70 11.4

Smith 53 83 1.6 2 28 9.2

Woods 1 16 16.0 0 16 1.8

Clarke 2 12 6.0 0 11 1.5

Thompson 2 1 0.5 0 3 0.1

Millard 2 -3 -1.5 0 1 -0.5

Team 7 -31 -4.4 0 0 -4.4

Watch: Have to keep runningThe Norman Transcript ■ Nov. 17, 2012 GAMEDAY 11

• Continued from Page 5

WVU Opp.SCORING 360 373

Points per game 40.0 41.4

FIRST DOWNS 227 209

Rushing 72 78

Passing 142 122

Penalty 13 9

RUSHING YARDAGE 1194 1211

Yards gained rushing 1454 1462

Yards lost rushing 260 251

Rushing Attempts 297 361

Average Per Rush 4.0 3.4

Average Per Game 132.7 134.6

TDs Rushing 12 19

PASSING YARDAGE 3128 3107

C-A-I 294-418-4 207-312-7

Average per pass 7.5 10.0

Average per catch 10.6 15.0

Average per game 347.6 345.2

TDs Passing 33 27

TOTAL OFFENSE 4322 4318

Total Plays 715 673

Average per play 6.0 6.4

Average per game 347.6 479.8

3rd-DOWN Conversions 59-135 60-128

Percentage 44% 47%

4th-DOWN Conversions 15-29 9-15

Percentage 52% 60%

TE AM NUMBERS

OU runningback BrennanClay breaksthrough theline againstIowa State. Ifthe Soonerscan run theball well today,it should helpeverything gobetter at WestVirginia.

Transcript Photo by

Jerry Laizure

Page 11: Game Day - Nov. 17, 2012

COLLEGE FOOTBALL SATURDAYToday’s Games

EASTTemple (3-6) at Army (2-8), 11 a.m.Yale (2-7) at Harvard (7-2), 11 a.m.Towson (6-4) at New Hampshire (8-2), 11 a.m.Indiana (4-6) at Penn St. (6-4), 11 a.m.Maine (4-6) at Rhode Island (0-10), 11 a.m.Monmouth (NJ) (4-5) at R. Morris (4-6), 11 a.m.S. Heart (2-8) at St. Francis (Pa.) (4-6), 11 a.m.Va. Tech (4-6) at B.C. (2-8), 11:30 a.m.Columbia (3-6) at Brown (6-3), 11:30 a.m.Penn (5-4) at Cornell (4-5), 11:30 a.m.CCSU (2-7) at Albany (NY) (8-2), noonBryant (4-6) at Bucknell (2-8), noonColgate (7-3) at Fordham (6-4), noonHoly Cross (1-9) at Georgetown (5-5), noonLehigh (9-1) at Lafayette (5-5), noonDartmouth (5-4) at Princeton (5-4), noonBuffalo (3-7) at UMass (1-9), 2 p.m.Villanova (7-3) at Delaware (5-5), 2:30 p.m.Texas St. (3-6) at Navy (6-4), 2:30 p.m.Oklahoma (7-2) at West Virginia (5-4), 6 p.m.

SOUTHTenn. Tech (3-7) at Austin Peay (1-9), 11 a.m.Houston (4-6) at Marshall (4-6), 11 a.m.Florida St. (9-1) at Maryland (4-6), 11 a.m.W. Carolina (1-9) at Alabama (9-1), 11:21 a.m.Arkansas (4-6) at Miss. St. (7-3), 11:21 a.m.Marist (3-6) at Campbell (1-9), noonSan Diego (6-3) at Davidson (2-8), noonJacksonville St. (6-4) at Florida (9-1), noonDelaware St. (6-4) at Howard (6-4), noonDrake (7-3) at Jacksonville (7-3), noonValparaiso (1-9) at Morehead St. (3-7), noonHampton (2-7) at Morgan St. (3-7), noonWofford (8-2) at South Carolina (8-2), noonThe Citadel (6-4) at Furman (3-7), 12:30 p.m.Presbyterian (2-8) at G.-Webb (2-8), 12:30 p.m.Georgia So. (8-2) at Georgia (9-1), 12:30 p.m.Savannah St. (1-9) at SC State (4-6), 12:30 p.m.Liberty (5-5) at VMI (2-8), 12:30 p.m.Richmond (7-3) at W & M (2-8), 12:30 p.m.Jackson St. (6-4) at Alcorn St. (4-6), 1 p.m.Alabama A&M (7-3) at Auburn (2-8), 1 p.m.Florida A&M (4-6) vs. B.-Cookman (8-2), 1 p.m.Elon (3-7) at Chattanooga (5-5), 1 p.m.SE Missouri (3-7) at Murray St. (4-6), 1 p.m.NC A&T (6-4) at NC Central (6-4), 1 p.m.Memphis (2-8) at UAB (3-7), 1 p.m.South Florida (3-6) at Miami (5-5), 2 p.m.Tennessee St. (8-2) at UT-Martin (7-3), 2 p.m.NC State (6-4) at Clemson (9-1), 2:30 p.m.Charleston So. (5-5) at C. Carolina (6-4), 2:30 p.m.Duke (6-4) at Georgia Tech (5-5), 2:30 p.m.Mississippi (5-5) at LSU (8-2), 2:30 p.m.

M. Tennessee (6-3) at S. Alabama (2-8), 2:30 p.m.Arkansas St. (7-3) at Troy (5-5), 2:30 p.m.East Carolina (6-4) at Tulane (2-8), 2:30 p.m.Utah St. (8-2) at Louisiana Tech (9-1), 3 p.m.North Texas (4-6) at La-Monroe (6-4), 3 p.m.Old Dominion (9-1) at J. Madison (7-3), 6 p.m.W. Kentucky (6-4) at La-Lafayette (5-4), 6 p.m.Tennessee (4-6) at Vanderbilt (6-4), 6 p.m.Samford (6-3) at Kentucky (1-9), 6:30 p.m.Lamar (4-7) at McNeese St. (6-4), 7 p.m.UTEP (2-8) at Southern Miss. (0-10), 7 p.m.

MIDWESTKent St. (9-1) at Bowling Green (7-3), 11 a.m.Rutgers (8-1) at Cincinnati (7-2), 11 a.m.Iowa (4-6) at Michigan (7-3), 11 a.m.Northwestern (7-3) at Michigan St. (5-5), 11 a.m.Miami (Ohio) (4-6) at Cent. Michigan (4-6), noonN. Dakota St. (9-1) at Illinois St. (8-2), noonE. Michigan (1-9) at W. Michigan (4-7), 1 p.m.Indiana St. (7-3) at Youngstown St. (6-4), 1 p.m.S. Dakota (1-9) at S. Dakota St. (7-3), 2 p.m.W. Illinois (3-7) at S. Illinois (5-5), 2 p.m.Purdue (4-6) at Illinois (2-8), 2:30 p.m.Minnesota (6-4) at Nebraska (8-2), 2:30 p.m.W. Forest (5-5) at Notre Dame (10-0), 2:30 p.m.Ohio St. (10-0) at Wisconsin (7-3), 2:30 p.m.Missouri St. (3-7) at N. Iowa (4-6), 4 p.m.Iowa St. (5-5) at Kansas (1-9), 6 p.m.Syracuse (5-5) at Missouri (5-5), 6 p.m.

SOUTHWESTUCF (8-2) at Tulsa (8-2), 11 a.m.MVSU (4-6) at Texas Southern (2-8), 1 p.m.P. View (3-7) at Ark.-Pine Bluff (8-2), 2:30 p.m.Texas Tech (7-3) at Oklahoma St. (6-3), 2:30 p.m.SMU (5-5) at Rice (4-6), 2:30 p.m.S.H. St. (8-2) at Texas A&M (8-2), 2:30 p.m.E. Illinois (7-3) at Cent. Arkansas (8-2), 5 p.m.Northwestern St. (4-6) at S.F. Austin (4-6), 6 p.m.Kansas St. (10-0) at Baylor (4-5), 7 p.m.

FAR WESTWashington (6-4) at Colorado (1-9), 11:30 p.m.N. Dakota (5-5) at N. Colorado (4-6), 1:05 p.m.Washington St. (2-8) at Arizona St. (5-5), 2 p.m.Southern Cal (7-3) at UCLA (8-2), 2:05 p.m.Colorado St. (3-7) at Boise St. (8-2), 2:30 p.m.Montana St. (9-1) at Montana (5-5), 2:30 p.m.Nevada (6-4) at New Mexico (4-7), 2:30 p.m.Wyoming (3-7) at UNLV (2-9), 3 p.m.E. Washington (8-2) at Portland St. (3-7), 3:05 p.m.UTSA (6-4) at Idaho (1-9), 4 p.m.Weber St. (1-9) at Idaho St. (1-9), 5 p.m.Sacramento St. (6-4) at UC Davis (3-7), 5 p.m.Cal Poly (8-2) at N. Arizona (8-2), 5:05 p.m.Stanford (8-2) at Oregon (10-0), 7 p.m.Arizona (6-4) at Utah (4-6), 9 p.m.California (3-8) at Oregon St. (7-2), 9:30 p.m.BYU (6-4) at San Jose St. (8-2), 9:30 p.m.

Call him Johnny Football

AP Photo

Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel runs the ballagainst Alabama last week.

By Kristie RiekenAP Sports Writer

COLLEGE STATION,Texas — In his Hill Countryhometown of Kerrville,Texas, Johnny Football nev-er would have been knownby such a specific nickname.

Johnny Manziel couldhave also been Johnny Base-ball, maybe Johnny Golf.After all, his high schoolcoach, Mark Smith, says “hecould have been anything hewanted to be.”

Well, at the moment, thedynamic quarterback for No.9 Texas A&M is the toast ofcollege football after leadinghis team to a road upset ofthen-No. 1 Alabama.

All Manziel has done thisseason is pass for 2,780 yardsand 18 touchdowns and runfor 1,014 yards and 15 morescores. His team is 8-2 in itsfirst SEC season and, oh yes,Manziel is a freshman — justthe second in Bowl Subdivi-

sion history with 1,000 yardsrushing and 2,000 passing ina season, and he’s got thateven before Saturday’s gameagainst Sam Houston State.

It’s been quite a whirlwindfew months for the 19-year-old Manziel, who had to com-pete for the job in camp andwasn’t named A&M’s starteruntil Aug. 15.

His work at A&M is remi-niscent of his performance atKerrville Tivy high school. Asa senior, he threw for 3,609yards and 45 touchdowns,and added 30 more touch-downs on 1,674 yards rush-ing.

“It’s like watching himback in high school, to bequite honest with you,” Smithsaid, calling him a once-in-a-lifetime player. “The thingshe’s doing, they don’t amazeme. Maybe a little surprisingit’s happening this fast againstthe SEC competition, but it’ssome of the same things I’veseen from him in his high

school years.”Smith and Texas A&M

coach Kevin Sumlin both saythat one of the best thingsabout Manziel is that he’sunflappable. A perfect exam-ple of his poise came in thefirst quarter Saturday againstAlabama. Manziel nearly fum-bled the ball at the line andthe defense was all over him.He evaded the pressure and

found Ryan Swope uncov-ered in the back of the endzone with a 10-yard touch-down pass.

“He’s always in control,”Smith said. “He doesn’t panicand he doesn’t get frustrated.He just continues to play.”

Sumlin recruited Manzielwhile he was the coach atHouston, sending current

• See JOHNNY Page 13

Aggie QB makes the game exciting

The Norman Transcript ■ Nov. 17, 201212 GAMEDAY

Page 12: Game Day - Nov. 17, 2012

Runner: Texas A&M quarterback has become the toast of the college game

Baylor hasn’t missed RG3 muchBy Stephen HawkinsAP Sports Writer

WACO, Texas — Take aglance at the total offenseleaders in the Bowl Subdivi-sion and there is a Baylorquarterback at the top.Same for passing yards pergame.

Without looking at names,it’d be easy to think those areleftover lists from last season,before Robert Griffin III wonthe Heisman Trophy and leftearly for the NFL.

Nope, those are the lateststatistics.

While Nick Florence hasnever tried to be like RG3 —“I’m not 6-3, 6-4, and I don’trun a 4.3,” the 6-foot-1 senior

said — his numbers this sea-son are very comparable towhat Griffin did with theBears.

“He’s been masterful quitehonestly, and not surprising-ly to us because of his per-sonality and his demeanorand his mindset,” coach ArtBriles said.

Through nine games, Flo-rence has more yards pass-ing (3,191 to 3,093), onemore rushing touchdown(six to five) and has beensacked five times less thanGriffin at the same point lastseason. The wins just haven’tcome as frequently for theBears (4-5, 1-5 Big 12), whoare still trying to get bowl eli-gible.

They play Saturday nightat home game against sec-ond-ranked Kansas State (10-0, 7-0), the No. 1 team in theBCS standings. It is amatchup of the quarterbackwho replaced the HeismanTrophy winner against Wild-cats quarterback CollinKlein, this year’s Heismanfront-runner.

Griffin, the WashingtonRedskins rookie starter, saidhe’s proud that Florence ishaving his chance this seasonas Baylor’s quarterback.

“He’s put in a lot of hours.He was there just as long asI was, so it’s good to see that,”Griffin said. “They’ve got K-State coming up, so it’ll beinteresting. I look forward to

seeing him go and be suc-cessful.”

While Baylor has certain-ly made some changes in anoffense that lost Griffin, alongwith the leading rusher andleading receiver from a 10-win team that sent five offen-sive players into the NFLdraft, the basis of Briles’ sys-tem stayed intact.

“It’s little things here andthere that we’ve changed andmorphed,” said Florence,who averages 395 total yardsper game. “It’s not drastic,there’s all these little thingsthat make other things betternow. ... We still do a lot of thesame stuff, but it’s just addingdifferent wrinkles and shadesto it.”

The Norman Transcript ■ Nov. 17, 2012 GAMEDAY 13

A&M offensive coordinatorKliff Kingsbury out to watchhim play. When Kingsbury, aformer standout QB at TexasTech, brought Sumlin thevideo of his game, he won-dered why he even bothered.

“I saw the video and it wasjust a highlight tape,” Sumlinsaid. “I didn’t have to watchvery much of it. There’s a cou-ple of guys that when coach-es come back and say:‘Coach, you need to see this,can we offer this guy?’ You

watch a few plays and ask:‘Why did you even show thatto me? Why didn’t (you) offerthe guy when you werethere?”’

Manziel passed on Hous-ton and several other schoolsand verbally committed to

Oregon. He’d always lovedthe school and was a big fanof coach Chip Kelly. But asManziel thought more aboutplaying there, he realized hecouldn’t be more than 2,000miles away from his family,Smith said.

Smith helped him navigatethat situation, and wasimpressed by the way he han-dled it. Manziel agonized overthe decision to sign withA&M instead of Oregon, andSmith sat with him when hecalled Kelly to break the

news.“In the end, the young man

made a decision on the thingsthat he valued most and thatwas his family,” Smith said.“That says more about himthan any play he could evermake on the football field.”

• Continued from Page 12

On the air11 a.m.Arkansas at Mississippi St. (KSBI)Iowa at Michigan (ESPN)N’western at Michigan St. (ESPN2)Central Florida at Tulsa (FSN)Temple at Army (CBSSN)Yale at Harvard (NBCSN)Florida State at Maryland (ESPNU)12:30 p.m.Washington at Colorado (FX)1 p.m.FAMU vs. Be.-Cookman (ESPNCL)2 p.m.Southern Cal at UCLA (KOKH-25)South Florida at Miami (FSSW)2:30 p.m.Ohio State at Wisconsin (KOCO-5)Mississippi at LSU (KWTV-9)N.C. State at Clemson (ESPN2)Texas Tech at Oklahoma St. (FSN)W. Forest at Notre Dame (KFOR-4)Texas State at Navy (CBSSN)Colorado St. at Boise St. (NBCSN)6 p.m.Tennessee at Vanderbilt (ESPN2)Oklahoma at W. Virginia (KOKH-25)Iowa State at Kansas (FSN)O. Dominion at J. Madison (NBCSN)Syracuse at Missouri (ESPNU)7 p.m.Kansas State at Baylor (ESPN)UTEP at So. Mississippi (CBSSN)Stanford at Oregon (KOCO-8)9:30 p.m.BYU at San Jose State (ESPN2)

Florence’s numbers a little better than Griffin’s at this point last season Big 12 Standings

Con. OverallKansas State 7 0 1.000 10 0 1.000

Oklahoma 5 1 .833 7 2 .778

Oklahoma St. 5 2 .714 8 2 .800

Texas 4 2 .667 6 3 .667

Texas Tech 4 3 .571 7 3 .700

West Virginia 3 4 .500 6 4 .600

Iowa State 2 4 .333 5 4 .556

TCU 2 5 .286 5 5 .500

Baylor 1 5 .167 4 5 .444

Kansas 0 7 .000 1 9 .100

TodayTexas Tech at Oklahoma St., 2:30 p.m.

Oklahoma at West Virginia, 6 p.m.

Iowa State at Kansas, 6 p.m.

Kansas State at Baylor, 7 p.m.

Nov. 22TCU at Texas, 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 23West Virginia at Iowa State

Nov. 24Oklahoma State at Oklahoma

Texas Tech vs. Baylor, at Arlington

Dec. 1Oklahoma State at Baylor

Kansas at West Virginia

Texas at Kansas State

Oklahoma at TCU

Page 13: Game Day - Nov. 17, 2012

THE WAY WE SEE IT

Clay Horning John Shinn Corbin Hosler Michael Kinney

conference titleholders?Well, those teams are WestVirginia, Oklahoma Stateand TCU, and that’s whoOU has today, a week fromtoday and two weeks fromtoday.

It’s interesting howJones says he’s playing hisbest football this season,because he’s unlikely toapproach the yardage andtouchdown totals of his lasttwo seasons. Though’s he’saveraging 299 yards agame through the air, itwasn’t until the Texasgame he finally threw for300. But it’s so interestingbecause it’s true.

His I-can’t-believe-he-made-that-throw throws, ina bad way, are way downsince Kansas State. Iremember two. AgainstTexas, when it hardlymattered, and the one deepin Sooner territory againstNotre Dame.

There was a time theyseemed to happen three orfour times a game even ifonly one was picked.

The point?Jones isn’t nearly so

polarizing any more. Somefans hold on to bad

memories, while othersmake him a scapegoat forany game that doesn’tfinish lopsided. But thesound and the fury his playonce created is mostlygone.

So Jones begins his lastthree regular-season gamesas a Sooner in a good place,and the way the Moun-taineers have playeddefense this season, heshould be in a good placeheading into Bedlam, too.

He’ll be remembered asthe Sooners’ most prolificquarterback, but there’s novalue in that. Bill Russellwas a prolific Dodgershortstop, but he wasn’tGarvey, Lopes or Cey.

Like the 10,000 meters— sort of the race Joneshas run at OU — the valueis in finishing strong.

He’s rewritten the recordbook and been the constantSooner for almost a third ofthe Stoops era. And he hasthree more Saturdays and abowl game to go.

How will Jones beremembered? It’s a storyhe can start writing now.

Clay HorningFollow me @clayhorning

[email protected]

Horning: Jones’ time

The Norman Transcript ■ Nov. 17, 201214 GAMEDAY

• Continued from Page 3

Oklahoma (+11) at W. VirginiaPick: Oklahoma 42-20

Texas Tech (+10 1/2) at OSUPick: OSU 35-24

Iowa State (-6) at KansasPick: Iowa State 24-17

Kansas State (-12) at BaylorPick: Kansas State 35-27

W. Forest (+23 1/2) at N. DamePick: Notre Dame 31-10

USC (-3 1/2) at UCLAPick: UCLA 27-24

Ohio St. (+2 1/2) at WisconsinPick: Wisconsin 17-14

Ole Miss (+18) at LSUPick: LSU 28-6

Tennessee (+4) at VanderbiltPick: Vanderbilt 31-24

Arkansas (+6 1/2) at Miss. St.Pick: Mississippi St. 28-17

Central Florida (+3) at TulsaPick: Tulsa 42-24

Indiana (+18 1/2) at Penn StatePick: Penn State 35-19

Last week (overall)Straight up: 9-3 (82-26)Spread: 8-4 (61-47)* Lock: 1-0 (6-3)

Oklahoma (+11) at W. VirginiaPick: Oklahoma 38-28

Texas Tech (+10 1/2) at OSUPick: OSU 34-31

Iowa State (-6) at KansasPick: Kansas 24-20

Kansas State (-12) at BaylorPick: Kansas State 31-28

W. Forest (+23 1/2) at N. DamePick: Notre Dame 31-10

USC (-3 1/2) at UCLAPick: UCLA 24-20 *

Ohio St. (+2 1/2) at WisconsinPick: Wisconsin 21-20

Ole Miss (+18) at LSUPick: LSU 24-10

Tennessee (+4) at VanderbiltPick: Tennessee 31-27

Arkansas (+6 1/2) at Miss. St.Pick: Mississippi St. 27-24

Central Florida (+3) at TulsaPick: Tulsa 31-30

Indiana (+18 1/2) at Penn StatePick: Penn State 31-17

Last week (overall)Straight up: 10-2 (79-29)Spread: 6-6 (50-58)* Lock: 1-0 (6-3)

Oklahoma (+11) at W. VirginiaPick: Oklahoma 38-21

Texas Tech (+10 1/2) at OSUPick: OSU 42-28

Iowa State (-6) at KansasPick: Iowa State 24-14

Kansas State (-12) at BaylorPick: Kansas State 34-21

W. Forest (+23 1/2) at N. DamePick: Notre Dame 34-21

USC (-3 1/2) at UCLAPick: USC 42-31*

Ohio St. (+2 1/2) at WisconsinPick: Ohio State 31-24

Ole Miss (+18) at LSUPick: LSU 31-21

Tennessee (+4) at VanderbiltPick: Tennessee 31-24

Arkansas (+6 1/2) at Miss. St.Pick: Arkansas 31-28

Central Florida (+3) at TulsaPick: Tulsa 38-31

Indiana (+18 1/2) at Penn StatePick: Penn State 35-24

Last week (overall)Straight up: 10-2 (77-31)Spread: 8-4 (57-51)* Lock: 0-1 (6-3)

Oklahoma (+11) at W. VirginiaPick: OU 45-37

Texas Tech (+10 1/2) at OSUPick: OSU 42-41

Iowa State (-6) at KansasPick: Iowa State 28-10

Kansas State (-12) at BaylorPick: Baylor 45-40

W. Forest (+23 1/2) at N. DamePick: Notre Dame 34-10

USC (-3 1/2) at UCLAPick: USC 28-24

Ohio St. (+2 1/2) at WisconsinPick: Wisconsin 38-31

Ole Miss (+18) at LSUPick: LSU 31-10*

Tennessee (+4) at VanderbiltPick: Tennessee 28-23

Arkansas (+6 1/2) at Miss. St.Pick: Arkansas 35-27

Central Florida (+3) at TulsaPick: Central Florida 48-46

Indiana (+18 1/2) at Penn StatePick: Penn State 24-7

Last week (overall)Straight up: 7-5 (73-35)Spread: 7-5 (53-55)* Lock: 1-0 (4-5)

Page 14: Game Day - Nov. 17, 2012
Page 15: Game Day - Nov. 17, 2012