OPENING KICK
• After picking up its 17th straight true road win by beating Iowa State 37-27, No. 5/5 Oklahoma (3-0, 1-0) returns home to host Army West Point (2-1) on Saturday at 6 p.m. CT at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The contest will be televised on a pay-per-view basis by FOX with Brendan Burke, Gary Reasons
• The Sooners are making their 408th all-time appearance in the AP poll's top five this week, more than any other program. That means OU has been in the top five in 36 percent of all AP polls (1,139 total polls) which started in 1936. This is OU's 13th appearance in the AP top 5 since the start of 2017.
• OU is 24-4-1 (.845) all-time as the No. 5 team in the AP Poll and has won four straight games when ranked fifth and 11 of its last 12. It is 11-2-1 at home as the No. 5 squad.
• Oklahoma has won more Big 12 titles over the last 19 years (11) than it has lost home games. OU is 108-10 (.915) at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium since the start of the 1999 season, with all 118 of those games sellouts. It is the best home winning percentage among Power Five schools over the last 19-plus seasons (Ohio State is next at .884). OU has outscored its opponents by an average of 42-16 in those games.
• OU is coming off a 37-27 victory at Iowa State on Saturday, the Sooners' nation-leading 17th straight true road win. Kyler Murray threw for a career-high 348 yards and three touchdowns while adding 77 yards on the ground, and Marquise Brown hauled in nine passes for 191 yards, one of them a 75-yard bomb for a TD. Brown's 189 receiving yards before halftime set a school record for receiving yards in a half.
• Army notched its ninth straight home win on Saturday against Hawai'i, 28-21, and forced three incompletions to end the game after the Rainbow Warriors got to the Army 11-yard line. Quarterback Kelvin Hopkins Jr. led the Black Knights by passing for 162 yards and rushing for 110. He became the first Army player in three seasons to pass and rush for 100 yards in a game.
• The Sooners have scored at least 30 points in 26 of their last 27 games (29 in the other). They have won 25 of those 27 contests. OU's 25-2 record since Oct. 1, 2016, is the nation's
FOR THE FANS
• Approximately two hours before each home game, head coach Lincoln Riley and the Sooners will disembark the team buses immediately west of the intersection of Lindsey Street and Jenkins Avenue for the "Walk of Champions." A pep rally, conducted by OU Spirit, will be held 15 minutes prior to the team's arrival. This week's pep rally will be at approximately 3:30 p.m. with the team arriving at approximately 3:45 p.m. Fans are encouraged to cheer on the team upon arrival and watch as Coach Riley and the squad
• Sooner Fan Fest will be held in the Rhyne Hall parking lot directly east of McCasland Field House. It opens at 2 p.m. off Jenkins Avenue and concludes at 5:30 p.m. Fans will have the opportunity to meet Boomer and Sooner and have their photos taken with the Sooner Schooner, the mascots and members of the OU spirit squads at the OU Marketing trailer. Other elements at Fan Fest this week include a GoVision jumbotron showing other games across the country, a U.S. Army STEM bus and autograph sessions with Sooner great Roy Williams (4-5 p.m.) and the OU women's gymnastics team (3:30-5 p.m.). Food will be available from the following food trucks: Midway Deli, The
• A number of other special activities are planned for the game.
FIVE KEY STORYLINES
• Saturday's game will mark the fourth meeting between Oklahoma and Army, with the Sooners leading the series 2-1. It's the first game of a home-and-home series, with the Black Knights scheduled to host OU at West Point, N.Y., on Sept. 26, 2020. Army won the first meeting in 1946, 21-7 at West Point, the same year it notched its third straight national title. OU responded with wins in 1959 (28-20 in Norman) and 1961 (14-8 at New York's Yankee Stadium).
• Army's triple-option offense should elicit some smiles from more experienced OU fans who reveled in the Sooners' wishbone exploits of the 1970s and '80s. The Black Knights rank second nationally with their 62.3 rushing attempts per game (interestingly, the other two service academy teams rank first and third — Air Force averages 66.5 and Navy 61.3). They also rank sixth with their 306.7 rushing yards per contest. While Army doesn't throw often (it's 13.0 attempts per game are fourth fewest in the country), it leads the nation with its 23.3 yards per completion. OU ranks 10th with its 16.8 yards per completion.
• Oklahoma has outscored its three opponents 149-62. In the first half, the margin is 87-17. The last time OU surrendered 17 or fewer combined first-half points through the first three games of a season was in 2014 (gave up 10). The defense has permitted scores on only three of 22 first-half opponent possessions this season.
• In 10 games as a Sooner (four starts), quarterback Kyler Murray has completed 67 of his 94 pass attempts (.713) for 1,222 yards and 11 touchdowns with one interception, good for a 217.0 passing efficiency rating. For perspective, Baker Mayfield's FBS-record single-season efficiency rating last year was 198.9. For more perspective, Murray's yardage total, touchdown-to-interception ratio and efficiency rating are all better through 94 pass attempts at OU than those of Mayfield, Sam Bradford
• The Sooners have been disruptive behind the line of scrimmage, recording 28 tackles for loss (9.3 average) to rank seventh nationally, and nine sacks (3.0 average) to rank 21st in the country. Last year, OU averaged 5.4 TFLs and 1.9 sacks per contest. The nine sacks this season have come from seven players.
SCOUTING ARMY WEST POINT
• Army West Point carries a two-game winning streak into Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium this weekend. The Black Knights defeated Liberty 38-14 in week 2 and previously unbeaten Hawai'i 28-21 on Saturday after falling 34-14 at Duke on opening weekend.
• The Black Knights have controlled the ball for an average of 39:38 per game, leaving just 20:22 for their opponents, and converted nine of 10 fourth downs and 22 of 47 third downs.
• Army, which led the nation in rushing at 362.3 yards per game in 2017, is averaging 306.7 yards on the ground through three outings this
• Army's trademark
• Army head coach Jeff Monken is 26-27 in his fifth year at West Point, and 62-43 in his ninth year overall. In 2016, he led Army to its first win over Navy since 2001, and in 2017 was a finalist for the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award and the Eddie Robinson Award for national coach of the year.
• In 2017, Army posted its first 10-win season and first Commander in Chief's Trophy (awarded to each season's winner of the triangular series among Army, Air Force
OU-ARMY SERIES HISTORY
• Saturday's game will mark the fourth meeting between Oklahoma and Army, with the Sooners leading the series 2-1. It's the first game of a home-and-home series, with the Black Knights scheduled to host OU at West Point, N.Y., on Sept. 26, 2020.
• Army won the first meeting 21-7 at West Point on Sept. 28, 1946, the same year it notched its third straight national title. The Cadets featured a pair of Heisman Trophy winners in fullback Doc Blanchard (won in 1945) and halfback Glenn Davis (won in 1946), although Blanchard missed the game due to a knee injury. Even though Oklahoma lost by 14, the game is considered to be a turning point for the program. The contest for OU, which had gone 5-5 the year before, was its first under new head coach Jim Tatum and an assistant coach named Bud Wilkinson. The victory for Army was its 20th
• The Sooners claimed the next two meetings with Wilkinson as head coach, 28-20 in 1959 in Norman, and 14-8 in 1961 at Yankee Stadium in New York. Both games were played in mid-November.
DOWNTOWN HOLLYWOOD BROWN
• Marquise Brown, who hails from Hollywood, Fla., was one of the country's most explosive receivers last year, and 2018 is no different. Brown ranks fifth nationally in receiving yards per game (137.3) this season, and among players averaging at least four receptions per game he ranks fourth in the nation with his 21.7 yards per catch.
• Brown leads the nation this season with his four catches of at least 40 yards, and he is tied for first with three receptions of at least 50 yards. His long receiving plays this season have gone for 75 yards (TD), 65 yards (TD), 58 yards (TD) and 48 yards.
• Since the start of the 2017 season, Brown leads the nation with his 10 catches of at least 50 yards. The next highest total among active players is seven (Missouri's Emanuel Hall and SMU's James Proche). The 10 grabs for Brown have gone for 87, 84, 77, 75, 66, 65, 58, 56, 52 and 50 yards. Seven of those 10 receptions have resulted in a touchdown.
• Brown has started his OU career by registering 76 catches for 1,507 yards (19.8 average) and 10 touchdowns. His 1,507 receiving yards are 400 more than the Sooner with the second most yards in the first 16 games of a career (Jalen Saunders tallied 1,107 in 2012 and '13 as a junior and senior). Brown's 10 receiving TDs are the third most in school history through 16 games (Ryan Broyles had 13 and Mark Andrews 11).
MURRAY ANOTHER HEISMAN HOPEFUL
• After a competitive battle during August camp, head coach Lincoln Riley announced Aug. 22 that redshirt junior Kyler Murray would be OU's starting quarterback for the season opener against Florida Atlantic and that redshirt sophomore Austin Kendall would be his backup. Through three games, Riley's decision has proved fruitful, with Murray ranking 11th nationally in total offense per game (344.0 yards; didn't play in second half vs. Florida Atlantic), fifth in yards per pass attempt (11.8), sixth in yards per completion (17.6), sixth in passing efficiency rating (199.8) and seventh in yards per play (10.1).
• A 5-10, 195-pounder from Allen, Texas, Murray is looking to become OU's fourth Heisman Trophy finalist in the last three years (Baker Mayfield in 2016 and '17 and Dede Westbrook in 2016), and its second straight winner (Mayfield). He has completed 49 of 73 passes for 863 yards (287.7 per game) and eight touchdowns with just one interception. He also paces the squad with his 169 rushing yards (56.3 per game, 5.8 per
• Murray was the backup last season to Mayfield, who won OU's sixth Heisman Trophy as the Sooners claimed their third straight Big 12 title and made the College Football Playoff for the second time in three years.
• Only six times since the start of the Big 12 Conference in 1996 has a Sooner thrown for at least 300 yards and rushed for at least 65 in a game, and Murray has done it twice (each of the last two weeks). He passed for 306 yards and ran for 69 against UCLA before throwing for a career-high 348 and rushing for 77 at Iowa State. For his effort against UCLA, Murray was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week and the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback of the Week.
• Amazingly, Murray was more efficient as a passer last season than was Mayfield — the man who holds the top two single-season passing efficiency ratings in major college football history. Murray completed 18 of his 21 throws for 359 yards and three touchdowns without an interception in seven games in 2017. He boasted an eye-popping 276.5 efficiency rating to Mayfield's record-setting 198.9
• Murray started his collegiate career at Texas A&M, where he played in eight games and made three starts in 2015. He was a consensus five-star recruit out of Allen High School and was named 2014 national high school player of the year by Parade, Gatorade, MaxPreps and USA Today. Murray went 43-0 as a high school starter and earned state titles each of his last three years.
• Also a standout on the diamond, Murray played center field for Skip Johnson's OU baseball team and was a first-round pick (No. 9 overall) by the Oakland A's in June's Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. He was the only Big 12 player picked in the first round of the 2018 draft and he signed in mid-June. Murray hit .296 with 10 home runs, 13 doubles, 47 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 51 games (50 starts). He finished the year with a slash line of .296/.398/.556.
SPECIAL TEAMS HAVE BEEN SPECIAL
• Special teams have been a major positive for the Sooners through three games. Among teams with at least five kickoff returns this season, OU ranks second nationally with its 34.8 average on the strength of Tre Brown. The sophomore cornerback, who ranks fourth in the country in kickoff return yards, has compiled 165 yards (41.3 average) on four returns, including an 86-yarder in the first quarter vs. UCLA that set up the tying touchdown after OU fell behind 7-0.
• Among teams with at least seven punt returns, OU ranks 10th nationally with its 15.6 average. Sophomore receiver CeeDee Lamb is averaging 13.5 yards on his six returns, thanks largely to a 66-yard runback vs. UCLA. Redshirt junior receiver Lee Morris has one return for 28 yards.
• Last year, OU ranked 98th nationally in kick return average (19.3 yards) and 97th in punt return average (5.59).
• Opponents have only returned two punts this season and they have gone for a combined -1 yard. The Sooners also registered their first blocked punt since 2013 in the opener against Florida Atlantic, and it resulted in their first blocked punt TD since 2002. Morris registered the block and Curtis Bolton fell on the ball in the end zone.
• Senior kicker/punter Austin Seibert is 19-for-19 on PATs this season after going 81-for-81 last year. His streak of 112 makes is the third longest in the nation. Twenty of his 22 kickoffs this season have also resulted in touchbacks (his 90.1 percent rate is fifth best in the nation).
• Seibert ranks first at OU and second in the Big 12 in all-time extra points made (142), 32 behind the conference record of 274 set by Baylor's Aaron Jones (2010-13). He ranks 10th all-time in Big 12 scoring (389 points) and fourth in points per game (9.0). Seibert needs two points to pass former OU running back DeMarco Murray (390 points) for ninth most in Big 12 history.
OFFENSE HAS ROLLED UNDER RILEY
• Oklahoma has a legitimate claim as the nation's most productive offense since the start of the 2015 season, which was Lincoln Riley's first year as OU's offensive coordinator. Riley called plays as the program's offensive coordinator and continues to as
• Since the start of the 2015 season, OU ranks first nationally in passing efficiency rating (188.2; next closest is 161.5), completion percentage (69.3), points per game (44.6), total offense (555.2), touchdowns from scrimmage (242) and yards per pass attempt (10.6), and is sixth in passing offense (330.1) and 20th in rushing offense (225.1).
• In 43 games since the start of the 2015 season, OU has registered at least 500 yards of total offense 31 times, including in 21 of the last 27 outings, topped the 600-yard mark on 15 occasions and gone over 700 yards four times. Similarly, OU has scored at least 30 points in 38 of 43 games during the Riley regime, at least 40 points 28 times, at least 50 points 16 times and at least 60 points six times.
SOONERS HAVE DOMINATED BIG 12 ERA
• OU's performance in the Big 12 Conference this millennium has been nothing short of dominant. The Sooners have won 11 Big 12 titles in the last 17 seasons, with no other program during that span winning more than two.
• Since the first year of the Big 12 in 1996, OU has claimed 11 league titles and is followed by Texas (three), Baylor, Kansas State and Nebraska (two each), and Colorado, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas A&M (one each).
• OU is 125-27 (.822) in regular season Big 12 play since the start of the 2000 season. That's 22 more wins than the program with the next most victories during that period (Texas; 103-48) and 38 more than the program with the third most (Oklahoma State; 86-65).
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 (643) than any other program. Only Boise State owns a better winning percentage (.771; played 449 fewer games) during that span than OU (.767).
• OU is the highest-scoring program in college football history with 35,265 points (in 1,263 games).
• No program has more all-time 10-win seasons than Oklahoma, which has 38. In addition, OU's 24 seasons with at least 11 wins are the most in college football history.
• Since former head coach Bob Stoops arrived in Norman in 1999, OU leads all Power Five conference programs in wins (205) and points scored (9,686).
• Only Ohio State (106) has been ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll more weeks than Oklahoma (102). OU's 408 weeks in the AP's top five are most of any school (Alabama next with 385 and Ohio State third with 366). The AP Poll was introduced in 1936.
• Only Ohio State (611) has more all-time top-10 AP poll appearances than OU (576).
• Only Alabama (10) and Notre Dame (8) have earned more all-time AP national championships than Oklahoma (7).
EXTRA POINTS
• Seventh-year Oklahoma inside linebackers coach Tim Kish coached at Army from 1984 through 1991. Kish, who oversaw defensive ends and linebackers during his eight years at West Point, helped the Cadets to three bowl appearances, including the 1985 Peach Bowl when they beat Illinois 31-29. Army went 9-3 that season.
• The Sooners have been ranked in the AP's top 10 in 25 of the last 26 polls. The only time it wasn't during that stretch was following last year's loss to Iowa State (fell from third to 12th).
• Oklahoma's 149 points are its most combined points in the first three games of a season since totaling 164 points in the first three contests in 2008 against Chattanooga (57), Cincinnati (52) and Washington (55). The Sooners' 149 points are also their seventh most through three games over the past 100 seasons (185 in 2007; 169 in 1972; 164 in 2008; 163 in 1974; 162 in 1987; and 153 in 1978).
• OU leads all Power Five teams with its four plays of at least 60 yards this season.
• The Sooners committed just 13 turnovers last year (six interceptions and seven fumbles lost), or less than one per game. That marked the second-lowest total in school history (11 in 2008). They have two total turnovers in three games this season.
• Oklahoma has won 26 of its last 27 games against Big 12 opponents dating back to the 2015 season, with its only loss coming at the hands of Iowa State on Oct. 7 last year (the Cyclones beat the No. 3 Sooners 38-31 in Norman). Fifteen of those 26 victories have been by at least 15 points, and seven by at least 35 points.
• Since the start of the 2017 season, OU is averaging 27.1 points in the first half. It has scored at least 20 first-half points in 15 of 17 games, and at least 28 points in nine of those contests. Over the last 10 contests, the Sooners are averaging 31.2 first-half points. Four of those 10 opponents were ranked in the top 12 of the AP poll at the time of competition.
• Oklahoma is looking to register its 16th season of at least 10 wins since the start of the 2000 campaign. The Sooners are the only FBS program to rack up 15 seasons of double-digit victories since 2000.
