Oklahoma already saw its first quick, elusive quarterback in Washington’s Isiah Stanback. Its second test comes on Saturday with Oregon’s Dennis Dixon, who is just as likely to throw as he is to tuck the ball and run for a first down.
The Sooners can consider the first test a resounding success.
Stanback completed just 9-of-22 passing for 139 yards. The swift runner ran for 18 yards on 12 carries.
Now it’s on to Dixon, who completed 23-of-36 passing for 240 yards in Oregon’s 31-24 win over Fresno State. Dixon rushed for another 32 yards on 10 carries.
Cool on offense
Since he returned to quarterback, Paul Thompson has been an efficient starter with a 61.4 percent completion percentage. He has converted 35-of-57 passes with four touchdowns compared to three interceptions.
The receiving corps has been led by Malcolm Kelly, who has nine receptions for 149 yards and two touchdowns. Fred Strong has seven catches for 72 yards despite having no career receptions coming into this season.
Five different Oklahoma receivers have caught passes for more than 50 yards through two games.
As a whole, the Oklahoma offense is averaging 344 yards of total offense. The running game is averaging 162 of those yards.
Crowd noise
Oklahoma’s offense prepared for the rowdy crowd noise of Autzen Stadium by using ear plugs in practices.
“I’m definitely not worried about fans screaming and yelling and booing,” Thompson told an Oklahoma newspaper. “If we make the plays we need to make, they’ll be pretty quiet.”
Pacific-10 Conference regulars
Oklahoma is playing a Pac-10 opponent for the fifth consecutive season and second in two weeks. Of its last four bowl opponents, three have come from the Pac-10. Oklahoma beat Washington State in the 2003 Rose Bowl and Oregon in the 2005 Holiday Bowl. The lone Pac-10 bowl defeat came against USC in the 2004 Orange Bowl.
By playing Oregon, it marks Oklahoma’s first game against a bowl opponent from the previous season since 1994. Oklahoma had beaten Texas Tech in the 1993 John Hancock Bowl, 41-10, and snuck past the Red Raiders, 17-11, in the third game of the 1994 season.
The Sooners are 22-13-1 all-time against the Pac-10.
Last weekend
Oklahoma scored the first 24 points of the second half to take a 37-13 lead against Washington. Adrian Peterson had 32 carries for 165
yards. Thompson completed 21 of 33 passes for 272 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
Odds and ends
The Sooners are using quick runners Juaquin Iglesias and Reggie Smith on punt returns and kick returns.
The two have both done kick returns with Iglesias returning four kicks for an average of 31.8 yards and Smith twice for a 20 yard-per-return average. Smith has been the sole player on punt returns and ran back nine for a 15.8 yard average.
Oklahoma’s 11 seniors are the fewest for a Bob Stoops since the Sooners had 12 in the 2001 season.
Running back Adrian Peterson is within 781 yards of the Oklahoma school rushing record held by Bill Sims.
Peterson has 3,337 yards compared to 4,118.