Sep 12, 2007, 14:57 GMT
Norman, OK - Non-conference foes clash in Norman this weekend, as the Utah State Aggies come calling on the third-ranked Oklahoma Sooners.
The Aggies have yet to taste victory here in 2007, having dropped their first two games to UNLV (23-16) and Wyoming (32-18). USU has lost eight straight road bouts and hasn't won a game in the month of September since 2005. The Aggies will open their Western Athletic Conference schedule with next week's home date against San Jose State.
As for Oklahoma, it has had very little trouble in moving to 2-0 on the season, beating up North Texas and Miami-Florida in succession. The Sooners have been explosive on offense, scoring 130 points in two games. Defensively, they have been nearly as dominant, yielding 11.5 ppg. Oklahoma will play one more non- conference game, next week at Tulsa, before kicking off Big 12 play at Colorado on September 29th. OKlahoma is riding a 13-game home winning streak, has won 33 of its last 34 in Norman, and is an impressive 49-2 at home under coach Bob Stoops.
Oklahoma has won all three previous matchups with Utah State, outscoring the Aggies a whopping 176-24 in the process.
Utah State has had very little success against teams that currently make up the Big 12 Conference, going a lackluster 9-39-1. There isn't much chance of improving upon that mark this week against an Oklahoma team that is firing on all cylinders here in the early going. For the Aggies to have any success however, QB Leon Jackson is going to have to continue performing as he has completed 68.2 percent of his passes this year, although for just 142 ypg. He has just one TD pass, but has not been intercepted. Kevin Robinson and Curtis Marsh have each grabbed eight balls, with the former earning 122 yards and the team's lone scoring catch. With regard to the USU ground attack, Marsh heads the effort with 111 yards despite averaging just 3.7 ypc. Overall, the Aggies are netting only 257 total ypg, a figure that will likely be even lower once this game is in the books. USU was 0-of-13 on third downs in last week's loss to Wyoming, and the team finished with just 280 total yards.
Defensively, Utah State is giving up 27.5 ppg behind 341.5 ypg. The team's effort against the pass has been solid, with foes generating just 160.5 ypg and scoring once through the air. Stopping the run has been another story though, as the Aggies have been ripped for 181 ypg and five TDs. Antonio Taylor has certainly done his part to limit the opposition, collecting a club-best 25 tackles to this point. Jake Hutton and De'Von Hall have logged 18 and 17 stops, respectively, and the team already has six players with double-digit tackle totals. Foes are converting nearly 40 percent of their third-down tries and the Aggies have come up with just three turnovers and recorded only three sacks. Wyoming picked up 25 first downs and piled up 369 yards last week -- not an especially good performance for a defense that will surely be under the gun this week and beyond.
Oklahoma redshirt freshman QB Sam Bradford tied a school record with five TD passes in last week's 51-13 pasting of Miami. Bradford has been nearly perfect in his first two games, completing 40-of-48 pass attempts for 568 yards with eight TDs and no INTs. Wideout Juaquin Iglesias and TE Jermaine Gresham each have 11 catches, while Malcolm Kelly has amassed 220 receiving yards and five TDs on just eight grabs. Bradford is the nation's leader in passing efficiency (237.7). As for the OU run game, DeMarco Murray heads the effort with 151 yards and five TDs, and Mossis Madu is averaging 7.6 ypc as a solid second option. It was thought the Hurricanes would give the Sooners a game last week, but with Bradford rarely misfiring, OU controlled the game from the outset and cruised to victory. The Big 12 slate will offer more than one pitfall, but Stoops' troops appear poised to make a run at the conference crown and perhaps earn a shot at the ultimate prize.
As successful as the Oklahoma offense has been thus far, the defense has been as dominant with foes scoring just 11.5 ppg and averaging a mere 193 ypg. The Sooners have been particularly stingy against the run, permitting just 33.5 ypg and not giving up a rushing TD. Miami managed just 52 yards on the ground last week, totaling a dismal 139 yards on the day. The 'Canes were just 3-of-17 on third downs and averaged a poor 2.4 yards per offensive play. D.J. Wolfe led the OU stand with eight tackles, six of which were unassisted, while Lendy Holmes finished with seven stops. For the season, Curtis Lofton heads the unit with 16 total tackles, while Lewis Baker and Wolfe have 13 apiece. Oklahoma leads the nation with 12.5 TFLs per game and the team has logged eight sacks in two games. Expect the Sooners to pin their ears back and get after the Aggies early in this tilt, and when the dust settles for Oklahoma to have put a third win up as it looks ahead to the Big 12 slate.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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