Game Notes: Sooners Set To Take On Texas Tech

OPENING KICK

• No. 16/16 Oklahoma (4-2, 3-0) goes for its 11th straight league win when it travels to face Texas Tech (3-3, 1-2) on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT at Jones AT&T Stadium (capacity 60,454) in Lubbock. The game will be televised by FOX with Joe Davis, Brady Quinn and Bruce Feldman announcing.

• A win against Texas Tech would give OU its first 4-0 start in Big 12 play since 2004. It would be the sixth 4-0 Big 12 start in school history, all under head coach Bob Stoops. In three of those previous five years (2000, 2002 and 2004), OU went on to win the Big 12 title. A win Saturday would also give OU a five-game winning streak vs. the Red Raiders, matching the team's longest in the series (2000-04).

• Stoops is 12-5 vs. Texas Tech as OU's head coach and 3-0 against Kliff Kingsbury. The average series score the last three years has been 48-29.

• OU scored at least 38 points in each of its last six contests against Texas Tech.

• The Sooners are coming off a 38-17 home win over Kansas State, a game in which they outgained the Wildcats by 175 yards (510-335). Baker Mayfield was 25-of-31 passing for 346 yards and four TDs while Dede Westbrook hauled in nine passes for 184 yards and three scores, including the longest TD reception by an OU player at home. Joe Mixon ran for 88 yards, caught three passes (one for a TD) for 34 yards and threw a 26-yard TD pass to Westbrook.

• Texas Tech has lost two games in a row, its most recent setback coming at home to West Virginia, 48-17. The Red Raiders surrendered 332 rushing yards and 318 passing yards Saturday and were outgained 650-379 on the day. Patrick Mahomes was 28-of-44 passing for 305 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Tech finished with 34 rushing yards on 27 attempts (1.3 per play). 

FIVE TOP STORYLINES

• Oklahoma owns a 17-6 (.739) all-time record against Texas Tech but has had much more modest success against the Red Raiders in Lubbock, where it is 6-4. In the Big 12 era, the Sooners hold a 14-6 advantage (5-4 in Lubbock). OU has won its last two games at Jones AT&T Stadium (41-20 in 2012 and 42-30 in 2014). The Sooners are 6-0 in Lubbock when scoring at least 30 points and are 0-4 there when scoring less than 30 points.

• Oklahoma's Dede Westbrook will be looking to continue the most impressive string of receiving production in school history. Over the last three contests, the senior has 574 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, both OU records for a three-game stretch. His eight TDs have averaged 48.6 yards (six have been 40 yards or longer). Only five FBS players have more receiving TDs on the entire season than Westbrook has in the last three outings (10 by Western Michigan's Corey Davis and Lousiana Tech's Carlos Henderson, and nine by Texas Tech's Jonathan Giles, Toledo's Michael Roberts and Washington's John Ross).

• Sooners redshirt junior quarterback Baker Mayfield will play on the Jones AT&T Stadium turf for the first time since 2013 when he played in eight games (seven starts) as a freshman walk-on at Texas Tech before transferring to OU. Mayfield was named the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year that season after throwing for 2,315 yards and 12 TDs while completing 64.1 percent of his passes. Mayfield originally lost a year of eligibility due to his intraleague transfer but had it restored in a vote of Big 12 faculty athletics representatives on June 2, 2016.

• Texas Tech is the alma mater of OU offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Lincoln Riley, the 2015 Broyles Award winner. A walk-on QB for the Red Raiders, Riley spent seven years (2003-09) on former head coach Mike Leach’s TTU staff. OU offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh (2000-06) and Sooners outside receivers coach Dennis Simmons (2000-09) also worked at Texas Tech under Leach.

• OU has won its last eight true road games (tied for the longest streak of Bob Stoops' career) and 19 of its last 21. The Sooners have outscored their last eight true road opponents, 403-178 (50-22 average), and have scored at least 30 points in each of their last 13 true road contests.

SCOUTING TEXAS TECH

• Texas Tech is 3-3 overall and 1-2 in Big 12 play. All three wins have come at home, where it's beaten Stephen F. Austin (69-17), Louisiana Tech (59-45) and Kansas (55-19). Tech's three losses have come at Arizona State (68-55), at Kansas State (44-38) and at home to West Virginia last Saturday (48-17).

• Head coach Kliff Kingsbury is in his fourth year at the Red Raiders helm. He is 22-21 during his tenure and has built one of the nation's most dynamic passing attacks. Through six games this year, Tech ranks first nationally in passing offense (510.8 ypg), second in total offense (604.7 ypg) and fifth in scoring offense (48.8 ppg).

• Junior quarterback Patrick Mahomes leads the Red Raiders' aerial assault, ranking first in the nation in passing yards (2,579; 429.8 ypg) and total offense (455.2 ypg). He also ranks second in points responsible for (168) and fifth in passing touchdowns (21; leads the Big 12).

• Sophomore wide receiver Jonathan Giles has been Mahomes' favorite target. Giles has 43 grabs on the year and leads the Big 12 with 750 receiving yards (ranks ninth nationally) and nine receiving touchdowns (tied for second nationally). Tech has five players with at least 20 receptions on the year, and six Red Raiders have scored multiple receiving touchdowns this season.

• The Red Raiders' defense ranks 124th nationally (out of 128) in scoring defense by giving up an average of 40.2 points per game. It ranks 117th nationally in total defense, allowing 479.2 yards per game. Tech ranks 98th in rushing defense (204.8 ypg) and 104th in passing defense (274.3 ypg). It has forced five turnovers (ranks 121st) in its six games.

• Senior linebacker Kris Williams has 16 tackles on the year and leads the team in tackles for loss (5.0; 36 yards) and sacks (4.0; 35 yards), and has a forced fumble. Freshman linebacker Jordyn Brooks paces the Red Raiders with 36 tackles.

LAST YEAR VS. THE RED RAIDERS

• No. 17/15 Oklahoma amassed 617 yards of offense while holding Texas Tech to 425 (199 below its season average) in a 63-27 home win on Oct. 24, 2015. The Sooners scored at least two touchdowns in every quarter. OU’s 405 rushing yards were 119 more than its previous season high.

• Running backs Samaje Perine (201 yards, four touchdowns, 8.7 yards per carry) and Joe Mixon (154, two TDs, 9.6 yards per carry) combined for 355 rushing yards and six rushing TDs. It marked the first time since the 2008 Big 12 Championship Game against Missouri that OU had two rushers who each registered at least 100 yards and two scores.

• Junior quarterback Baker Mayfield, going against his former school, completed 15 of his 22 pass attempts for 212 yards and two touchdowns.

• The Sooners recorded four interceptions on Patrick Mahomes’ 40 pass attempts. Mahomes entered the game with six interceptions on the season on 307 attempts. OU’s four interceptions were its most since 2003.

• The OU defense was led by a pair of reserves forced into action due to injured starters. Linebacker Frank Shannon notched a team-high 13 tackles and an interception in his first start of the season in place of Jordan Evans. Third-string cornerback Dakota Austin replaced Zack Sanchez after the starter sustained an ankle injury on the game’s first play. Austin, who had no tackles on the year, recorded 11 stops (all solo) and an interception in the end zone just before the half.

• Texas Tech entered the game with 34 plays of at least 30 yards on the season. It registered none on the day.

JUST CALL HIM "TD" WESTBROOK

• Senior receiver Dede Westbrook is on a remarkable three-game tear, amassing 26 catches for 574 yards and eight touchdowns against TCU, Texas and Kansas State this month. The 574 yards are the most ever by a Sooner in back-to-back-to-back games, as are the eight receiving TDs.

• Westbrook's eight TDs the last three games are four more than he had in the first 16 games of his career. His eight scores (two against TCU; three vs. Texas; three vs. K-State) came, in order, from 67, 40, 71, 42, 47, 26, 8 and 88 yards (an average of 48.6 yards).

• Westbrook is the only player in school history to score six TDs (rushing or receiving) of 40-plus yards in one season.

• Only five FBS players have more receiving TDs this season (10 is the high) than Westbrook's eight the last three games.

• In Big 12 play, Westbrook ranks first in the conference in receptions (8.7 per game), receiving yards (191.3 per game), all-purpose yards (193.7 per game) and points (16.0 per game).

• Westbrook's 191.3 receiving yards per Big 12 game are 70 more than the next closest player (Oklahoma State's James Washington is averaging 121.5 yards over his two league contests).

• Westbrook's 1,471 career receiving yards are the most ever by an OU player in their first 19 games.

• Westbrook's 232 receiving yards two games ago against Texas represent the school single-game record and are the sixth most by an FBS player this season. His 184-yard effort last week against K-State ranks 10th in single-game annals.

MAYFIELD ON FIRE TO START BIG 12 PLAY

• Junior quarterback Baker Mayfield is picking up where he left off in 2015 when he finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting and was named national player of the year by Sporting News. Mayfield, who completed 68.1 percent of his passes for 3,700 yards and 36 touchdowns against only seven interceptions last year, is 125-for-177 (career-high 70.6 percent) this season with 16 TDs and five picks. He leads all Power 5 quarterbacks with his 10.2 yards per pass attempt, ranks second with his 180.4 pass efficiency rating and fourth in completion percentage.

• Mayfield has been especially effective in Big 12 play, leading the league in total offense (370.0 yards per game) and pass efficiency rating (194.1; next best is Baylor's Seth Russell at 166.2). In OU's three Big 12 games, Mayfield is 70-for-92 passing for 1,010 yards (336.7 per contest) and a league-high nine TDs. He has also run for 100 yards and three scores during the stretch.

• Mayfield is the only player in OU history to register at least 5,000 passing yards (5,503) and at least 500 rushing yards (509).

• Mayfield has accounted for 62 touchdowns as a Sooner, the most by a player in the first 19 games of an OU career. He ranks second behind Sam Bradford with 52 touchdown passes through his first 19 games (Bradford had 54; see chart above).

• Mayfield ranks first at OU in career completion percentage (68.9) and second in career passing efficiency (175.50; Bradford holds the record at 175.62).

• Mayfield owns a 4.3 touchdown-to-interception ratio as a Sooner (52 to 12).

VERSATILE MIXON IMPACTING GAMES IN SEVERAL WAYS

• For his career, redshirt sophomore running back Joe Mixon is averaging 6.38 yards per carry, second most in the 18-year Bob Stoops era among players with at least 100 attempts (former Sooner Alex Ross leads with a 6.39 average).

• Mixon leads the Big 12 and ranks sixth nationally with his 178.7 all-purpose yards per game this season. He is averaging a team-high 79.3 rushing yards per game (ranks fourth in Big 12), 34.7 receiving yards per contest (ranks third on team), 25.9 yards per kickoff return (ranks second in Big 12) and 6.2 yards per punt return.

• Mixon has accounted for five touchdowns on the season in four different fashions. His scoring pass to Dede Westbrook on Saturday vs. Kansas State made him the first player in school history to register TDs via pass, rush, reception and kickoff return in the same season.

• Mixon is one of just six players in OU history to record at least 1,000 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in a career, and it took him only 17 games to do it (reached both marks three games ago at TCU). Only Quentin Griffin (1999-02; 16 games) reached the 1,000/500 mark faster. Others to do it were DeMarco Murray (2007-10; 26 games), De'Mond Parker (1996-98; 30 games), Steve Sewell (1981-84; 36 games) and James Allen (1993-96; 40 games).

NOTING OU'S DEFENSE

• Oklahoma ranks 78th out of 128 teams in total defense by allowing 412.8 yards per contest, but it has faced four of the nation's top offenses in its six games. TCU ranks ninth in total offense at 530.7 yards per game, Ohio State ranks 12th at 516.5 yards, Houston 16th at 505.1 and Texas 19th at 499.8. The Sooners held TCU to 16 yards below its current average, Ohio State to 73 yards below the Buckeyes' current average, Houston to 95 yards below its current average and Texas to 75 yards below its current average.

• Due mainly to injuries, 20 different Sooners have started on defense through six games.

• OU, which ranks second in the Big 12 and 45th nationally in rushing defense (140.6 yards allowed per game), has held four of its six opponents to 110 or fewer yards on the ground (89 by Houston, 78 by ULM, 65 by TCU and 110 by TCU).

• Cornerback Jordan Thomas leads the nation with his 1.8 pass breakups per game. Seven of his 11 pass breakups on the year have come in the last two games and nine have come in the last three (two at TCU, four vs. Texas and three vs. Kansas State).

• Outside linebacker Ogbonnia Okoronkwo is tied for the Big 12 lead and is tied for ninth nationally with his 1.0 sack per game. He has registered 4.0 sacks over the last three games for a loss of 30 yards.

• Inside linebacker Jordan Evans ranks fourth in the Big 12 with his 7.8 tackles per contest.

EXTRA POINTS

• Oklahoma has won each of the last three games despite losing the turnover battle in each of those contests. OU has seven turnovers during its winning streak compared to three takeaways.

• In Big 12 play, OU leads the league in scoring offense (45.0), total offense (572.0), pass efficiency (199.0), third-down conversion percentage (54.8) and sacks allowed per game (1.0). It ranks second in passing offense (345.3), penalty yards (48.0) and time of possession (33:08).

• Oklahoma has registered more than 500 yards of total offense in 11 of its last 13 regular season games (averaging 561.7 yards in those 13 contests). It has won all 11 of those games that it reached 500 yards (averaged 50.7 points in the 11 victories).• The Sooners are 13-2 (.867) all-time against Texas Tech when ranked and 10-2 (.833) against TTU when ranked under Bob Stoops.

• OU is 47-6 (.887) since the start of the 2010 season against teams unranked in the AP Top 25 Poll.

• Texas Tech ranks first in the Big 12 and fourth nationally in third-down conversion rate (53.0 percent). Oklahoma ranks second in the Big 12 and 10th nationally (50.0 percent).

• The Sooners have recorded just two interceptions this season (by Steven Parker at TCU and Will Sunderland vs. Texas). Last year OU ranked second in the Big 12 and eighth nationally with 20 interceptions (1.5 per contest). Texas Tech has three interceptions this season.