For Second Straight Year Bedlam Will Determine Big 12 Champion

OPENING KICK

• No. 9/7/7 Oklahoma (9-2, 8-0) goes for its 16th straight Big 12 win when it hosts No. 10/11/10 Oklahoma State (9-2, 7-1) on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. CT at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The game will be televised by FOX to a full national audience with Tim Brando, Spencer Tillman and Bruce Feldman announcing. The winner will be Big 12 champion.

• This marks the second straight year that the Bedlam game will determine the Big 12 champion. The Sooners won 58-23 in last year's regular season finale in Stillwater.

• An Oklahoma win Saturday would give the Sooners their 10th Big 12 title in the last 17 years, all under head coach Bob Stoops. No other program has more than three Big 12 championships, and no school has more than two since Stoops was hired at OU in 1999.

• A Sooners victory against OSU would result in their first undefeated Big 12 season in 12 years and their most wins ever in regular season Big 12 play (nine). OU also went undefeated in the Big 12 in 2000, 2003 and 2004 (played eight games each of those years).

• The road team has won each of the last three Bedlam matchups (two by OU). The last two Bedlam games in Norman went to overtime (the Sooners won 51-48 in 2012 and the Cowboys won 38-35 in 2014).

• Oklahoma is coming off a 56-28 road win over then-No. 10 West Virginia on Nov. 19. Baker Mayfield was 9-for-15 passing for 169 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for two more scores. Samaje Perine (160 yards, two TDs) and Joe Mixon (147 yards, 1 TD) combined for 307 rushing yards and three scores, while Dede Westbrook caught two passes for 100 yards, one of them a 75-yard TD. OU forced four WVU turnovers and converted all of them into touchdowns.

• Oklahoma State was an impressive 31-6 victor at TCU in its last game on Nov. 19. The Cowboys outgained the Horned Frogs by 198 yards (541-343) and scored 31 unanswered points. Justice Hill (154) and Chris Carson (146) combined for 300 rushing yards while Mason Rudolph was 17-for-34 through the air for 207 yards and a touchdown.

SENIOR SALUTE

Nineteen OU seniors will run onto Owen Field for the final time Saturday. These players will be recognized with their families prior to the game:

Dakota Austin, Jarvis Baxter, Grant Bothun, Jamal Danley, Eric Delay, Jordan Evans, Samuel Grant, Dylan Hartsook, Ruben Hunter, Connor Knight, Geno Lewis, Riley Nolan, Austin Roberts, Kane Snowden, Stanvon Taylor, Ahmad Thomas, Jordan Wade, Dede Westbrook and Jesse Walker.

FOR THE FANS

• Two hours before each home game, head coach Bob Stoops and the Sooners will disembark from the team buses at the intersection of Lindsey St. and Jenkins Ave 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 9:15 a.m. with the team arriving at 9:30 a.m. Fans are encouraged to cheer on the team upon arrival and watch as Coach Stoops and the squad walk the final yards to their temporary locker room facilities. Fans may begin lining up on Jenkins Ave. starting at 9 a.m.

• Sooner Fan Fest will be held in the Rhyne Hall parking lot directly east of McCasland Field House. It opens at 8:30 a.m. off Jenkins Ave. and concludes at 11 a.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. Activities include a live band, a jumbotron showing games from around the country and interactive booths. Food will be available at the Official Homeland Tailgate, and the Sooner Radio Network (flagship 107.7 The Franchise) will be broadcasting live from Fan Fest with Toby Rowland, Merv Johnson, Chris Plank, Ted Lehman and Rufus Alexander.

• Oklahoma owns an 85-18-7 (.805) all-time record against Oklahoma State (OU’s most wins against any opponent; next most is 74) and is 39-9-2 (.800) in the series in Norman. The Sooners are 13-4 against OSU under Bob Stoops (6-2 at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium) and 9-2 under Stoops vs. the Cowboys in the Mike Gundy era. OU has won five of its last six in the series in Norman.

• The Sooners have won the same number of Big 12 championships under Stoops (nine) as they have lost home games. OU is 100-9 (.917) at home under Stoops, with all 109 of those games sellouts. It is the best home winning percentage among Power Five schools over the last 18 seasons (Ohio State is next at .882). OU has outscored its opponents by an average of 42-16 in those games.

• Saturday will mark just the fourth time that OU and OSU will meet with both teams ranked in the top 11 of the AP poll, with the Sooners holding a 2-1 edge. No. 5 OU beat No. 9 OSU 58-23 last year in Stillwater to win the Big 12 title, and No. 2 OU won 24-14 over No. 3 OSU in 1984 in Norman. In 2011, No. 3 OSU beat No. 10 OU 44-10 in Stillwater. The Sooners are 13-1 (.929) all-time against the Cowboys when both teams are ranked in the AP poll (7-1 under Stoops).

• Saturday's game will feature two of the nation's top offenses. OU ranks second nationally in scoring offense (45.3 points per game) and third in total offense (550.8 yards per game), while OSU ranks 14th (40.4) and 16th (500.2) in the same categories. The Sooners also rank 10th in passing offense (322.7 ypg) and 25th in rushing offense (228.1 ypg), while the Cowboys ranks sixth (335.2) and 79th (165.0), respectively.

• Including last year's Bedlam game and eight Big 12 Championship Game appearances, Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops is 8-1 in games with the outright Big 12 title on the line. OU has never played for the Big 12 championship on its home field.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA STATE

• After a 2-2 start, No. 10/11/10 Oklahoma State has won seven games in a row and stands at 9-2 overall and 7-1 in Big 12 play.

• OSU's win streak has come on the back of it signature offensive attack. The Cowboys rank 16th nationally in total offense at 500.2 yards per game and 14th in scoring offense at 40.4 points per contest. The Cowboys are strongest in the passing game, ranking sixth nationally with an average of 335.2 ypg through the air, and they rank 79th nationally by averaging 165.0 rushing ypg.

• Junior quarterback Mason Rudolph ranks second in the Big 12 and fifth nationally by throwing for 326.5 yards per game. Rudolph is completing 64.2 percent of his passes for 3,591 yards with 25 touchdowns and just four interceptions. Junior wide receiver James Washington leads OSU with 60 catches for 1,159 yards (second most in the Big 12) and nine touchdowns (fourth most in the league). Freshman running back Justice Hill has paced the Cowboy ground game with 171 carries for 943 yards (5.5 per carry) and five touchdowns. Seniors Chris Carson and Rennie Childs are tied for the team lead in rushing scores with seven each.

• Oklahoma State has been one of the stronger defensive units in the Big 12 this season. The Cowboys allow 441.4 yards per game to rank fourth in the league and surrender 27.2 points per game to rank third. OSU has forced 23 total takeaways, the most in the Big 12 and tied for 20th most nationally. The Cowboys are also tied for second nationally with six blocked kicks.

• Senior safety Jordan Sterns leads the team with 77 tackles while redshirt junior defensive tackle Vincent Taylor has registered team highs of 5.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss. Three different Cowboys have recorded multiple interceptions this year.

LAST YEAR VS. THE COWBOYS

• Baker Mayfield threw two touchdown passes and ran for another score and Oklahoma beat Oklahoma State 58-23 in Stillwater in last year's regular season finale to take the Big 12 title for the ninth time in 16 years. Mayfield completed 17-of-25 passes for 180 yards and added 77 rushing yards on 11 attempts.

• The Sooners gained 524 yards, including 344 on the ground, to claim their third win over a ranked opponent in three weeks. Joe Mixon ran for 136 yards and two touchdowns while Samaje Perine rushed for 131 yards and two scores.

• Oklahoma rolled to a 44-20 halftime lead thanks to a 30-point second quarter. The Sooners gained 359 yards on 36 plays before the break. Perine had touchdown runs of 68 and 25 yards, and Mixon added a career-long 66-yard scoring dash in the half. OU’s 44 first-half points were its most in any half since scoring 49 in the first 30 minutes against Nebraska in 2008.

• Jordan Thomas intercepted two passes and returned one for a touchdown for the Sooners.

• Former Sooner Alex Ross notched his longest kick return of the year with a 90-yard burst to the OSU 4-yard line to set up OU’s first touchdown of the game. His 170 yards on five kick returns were the fourth most in a game in school history.

• Receiver Sterling Shepard caught a team-high 10 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown, while Dimitri Flowers added a 5-yard touchdown reception.

JUST CALL HIM "TD" WESTBROOK

• Senior Dede Westbrook is on a remarkable eight-game tear, amassing 53 catches for 1,200 yards and 15 touchdowns since the start of Big 12 play Oct. 1. He also returned a punt 71 yards for a score Oct. 29 against Kansas. The 1,200 yards are the most ever by a Sooner in an eight-game stretch, as are the 15 receiving TDs.

• Westbrook's 16 total TDs over the last eight games are 12 more than he had in the first 16 games of his career. His 15 receiving scores came (in order) from 67, 40, 71, 42, 47, 26, 8, 88, 49, 23, 41, 65, 29, 40 and 75 yards (an average of 47.4 yards)

• Westbrook's 15 TD catches over the last eight games are more than 38 teams (18 Power Five teams) have on the season. Only eight teams have more receptions of at least 60 yards this year than Westbrook's five.

• Westbrook is the only player in school history to score more than five TDs (rushing and/or receiving) of 40-plus yards in one season. He has 11. He is also the only Sooner to record six straight 100-yard receiving games in one year (no one had ever strung together more than four in one season).

• Only three FBS players have more receiving TDs this season than Westbrook's 15 in the last eight games, and only 10 FBS players have more receiving yards on the year than Westbrook has in the past eight outings.

• In Big 12 play, Westbrook ranks first in the league in receiving yards (150.0 per game; next highest average is 95.7 by Texas Tech's Keke Coutee) and points (12.2 per game; next highest average is 9.1 by Oklahoma State kicker Ben Grogan).

• Westbrook's 2,097 career receiving yards are the most ever by an OU player in their first 24 games. The second-year Sooner already ranks seventh in school history in receiving yards (needs 188 to tie Malcolm Kelly [2005-07] for sixth).

MAYFIELD JOINS WESTBROOK IN HEISMAN RACE

• Junior quarterback Baker Mayfield has been even more effective this year than he was 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 222-for-311 (career-high 71.4 percent) this season with 35 TDs and eight picks. He ranks first nationally in passing efficiency rating (194.7; the NCAA single-season record is 191.8) and yards per pass attempt (10.9; only one other player is above 10.0), second in completion percentage, third in points responsible for per game (22.7) and fourth in passing TDs per game (3.2).

• A finalist for the Maxwell, Davey O'Brien and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Awards and the Burlsworth Trophy, Mayfield has been especially effective in Big 12 play, leading the league in passing TDs per game (3.5; Texas Tech's Patrick Mahomes ranks second with 3.0), completion percentage (.739; Oklahoma State's Mason Rudolph is next at .642) and pass efficiency rating (205.7; Rudolph ranks second at 163.5). He has thrown for 323.5 yards per league contest and has also run for 134 yards and six scores during the stretch.

• Mayfield ranks third in the nation with his 19 completions of at least 40 yards (Toledo's Logan Woodside has 21 and Penn State's Trace McSorley has 20; both have played one more game).

• Mayfield is the only player in OU history to register at least 5,000 passing yards (7,081) and at least 500 rushing yards (543) in a career.

• Mayfield has accounted for 84 touchdowns as a Sooner, the most by a player in the first 24 games of an OU career. His 71 TD passes trail only Sam Bradford's 74 as the most in the first 24 games of an OU career.

• Mayfield ranks first at OU in career completion percentage (.695; Bradford ranks second at .676) and career passing efficiency (182.73; Bradford ranks second at 175.62).

NOT YOUR AVERAGE JOE

• For his career, redshirt sophomore running back Joe Mixon is averaging 6.80 yards per carry, most in the 18-year Bob Stoops era among players with at least 100 attempts. He ranks 15th nationally this year with his 6.90 yards per rush.

• Mixon ranks second in the country with his 195.0 all-purpose yards per game this season. He is averaging a team-high 108.4 rushing yards per game (ranks second in Big 12), 43.0 receiving yards per contest (ranks second on team), 25.7 yards per kickoff return (ranks third in Big 12) and 6.2 yards per punt return.

• Mixon has 1,950 all-purpose yards in his 10 games and needs 221 to tie the OU single-season record of 2,171 set by DeMarco Murray in 2008 (13 games).

• On Oct. 22 at Texas Tech, Mixon became one of only two FBS players since 1996 to register three receiving TDs and two rushing TDs in one game (Air Force's Tim McVey did it last year against New Mexico).

• Mixon has accounted for 12 touchdowns on the season in four different fashions. His scoring pass to Dede Westbrook Oct. 15 vs. Kansas State made him the first player in school history and only FBS player this year 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 Oct. 1 at TCU). Only Quentin Griffin (1999-02; 16 games) reached the 1,000/500 mark faster. Others to do it were 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).

PERINE 321 YARDS SHY OF OU CAREER RUSHING RECORD

• After a stellar season that saw a continuation of his bruising, powerful style, RB Samaje Perine picked up third-team All-America honors last year and was selected to the All-Big 12 First Team. The Pflugerville, Texas, product racked up 1,713 rushing yards as a freshman (6.5 per carry) and 1,349 more as a sophomore last season (6.0 per carry). With 735 more yards this season (on 142 carries), Perine already ranks sixth in Oklahoma history with 3,797 career rushing yards and is just 321 yards shy of Billy Sims’ school record of 4,118 yards.

• Despite getting hurt in the first quarter against Kansas State on Oct. 15 and not returning, Perine is averaging 117.2 yards per Big 12 game and has eight TDs in his five league outings. He missed three full contests after the Kansas State game.

• Perine’s 1,713 net rushing yards in 2014 were sixth most by a freshman in FBS history and second most in Big 12 and OU freshman annals, behind Adrian Peterson’s 1,925 yards in 2004. Perine’s total was fifth highest in a season in OU history, and he became the first freshman lead the Big 12 in rushing yards per game (131.8). Against Kansas that season, Perine amassed an FBS-record 427 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 34 carries. The record still stands.

NOTING OU'S DEFENSE

• Oklahoma ranks 91st out of 128 teams in total defense by allowing 443.1 yards per contest, but it has faced six of the nation's top 24 offenses in its 11 games. Texas Tech ranks first nationally in total offense at 564.5 yards per game, Baylor ranks fourth (530.9), West Virginia 10th (514.6), TCU 18th (492.7), Texas 20th (491.3) and Ohio State 24th (479.5). OU's final regular seaon foe – Oklahoma State – ranks 16th in total offense (500.2).

• Due mainly to injuries, 22 different Sooners have started on defense through 11 games. Seven of those players are freshmen (five) or first-year junior college transfers (two). Ten defensive players who were on OU's opening-week depth chart have missed a combined 48 games due to injury this season (two are no longer on the team as of two weeks ago).

• Despite giving up 854 yards to Texas Tech on Oct. 22, OU ranks third in Big 12 play in total defense. The Sooners have surrendered an average of 402.4 yards in their other seven league contests.

• OU, which ranks second in the Big 12 in rushing defense (155.6 ypg), has held seven of its 11 opponents to 130 or fewer yards on the ground (89 by Houston, 78 by ULM, 65 by TCU, 110 by Texas, 120 by Texas Tech, 49 by Kansas and 130 by Iowa State).

• Cornerback Jordan Thomas ranks seventh in the nation and second in the Big 12 with his 1.5 passes defended per game. Twelve of his 16 passes defended on the year have come in the last seven games and 14 have come in the last eight outings.

• Inside linebacker Jordan Evans ranks seventh in the Big 12 with his 7.4 tackles per contest. He also has a team-high four interceptions (tied for the most nationally by a linebacker) and has returned two of them for touchdowns (vs. Kansas and at West Virginia). His 145 interception return yards are sixth most in the country and the most among linebackers.

• Outside linebacker Ogbonnia Okoronkwo ranks fourth in the Big 12 and 38th nationally with his 0.7 sacks per game. His 7.0 sacks are fourth most in a season by an OU linebacker.

EXTRA POINTS

• The Sooners' 15-game Big 12 winning streak is the second longest active conference streak in the country (Alabama has won 16 consecutive SEC contests).

• OU running back Joe Mixon (200.7) and wide receiver Dede Westbrook (194.4) rank second and third in the Big 12 in all-purpose yards per conference game. Only one other player (Texas' D'Onta Foreman at 201.7) averages more than 121.0 yards per contest.

• The Sooners lead the country in scoring against Power Five teams (46.2 ppg) and are followed by Louisville and San Diego State (45.0 each), and Pittsburgh and Washington (43.7 each).

• In Big 12 play, OU leads the league in scoring offense (49.0), total offense (577.9), rushing offense (246.8), pass efficiency (202.6), third-down conversion percentage (54.5), fourth-down conversion percentage (71.4), sacks allowed per game (1.1) and punt return average (13.7). It ranks second in passing offense (331.1), first downs per game (26.2), opponent first downs (21.9), rushing defense (156.8), time of possession (33:54) and penalty yards (50.1).

• OU also ranks first in the Big 12 in league play in pass completion percentage (72.9; next highest is 64.5) and first in pass completion percentage defense (54.0; next best is 57.7). The Sooners have completed better than 70 percent of their passes in six of eight conference games (60.6 and 60.0 in the other two), and have held all eight opponents to under 60-percent passing.

• Oklahoma has outscored its last four opponents 56-6 in the first quarter. It hasn’t given up a first quarter touchdown since the Texas Tech game on Oct. 22.

• OU has allowed opponents to score on their opening drive just twice in 11 games (one touchdown and one field goal). No opponent has done it since TCU scored a touchdown in the Big 12 opener Oct. 1.

• The Sooners are 23-1 (.958) all-time as the No. 7 team in the AP poll, including 6-1 (.857) under Stoops.

• OU is 384-71-6 (.839) all-time as an AP top-10 team, 109-25 (.813) under Stoops.

• OU leads the nation with its 2.5 offensive plays per game of least 40 yards and with its 19 offensive TDs of at least 40 yards.

• OU has registered more than 500 yards of total offense in 14 of its last 18 regular season games (averaging 567.9 yards in those 18 contests). It has won all 14 of those games that it reached 500 yards (averaged 51.8 points in the 14 victories).