Stoops Sees Similarities To Great Teams

Wednesday, September 12th 2007, 9:47 am

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops says his team has drawn some early comparisons to past championship-caliber squads, but the players have to keep it up if they want to be great.

Stoops told reporters yesterday that this group of players has matured in how they deal with things, but only time will tell if they can persist.

Oklahoma (2-0) followed a 79-10 rout of North Texas with a 51-13 blowout against Miami, and this week will face Utah State (0-2) in its third straight home game.

Since the Sooners have only six seniors in their starting lineup, Stoops credited the team's attitude to a significant number of juniors in key roles.

That class arrived on campus immediately after OU had lost back-to-back BCS title games to LSU and USC.

They finished 8-and-4 in 2005 and dealt with the dismissal of quarterback Rhett Bomar due to NCAA violations and a stunning overtime defeat to Boise State.

Junior receiver Malcolm Kelly said the team gained strength last season following losses to Texas and Oregon and after tailback Adrian Peterson broke his collarbone.