Iglesias, Sooners Aware Of Miami's Aura, If Not History Of Series

Wednesday, September 5th 2007, 3:26 pm

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ Like a good number of his Oklahoma football teammates, wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias has little or no recollection of the three games the Sooners lost to Miami during the mid-1980s _ Oklahoma's only losses in a three-season span.

But Iglesias is fully aware of the aura of success surrounding the Miami program, which has won five national titles since 1983 and has sent dozens of players to the NFL. The Hurricanes will play Oklahoma on Saturday.

``I didn't even know (Oklahoma and Miami) had played, except for the Orange Bowl (after the 1987 season),'' Iglesias said. ``But I'm excited to play Miami. You watched them when you were a kid. ... You dream about playing against Miami. You've seen them all on TV. I know it's a bigger thing for me, because that's what I know more of, (rather) than the tradition or history of the game.''

Iglesias, who caught seven passes for 128 yards in the Sooners' 79-10 rout of North Texas in the season opener, also was credited with a 41-yard run on Oklahoma's first series after what was ruled a lateral.

Iglesias said he wished the play had been ruled a pass, because it ``would have made my stats that much better. ... That's just how it goes sometimes.''

But he said it ultimately didn't matter. ``If I don't (have) another run, and I average 41 yards a rush, that's good.''

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HIGH FIVE: After becoming the first Oklahoma player to score five touchdowns in his debut, tailback DeMarco Murray said he wasn't getting carried away.

``I haven't heard too much about it, so that's a good thing,'' Murray said. ``The coaches haven't been making a big deal out of it, neither have the players, neither have (I).

``It was a good time for me to have fun doing it, but it's time to move on and get ready for Miami.''

Murray moved into the starting role as coaches decided only to use Allen Patrick _ who was still recovering from a sprained ankle _ if he was needed, and after backup Chris Brown was suspended.

``Every time he scored, I had to give him a high five,'' Patrick said. ``I was very proud of him.''

Patrick said he was surprised at how well his two freshman replacements performed. Murray and Mossis Madu each had 87 yards rushing. Both were on the field when Murray lined up as a receiver and scored on a 44-yard end around.

``Everybody knew he had that ability. He just came out and he played his game,'' Patrick said. ``I told him before the game, 'Don't change your style for nobody, and keep doing what you do.' He went out there and put up five touchdowns, so what can you say? He did his thing.''

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LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: During his weekly news conference, someone asked Oklahoma coach Stoops if he knew where Appalachian State was located. Stoops correctly, and quickly, noted that Boone, N.C., is the home of the team that stunned then-No. 5-ranked Michigan 34-32 on Saturday.

Then Stoops made a sales pitch of sorts.

``Way back about 16 or 17 years ago, someone sold me a timeshare there,'' he said. ``I've never been to it. So if anybody's looking for one in Boone, they can have it, actually.''

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POINT TOTALS: Count Miami cornerback Randy Phillips among those who came away impressed with Oklahoma's scoring output in the Sooners' rout of North Texas, but Phillips doesn't think the Sooners' offense will have its way again Saturday.

Oklahoma scoring 79 points ``was just like when Kobe (Bryant) went for 80-some,'' Phillips said. ``It don't matter. He had 80-some. They had 79. That's a lot of points. It doesn't matter who they're playing against. They were a college team, they were on the schedule, so hats off to Oklahoma for scoring 79.''

But Phillips then tempered his praise somewhat.

``They're not going to get 79 on us,'' he said. ``They're not going to be that successful against this Miami defense because we're very fast, we hit hard and we create turnovers.''

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SHARED HISTORY: Miami and Oklahoma share a former coach in Howard Schnellenberger, although his reputation at the two schools is vastly different.

Schnellenberger went 41-16 in five seasons with the Hurricanes and brought the Miami program to national prominence by winning the 1983 national title. After leaving Miami for a stint at Louisville, Schnellenberger took over Oklahoma's foundering program in 1995 but lasted only one season, going 5-5-1 and resigning under pressure.

Ironically, Schnellenberger will be in the state of Oklahoma on Saturday, as his Florida Atlantic Owls will visit Oklahoma State in Stillwater, about 80 miles from where Miami and Oklahoma will meet in Norman.