Stoops to coach 100th game at Oklahoma

Wednesday, November 1st 2006, 8:42 am

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ Oklahoma was a traditional powerhouse suffering through three consecutive losing seasons when it turned to a man with no experience as a head coach to change directions.

Ninety-nine games later, OU's choice to pick Bob Stoops has proven to be a good one.

On Saturday, he'll coach his 100th Sooners game when Number 18 Oklahoma plays at Number 21 Texas A&M. He'll be seeking his 82nd win in his eighth season with the Sooners.

Of the four men who coached at least 100 games at OU, Stoops' impressive start ranks only third.

Bud Wilkinson went 89-8-and-3 and had three championships in his first 100 games with the Sooners, and Barry Switzer was 86-11-and-3 with two national titles.

But when Stoops arrived in Norman in 1999, he was taking over a team that had gone through its worst three-year stretch in history while the others both inherited winners.

Stoops took OU to a bowl game in his first season and then won a national title his second season. He's followed that with five more bowl games bowl-eligibility this season.