Oklahoma, Tulsa and Oklahoma State all head into weekend undefeated
By John WaltersOOOOK-lahoma, where the wins come sweepin' down the plain,
Where a Sam and Zac play quarterback,
And how about the Golden Hurricane!
Oklahoma, O.K.? How about 5-0-K?
And not just the Sooners. Heading into the second Saturday of October, all three of the Oklahoma's FBS schools — Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Tulsa — are sporting 5-0 records. Fans from Edmond to Enid, from Tecumseh to Tahlequah (the home office) are thrilled, as they should be.
Right now, Oklahoma (or, as the Rogers & Hammerstein musical aptly put it, "Oklahoma!") boasts the nation's top-ranked team, the Sooners. It also can claim the nation's No. 1 scoring offense, the Golden Hurricane of Tulsa. And, while Oklahoma State's top punt-return unit in the nation may not equal the other two in terms of superlative achievement, the Cowboys have played so well that head coach Mike Gundy's tirade of a year ago has become little more than a football footnote.
It all begins with offense. The Golden Hurricane, Cowboys and Sooners are Nos. 1, 3 and 4 in the nation, respectively, in scoring offense (Missouri, at No. 2, crashes the party). Tulsa, which has scored 17 touchdowns in just the past two games, is averaging 56.4 points per contest. Oklahoma State, which has consistently put up between 55 and 57 points in its last four games, is third at 52.6. And Oklahoma, which was held to 35 points by TCU, who entered that game ranked first nationally in scoring defense, is fourth at 49.6 points per game.
And so it is no coincidence that a glance of the nation's passing efficiency leaders finds that the top three are quarterbacks at these schools. Tulsa's first-year starter, senior David Johnson, leads the nation at 214.58 — and because we know that passing efficiency stats don't get anyone’s blood boiling, consider this: Tim Tebow won the Heisman last year with a 179 rating.
Sam Bradford, the Sooners sophomore now in his second season as a starter, is second at 204.97. And Zac Robinson, the Oklahoma State junior whose insertion into the Cowboys starting lineup midway through last season instigated the entire "I'm a man! I'm 40!" mayhem, is a close third at 204.58.
Tornado Alley is suddenly a triangle of offense. Stillwater, the site of Oklahoma State's campus, lies 71 miles due west of Tulsa and 81 miles north and slightly east of Norman. The hypotenuse is the line between Tulsa and Norman, a 123-mile stretch of prairie extending south by southwest.
Of course, it is a little early in the season to get too excited by the combined 15-0 record. After all, only Oklahoma has faced a ranked team (TCU was 23rd when the Sooners beat them 35-10 in late September). Still, how many other states can claim a perfect record among its FBS schools nearly midway through the season? If you answered "Utah" ... remember that Utah State plays in the WAC (hey, we don't make the rules here).
In fact, the Seattle-based University of Washington, which now owns the nation's longest losing streak (7 games), might want to consider following the lead of its erstwhile NBA franchise and relocating to Oklahoma. The Huskies are believers, after all: Last month the Sooners routed them in Seattle, 55-14, their worst home loss in 79 years.
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