Oklahoma Sooners

After taking the Ohio State job, Urban Meyer referenced Bob Stoops as someone he learned a lot from after a trip to Norman. Not on the football field. But off it.

Meyer told The New York Times that Stoops had a simple philosophy that resonated with him: “I’m going to coach and coach real hard. But I’m going home. I’m going to take my kids to school in the morning, and no one on this planet can stop me from doing that.

“I’m looking at him, and he’s serious. I say that, but I have to talk to this recruit. I got. … I learned a lot that day.”

Stoops said he wasn’t aware of Meyer’s comments. But he did explain how he has been able to balance football and family.

“Every coach has to do it how he feels is best for him,” Stoops said. “You guys know me well enough. I don't need this. I can do a lot of things. It's never going to be a … When it's all done, there'll be a record. So what? What's that going to do for me? My wife, my kids, my friendships, my close people … that's what matters. This stuff will go by the wayside at some point. The other stuff you'll keep forever.

“It will never consume me where I'm going to sacrifice my relationships with people. And relationships with kids and faith, those things. That's what matters.”

Stoops went on to say that football is important to him. But it’s also not life or death.

“Shoot, nobody's more competitive. I'm competitive. I want to win,” Stoops said. “These people think I don't care enough. Try doing it.

“But when I go inside the house, I'm not going to hang my head around for five days. That's not happening. So, sorry if someone wants me to, or they're going to get me to do it.”

Freshman receiver Justin McCay, a four-star prospect in the class of 2010, is transferring to the University of Kansas, SoonerNation's Jake Trotter has confirmed.

McCay, from Shawnee Mission, Kan., was No. 142 in the 2010 ESPNU 150 and ranked No. 15 at receiver. He redshirted in 2010, and played sparingly this season. He did not record any statistics.

It's expected that McCay will only sit out the 2012 season, despite transferring within the Big 12 Conference. He will have two years of eligibility remaining.

McCay is not the first high-profile player to transfer to Kansas. Big 12 blogger David Ubben details new head coach Charlie Weis' acquisitions here.

Oklahoma is looking to earn its first conference win when the Sooners travel to Stillwater to take on Oklahoma State at 6 p.m. CT on Monday.

The Sooners are coming off back-to-back blowout losses to Missouri and Kansas after a 10-2 non-conference record. OU’s strong rebounding and good shooting, keys to their non-conference success, has left them early in Big 12 play. Their one constant has been defensive effort, which should give them an advantage heading into Bedlam.

The Cowboys enter the game at 8-7 overall (1-1 in Big 12). There’s plenty of unrest in Stillwater with point guards Reger Dowell and Fred Gulley leaving the team after Christmas leaving freshman Cezar Guerrero and Keiton Page to handle most of the ball handling duties. To top it off, OSU lost third-leading scorer J.P. Olukemi for the season after he suffered a torn ACL.

Both teams need something good to happen to get them moving in a positive direction, making for an intense Bedlam battle.

Key to OU win: Sam Grooms needs to win the point guard battle. If Grooms can control the game and the tempo it will allow Steven Pledger to get quality shots and Andrew Fitzgerald to do his work inside. Grooms will set the tone, particularly on defense, for the Sooners.

Key to OSU win: The Cowboys will have to win the battle on the perimeter with Page and Guerrero having terrific games. If the Cowboys come out and have a great shooting game, they will be tough to beat. Freshman LeBryan Nash will also need to step up with a great first Bedlam. A top 2011 recruit, Nash can be a matchup nightmare when he’s playing well.

Stat line that will tell the tale: OSU assists. The ball tends to stick in people’s hands on offense for OSU, meaning the Cowboys often go one-on-one instead of running the offense to get quality shots. If they share the ball, they’re a different team.

Sooners X factor: Andrew Fitzgerald. The junior forward is the best inside scoring threat in this game. He has quality post moves and the Sooners tend to try to get him involved early. If he has a good game, OU could be tough to beat.

Cowboys X factor: Phillip Jurick. A quality shot blocker, Jurick could have a big impact on this game if he is able to contain Fitzgerald and lessen the offensive rebounding of Romero Osby. He averages 2.3 blocks per game in 18.3 minutes of action.

Chris Fowler, Jesse Palmer and Mark May discuss how close college football is to a plus-one playoff system.

SAN ANTONIO -- Twenty juniors have given verbal commitments to play in the 2013 U.S. Army All-American Bowl next January. Four of the players -- receiver Ahmad Fullwood (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny), linebacker Dorian O’Daniel (Olney, Md./Our Lady Of Good Counsel) and defensive backs Eli Woodard (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern) and Kendall Fuller (Olney, Md./Our Lady Of Good Counsel) -- were announced during the second quarter of this year’s game.

Here’s the list of the other 16 players expected to play next year:

DE Kenny Bigelow (Bear, Del./Red Lion Christian)
QB Max Browne (Sammamish, Wash./Skyline)
QB Ryan Burns (Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge)
DB Cam Burrows (Trotwood, Ohio/Trotwood-Madison)
DB Su’a Cravens (Vista Murrieta, Calif.)
OL Austin Golson (Prattville, Ala.)
WR Derrick Griffin (Rosenberg, Texas/Terry)
LB Peter Kalambayi (Matthews, N.C./Butler)
LB E.J. Levenberry (Woodbridge, Va./E.D. Hylton)
LB Daniel McMillian (Jacksonville, Fla./First Coast)
OL Khaliel Rodgers (Bear, Del./Red Lion Christian)
DL Garrett Sickels (Little Silver, N.J./Red Bank)
TE DeSean Smith (Lake Charles, La./Barbe)
QB Tyrone Swoopes (Whitewright, Texas)
OL Laremy Tunsil (Lake City, Fla./Whitewright)
DB Nick Washington (Jacksonville, Fla./Trinity Christian)

Kansas coach Bill Self didn’t feel like his team outplayed Oklahoma in the Jayhawks’ 72-61 win over the Sooners at the Lloyd Noble Center on Saturday afternoon.

Except for a 11-minute stretch to begin the second half. And that was more than enough.

After battling the No. 15-ranked Jayhawks head-to-head for the first 20 minutes, even taking their 34-33 halftime lead. The Sooners then came out flat to open the second half with careless turnovers and poor shooting. KU went on a 29-6 run to take a 62-40 lead with 8:41 left.

OU outscored KU 55-43 in the other 28:41 of the game.

Player of the Game: Carl Blair. The senior point guard provided a solid spark for OU off the bench. He scored 11 points on 2 of 3 shooting along with 3 assists and one turnover in 12 minutes of action. If Blair can provide similar production for the rest of the Big 12 schedule, he will provide allow OU to go small and matchup better with some of the league’s quicker teams.

Unsung Hero: Romero Osby. The junior was solid with nine points and nine rebounds but ended up with a team-high five turnovers. But Osby should have been more aggressive, particularly in the second half as KU began to pull away. The transfer from Mississippi State is a mismatch for most big men with his athleticism and needs to take advantage of that more often.

Key Stat: 48. KU finished the game with 48 points in the paint. The Jayhawks got several dunks and layups thanks to their penetration and offensive rebounding.

Key Stat, Part II: 14. The Jayhawks had 14 steals which helped contribute to their 48 points in the paint and 50 percent shooting (29 of 58 field goal attempts).

Quotable: “Not only did we turn it over, but we turned it over with them shooting layups, which is the worst of both worlds, of course.” - OU coach Lon Kruger on the Sooners carelessness with the ball in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

“I think we came out kind of flat on both ends of the court. We made a couple of costly turnovers. Like Coach said, they equal points on the other end for them. So I think that’s really where it started.” - Osby on KU’s second half run.

“I thought that the 10 minutes, or whatever it was, to start the second half was probably the best run we’ve had all year. I thought our defense was active and we got our hands on balls and we were able to get out in transition. We’re pretty good when we get out in transition.” - KU coach Bill Self

Up Next: at Oklahoma State on Monday at 6 p.m.

Cornerback De’Vante Harris (Mesquite, Texas/Horn), who has been committed to Oklahoma since the spring, announced on Twitter that he has decommitted from the Sooners on Saturday and confirmed with a text message that the decommitment was true.

Harris, a four-star prospect ranked No. 14 at cornerback, had been one of the biggest recruiters for the Sooners since committing. He had made several unofficial visits and an official visit and had coaches for in-home visits recently. There were rumors two weeks ago of Harris looking at Texas, but Harris quickly shot those down.

Reports have also surfaced of OU defensive backs coach Willie Martinez being considered for other jobs. He has been reported as a defensive coordinator candidate at both Kansas and Illinois in the last 24 hours. Martinez has been the primary recruiter for Harris.

The news wasn’t just a shock to OU fans, but also to Mesquite Horn coach Rodney Webb.

“Really? I have no knowledge of that,” Webb said about Harris decommitting. “I was with him in Orlando this week, and he was doing his thing.

“I saw him briefly after the game. Nothing seemed wrong. He seemed like himself, like he always is with his personality. I’m kind of at a loss because he has been such a solid commitment.”

Harris was in Florida all week for the Under Armour All-America game and returned home Friday still talking up the Sooners. Calls to Harris’ cell phone were not returned though he did text the confirmation so there would be no speculation about his Twitter account being hacked.

Harris had also developed a good bond with the secondary, including sophomore Tony Jefferson. When a fan tweeted Jefferson that the Cali Trio needed to bring back Harris, Jefferson replied: “if he wanna go let EM. Gotta go where his best for him. No hard feelings.”

Harris, in his first tweet after the announcement, tweeted back: “Thanks Tony.”

Future teammates were also unaware of Harris’ departure. Cornerback commit Kevin Peterson (Wagoner, Okla./Wagoner) said he found out via a text message from Wagoner coach Dale Condict.

“It’s a big shock. Coach Condict texted me like two minutes before you called,” Peterson said. “I have no idea what happened.”

Peterson said he has not heard from Martinez in more than a week, fueling the speculation about the future of Martinez. During the dead period, it was Bob Stoops that called Peterson.

Harris was OU’s top-ranked defensive prospect for the 2012 class.

The start of Big 12 Conference play could not have been worse for Oklahoma. The Sooners were destroyed by No. 7 Missouri, 87-49, in a game that left forward Andrew Fitzgerald so disappointed with the outcome, he was embarrassed to look at the OU coaching staff.

Next up, Kansas.

The Sooners are looking to rebound from the upset loss when the No. 15 Jayhawks visit Lloyd Noble Center at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday. KU got their Big 12 schedule off to a good start with a 67-49 home victory over Kansas State.

Key to OU win: Attacking KU forward Thomas Robinson, the lone Big 12 player averaging a double-double (17.2 points, 12.3 rebounds), with Andrew Fitzgerald and Romero Osby on offense. If the Sooners can get Robinson into foul trouble, KU will have to count on its inexperienced depth, giving OU a potential advantage. Fitzgerald and Osby will need to be aggressive with the aim of getting 15-20 points apiece.

Key to Kansas win: Defense. The Jayhawks rank No. 12 nationally in opponent field goal percentage (36.9 percent) and are annually among the best defensive squads in the Big 12. OU has struggled to get good shots at times this season and the Jayhawks could take advantage of the Sooners lack of penetrating ball handlers.

Stat line that will tell the tale: OU field goal percentage. The Sooners will have to shoot extremely well from the outside or get easy shots through penetration or in transition. If KU forces OU to try to create open shots in one-on-one situations, the Jayhawks have the advantage.

Sooners X factor: Sam Grooms. The junior college transfer has proven to be the only Sooner who can consistently create a shot for himself or his teammates this season. He will need to do that on Saturday. If he struggles against KU’s defense, quality shots will be much harder to find.

Jayhawks X factor: Elijah Johnson. The incredibly athletic guard does a lot of things well and makes KU very hard to beat when he plays well. He’s averaging 9.7 points, 3.8 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. A 40 percent shooter, Johnson could make KU impossible to beat if he scores efficiently on Saturday.