Bob Stoops has coached 83 games at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in his 14-year tenure in Norman. His teams have only lost four times.
Thats a fairly daunting number for the No. 5 Irish to face this weekend, with plenty of BCS implications on the line against the No. 8 Sooners. But Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said Tuesday he doesnt think his team is frightened by that 79-4 mark.
We've got so many other things our guys have to worry about, whether they're stepping with their right foot or left foot, Kelly said. Those numbers are really not something we bring up. But clearly we know how good they are.
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If Notre Dame does pull off the win, itll be with a quarterback whos only started five collegiate games. But Everett Golson wouldnt be the first inexperienced signal-caller to beat Stoops in Norman.
In 2001, freshman Josh Fields -- who went on to play third base for the White Sox -- replaced junior Aso Pogi early and piloted Les Miles' Oklahoma State squad to a 16-13 win. Pogi threw two interceptions in his first nine passes and was yanked for Fields, who only threw one interception the rest of the way.
Texas Tech's Seth Doege, in his first year as a full-time starter, went into Norman and threw for 441 yards in a shocking win over then-No. 3 Oklahoma last year -- but he at least had some game experience dating back to 2009. TCU's Tye Gunn was a senior when the Horned Frogs became the second team to defeat Stoops at Owen Field in 2005. And K-State senior Collin Klein, who led the No. 3 Wildcats to a 24-19 win in September, is arguably the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy this year.
While Stoops' 79-4 home record certainly appears intimidating, half of those losses have come in the last two years, and it's important to note the Red River Shootout is annually played in Dallas -- so OU doesn't have to play Texas in Norman.
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In fact, Saturday's game will mark just the fourth time Stoops has faced a team ranked in the top 10 at home:
Oct. 28, 2000: 31-14 win vs. No. 1 Nebraska
Oct. 19, 2002: 49-3 win vs. No. 9 Iowa State
Nov. 22, 2008: 65-21 win vs. No. 2 Texas Tech
Still, four losses in 83 home games is just one way the strength of Oklahomas program has materialized. Stoops has taken OU to a bowl game in each of his 14 years, including two BCS bowl wins and a national championship in 2000. Make no mistake, its Oklahoma -- not Texas -- thats been the class of the Big 12 for the last decade and a half. Few schools can boast the success Oklahoma has enjoyed under Stoops, and its something Kelly and Notre Dame are shooting for.
That's where we want to be, Kelly said. We want that consistency. Year in and year out you know Oklahoma is going to be part of the conversation. And that's where we want to get our football program. We're nowhere near that yet. We think we're moving in the right direction. We're trending the right way.
But I think the hallmark of great programs is that consistency, the consistency that we saw here for a number of years that we haven't seen, we want to be able to bring that back. And that takes time. And that takes a lot of winning, and that's why there's so much pride and tradition in their program as well.