Florida State
2nd ACC9-4
Oklahoma
1st Big 1211-2
Florida State @ Oklahoma preview
Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
It wasn’t enough that Mark Stoops used to always tag along behind his three older brothers as a kid or that he later followed two of them to the University of Iowa, playing defensive back for the Hawkeyes just like his siblings. Or even that he opted to wear the same jersey No. 41 for Coach Hayden Fry as they did.
He’s again trailing the path they’ve already blazed, only this time in the big-time college football coaching ranks. Now Florida State’s defensive coordinator, Mark Stoops is quickly making a name for himself as one of the nation’s top defensive minds, much like his brothers, Bob and Mike, have already done en route to major college head jobs.
Mike Stoops is the head coach at Arizona, where Mark had served as his defensive coordinator before leaving for Tallahassee this past offseason. Bob Stoops knows all too what it’s like guiding a high-powered defense from the Sunshine State, having worked as Steve Spurrier’s defensive coordinator at Florida before building one of the nation’s premier programs at Oklahoma over the last 12 years.
Ron Stoops, the oldest of the brothers, is an assistant coach at Cardinal Mooney High School in the family’s hometown of Youngstown, Ohio. Their late father, Ron, had been an assistant at Cardinal Mooney as well.
Bob Stoops gets to see up close for the first time just how far his baby brother has come when Mark and the 14th-ranked Seminoles arrive at the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium for their nationally televised showdown with the No. 10 Sooners.
OU (1-0) will give the youngest Stoops much more of a challenge than Samford did a week ago, even if the Sooners weren’t all that impressive in the closer-than-expected 31-24 win over Utah State. The Sooners are led offensively by big-play tailback DeMarco Murray, whose 35 carries for 218 yards last week were both career-highs.
Stopping Murray will be the key for an FSU defense that has struggled against the run in recent seasons.
Getting Murray going early will be vital for Oklahoma as quarterback Landry Jones was a little shaky last week, completing just 17 of 36 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns to go with two interceptions against an Aggies unit that ranked 101st in pass defense in 2009.
The Sooners will especially need to do better on defense after surrendering 421 yards of total offense to Utah State a week ago. The return of defensive ends Frank Alexander (ankle) and Pryce Macon (suspended) should help.
Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder was brilliant last week, passing for four touchdowns in a half’s work as the ‘Noles (1-0) kicked off the Jimbo Fisher coaching era in style with their 59-6 dismantling of the Bulldogs. Ponder and his receivers will be challenged considerably more on Saturday.
Oklahoma boasts the nation’s longest home winning streak at 31 games, outscoring their visitors 1,393 to 464 in those contests.
He’s again trailing the path they’ve already blazed, only this time in the big-time college football coaching ranks. Now Florida State’s defensive coordinator, Mark Stoops is quickly making a name for himself as one of the nation’s top defensive minds, much like his brothers, Bob and Mike, have already done en route to major college head jobs.
Mike Stoops is the head coach at Arizona, where Mark had served as his defensive coordinator before leaving for Tallahassee this past offseason. Bob Stoops knows all too what it’s like guiding a high-powered defense from the Sunshine State, having worked as Steve Spurrier’s defensive coordinator at Florida before building one of the nation’s premier programs at Oklahoma over the last 12 years.
Ron Stoops, the oldest of the brothers, is an assistant coach at Cardinal Mooney High School in the family’s hometown of Youngstown, Ohio. Their late father, Ron, had been an assistant at Cardinal Mooney as well.
Bob Stoops gets to see up close for the first time just how far his baby brother has come when Mark and the 14th-ranked Seminoles arrive at the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium for their nationally televised showdown with the No. 10 Sooners.
OU (1-0) will give the youngest Stoops much more of a challenge than Samford did a week ago, even if the Sooners weren’t all that impressive in the closer-than-expected 31-24 win over Utah State. The Sooners are led offensively by big-play tailback DeMarco Murray, whose 35 carries for 218 yards last week were both career-highs.
Stopping Murray will be the key for an FSU defense that has struggled against the run in recent seasons.
Getting Murray going early will be vital for Oklahoma as quarterback Landry Jones was a little shaky last week, completing just 17 of 36 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns to go with two interceptions against an Aggies unit that ranked 101st in pass defense in 2009.
The Sooners will especially need to do better on defense after surrendering 421 yards of total offense to Utah State a week ago. The return of defensive ends Frank Alexander (ankle) and Pryce Macon (suspended) should help.
Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder was brilliant last week, passing for four touchdowns in a half’s work as the ‘Noles (1-0) kicked off the Jimbo Fisher coaching era in style with their 59-6 dismantling of the Bulldogs. Ponder and his receivers will be challenged considerably more on Saturday.
Oklahoma boasts the nation’s longest home winning streak at 31 games, outscoring their visitors 1,393 to 464 in those contests.