Sooners Prepare for first Defense of Top Ranking

by: Staff Reporter

October 31, 2000

The Oklahoma Sooners will get their first chance to defend their top national ranking  this week when they travel to Waco to battle the Baylor Bears. OU Coach Bob Stoops said the #1 ranking will give the Sooners extra motivation for this week's game.

 "Our players are excited and will be more excited, because they want to hold onto it," said Stoops. "I'm not going to sit here and try to hide from it. Our players are smart enough to know what's happened to them. Why give it up? Why not win one more game and be 8-0 and hold onto it? I think it gives us more incentive to fight for it as well."

The game against Baylor shouldn't be much of a contest. The Sooners are an early 38 point favorite. However, Stoops claims to Sooners are not looking past the Bears to the next week's big showdown in College Station.

 "We practice the same way," Stoops said. "We prepare the same. We do everything the same."

Even if Stoops and the Sooners aren't looking to the Nov. 11 showdown with the Texas A&M Aggies, the fans and media are. ESPN announced this week that its College Gameday show would be broadcasting live from College Station. It will be the third time this season the show has broadcasted from a Sooner game.

ABC Sports also announced this week that the game would be part of a noon split national telecast. ABC is capitalizing on the sudden popularity of the Sooners. Last weekend's game against Nebraska was the network's most watched game of the season to this point.

Also capitalizing on the Sooners' popularity is Sports Illustrated. This week SI will feature the Sooners on the cover. Apparently, SI felt that the resurrection of the Sooner program was bigger than the World Series. OU will knock the New York Yankees off the magazine's cover.