Oklahoma football: Five revealing stats as Sooners await Cyclones

A two-week fast from Oklahoma football is hard for fans to endure at any time in the fall, but especially so this year when things seem to be going so right, so early for first-year head coach Lincoln Riley and the Sooners.

The third-ranked Sooners come off of a bye week and return to game action on Saturday, hosting Iowa State, a team that Oklahoma has beat up on more often than any other opponent in OU’s illustrious football history.

The Sooners have lost just five times in 81 all-time games against Iowa State. The last win by the Cyclones over the Sooners was in 1990. Iowa State scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to slip by the heavily favored Sooners by a narrow 33-31 margin. Before that, the last Iowa State win over Oklahoma was in 1961.

Oklahoma is an overwhelming 45-1-1 against Iowa State the last 47 times they have played each other. The Sooners have never lost to Iowa State in the Big 12 era and own an 18-game winning streak over the Cyclones, OU’s longest active winning streak against any opponent. All of this provides a strong rationale for why Oklahoma is a four-touchdown favorite over an Iowa State team that may believe is playing much better than it has in recent years.

The won-loss comparison may be the most obvious statistical contrast between these two football programs, but here are five other compelling stats to get you set for the early-morning kick between these two longtime conference opponents.

Oklahoma is riding a 14-game winning streak, the longest active winning streak among FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) teams. On Saturday, it will have been 385 days since the Sooners last lost a football game: 45-24 to Ohio State on Sept. 17, 2016.

The Sooners have scored 30-or-more points in all 14 games of their current winning streak, the longest streak of 30-point performances in program history. Since 1999, Oklahoma is 162-9 when it scores at least 30 points in a game. Through four games this season, the Sooners are averaging 48.0 points per game.

The Oklahoma Air Raid offense has been bombs away this season on opponents. Quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Sooners are averaging 400 yards passing per game, which ranks fourth best among the 120 NCAA FBS teams. The Sooners have already completed 29 passes of 20-plus yards in four games in the 2017 season. That is the best such mark in the nation. According to information provided by the OU athletic department, Oklahoma is the only team in the country with two pass completions (and three plays overall) to total at least 80 yards from scrimmage.

Iowa State quarterback Jacob Park ranks 15th among NCAA FBS team in passing yards per game (259.2 this season), 12th in pass completions (25.0) and 28th in touchdown passes (9). The Sooners rank 59th in the country in pass defense (198.5).

Next: Sooner playmakers aplenty is difference this year from last

Iowa State is one of eight FBS teams (out of 120) not to lose a fumble this season. The Iowa State secondary has intercepted six passes this season, second in the Big 12 and 19th in the NCAA. OU’s Mayfield leads the nation in pass efficiency rating and has not thrown an interception in 101 pass attempts this season.

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