Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma football: How Oklahoma vs. Tulsa stacks up by the numbers

By Chip Rouse

Oct 5, 2013; Tulsa, OK, USA; A view of the stadium during a game between the ulsa Hurricanes and Rice Owls at Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium. Rice defeated Tulsa 30-27 in an overtime. Mandatory Credit: Beth Hall-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 5, 2013; Tulsa, OK, USA; A view of the stadium during a game between the ulsa Hurricanes and Rice Owls at Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium. Rice defeated Tulsa 30-27 in an overtime. Mandatory Credit: Beth Hall-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Oklahoma football goes on the road but stays within the state this weekend, taking on Tulsa at Chapman Stadium on Saturday in the Sooners’ final tune-up before beginning Big 12 play.

The Sooners are 28.5-point favorites in the game, according to the line established by Las Vegas oddsmakers as of Thursday this week. The two in-state rivals have played 28 times with Oklahoma holding a 20-7-1 record. Oklahoma is 7-3 when the Sooners play in Tulsa, but the Sooners have not lost there in four games since 1942.

Brent Venables welcomed 65 new players to the roster for the 2023 season. Twenty-one of those newcomers are transfers from other schools, the highest number of transfers that the Sooners have added in any one season.

Relatively speaking, this is a very young Oklahoma team. Ninety-nine of the 125 players on the Sooner roster for this season are first- or second-year Sooners. Only 26 of the 116 players who were on the roster in Lincoln Riley’s final season in 2021 are on the roster today.

Both Oklahoma and Tulsa, separated by 123 road miles, have been playing football since 1895. They may have started playing football the same year, but the Sooners have accumulated nearly 300 more wins than the Golden Hurricane in 128 seasons.

How the two teams compare statistically through two games in 2023

(National ranking in parentheses)

                                                                         OU                                         Tulsa

Scoring offense                                      50.5 (6th)                             26.0 (88th)

Scoring defense                                       5.5 (6th)                             25.0 (78th)

Rushing offense                                  204.5 (32nd)                      214.0 (26th)

Rushing defense                                   82.5 (28th)                       105.5 (50th)

Passing offense                                  299.0 (29th)                       203.5 (94th)

Passing defense                                 205.0 (28th)                       302.0 (117th)

Total offense                                       503.5 (16th)                       417.5 (56th)

Total defense                                      287.5 (35th)                       407.5 (104th)

Turnover margin                                   +3 (13th)                             -1 (86th)

3rd down offense                                64% (3rd)                              46.2% (50th)

3rd down defense                              22.2% (8th)                           43.5% (89th)

Red zone offense                               92% (38th)                            85.7% (61st)

Red zone defense                             100% (93rd)                           87.5% (79th)

Home/OU Football