The 2009 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season, the 115th season of Sooner football. The team was led by two-time Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award winner, Bob Stoops, in his 11th season as head coach. They played their home games at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. They were a charter member of the Big 12 Conference.
Conference play began with a win over the Baylor Bears at home on October 10, and ended with a win at home over the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the annual Bedlam Series on November 28. The Sooners finished the regular season with a 7–5 record (5–3 in the Big 12), their worst record since 1999, while finishing in a tie with Texas Tech for third in the Big 12 South. They were invited to the Sun Bowl, where they upset the Stanford Cardinal, 31–27.
Following the season, four members of the team were drafted in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft: Sam Bradford at #1, Gerald McCoy at #3, Trent Williams at #4, and Jermaine Gresham at #21. Oklahoma thus became the first school in the history of the NFL draft with three players selected in the top four picks. In addition to those four players, Keenan Clayton was selected in the 4th round, and Dominique Franks and Brody Eldridge were drafted in the 5th. This total number of seven ties with the total following the 2011 season as the second most Sooners selected in the NFL draft in the 16 years of the Stoops era, placing behind the mark of 11 after the 2004 season.
Recruits
Schedule
Roster
Oklahoma listed 103 players on the roster with a breakdown of 21 seniors, 22 juniors, 22 sophomores, 14 redshirt freshmen, and 24 true freshmen. Sam Bradford, Brody Eldridge, Gerald McCoy and Ryan Reynolds served as team captains for the 2009 squad. During the course of the season, Oklahoma suffered many injuries. Many of those injuries were starters. Those that missed at least one game during the 2009 season include quarterback Sam Bradford (injured in game one, came back for game five but was reinjured in game 6 and missed the rest of the season), tight end Jermaine Gresham (injured before the start of the season), guards Brian Simmons (injured in game five and missed five games), Jarvis Jones and Brody Eldridge (both injured in game nine and out the rest of the season), wide receivers Ryan Broyles (injured in game four and missed one game) and Brandon Caleb, defensive end Auston English (injured in game nine and out the rest of the season), safety Quinton Carter, linebacker Tom Wort (injured before the season) and running back DeMarco Murray.
Game summaries
BYU (Cowboys Classic)
The Sooners opened the season on the road in the newly constructed Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas against the 20th ranked program in the country. Going into the game, Oklahoma was 10–1 in season openers and 9–2 in road openers under Bob Stoops. This was only the second time these teams had faced each other, the first coming in the 1994 Copper Bowl when the #22 ranked Cougars threw for 485 yards and defeated the Sooners 31–6. The Cougars were led by four-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall, who was then 32-7 as the Cougars head coach. The Sooners, ranked number three in the preseason, were favored to win by a large margin with most estimates at around 21 points. BYU earned approximately $1.5 million for playing the Sooners, while the Sooners received $2.25 million for playing in Dallas.
Prior to the game, both teams experienced multiple personnel issues. On the BYU side, left tackle Matt Reynolds fractured a finger and was still questionable for the season opener. Starting guard Jason Speredon was out for the season with a torn rotator cuff. Freshman Houston Reynolds also experienced a season-ending injury when he tore his ACL. A few days prior to the game, Oklahoma All-American Jermaine Gresham suffered a season-ending knee injury. Oklahoma saw several issues develop in their linebacker corp. Freshman Tom Wort tore his ACL during practice and would end up missing the entire season. Senior Mike Balogun experienced legal issues when his eligibility was called into question and subsequently decertified to participate in the 2009 season by the NCAA. Balogun sued the NCAA and was granted a temporary restraining order so he could continue to practice. He missed the season opener after he was unable to quickly resolve the issue with the NCAA.
The Cougars controlled the ball for much of the game, maintaining possession for over 37 minutes. Oklahoma was the first to score on an 8-yard pass to sophomore WR Ryan Broyles with five minutes left in the first quarter. BYU had missed a 46-yard field goal in their prior possession. On BYU's last possession of the half, quarterback Max Hall completed a 49-yard pass to Bryan Kariya which left the Cougars 5 yards short of the end zone. Two plays later, Hall completed another pass for a touchdown to tie the game. On the Sooners next possession, and the last series before halftime, the Sooners began at their own 30-yard line. After completing his longest pass of the game, an 18-yard pass to Brandon Caleb, which broke the school record for most passing yards in a career, previously held by Jason White, Sam Bradford went down with a shoulder injury. He would miss the rest of the game. The Sooners managed a 35-yard field goal to go up 10–7 at the half.
The third quarter was quiet offensively. BYU reached midfield on their third possession of the quarter which marked the furthest progression of either team during the quarter. On BYU's last possession of the quarter, Hall threw his second interception of the game to Oklahoma linebacker Keenan Clayton, leaving Oklahoma within 25 yards from the end zone. Despite the short yardage, Oklahoma and redshirt freshman quarterback Landry Jones were unable to capitalize and settled for a field goal to extend their lead to 13–7. The next BYU possession proved tantamount for the Cougars. After beginning on their own 22-yard line, they drove down the field for 16 plays and scored a touchdown to go up 14–13. This included a fourth down conversion that resulted in a 23-yard gain. The Oklahoma defense held the BYU offense back for a while, forcing the Cougars to execute seven plays within the seven-yard line before finally succumbing. The BYU defense held Oklahoma on their next possession, securing the win.
Idaho State
Idaho State served as the 2009 home opener for the Oklahoma Sooners. The Bengals competed in the Big Sky Conference of the NCAA Division I-FCS. This was the third time Oklahoma had played a Division I FCS (previously I-AA) team under Bob Stoops. Oklahoma won the previous two matchups by a combined score of 106–2. This game had a similar result to the other two. With backup quarterback Landry Jones making his first start, Oklahoma won 64–0 for their 25th consecutive win at home, tying the school record.
Idaho State made an immediate impression on Oklahoma during the Sooner's first possession. With his first pass as a starter, Jones connected with wide receiver Ryan Broyles for a 34-yard gain. After a couple additional rushes and passes, Oklahoma found itself two yards shy of the end zone. After four plays, Oklahoma was unable to penetrate the end zone and turned the ball over to the Bengals. Unable to produce anything offensively, the Bengals turned the ball back over to Oklahoma a short time later. On their second possession of the quarter, Jones and Broyles again connected, this time for a 24-yard touchdown pass. Oklahoma would end the first quarter up 21–0 after the OU defense sacked the Idaho State quarterback, forcing a fumble, which was returned for a touchdown. Soon came another 51-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Broyles. Jones and Broyles connected for a third time in the opening possession of the second quarter with an 11-yard touchdown pass. After another fumble recovery for the Sooners near midfield, Oklahoma increased their lead to 34–0. Oklahoma added one more touchdown before halftime to go up 41–0. By halftime, Idaho State had accumulated negative-two yards of total offense.
Oklahoma added one touchdown in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Oklahoma added two more, one on a 36-yard rush by backup running back Jonathon Miller. Idaho State was never able to get anything going on offense and only crossed midfield once, to make it to Oklahoma's 49-yard line. They finished the game with 44 total yards, including negative 22 rushing yards. Oklahoma finished with 564 total yards which included 286 passing yards by Jones. Running back DeMarco Murray also finished the game with 101 rushing yards.
Tulsa
In a continuation of the instate series, Oklahoma hosted the Tulsa Golden Hurricane for the third game of the season. The two teams first faced each other in 1914 with the Sooners leading the series 15-7-1. Since 1979, when the series was renewed following a 36-year hiatus, the Sooners were 9–1. Tulsa came into the game as the NCAA-leader in total offense in the prior two seasons, and they had averaged 450 yards of total offense in their first two games of the 2009 season.
The Sooners began the game by throwing an interception on the opening play. Tulsa was unable to move the ball and went three-and-out. Oklahoma took possession and managed to progress to Tulsa's five-yard line, but, due to penalties, lost yardage and had to settle for a field goal. Tulsa then started their drive and managed to progress to Oklahoma's 12-yard line. However, Tulsa quarterback G. J. Kinne's pass was intercepted in the end zone. Starting at their own two-yard line, Oklahoma was unable to progress and was forced to punt the ball back to Tulsa who subsequently missed a 50-yard field goal. Oklahoma ended the first quarter with a touchdown pass from QB Landry Jones to wide receiver Brandon Caleb. Tulsa opened the second quarter with a drive that led them back to the Oklahoma 12-yard line, where Oklahoma defensive players promptly forced a fumble, and recovered. Oklahoma scored quickly with a 63-yard touchdown pass to Caleb on the second play of the drive. Oklahoma scored two more touchdowns in the second quarter to go up 31–0 at halftime.
The second half again saw no touchdowns for the Tulsa offense. Twice Tulsa attempted to convert on a fourth down, but failed both times. The closest Tulsa progressed to the Oklahoma end zone in the second half was the Sooner's 27-yard line. Oklahoma, however, added two touchdowns in the second half. Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones, in his second start, set a school record with six touchdown passes in a game. The previous record of five touchdown passes in a game was held by three Sooners: Jones's quarterback coach and Heisman Trophy runner-up Josh Heupel and Heisman Trophy-winners Jason White and Sam Bradford. Jones was later named the AT&T ESPN All-American National Player of the Week. This game also marked the second straight shutout by the Sooners, the first time since 1987. Oklahoma also extended their school record of consecutive wins at home to 26. Oklahoma finished the game with 529 yards of total offense and Tulsa with 269.
Miami (FL)
Following the bye week, Oklahoma traveled to Miami Gardens, Florida to play Miami. This was the final game in a two-game series that began in 2007 when the Hurricanes visited Norman, where the Sooners soundly defeated them 51-13 after Sam Bradford threw five touchdown passes and the Sooner defense limited them to 139 total yards.