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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 1996)
Page ptember 2,195 Southern Division Monday Page 5 September 2, 1996 University of Oklahoma seat'dSooners have magical reputation ;rsity ies’ in 1925. e of former ft 'land suggested! cl the schooled alack. ed Raider mu ) Jan. 1, 1951, da tor Bowl. Hi H*r of the Hoo fs Posse, camf im onto thefiek n 1994, Doubli Blake focuses on team’s stability University of Oklahoma Photo courtesy of University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma's Memorial Stadium seats 75,004 people. By Matthew Flume The Battalion I n the middle of America's heartland between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans lies the pride of Sooner coun try, The University of Oklahoma. The Sooners have always claimed to have a special “Sooner Magic” that helps them win in situations that seem to be a losing battle. This “magic” guided the Sooners to an unprecedented victory over Nebraska in 1986, earning an invitation to the national championship game. Some might recognize one of OU’s heroes, former Head Football Coach Barry Switzer, who now leads the Super Bowl Champion Dallas Cowboys. This “Sooner Magic" is not limited to troublesome situations on the football field, but presides over the entire campus. Established in 1890, 17 years before Oklahoma became a state in the Union, the University of Okla. is located in Norman, Oklahoma just south of Oklahoma City. With an enrollment of more than of a black ho 25,000 students, OU has 19 colleges on the main campus in Norman along with health science centers in Tulsa and brew its rider; Oklahoma City. rashing into amp wall " leave the stadi| the first timejV alien IffWT history. Now, rcle the field ; the team oi i large bell nan ha" which is lot h end zone. Dud )all games, a called the i the bell afterefl ;r big plays, in me and away tips ring victory!* ; in the east to ition Building. OU’s wide variety of colleges, ranging from architecture and liberal arts to busi ness to engineering, offers students an array of academic disciplines. The university has the largest library system in the state of Oklahoma and offers an honors program with classes of no more than 20 students. OU’s History of Science Collection is one of the top in the nation. It offers over 80,000 volumes, including rare and historical works by world famous scien tists. The collection even boasts some of the original works of Galileo in his own handwriting. The school has a reputation as an out standing academic institution. , It has been ranked first per capita among uni versities in the number of National Merit Scholars and Oklahoma’s medical school has been ranked in the Top 20 over the past years. Oklahoma’s football team comes to the Big 12’s inaugural season with little more than rebuilding in mind. The Sooners come to College Station on Nov. 12 to try to upset the Aggies on Kyle Field. The Sooner baseball team has also enjoyed a great deal of success in the recent past. In 1994, the Oklahoma baseball team won the NCAA national championship. With a great academic and athletic reputation, Oklahoma has built its repu tation as one of the top institutions in the country. Location: Norman, Okla. Founded: 1890 Enrollment: 25,000 Coach: John Blake Colors: crimson and cream Stadium: Memorial Stadium. Seats 75,004. 1995 record: 5-5-1 Lettermen returning: 35 Returning starters: 9 Titles won: Six national championships, 15 Big Eight titles, two Missouri Valley titles, five Big Six titles, nine Big Seven titles. By Kristina Buffin The Battalion A s the Oklahoma Sooners welcome their third coach in three seasons to Norman, the team is looking for sta bility while rebuilding a program that has fallen to pieces. Former Dallas Cowboy Assistant Coach John Blake will succeed former coaches Gary Gibbs and Howard Schnellenberger and is hoping to restore the pride and tradi tion that has long been a part of the Sooner football program. The Sooners return just nine starters from 1995, and previous years’ recruiting classes under Gibbs and Schnellenberger were a little less than desirable. To combat the player losses, Blake hired former Ohio State Offensive Coordinator Bill Young, former Texas Tech Photo courtesy of Oklahoma Sports Info. Linebacker Tyrell Peters Offensive Coordinator Dick Winder, and retained the Sooners senior assistant offensive line and tight ends coach Mel Johnson. The Sooners face one of the nation’s toughest schedules this year. They will face six of the top 23 teams in last year’s final poll, and will play only five home games, three of which are against teams in last year’s final top 25. Sophomore quarterback Eric Moore is one of only three offensive starters return ing and his performance was far from spectacular. Although he beat out former starter Garrick McGee for the job, he com pleted only 45 percent of his passes for 105.3 yards per game and he threw more passes to the opposing team than to his own players. Freshman Justin Fuente is expected to challenge Moore for the position this sea son. Fuente set an Oklahoma high school record at Tulsa Union by passing for 2,934 yards his senior year. Senior fullback James Allen, who was rated the nation’s No. 1 high school run ning back four years ago, will return to stoke his college career. He has started all three years, but has run for only 1,617 yards. The sore spot for the offense will be fill ing the void in the offensive line — all five starters from last year will have to be replaced. However, OU is not in need of wide receivers — it is four-deep at both split end and flanker. Six starters from last year’s I5th- ranked defense will return. Junior right tackle Martin Chase highlights the defensive line. The OU linebacker corps looks to be the deepest area on the defense. Senior middle linebacker Tyrell Peters has been OU’s leading tackier for two straight seasons and senior line backer Broderick Simpson was not far behind him. Senior free safety Anthony Fogle is the only returning player for the secondary, however, and he is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery. This season is definitely a year of rebuilding for the Sooners — starting from the bottom up. After all, Rome was n’t built in a day. PLAYBOY’S COLLEGE ISSUE FEATURING THE GIRLS OF THE BIG 12 AND 1996 COLLEGE SEX SURVEY ENTERTAINMENT FOR TUC I IhEb mm c l|yP 1 OF THF »•/ -A-. 3 urtesy of Tech Spo^ Zebbie Letherit last three ga® E Raider defense i All-Americans om a group thal in the nation in! ense. four solid pl^l -‘tensive end 1 nside lineW nour, outside I'- t Johnson, and Johnson inchor a solid a 11 ill replace dep^ linebacker started all 1H S1 ; outside linebad 1994, and mov ei d and started* 11 sason. >n he moves bad linebacker tion. ASK THE GIRLS OF THE BIG 12 TO AUTOGRAPH YOUR OCTOBER PLAYBOY WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm HASTINGS BOOKS, MUSIC & VIDEO 2002 Texas Ave. South College Station, TX ON SALE NOW ■"The Big 12 has not endorsed, sponsored or approved this promotion.