Tulsa World: OSU notebook

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OSU notebook

By BILL HAISTEN World sports writer
Published: 10/24/2008 2:14 AM
Last Modified: 10/24/2008 3:09 AM

Holiday Bowl: The Holiday Bowl, set for Dec. 30 in San Diego, is believed to be extremely interested in OSU. The game matches a Big 12 team with a Pac-10 team.

Holiday Bowl scouts are attending Saturday's Oklahoma State-Texas game in Austin and next week's Iowa State-OSU contest in Stillwater.

OSU has made one Holiday Bowl appearance, beating Wyoming 62-14 in 1988. OSU's Barry Sanders, a few weeks removed from having won the Heisman Trophy, rushed for 222 yards and five touchdowns.

Elite competition: Russell Okung, OSU's 300-pound junior left tackle, will battle on Saturday with the 260-pound Brian Orakpo, the senior right defensive end for Texas. In the Big 12, they may be the best at their respective positions.

"(Okung) is a great talent a guy with quick feet," Orakpo said. "He can really stay on the edge and stay with the quicker, speedier defensive ends. It's going to be a great match-up."

The new standard: A few years ago, it was considered sensational when a team would get 500 yards of single-game total offense. This season, seven Division I-A teams average at least 500 yards per game.

Tulsa is the leader with an outrageous average of 624.7 yards. OSU is seventh nationally at 501.4 yards per game. Texas is 10th at 484.0.

"It's out of control," Longhorn coach Mack Brown said. "We're having to change the way we look at defensive stats. I don't know where it's going to stop. People are just running up and down the field. Those defensive

coordinators are pulling their hair out."

McCoy to return: Because of his sensational junior season, there has been speculation that Texas quarterback Colt McCoy might consider an early jump into the NFL draft.

This week, McCoy told the Sporting News that he intends to be at Texas for the 2009 season.

"I'm going to play here for four years," he said. "Not very many people get to (start) here for four years, so what an opportunity. And if the NFL is there for me, then I hope that I'll get to keep playing because I love to play this game."

Through seven games, McCoy has completed 81 percent of his passes, with 19 touchdowns against three interceptions. He also is the Longhorns' leading rusher with 371 yards. Against Missouri last week, McCoy completed a school-record 90.6 percent of his passes (29-of-32) for 337 yards.

McCoy is considered the current Heisman Trophy favorite. Looking ahead at a possible NFL career, he said, "I play a lot like Tony Romo. He's accurate and he's smart with the ball."

Striking contrast: This season, Texas' Royal-Memorial Stadium has been expanded to a seating capacity of 94,113. Last week's victory over Missouri attracted a Texas school-record crowd of 98,383.

McCoy hails from Tuscola, Texas, a community 17 miles south of Abilene. Tuscola's population is 714.

Big crowds: The combined attendance of Texas' last two games was 190,585. The Oct. 11 OU-Texas game was seen by 92,182 at the newly expanded Cotton Bowl in Dallas. By BILL HAISTEN World sports writer

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