# 2000 Oklahoma Sooners football team

The 2000 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season, the 106th season of Sooner football. The team was led by Bob Stoops in his second season as head coach. They played their home games at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman. During this season, they competed in the Big 12 Conference.
The Sooners opened the season ranked #19, the first time they had made it into a pre-season poll in five years.
After four early-season victories against unranked foes, Oklahoma had risen to #10 in the country.
Beginning at the end of September, OU defeated #11 Texas (63–14), #2 Kansas State (41–31), and #1 Nebraska (31–14). By that point, the Sooners had risen to #1 in the polls, a position they retained through the rest of the season.
The 2000 team claimed OU’s first Big 12 title and its 37th conference title overall by beating Kansas State in the Big 12 conference championship game.
The Sooners were invited to the 2001 Orange Bowl, which served as the BCS National Championship Game that year, where they beat the defending national champion Florida State Seminoles by a score of 13–2. The Sooners finished the season 13-0, claiming Oklahoma's seventh national championship in football and first since 1985.
Three OU players were named consensus All Americans after the 2000 season: linebacker Rocky Calmus, quarterback Josh Heupel, and free safety J. T. Thatcher.

## Recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Gayron Allen LB | Orange, Texas | West Orange Stark HS | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Dec 5, 1999 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Jammal Brown DT | Lawton, Oklahoma | MacArthur HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 310 lb (140 kg) | Jan 26, 2000 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Marcus Chretien DE | Houston, Texas | Kilgore College | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) | Dec 12, 1999 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Mark Clayton WR | Arlington, Texas | Sam Houston HS | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Jan 9, 2000 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Dan Cody TE | Ada, Oklahoma | Ada HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Sep 22, 1999 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Lance Donley TE | Weatherford, Oklahoma | Weatherford HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Nov 4, 1999 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Howard Duncan OL | Kansas City, Kansas | Butler CC | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 300 lb (140 kg) | Dec 15, 1999 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Charles Dupree LE | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | Millwood HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Nov 23, 1999 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Jerad Estus RB | Wichita Falls, Texas | Hirschi HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Dec 12, 1999 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Jerod Fields OL | Bandera, Texas | Bandera HS | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 280 lb (130 kg) | Feb 1, 2000 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Ataleo Ford WR | Ardmore, Oklahoma | Ardmore HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 178 lb (81 kg) | Dec 9, 1999 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Michael Freeman CB | Chino Hills, California | Mount San Antonio JC | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jan 9, 2000 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Ronbrose Jones LE | Bristow, Oklahoma | Bristow HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Feb 2, 2000 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Teddy Lehman LB | Fort Gibson, Oklahoma | Fort Gibson HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 228 lb (103 kg) | Jul 23, 1999 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Vernon Maxwell DB | Midwest City, Oklahoma | Midwest City HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Dec 23, 1999 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Brian Odom RB | Ada, Oklahoma | Ada HS | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Jan 11, 2000 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Will Peoples WR | Humble, Texas | Humble HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jan 4, 2000 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Antonio Perkins ATH | Lawton, Oklahoma | Lawton HS | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 178 lb (81 kg) | Dec 19, 2000 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Juan Prishker DT | McAllen, Texas | Blinn JC | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 265 lb (120 kg) | Jan 9, 1999 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Brandon Shelby ATH | Kansas City, Missouri | Rockhurst HS | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jan 8, 2000 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Terrance Simms CB | Belle Glade, Florida | Hutchinson CC | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jan 23, 2000 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Wes Sims OL | Weatherford, Oklahoma | Weatherford HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 310 lb (140 kg) | Oct 13, 1999 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Darren Stephens DB | Lewisville, Texas | Lewisville HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jan 16, 2000 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Cliff Takawana OL | Ardmore, Oklahoma | Ardmore HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 300 lb (140 kg) | Nov 28, 1999 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Hunter Wall QB | Coppell, Texas | Coppell HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Jan 9, 2000 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Rudy Wells ATH | Linden, Texas | Kildare HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Nov 21, 1999 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Jimmy Wilkerson LB | Omaha, Texas | Paul H. Pewitt HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Jan 31, 2000 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Renaldo Works RB | Tulsa, Oklahoma | Booker T. Washington HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 202 lb (92 kg) | Jan 27, 2000 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: ||||||
Source:

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 6:30 p.m. | UTEP* | No. 19 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | FSN PPV | W 55–14 | 74,761 |
| September 9 | 6:30 p.m. | Arkansas State* | No. 20 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | FSN PPV | W 45–7 | 74,730 |
| September 23 | 11:30 a.m. | Rice* | No. 17 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | FSN | W 42–14 | 74,794 |
| September 30 | 2:00 p.m. | Kansas | No. 14 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | | W 34–16 | 74,811 |
| October 7 | 11:00 a.m. | vs. No. 11 Texas | No. 10 | Cotton BowlDallas, TX (Red River Shootout) | ABC | W 63–14 | 75,587 |
| October 14 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 2 Kansas State | No. 8 | KSU StadiumManhattan, KS (College GameDay) | ABC | W 41–31 | 53,011 |
| October 28 | 11:00 a.m. | No. 1 Nebraska | No. 3 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK (rivalry) (College GameDay) | ABC | W 31–14 | 75,989 |
| November 4 | 1:00 p.m. | at Baylor | No. 1 | Floyd Casey StadiumWaco, TX | | W 56–7 | 31,106 |
| November 11 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 23 Texas A&M | No. 1 | Kyle FieldCollege Station, TX (College GameDay) | ABC | W 35–31 | 87,188 |
| November 18 | 2:30 p.m. | Texas Tech | No. 1 | Oklahoma Memorial StadiumNorman, OK | ABC | W 27–13 | 75,364 |
| November 25 | 2:30 p.m. | at Oklahoma State | No. 1 | Lewis FieldStillwater, OK (Bedlam Series) | FSN | W 12–7 | 48,500 |
| December 2 | 7:00 p.m. | vs. No. 8 Kansas State | No. 1 | Arrowhead StadiumKansas City, MO (Big 12 Championship Game) (College GameDay) | ABC | W 27–24 | 79,655 |
| January 3, 2001 | 7:00 p.m. | vs. No. 3 Florida State* | No. 1 | Pro Player StadiumMiami Gardens, FL (Orange Bowl) (College GameDay) | ABC | W 13–2 | 76,835 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### UTEP

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| UTEP | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| • #19 Oklahoma | 17 | 10 | 7 | 21 | 55 |

### Arkansas State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Arkansas State | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • #20 Oklahoma | 14 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 45 |

### Rice

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rice | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 14 |
| • #17 Oklahoma | 14 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 42 |

### Kansas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Kansas | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| • #14 Oklahoma | 10 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 34 |

### Texas (Red River Shootout)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #11 Texas | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • #10 Oklahoma | 14 | 28 | 14 | 7 | 63 |

### Kansas State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #8 Oklahoma | 17 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 41 |
| #2 Kansas State | 7 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 31 |

### Nebraska

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #1 Nebraska | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| • #3 Oklahoma | 0 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 31 |

### Baylor

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #1 Oklahoma | 28 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 56 |
| Baylor | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |

### Texas A&M

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #1 Oklahoma | 3 | 7 | 3 | 22 | 35 |
| #23 Texas A&M | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 31 |

### Texas Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Texas Tech | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 13 |
| • #1 Oklahoma | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |

### Oklahoma State (Bedlam Series)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • #1 Oklahoma | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Oklahoma State | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |

### Kansas State (Big 12 Championship Game)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #8 Kansas State | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| • #1 Oklahoma | 3 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 27 |

### Florida State (Orange Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #2 Florida State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| • #1 Oklahoma | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 13 |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | 19 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 3 (4) | 3 (3) | 1 (69) | 1 (70) | 1 (70) | 1 (70) | 1 (64) | 1 (67) | 1 (71) |
| Coaches Poll | 20 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 4 (1) | 3 (1) | 1 (55) | 1 (58) | 1 (57) | 1 (56) | 1 (49) | 1 (56) | 1 (59) |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Not released |

## Awards and honors
### Awards and Big 12 honors

Weekly Awards :
| Player | Award | Date |
| J.T. Thatcher | Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week | September 9 |
| Rocky Calmus | Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Week | September 23 |
| J. T. Thatcher | Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week | September 30 |
| Rocky Calmus | Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week | October 7 |
| J.T. Thatcher | Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week | October 7 |
| Josh Heupel | Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week | October 14 |
| J.T. Thatcher | Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week | October 14 |
| Josh Heupel | Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week | October 28 |
| Torrance Marshall | Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week | October 28 |
| J.T. Thatcher | Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week | November 4 |
| Torrance Marshall | Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Week | November 11 |
| Rocky Calmus | Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Week | November 25 |
Conference Awards :
| Person | Position | Award | Ref |
| Bob Stoops | Head coach | Big 12 Coach of the Year | |
| Josh Heupel | QB | Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year | |
Individual Awards :
| Player | Position | Award |
| Bob Stoops | Head coach | Associated Press College Football Coach of the Year Award |
| Bob Stoops | Head coach | Paul "Bear" Bryant Award |
| Bob Stoops | Head coach | Home Depot Coach of the Year Award |
| Bob Stoops | Head coach | Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award |
| Mark Mangino | Offensive coordinator | Broyles Award |
| Josh Heupel | QB | Walter Camp Award |
| J. T. Thatcher | DB | Mosi Tatupu Award |

### All-Americans

All-Americans :
| Player | Designation |
| Rocky Calmus | Consensus |
| Josh Heupel | Consensus |
| J. T. Thatcher | Consensus |
| The NCAA recognizes a selection to all five of the AP, AFCA, FWAA, TSN and WCFF first teams for unanimous selections and three of five for consensus selections. HM = Honorable mention. Source: |||||||
All-Big 12 :
| Player | Position | Team |
| Josh Heupel | QB | 1st team |
| Rocky Calmus | LB | 1st team |
| Ryan Fisher | DL | 1st team |
| J. T. Thatcher | DB | 1st team |
| Roy Williams | DB | 1st team |
| Quentin Griffin | RB | 2nd team |
| Frank Romero | RB | 2nd team |
| Antwone Savage | WR | 2nd team |
| Torrance Marshall | LB | 2nd team |
| Jeff Ferguson | P | 2nd team |
| J. T. Thatcher | PR | 2nd team |
| Bubba Burcham | OL | 3rd team |
| Scott Kempenich | OL | 3rd team |
| Andre Woolfolk | WR | 3rd team |
| Ramon Richardson | DL | 3rd team |
| Derrick Strait | DL | 3rd team |
| Curtis Fagan | WR | HM |
| Josh Norman | WR | HM |
| Trent Smith | TE | HM |
| Corey Callins | DL | HM |
| Brandon Everage | DB | HM |
| Corey Heinecke | DL | HM |
| Otnei Jones | DB | HM |
| Roger Steffen | LB | HM |
| Michael Thompson | DB | HM |
| HM = Honorable mention. Source: |||
Academic All-Big 12 :
| Player | Position | Class |
| Rocky Bright | DL | Senior |
| Ryan Fisher | DL | Senior |
| Quentin Griffith | RB | Sophomore |
| Chris Hammons | TE | Senior |
| Nate Hybl | QB | RS Sophomore |
| Scott Kempenich | OL | Senior |
| Kory Klein | DL | RS Freshman |
| Matthew Mayhew | DB | Junior |
| Matt McCoy | DB | RS Freshman |
| Ben Panter | C | Junior |
| Josh Smith | OL | Sophomore |
| Michael Thompson | DB | Sophomore |
| Reese Travis | OL | Senior |

## 2001 NFL Draft

The 2001 NFL draft was held on April 21–22, 2001 at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The following Oklahoma players were either selected or signed as undrafted free agents following the draft.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Team |
| 3 | 72 | Torrance Marshall | Linebacker | Green Bay Packers |
| 6 | 177 | Josh Heupel | Quarterback | Miami Dolphins |