NORMAN — With family roots planted deep in northeastern Ohio, Drake Stoops will probably hear his name called a lot on Saturday.
More than usual, that is — before, during and after Oklahoma’s game at Cincinnati.
“A lot of the Stoops family coming out to watch me play,” Stoops said Tuesday. “A lot of them have never seen me play. They live pretty far away. So yeah. I'm excited.”
His dad, hall of fame coach Bob Stoops, was born and raised in a big family in Youngstown, near the Pennsylvania border. Cincinnati is 281 miles southwest, about four hours away near the Indiana border.
Bob Stoops said during his weekly appearance on KREF’s “The Rush” with Teddy Lehman and Tyler McComas that he’s expecting a big crowd of Stoopses.
“Oh gosh, I got over 40 tickets,” Stoops said. “A lot of family driving down from Youngstown, Columbus as well. I’ve got nieces, nephews from all over Ohio that are coming, you know, to come watch Drake. So sure, we’ll have a big gathering, have a big go of it here this weekend, and it’ll be fun. It’ll be fun to see everybody.”
No. 16-ranked OU (3-0) and Cincinnati (2-1) open Big 12 Conference play at 11 a.m. CT on Fox this Saturday at UC’s Nippert Stadium. The Bearcats are in their first year in the Big 12 after recent memberships in the Mid-American Conference, the Missouri Valley, the Metro, the Great Midwest, Conference USA, the Big East and the American Athletic Conference.
OU is 2-0 all-time against Cincinnati, with a home-and-home series in 2008 and 2010. Oklahoma’s first trip to the Queen City was played at the Bengals’ Paul Brown Stadium in 2010. The Bearcats’ campus is near downtown, so it’ll be a sight not many in Sooner Nation have seen.
“It’s a fantastic city,” Bob Stoops said. “Old city, of course. On the river. I mean, it’s beautiful. All kinds of different areas to go and enjoy, whether it be the downtown area, the Hyde Park area. There’s different sections that are all (full of) restaurants, bars, that are a lot of fun.
“And you know, fall’s different in Ohio than it is here in Oklahoma. Bring a jacket. In the evening and in the morning, you’ll need it. It’s really a cool town.”
Drake Stoops is the Sooners’ co-leader in receiving through three games with 14 catches (tied with Andrel Anthony) and, now in his sixth season, is a forceful leader on the squad. He said he’s eager for new experiences within this one-year iteration of the Big 12.
“I mean, I've been here for so long I'm used to playing the traditional Big 12 teams,” he said. “So it feels a little different. But that's a new conference, so I think that's pretty unique. And that's why I'm excited. I get the chance in my last year to go play some new teams.”
With this year's scheduled non-conference game against Georgia being absorbed into the Sooners’ future SEC schedule, OU’s two Big 12 road games this season fill that void of playing a new opponent and giving the players a new experience. There's another one coming up at BYU in November, but for now, it almost feels like that one annual premier non-con showdown.
“I mean, I've never been there, so it'll be a cool atmosphere,” Stoops said. “I know they're a great team with a rich history. I mean, yeah, it’ll be great to go play them. But at the end of the day though, they're the next opponent on the schedule. So we're there to take care of business, not take in their stadium.”
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