GAME NOTES: The fourth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners take to the road for the first time this season, as they invade Chapman Stadium this Friday to do battle with the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in non-league play. The Sooners opened the season with three consecutive games at home and they won each in convincing fashion. OU has outscored its first three opponents by an impressive 158 points, marking its most dominant start to a season since 1972, when it outscored its foes by a 169-6 margin. Last weekend, the Sooners played host to Utah State and they had little trouble disposing of the Aggies in a 54-3 triumph. OU, which is off to its first 3-0 start since 2004, now hits the road, where it posted a 4-1 ledger a year ago. As for Tulsa, it enters the game undefeated as well, thanks to back-to-back victories over UL-Monroe (35-17) and most recently BYU (55-47). With the pair of victories, the Hurricane are off to their first 2-0 start since the 1998 season. Friday's game will mark the 23rd all-time meeting between OU and Tulsa, with the Sooners holding a 14-7-1 advantage in the series. The Sooners have won the last three encounters, including a 31-15 triumph in the most recent meeting in 2005 in Norman.

The Sooners have been a machine on the offensive side of the ball, averaging an eye-popping 61.3 ppg behind an impressive 565.3 total ypg. The offense has had success running the ball (241.3 ypg) as well as throwing it (324.0 ypg), and it has converted on 49.0 percent of its third down attempts. Redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Bradford has been simply outstanding in the early going, completing an efficient 79.7 percent of his tosses for 823 yards, with 11 touchdowns against just one interception. Last weekend, Bradford threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns on 19-of-26 passing, as OU rolled up 617 yards of total offense in a lopsided win over Utah State. His main target was Juaquin Iglesias, who pulled down eight balls for 123 yards. Malcolm Kelly also got involved, catching six passes for 81 yards and two scores. Both players have already racked up over 300 receiving yards on the season, and Kelly also ranks second in the nation with seven touchdown catches. As for the ground attack, it posted 343 yards against Utah State last weekend, averaging 8.8 yards per carry. Allen Patrick led the way with 113 yards and a score on eight carries, while DeMarco Murray rushed four times for 100 yards, including a 92-yard touchdown scamper (the third longest in school history). For the year, Murray leads the club with 251 rushing yards and six touchdowns, while Allen is next in line with 160 yards and a score in just two games.

Defensively, OU has been every bit as good as its offense, holding opponents to a minuscule 8.7 ppg and a mere 179.7 total ypg. The unit has yet to allow a rushing touchdown and is giving up just 44.3 ypg on the ground. Through the air, the Sooners are surrendering only 135.3 ypg and they have picked off five passes against just two passing touchdowns. Last weekend, OU forced four turnovers, in addition to limiting Utah State to only 153 yards of total offense. The defense allowed Utah State to convert on just 3-of-14 third downs, as it surrender a mere eight first downs overall. For the season, the Sooners are holding their foes to just a 17.0 percent conversion rate on third downs. Curtis Lofton led the charge for OU last weekend, recording 12 tackles and returning an interception 45 yards for a touchdown. It was yet another strong effort by Lofton, who leads the team with 28 stops on the year.

Paul Smith put forth the best performance of his four-year career at Tulsa last weekend, as he threw for a career-high 454 yards and five touchdowns in a wild 55-47 victory over BYU. Smith, who threw for 307 yards and three scores in the team's season-opening win over UL-Monroe, completed 21-of-35 pass attempts with just one interception last weekend. Trae Johnson pulled down five balls for 95 yards and a score in the win over BYU, while Brennan Marion added three catches for 171 yards and a touchdown. Charles Clay also had a big night, as he finished with 98 receiving yards, with all three of his catches resulting in a touchdown. Clay also led the squad with eight catches for 92 yards in the team's opener. After rushing for 129 yards and a score versus UL- Monroe, Tarrion Adams went for 79 yards and a touchdown on 18 totes last weekend. As a team, Tulsa has racked up 1,118 total yards in just two games and this is due in large part to the new wide open passing attack that has accounted for 797 of those yards.

While the offense was at its best for Tulsa last weekend, the same cannot be said about its defense, which yielded a whopping 694 total yards to BYU. The defense, which limited UL-Monroe to just 278 total yards, including only 66 through the air, was torched for 537 yards via the pass last weekend. The Hurricane however, did manage to make a few big plays on this side of the ball last weekend, as they recorded four turnovers to go along with three sacks. One of those turnovers resulted in a touchdown, as Roy Roberts returned an interception 49 yards for a score. Nelson Coleman also had a big game for Tulsa, recording a team-best 17 tackles.

OU has been simply dominant in the early going, but this will be its toughest opponent thus far. Tulsa has flourished with its spread attack and that passing game will surely be put to the test. The Sooners though, are just simply the better team on both sides of the ball and they should have no problems scoring points and slowing down the Hurricane enough to earn the victory.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Oklahoma 42, Tulsa 20