By Wendell Barnhouse | wendell@big12sports.com
Big 12 Sports.com Correspondent

Oklahoma vs. Stanford
1 p.m. Thursday, CBS
Sun Bowl, El Paso, Texas
Team records: Oklahoma 7-5, Stanford 8-4

The 411
This is strange territory for the Sooners. Since 2000, OU has won 13, 11, 12, 12, 12, 8, 11, 11, and 12 games with four national title appearances and six Big 12 championships. An unimaginable series of injuries has derailed this season and the injury bug has carried into the Sun Bowl. Tackle Trent Williams is moving to center and will become the Sooners’ fourth different snapper. Redshirt freshman quarterback Landry Jones has been inconsistent but he has shown flashes of brilliance. Oklahoma’s defense is seventh nationally against the run and will be challenged to slow Stanford’s Toby Gerhart. The Heisman Trophy runner up rushed for 1,736 yards in the regular season to lead the nation. Gerhart had 26 rushing touchdowns with 13 of those coming in the last three games. The Cardinal will be without quarterback Andrew Luck (broken finger). Tavita Pritchard will start. Two years ago, he led Stanford to one of the biggest upsets in recent history – a victory at USC when the the Cardinal were 41-point underdogs.

History lessons
Oklahoma is 24-17-1 in bowl games but has lost five of its last six. This is the second of the Sooners’ last 10 bowl appearances that have not been played on New Year’s Day or in a BCS bowl. Stanford is 9-10 in bowl games and is playing in the postseason for the first time since 2001. Oklahoma and Stanford have never met in a bowl game. Stanford’s last bowl victory came in the 1996 Sun Bowl when it defeated Michigan State, 38-0.