Oklahoma Football Players Barely Know Anything About UConn

The only real history between the UConn Huskies and Oklahoma Sooners athletic programs comes on the basketball court.

On the women’s side of things, the Huskies and Sooners have met eight times with UConn winning all eight matchups, including the 2002 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Game. On the men’s side, they’ve met four times with the Sooners winning three-of-four.

So when The Oklahoman posed some questions to select Sooners football players about UConn, the answers may not surprise you.

Here’s a sampling of a few things they didn’t know about UConn:

5. Who is their coach?

Randy Edsall needs a better publicist because nobody got this one right. Only Murray ventured an actual guess with “isn’t it like Al something?” which was actually not that far off. Al Golden, who last week took a job with Miami, coached Temple to victory over UConn this season. Nelson declared he knew Edsall’s face but couldn’t place the name. Stills didn’t know who coached UConn football, but correctly offered up the name of the women’s basketball coach: “Geno Auriemma.”

6. What is the name of their All-American running back?

Jordan Todman might need to borrow Edsall’s publicist. No player got this right, either. Ikard was in the ballpark with “Todson.” So was Nelson with “Todd Doorman.” Both Nelson and Stills did know he wore No. 23.

I like how Oklahoma wide receiver Kenny Stills knew who Geno Auriemma was. Obviously everybody these days knows who Geno is after his comments last Sunday. Of course stud receiver Ryan Broyles didn’t even know the nickname of his opponent in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

Believe me, I’m not making any light of this at all.

Oklahoma football is big time. UConn football is approaching the big time. So when I said above the answers may not surprise you, I wasn’t kidding.

We all know that other college football players watch other teams play and may even know guys on some teams depending on where they’re from. A good portion of the Oklahoma team comes from Texas and Oklahoma while UConn has just three players from Texas on its roster.

And it’s not like UConn football has been in the national spotlight all that much until this year and even that only came with them winning the Big East’s BCS bid to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

But hopefully the Sooners and the rest of the country will know who UConn is after the game.