Preparing for two

Texas quarterback Colt McCoy’s status for Saturday’s game remains questionable. He suffered a mild concussion in the Longhorns’ loss to Kansas State last week.

The Sooners are preparing to face backup quarterback John Chiles, too. Chiles doesn’t possess McCoy’s passing ability, but is more of a running threat.

“There’s just more quarterback run game, so that’s the biggest factor,” OU coach Bob Stoops said. “They run some of those plays with McCoy as well, so you just have to work those and make sure we’re sharp on them.”

More work for Franks

Stoops said Dominique Franks could be used more as a punt returner to give Reggie Smith some rest against Texas.

Smith muffed a punt late in the Colorado game that set up Colorado’s game-tying touchdown. OU’s defense was on the field most of the second half and fatigue could have been a factor for Smith.

“I think I’ve got to be smarter in how fatigued he is at times, and how many snaps he’s had,” Stoops said. “Dominique Franks has done a great job with it. We need to probably spell (Smith) some just for that reason.”

Not surprised

The August incident at an Oklahoma City bar that left a Texas fan with serious injuries in his groin area has been discussed a lot the last few days.

Texas coach Mack Brown said he doubts he would ever wear a Texas T-shirt into an Oklahoma bar after hearing about it.

Stoops drew some laughs when he said he wasn’t surprised to hear about something like that happening.