Oklahoma Football: Monday Press Conference Notebook

After a much-needed bye week, the Oklahoma Sooners travel to Fort Worth on Saturday to take on undefeated TCU. Monday, OU coach Bob Stoops and players met with the media to discuss the matchup.

-The Sooners used the bye week to heal several wounds, most notably Zach Sanchez' shoulder. Sanchez said it feels much better thanks to the week off and that he is past the pain stage and is more concerned with managing the soreness. Another week of limited to no contact should have him fresh for Saturday's game.

-Stoops said Keith Ford likely would not play against TCU. Ford is still recovering from a broken bone in his leg suffered against Tennessee. Defensive linemen Matt Dimon and Charles Walker will also miss the TCU game, recovering from elbow and knee injuries, respectively.

-All four players that talked with the media on Monday—Tyrus Thompson, Chuka Ndulue, Zach Sanchez and Daryl Williams—hail from the Dallas-Fort Worth area. With the Sooners playing in Fort Worth this week and Dallas next week against Texas, all four said they were excited to be playing at home. All of them said there would be a lot of family at Saturday's game.

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-Stoops also iterated the importance of the DFW area from a recruiting standpoint. The metroplex has supplied the Sooners with a lot of talent over the years and Stoops said he looks at it as one of Oklahoma's home bases.

-Ndulue said he played a lot of FIFA over the weekend, but said he missed out on Arsenal's Premiere League game. He did say Arsenal's coach was beginning to annoy him, but noted with a laugh that “coaches coach and players play.”

-TCU's offense has developed a lot over the past year and the Sooners are well aware this Horned Frogs offense is much more potent than the one they saw a year ago. Quarterback Trevone Boykin is much improved and TCU has a lot of playmakers all over the field. Stoops said one of the biggest reasons for the improvement is TCU is stretching the field, forcing the defense to cover a lot more ground than in the past.

-Sanchez has a new hairstyle going on now, opting to dye his dreadlocks a golden color. He said it was something he always wanted to do and said he wouldn't go back to black if his interception streak ended this week. Thompson laughed and said it looked like a bunch of Cheetos.