OU Football: Week 14 Notebook

The Oklahoma Sooners will have a happy Thanksgiving this week, coming off a big, 41-31 win over Kansas State this past Saturday. The Sooners have a bye week before heading up to Stillwater on Dec. 7 for Bedlam. Coach Bob Stoops and players met with the media on Monday to discuss the win and Bedlam. Here are some news and notes from the press conference.

• Running back Damien Williams, who was suspended for the Kansas State game, has been dismissed from the team, Stoops said. Our Dean Blevins first reported Williams wouldn't be back last week. Wide receiver Lacoltan Bester will return for Bedlam after serving a one-game suspension against the Wildcats.

11/25/2013 RELATED STORY: Damien Williams Off The Team, Bester Back From Suspension

• Stoops said offensive lineman Tyler Evans, who missed this season and last season, has been granted a sixth year of eligibility and will return to Oklahoma next season. Stoops said the Big 12 has rejected linebacker Corey Nelson's petition for a fifth year of eligibility, but the Sooners are still working on appeals and hope to hear about his status around Christmas.

• The OU players of the game were Brennan Clay, Trevor Knight and the offensive line on offense, Gabe Lynn on defense and Jalen Saunders and Michael Hunnicutt on special teams.

• Stoops said he did not have an update on any of the injured OU starters, nor did he commit to Trevor Knight as the starting quarterback against Oklahoma State. Stoops added the Sooners need this bye week "as much as anyone." The Sooner's were without eight starters against Kansas State on Saturday.

• Offensive tackle Daryl Williams said the players who were on the 2011 team that lost to Oklahoma State still feel the sting of seeing the Cowboys celebrate their first Big 12 title. He said it will probably be brought up this week.

• Williams said an 11 a.m. kickoff wouldn't make a difference in Bedlam because of how crazy the OSU fans are. Williams said he is not a big fan of the paddles the OSU students beat against the stadium walls.

• Defensive end Charles Tapper said the OU defense, especially the defensive line, was very surprised to see Kansas State throw the ball as much as they did on Saturday. Dual-threat quarterback Daniel Sams had just three carries for seven yards, and the Wildcats had just 24 yards rushing for the day. Tapper said the line adjusted to more of a pass-rush focus in the second half and didn't worry about the run as much after halftime.

• Tapper said the Sooners have already watched a lot of film on OSU, particularly Saturday's game against Baylor. Tapper said he's seen the film several times already.

• Tapper was ejected for throwing a punch late in the game against Baylor and said he learned to keep his emotions in check and not allow anyone to get under his skin because of the incident.

• The first shots of Bedlam have been fired. In the OU game notes, the Sooners' communication department listed OU's accomplishments under Bob Stoops compared to the entire history of OSU football.