Oklahoma football: Bob Stoops excited for brother Mark

Stoops, Florida State's defensive coordinator, is the younger brother of Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and Sooners defensive coordinator Mike Stoops.

Mark Stoops was an assistant at South Florida, Wyoming, Houston and Miami before joining Mike Stoops' Arizona staff in 2004.

He became Florida State's defensive coordinator in 2009. While at FSU, he coached twice against Bob Stoops' Oklahoma teams, which beat the Seminoles 47-17 in Norman two years ago, and 23-13 in Tallahassee, Fla., last season.

“I'm excited for Mark, proud of him, all those things,” Bob Stoops said Tuesday. “He's earned it. He's done really well everywhere he's been and, of course, in the last several years at Florida State finishing it off.

“I know he's really prepared for the job and believe, as he does, that Kentucky has a lot of potential, a lot of resources to build so I know he's excited about the opportunity.”

WHY IS OU SO GOOD ON THE ROAD?

The Sooners have been hounded by questions about losing their edge at home. They lost two games in Norman this year — against Kansas State and Notre Dame. Before this season, under Bob Stoops, they had only lost three home games.

As for their road games, the questions is completely opposite. The Sooners are undefeated on the road this year. So why is Oklahoma so good on the road?

Stoops said it was a certain maturity.

“It's shown up there and it's shown up in tough games here at home, too,” Stoops said Monday. “They've continued to work and have a great attitude about what they're doing and have confidence in how they're playing. They keep playing well and finding a way to win.”

Senior quarterback Landry Jones said he also attributes the road success to the kind of leaders the Sooners have on the team this year.

“And I think we just execute,” Jones said. “That comes with practicing better and then taking what we've practiced into games.

BACK-TO-BACK SHOOTOUTS AND EIGHT WEEKS WITHOUT A BYE