The Daily takes a look at this weekend’s matchup between OU and Idaho State.

Quick Facts:

–The last time OU lost its season opener was in 2005 when TCU shocked the Sooners, 17-10, in Norman.

The following week, OU bounced back to beat Tulsa on Owen Field, 31-15.

– OU has not lost back-to-back regular season games since 1999 when Notre Dame and Texas triumphed on consecutive Saturdays during Bob Stoops’ inaugural season.

– OU has won 24 straight home games, the longest current streak in the nation, and just one shy of the school record of 25.

– Bob Stoops’ teams are 60-2 at home and the Sooners have won 44 of their last 45 on Owen Field.

Keys to the Game:

1) Penalties. Yellow laundry littered the field of Dallas Cowboys Stadium last week, and the Sooners are 0-1 because of it.

Adding an additional five, ten and sometimes even fifteen yards to a down killed the majority of OU’s offensive drives.

The Sooners shouldn’t have much trouble with Idaho St. Saturday, but an excess of sloppy play would be just the thing to keep the Bengals in the game longer than necessary.

2) Chemistry. All offseason long questions surrounded the ability of the four new starters on the offensive line to continue the success that last season’s unit enjoyed.

Last week’s game against BYU gave no indication that the questions should cease.

In addition, with redshirt freshman Landry Jones under center, and a slew of players set to (or at least attempt to) replace the gargantuan hole created in Jermaine Gresham’s absence, OU’s offense has to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Too often against BYU, it was apparent that some players weren’t even reading the same book.

3) Kicking. Bob Stoops said he thought the one plus overall throughout the entire game against BYU was the kicking game.

If OU’s offense under Landry Jones Saturday is having trouble reaching the endzone early in the game, Jimmy Stevens has to be there to make sure any drives deep into Idaho St. territory don’t go wasted.

And if the Sooners are anywhere near their cringingly abysmal third-down conversion rate from last week (2 of 11), Tress Way’s punting needs to be able to keep the Bengals from starting drives with great field position.

OU will win if:

It shows up.

Actually, I thought roughly the same thing about last week’s game, and look where the Sooners are now.

But as long as players keep their penalties under control and take care of the ball, and the offense is able to get into a productive rhythm, this game shouldn’t be competitive for too long.

And even if none of that happens, OU’s defense is more than capable of taming the Bengals, who recorded a mere 37 total yards in a 50-3 loss to Arizona State last week.

Idaho State will win if:

OU doesn’t show up.

Even with all the problems evident from last week’s loss, and all the losses to injuries that were confirmed this week, the Sooners should handle the Bengals with immense ease. The final score of this game may remind fans of the box scores that last year’s record-setting squad consistently posted.

They said it:

– Bob Stoops on not overlooking Idaho State:

“Our team can’t overlook anybody, if we can’t play correctly and play smart. It is painfully obvious to them after what happened last week. We have to play better. We have to play more responsibly and more disciplined to have a chance to beat anyone.”

– Sophomore WR Dejuan Miller on Saturday’s game:

“It’s another week, it’s another game. We have to bounce back and learn from our mistakes. We have to learn from the loss and hopefully come out with a win against Idaho State this week.”

– Sophomore K Jimmy Stevens on playing at home:

“I love playing at home. I love our fans and how they’re always loud and supportive. It’s just a great atmosphere.”

– Senior WR Carter Whitson on Jimmy Stevens:

“He’s just more confident. He’s not a freshman anymore, he’s not nervous. He’s got his head into it now and obviously a year of strength and conditioning helped him. He’s kicking it better and he’s more solid.”