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OKLAHOMA PREVIEW CIRCLING THE WAGONS Polarizing QB Landry Jones leads resurgent offense BY WES MORGAN O klahoma fifth-year senior quarter- back Landry Jones will leave Nor- man after this season holding nearly ev- ery major passing record in the storied program's history. But if the first half of the 2012 campaign, combined with the three previous seasons he started for the Sooners, is any indication, there won't be a farewell parade. If Jones' check-for-a-pulse personal- ity doesn't rub OU fans the wrong way, his decisions have at times. With impres- sive enough statistics during Oklahoma's 5-1 start — 134-of-213 passing for 1,653 yards with 12 touchdowns and three in- ✦ GAME FACTS third season), Oklahoma — Bob Stoops (144‑35, 14th season). Series Facts: This marks just the 10th meeting between Date: Oct. 27, 2012 Site: Memorial Stadium (82,112) Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET Television: ABC Radio: This broadcast can be heard live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio (channel 129). Coaches: Notre Dame — Brian Kelly (23‑10, Jones is one of just seven players in NCAA history to amass 100 touchdown passes (105) and 14,000 passing yards (14,023) in his career. the two programs, with Notre Dame holding an 8‑1 record in the all‑time series. The last time the Fighting Irish faced the Sooners was in 1999, which resulted in a 34‑30 victory over No. 23 OU by unranked ND in South Bend. Prime Personnel: Offense — Fifth‑year senior quarterback Landry Jones has started for four straight seasons and owns nearly every passing record in OU annals. He is one of just seven players in NCAA history to amass 100 touchdown passes (105) and 14,000 passing yards (14,023) in his career. This year, the 6‑4, 218‑pounder has completed 134 of 213 throws (62.9 percent) for 1,653 yards with 12 scores and three picks. Defense — Junior cornerback Aaron Colvin is OCT. 24, 2012 terceptions — Jones has a penchant for smudging big-game box scores, including a 24-19 home loss to then-No.15 Kansas State Sept. 22. "He fumbled near OU's own goal line and Kansas State recovered it for a touch- down," said Jason Kersey, who covers the Sooners for The Oklahoman. "In the fourth quarter, OU had the lead, had just stopped Kansas State's offense, and he threw a re- ally, really bad interception that Kansas State took [on the next] drive down the field and scored the [go-ahead] touchdown. Basically, his two turnovers are pretty much directly the reason they lost that game." Landry regrouped and led the No. 8 PHOTO COURTESY OKLAHOMA Sooners to a 41-20 triumph at No. 24 Texas Tech Oct. 6, a 63-21 demolition of No. 15 Texas Oct. 13 in Dallas and a 52-7 pummeling of downtrodden Kan- sas, coached by former Notre Dame boss Charlie Weis, this past Saturday. Jones was a combined 66-of-106 passing for 880 yards with seven touchdowns and one pick in the last three games, perhaps helping rewrite his legacy in Norman. Though he has positioned Oklahoma to possibly still play its way into the national title game, an integral part of a strong secondary. He leads the team six passes broken up, is tied for fourth with 24 tackles and is second with two interceptions. For The Record: Notre Dame and Oklahoma played each other eight times from 1952‑68 … The most famous game in that stretch was in 1957, when Notre Dame's Dick Lynch rushed for the contest's only touchdown in the final minutes to snap OU's 47‑game winning streak … Oklahoma's previ‑ ous loss was to the Fighting Irish in 1953 … Oklahoma has allowed 301.7 yards per game through six contests, which ranks 15th nationally … The Sooners are 12th in the country in scoring defense (15.3 points allowed per game).