Stoops is 11th fastest to win 100

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Only one active coach can boast about winning 100 games faster than Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops, and he’s tied for the all-time lead in major college football.

Ask Stoops about his victory total and he’ll tell you that he’s only got one number on his mind — and it’s a small one.

“I don’t count wins. I’m not much on that,” Stoops said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. “I just want one a week. That’s all I ever worry about.”

Stoops became the 11th fastest coach to reach 100 wins when the Sooners routed Washington 55-14 Saturday. He’s tied with Tennessee’s Phillip Fulmer, who also needed 123 games to reach the mark. Penn State’s Joe Paterno, who’s tied with Florida State’s Bobby Bowden with a record 375 career victories, is the only active coach to get to the century mark quicker.

Stoops needed less than a decade to reach 100 wins, getting there three games into his 10th season as a head coach. He’s won at least 10 games in seven of nine seasons so far, with the only exceptions being his first year and 2005. The eight wins from 2005 were in jeopardy for a time because starting quarterback Rhett Bomar and offensive lineman J.D. Quinn were later deemed ineligible in an NCAA investigation, but an appeals committee restored them.

Regardless, Stoops’ tenure has been an unquestionable success — featuring a national title in 2000 and two other appearances in the BCS championship game. He’ll get a $3 million stay bonus for finishing his 10th season at Oklahoma, and it’s anybody’s guess how long he’ll stay.

Earlier in his Oklahoma career, Stoops’ name seemed to constantly come up as a possible candidate for NFL jobs. That talk has slowed some in recent years. When the University of Florida was looking to replace Steve Spurrier, Stoops, a former Gators assistant, was thought to be at the top of Florida’s wish list.