(Editor's note: Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops will file a weekly diary with ESPN.com throughout the season. For more on the Sooners, visit the official Oklahoma site.)

Nov. 10, 1999

It was a good, solid win against Missouri. We feel very proud of the way our players responded this week after losing to Colorado a week before. We came out and played solid. We have great respect for Missouri. The Tigers been a bowl team the past two years and the list goes on.

	Bob Stoops has revived Oklahoma football in his first year.

It was good when our players came into the locker room -- nobody was too happy about anything. They realized it was just a good solid win but we're going to keep pushing throughout the year to build and continue to get better. We want to prove we can go out on the road and keep the same focus and intensity.

Looking ahead, we're facing a much improved team in Iowa State. The Cyclones are playing good football and everyone's aware of that. All of their losses have been close and they've had a chances to win in the fourth quarter. Athletically, they're a very talented team in many areas. We'll have to be on top of our game going up to Ames.

I don't think there's any real enjoyment playing against a guy you're close with. I used to coach under Iowa State coach Dan McCarney and we remain very close friends. You just have to go out there and treat it as business as usual and get ready to compete and go play. Dan's a strong guy. He's got more enthusiasm than anybody. Although through the years I've given him encouragement out of respect for him, Dan doesn't need a boost from anybody.