STOOPS SAYS TEXAS NOT A PROBLEM: Texas coach Mack Brown used to acknowledge an "Oklahoma Problem" each year he came to Big 12 media day during a five-game losing streak to the Sooners that included blowout losses of 63-14 and 65-13.

OU coach Bob Stoops had no interest in acknowledging a "Texas Problem" on Wednesday after losing to the Longhorns four of the past five years. He was quick to point out the Sooners won three-straight Big 12 titles in that time frame when no other team in league history has even won back-to-back crowns, a rant that ended with a reporter asking if that was a "no."

"I don't have a yes or a no," Stoops said. "My point is our goal isn't just to beat Texas. Our goal is to win the Big 12 championship and win the national championship. In the end, we've been in four national championship games in 10 years. I don't know if it's a problem or not. It's a pretty good one if it is."

Brown vouched for Stoops by saying his "problem" was getting blown out by the Sooners twice.

"You shouldn't ever get beaten like we were beaten. I put that solely back on me," Brown said. "Our games with Oklahoma have been tight. They'll continue to be tight. Bob's got one of the great programs in the country."

STOOPS WILL MISS LEACH: OU coach Bob Stoops said it clearly and succinctly: He will miss Mike Leach.

The former Texas Tech coach, who was fired after claims that he mistreated a player with a concussion, spent a year with Stoops at OU before taking the Tech job a decade ago.

Leach was known as much for a quirky style and penchant for pirates as he was for winning games with a fast-break passing offense few teams could stop. Stoops' Sooners were among the few who occasionally figured it out.

"I love being around Mike, and we stay in touch. So I'll get to experience Mike other ways," Stoops said, drawing a few chuckles from reporters.

He said there was no sense of relief in not having to solve Leach's offense because he figures Texas Tech isn't losing much under Tom Tuberville, a defense-first coach who once went 13-0 at Auburn.

"As a defensive guy, I always followed him knowing his background was on defense," Stoops said. "They're still going to be a great team and a tough team."

KANSAS GOES LONG: Kansas coach Turner Gill said he used to talk to former Iowa quarterback Chuck Long about the pair being on the same staff, even when Gill was the head coach at Buffalo and Long had the same job at San Diego State.

Long was fired after a 2-10 season with the Aztecs in 2008 and was out of coaching when Gill called about joining him at Kansas as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

The Heisman Trophy runner-up to Bo Jackson in 1985, Long spent eight years in the NFL with Detroit and the Los Angeles Rams and started his coaching career with his alma mater in 1995. Four years later, he went to Oklahoma and coached Heisman runner-up Josh Heupel when the Sooners won the 2000 national championship. He also coached Heisman winner Jason White at OU.

"You can go on and on about the accolades he's done as a coach. That speaks for itself," Gill said. "But more importantly, I really love what he's all about as a man. A lot of the guys that I hire on the staff, I really try to hire people who really have a passion to develop young people."

• DeMarco Murray eyes 2,000-yard rushing season

• OU-Texas needs to stay put, Dan Beebe says