Norman, Okla. ? Bob Stoops gained a reputation as a gambler for his gutsy fakes on special teams. The Oklahoma coach hasn’t lived up to that image lately.

Daring calls like the fourth-quarter fake field goal that won the game for the Sooners in their last trip to Missouri don’t seem as common any more. It’s been more than three years since the last famous call, a fake punt in the third quarter of a three-point game at Alabama that helped salt away a win in 2003.

“They’re looking for them more,” Stoops said as the 19th-ranked Sooners (5-2, 2-1 Big 12) prepared to play No. 23 Missouri (7-1, 3-1) in this week’s only meeting of ranked opponents in Division I.

Stoops’ bold call in his last trip to Missouri in 2002 temporarily kept Oklahoma undefeated in a season that eventually would bring him his second Big 12 championship. And what a call it was.

Led by a superb performance from quarterback Brad Smith, Missouri had scored 17 straight points to take a 24-23 lead in the fourth quarter on the third-ranked Sooners. Oklahoma drove into field-goal range, but instead opted to go for the fake on fourth-and-eight from the Missouri 14.

Trey DiCarlo already had missed two field goals and an extra point so Stoops decided to throw the ball to DiCarlo instead of having him kick it. Except that’s not exactly what happened.

Holder Matt McCoy took the snap and lobbed the ball to tight end Chris Chester, who corralled it for the winning TD.

“He actually threw it to the wrong guy,” Stoops said. “Luckily.”

The next bit of trickery came at Alabama the following September, when he called on punter Blake Ferguson to throw on fourth-and-10 from the Oklahoma 31.

Since then, though, Stoops hasn’t reached into his bag of tricks – maybe because he hasn’t had to.