With West Virginia losing coach Rich Rodriguez to Michigan earlier this month, there were many questions raised at Friday’s practice about how that will affect what the Mountaineers do on the field in Wednesday’s Fiesta Bowl.

Last season's painful Fiesta defeat not on Oklahoma's minds

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Interim coach Bill Stewart, who has been with the program for the past eight years and was in charge of tight ends and specials teams this season, responded to all those inquiries by saying there won’t be any differences.

Stewart said he doesn’t plan to expand his role any more than necessary and will leave defensive game planning up to 'D’ coordinator Jeff Casteel, 'D’ line coach Bill Kirelawich and safeties coach Bruce Tall.

“I don’t even have to worry about them,” Stewart said. “They’ve done well. I’m glad they’re here because I’m riding their coattails. Let me assure you that. I have not even glanced (at how they’re running the defense) and I probably won’t in the football game.”

As for who will be calling the plays?

“It won’t change a bit.” Stewart continued. “Like we’ve done all year, (offensive coordinator) Calvin Magee, (quarterbacks coach) Rod Smith and myself will be doing most of that. I feel very confident just like I feel about the defense. They could play that game without me. I don’t know why I’m getting all this hype because I certainly don’t deserve it or need it. We’re a group. This football staff is a team, and I feel very good about our staff and what we’re doing.”

ONE LAST CHANCE

Certainly, Darien Williams’ senior season hasn’t gone the way he wanted. A leg injury has slowed the Oklahoma safety after he earned All-Big 12 honorable mention as a junior.

Williams has just 12 tackles on the season, but will get a chance to make a significant impact after an injury to cornerback Reggie Smith has put him back into a starting role.

“Never along the way did I wish anything bad to happen to anybody, but I’ve always had the attitude that if I was to get a chance, I didn’t want anything to be a drop-off,” Williams said. “I wanted it to stay the same and be as consistent as anyone else out there.”

WE MEET AGAIN

The Fiesta Bowl will be a reunion of sorts for two coaches who once had a teacher-pupil relationship.

Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson was a graduate assistant at North Carolina from 1984-86 and worked directly under Stewart for two of those years.

“I’m just grateful that (then UNC) Coach (Dick) Crum didn’t run me off and hire Kevin because he was a whole lot smarter than me back then,” said the always humble Stewart. “I just hope he is not a lot smarter than me this week.”

RECENT BOWL HISTORY

The Sooners have lost three straight BCS bowl games. Last year Boise State beat them 43-42 in the Fiesta, in 2005 USC trampled them 55-19 in the Orange Bowl, and LSU won 21-14 in the 2004 Sugar Bowl. Oklahoma beat Oregon, 17-14, in the 2005 Holiday Bowl.

By contrast, the Mountaineers have won their past two bowl games. They beat Georgia Tech 38-35 in the 2007 Gator Bowl and defeated Georgia by the same score in the 2006 Sugar Bowl.

GIFT BAGS

The Fiesta Bowl is considered by most in college football to be the Cadillac of bowls when it comes to hospitality, and judging by the contents of the gift bags, this year is no different.

Every player received a 20-inch flat screen TV, a watch, a pair of Oakley sunglasses and a Fiesta Bowl hat.

Many players were stoked about the TV, but West Virginia center Mike Dent was excited about a different gift.

“When we got here they had a nice little gift bag on the bed with some chips in it and some food. The O-linemen like that,” he said with a smile.

EXTRA POINT

The Fiesta Bowl won’t be the only meeting between Oklahoma and West Virginia over the next few days. They play each other tonight in men’s basketball at 4 p.m. on ESPN2.

Key matchups

West Virginia defensive end Johnny Dingle: Known for his ability to quickly find his way into the opponent’s backfield, the 6-foot-3, 270-pound senior has collected 46 tackles, including a team-leading 18 for loss. He also tied for the team lead with eight sacks, broke up three passes, forced two fumbles and recovered another. SI.com named him an honorable mention All-American.

Oklahoma left guard Duke Robinson: The 6-5, 300-pound junior is the most massive player on the Sooners’ roster and helped anchor a line that allowed just 11 sacks in 13 games. Named consensus All-American by the NCAA, Robinson was also voted first-team All-American by the Associated Press and the American Football Coaches Association.

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Staff writer Kyle Odegard contributed to this report.