“Oh, it feels good; it feels real good.”
“Kansas City, Kansas City!”
Those were the words of senior strong safety Nic Harris and redshirt freshman kicker Jimmy Stevens as they walked up the ramp following a 61-41 OU victory over Oklahoma State Saturday.
The win caused a three-way tie between OU, Texas and Texas atop the Big 12 South, and BCS rankings will now send the Sooners to the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City.
But it wasn’t easy Saturday, as Oklahoma State gave OU all it could handle.
“I’m incredibly excited about [the win],” said head coach Bob Stoops. “Again, I give credit to [OSU head coach] Mike Gundy and the Oklahoma State staff and their players. They’re a very good football team. We did something that no one else was able to do this year — come in here and win — because they’re a very good football team.”
What looked like a disastrous start in a pivotal Big 12 road rivalry game turned into a brilliant one as sophomore cornerback Dominique Franks intercepted an early Zac Robinson pass shortly after the Sooners went three-and-out on the first possession of the game.
Two plays later, sophomore running back DeMarco Murray blasted through the Cowboy secondary for 20 yards and an early 7-0 Sooner lead.
Despite a short-lived 10-7 Cowboy lead, the Sooners methodically set the tone and never let OSU lead again.
For much of the game, the ball simply seemed to bounce OU’s way.
After OSU closed the Sooner lead to 21-19, the Cowboys attempted a two-point conversion. Robinson fumbled and redshirt freshman Frank Alexander recovered it and ran 96 yards for two points.
On the ensuing possession, junior tight end Jermaine Gresham, who was in the right place at the right time several times, caught a tipped ball off senior wide receiver Manuel Johnson that turned into a 73-yard touchdown.
“You’re always real fortunate to get plays like that,” Stoops said. “[There’s] no question, and I feel fortunate tonight.”
On third-and-goal from the nine-yard line on the Sooners’ next possession, sophomore quarterback Sam Bradford scampered eight yards and leaped toward the endzone. Two Cowboy defenders hit him in midair and sent him flying out of bounds.
“That was a huge play; I thought that was the play of the game,” Stoops said.
Officials reviewed the play and upheld the call that Bradford had come short of the goal line.
“[Coach Stoops] didn’t really say anything, just to be careful obviously,” Bradford said. “When I saw the replay, I was just thinking that I really wish I got in, but oh well.”
Bradford then fumbled the snap on the next play but managed to find just enough of an opening in front of him for a seemingly commanding 37-26 lead.
But the Cowboys stormed back on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Robinson to star sophomore wide receiver Dez Bryant.
The two then connected for a two-point conversion to cut the lead to 37-34 early in the fourth and give OSU some momentum.
“Give Zac Robinson some credit; he played an excellent game,” Stoops said. “[He] just frustrated us so many times because you thought you had him sacked, and he’d break through or throw the ball and make plays, or he’d run for a first down. That kind of play really threw us off some. You know, he made some plays on us, but we hung in there and made some plays.”
When it seemed like the Cowboys would finally get the stop they needed, Bradford stayed as poised as could be and delivered the first touchdown pass of the season to junior tight end Brody Eldridge, a two-yard toss over the middle on fourth and goal with just more than 10 minutes left.
However, the Achilles heal of the season, kickoff return coverage, finally became a factor in this game in the fourth as junior Perrish Cox took the next kickoff 90 yards to once again cut the deficit to three.
“We had guys there to make the tackle and trying to pull the football out, so some of the decisions we made were disappointing,” Stoops said. “But again, give Perrish Cox credit. He’s a strong, tough guy that ran through it.”
But as one would expect, Bradford once again drove the Sooners down for another score, this time seven plays for 65 yards, capped off by a 17-yard pass to senior wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias.
This one did, in fact, turn out to be the clincher as the Sooners later added a 27-yard field goal and a 25-yard touchdown run by junior running back Chris Brown to win by 20.
It seemed like for every punch the Sooners took, Bradford was ready to bring the Sooners back up and drive them down the field again.
“He’s an emotional leader for our team, not just for the offense, but for the whole team,” Gresham said. “He’s a great guy to be behind.”
Once again, the Sooners were unstoppable on offense, amassing 557 yards, including 370 through the air and 187 on the ground.
Bradford finished the day 30-for-44 for 370 yards and four touchdowns.
“I was incredibly proud of the way we played,” Stoops said. “Another game with 60 points, I think that’s four in a row for us. Sam Bradford [is] just out of this world; it’s just incredible the way he played.
“You look at our third-down conversions, fourth-down conversions, no turnovers. All in all, [that’s] incredible. Kevin Wilson and our offensive staff, again, just did such a great job moving the ball.”
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dbh 3 years, 5 months ago
Boomer Sooner Beat Mizzou.. OU Deserves the right to defend the Big 12 trophy...
Texas should not schedule so many conference USA teams and their strength of schedule would be stronger in BCS...
Go Sooners!!!