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Football: OU vs. Texas Tech
Football: OU vs. Texas Tech
When freshman wide receiver Ryan Broyles signaled his teammates to clear out on a short punt in the second quarter, he slipped, fell and the football bounced into his lap.
In what could have been a turnover — and a turning point in the game — was another example of the ball bouncing in favor of OU.
OU established the running game early on in the contest. The Sooners had 226 rushing yards at the end of the first half on way to 299 total.
“Where do you start?” head coach Bob Stoops said. “Everything was just what you want it to be, offensively: no turnovers, Sam Bradford was outstanding again ... (and) defensively we were really outstanding as well.”
Tech was unable to stop sophomore quarterback Sam Bradford on Saturday as well. Bradford completed 14-of-19 passes for 304 yards, 21.7 yards per completion, and four touchdowns. Bradford’s receivers contributed to his success, running for 230 yards after the catch.
The defense also stepped up its collective game as they harassed senior quarterback Graham Harrell, sacking him four times and forcing an interception. Sophomore defensive tackle Gerald McCoy recorded three tackles and a half sack, and disrupted Harrell the entire game.
“Graham [Harrell] said earlier in the year that no one would get to him, and we took that as a challenge,” McCoy said. “They were basically saying that no matter who they play, no one would get to [Harrell].”
The defensive line made it clear they were up to the challenge.
“We should’ve had more [sacks] than that,” McCoy said. “He got away a few times, and made plays, but we never really let him get comfortable, and that was the goal.”
Harrell’s single interception was picked off by freshman linebacker Travis Lewis, who returned the ball 47 yards to the Texas Tech 2-yard-line.
“I wanted to take it to the house,” Lewis said. “I took me back to my running back days, but it really gave us momentum into the half.”
Lewis finished with 13 tackles, a forced fumble and the interception, and the defense as a whole allowed 406 yards to an explosive Red Raider offense. Despite the total amount of yards given up, the defense felt the game showed how good they are.
“Collectively, I really think we played well,” Lewis said. “The defensive line played really well and got a lot of pressure,”
The Sooner secondary was also able to slow down Harrell’s primary target, star receiver sophomore Michael Crabtree, limiting him to only 62 yards on six catches and no touchdowns.
“Coming in we knew he was going to get a lot of publicity,” sophomore defensive back Dominique Franks said. “So, (junior cornerback) Brian Jackson, and the rest of the DB’s, we just came together and shut him down, and prove to everyone in America how good we are.”
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dbh 3 years, 6 months ago
Sooner defense was amazing along with the overall effort from all the team. Boomer Sooner! Now lets see the team get ready for a tough road game at Stillwater.
I have alot of confidence in the Coaches at Norman that they will be working overtime to get the Sooners ready for a loud competitve enviroment at OSU.