The pouring rain and 11 a.m. kickoff may have kept some fans from showing up, but not Samaje Perine.
Perine rushed for 427 yards and five touchdowns as the No. 21 Sooners throttled Kansas 44-7. Perine broke the record for most rushing yards in a single game set by Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon last week with 427 total yards.
In addition, Perine also broke two of former Sooner Adrian Peterson’s rushing records with most yards in a half with 222 and total touchdowns by a freshman with 16.
“I really can’t explain right now,” Perine said. “I’m not really feeling special or any type of way … I’m just looking at it as doing what I had to do in certain circumstances to help my team win.”
That type of response shows what kind of guy Perine is and what the coaches have been saying about him all year.
“He was just sensational,” head coach Bob Stoops said. “The guy is just so exceptional in everything he does.”
Stoops noted that as the game went on, the coaches were thinking about pulling him but as word spread about Perine nearing the record for most rushing yards by an Oklahoma running back, they left him in.
Once Perine reached that record, coaches got word of how many yards he needed for the FBS record. However, Perine wasn’t worried about that.
However, after Perine broke off the 42-yard run that put him in the record books, he was immediately taken out to a big round of applause from the crowd and especially his teammates.
“It was a great feeling,” Perine said. “Being with those guys, the way they rallied around me … it was just a great feeling to feel all that love.”
The Pflugerville, TX native pulled running backs coach Cale Gundy aside and said he could put in another running back if he wanted. But the coaches knew how close Perine was and wanted to see something special.
It was Keith Ford that initially got the start, but because of Perine’s incredible day and two fumbles, Ford only saw eight carries and 34 yards.
Twice this year, both after 200+ yard rushing yard outings, Perine returned the favor to his offensive line by buying them all pizza. Perine expects to do something similar again this week.
“I’ll buy them whatever they want,” Perine said. “My parents are in town so they can have whatever they want.”
Hidden behind the record setting day from Perine was the defensive performance.
The team only allowed 103 yards of offense, albeit against a mediocre Kansas offense; but one that has shown signs of improvement over the last two weeks.
Oklahoma held Kansas to just 2-of-16 on third downs and 0-of-2 on fourth down. The defensive line was able to dominate in the trenches, often causing quarterback hurries and tackles for loss.
The defense also had two takeaways; one came in the first half off a bad snap on a punt and the other came from an interception by Ahmad Thomas the third quarter.
Redshirt freshman Cody Thomas made his second career start in the absence of Trevor Knight. Because of the weather conditions, Thomas only passed the ball 13 times, completing just three.
Coaches saw strides of improvement from Thomas but co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Josh Heupel said there are plenty of areas for improvement.
“You look at his numbers, not well enough,” Heupel said of Thomas. “There’s some things he’s gotta do better and some things we gotta do better around him too to give him a chance to play at a higher level.”
Should Thomas be called upon against Oklahoma State, he says he’ll be ready for the challenge. However, the Sooners have a bye week in between the Bedlam game and will assuredly use it for more preparation as well as nursing the injuries the team has.
It was all Samaje Perine Saturday against Kansas, but all he’s really focused on next is Oklahoma State; his first matchup against the in-state rivals Dec. 6.
