Sooners bounce back and beat Bears

Dom Franks returns a punt against Baylor

Although the Sooners got beat by Miami the week before, they were now looking forward to starting Big 12 conference play against the Baylor Bears, and having their Heisman quarterback back from a shoulder injury. Sam Bradford, who had been out since the BYU game, was pleased to get back out on the field and play with his teammates. The Sooners wanted to start conference play with a win heading into the Red Rivalry Shootout, and they would do just that. The only concern Oklahoma had been whether Sam’s shoulder had the endurance to play a full game.

Bradford said after the game, “I felt good just the way my arm responded, the way I was able to play four quarters and the way I was able to make some throws in the fourth quarter that had some heat on them.”

Sam Bradford came out on top of things and played a great game. He threw for 389 yards, a touchdown, and  completed 27-49 passes, which is the second-most passes he has thrown in a game. The only downfall of his performance was the 22 incompletions he threw. That’s the most imcompletions he’s thrown in a game, but it was largely due to the receivers dropping his passes. Even though the Sooners weren’t connecting on all cylinders, it was good to see Sam Bradford back on the field leading the Sooners. With the loss of Ryan Broyles to a hairline fracture on his left shoulder-blade, the other Sooner receivers were expected to step up. Brandon Caleb had seven receptions for a career-best of 139 yards receiving, but he didn’t have a touchdown. Sam’s only touchdown pass was to Adron Tennell in the fourth quarter. The Sooner rushing game was very affective against the Bears, as the Sooners rushed for 197 yards. Demarco Murray had 107 total yards rushing, but it was Chris Brown who had the two rushing touchdowns. The Sooner defense was stellar in this game, as they only allowed 268 total yards. Baylor threw for 262 passing yards, but only finished with 6 yards rushing. Oklahoma’s special teams looked impressive against Baylor, and Jimmy Stevens tied a school record for four field goals in one game. The Sooners won the game by a score of 33-7, improving their record against the Bears to 19-0.The win against Baylor improved OU’s record to 3-2. While the Sooners didn’t play a tough opponent, it was good for them to open up Big 12 play with a win and gain some confidence heading into the Texas game. It’ll be a tough game in the Cotton Bowl, but do you honestly think OU could upset the Longhorns?? I doubt it, but they have a better chance with Sam Bradford back.

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‘Canes take down Sooners

Land Shark Stadium has not been very pleasant to the Sooner Nation. Oklahoma has struggled there in recent years by losing two National Championships and now to the Miami

Adrian Taylor pressures a pass thrown by Jacory Harris.

Hurricanes. The Hurricanes were coming off a loss to the Virginia Tech Hokies,  where the got embarrassed by losing 31-7. Oklahoma, who last week beat the Golden Hurricane, could not handle these Hurricanes. The Sooners were without Sam Bradford once again, which meant Landry Jones would get his third consecutive start. The Hurricanes were looking for revenge in this game because Oklahoma had humiliated them in 2007 by beating Miami 51-13. Oklahoma had the momentum at the start of the game when Jacory Harris’s pass was picked off by Dominique Franks. Oklahoma would take advantage of this by capitalizing with a touchdown pass from Landry to Cameron Kenney to take an early lead of 7-0. The Sooners would then put another score on the board by driving 95 yards, but only to come out with a 21-yard field goal by Jimmy Stevens to make the score 10-0. Miami struggled offensively in the first half with Jacory not clicking, but they would finish the first half with an 18 yard touchdown pass from Harris to the tight end Jimmy Graham. This made the score 10-7 and cut the Sooner lead to only three points heading into halftime. Miami came out of halftime by forcing Oklahoma to turn the ball over on their first drive. This gave Miami an excellent scoring opportunity as they started their possession in the red zone. Harris would connect with Dedrick Epps on an 11-yard pass to Dedrick Epps, which gave the Hurricanes a 14-10 lead. The Sooners then struggled to get an offensive possession going because of costly penalties. When Miami got the ball back, they scored once again on a 38-yard touchdown pass that was wide open because Oklahoma cornerback Dominique Franks blew coverage on the Miami receiver. This expanded the Hurricanes’ lead to 21-10. Oklahoma would make a rally and come back with a 2-yard touchdown run by Demarco Murray to make the score 21-17. In the fourth quarter with under five minutes remaining, the Sooners would face a tough decision of kicking a field goal or going for it on fourth down. Oklahoma elected to kick a 39-yard field goal, and Jimmy Stevens made it to make the score 21-20 in favor of the Hurricanes. The Oklahoma defense was then counted on to get a defensive stop so the Sooner offense could get a chance to win the game. But the Hurricanes did not let up, as they ran the remaining time off the clock with a solid running game. Miami received their biggest win of the season as they beat Oklahoma with a score of 21-20. I thought the Oklahoma defense looked very sluggish as the game went on and the secondary made too many mistakes. The offense was not very consistent and had a hard time getting in rhythm. With this loss, it puts the Sooners at a 2-2 record going into Big 12 play. The Sooners next game is against the Baylor Bears in Norman. Sam Bradford should be back for this game and hopefully he can turn this season around and get the Sooners moving in the right direction. Can the Sooners still win the Big 12 Championship? I think they can but it’s a long shot as the Sooners will have to overcome a tough Big 12 schedule.

Sooners blast Golden Hurricanes

Landry Jones attempting a pass against Tulsa.

After winning their first game of the season, the Sooners looked to regain focus and take down the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. The Sooners showed no signs of weakness against Tulsa as they came out fired up and ready to play. Many people thought that Tulsa could upset Oklahoma, but the Sooners made sure that wouldn’t happen.  While Tulsa ran thirty-one out of their first thirty-three plays in Oklahoma territory, they came out with zero points because of turning the ball over to Oklahoma. The Sooners took advantage  of these early turnovers that the Golden Hurricane committed by capitalizing on them with scores. Oklahoma’s defense looked stout and caused chaos for the Tulsa quarterback G.J. Kinne. G.J. struggled to get the offense in sync, and he committed three turnovers. Kinne threw two interceptions and had a fumble, which showed that OU’s defense was aggressive and focused. Tulsa finished the game with only 269 total yards and a big goose egg on the score board. On the offensive side of the ball for Oklahoma, Landry Jones played with tremendous poise and was connecting on all cylinders. Although Jones threw two interceptions, he had a total of 336 yards passing and six touchdowns, which put his name in the Sooner record books. Landry broke the previous record of five touchdown passes in one game with his six touchdowns. Ryan Broyles looked sharp as he finished with 128 yards receiving and three touchdowns. Brandon Caleb emerged as a potential starter because he stepped up and finished with 104 yards receiving and two scores. Oklahoma’s running game was decent by finishing with a total of 193 yards rushing. Demarco Murray had the highlight of the game with his 13 yard scamper into the end zone by spinning twice along the same sideline and then leaping over the goal line by doing a front flip. Oklahoma didn’t let up at all and compiled their second straight shutout victory in a row by winning 45-o. This marked the 26th straight home win for the Sooners at Memorial Stadium. The Sooners have a bye week to get prepared for their next game against the Miami Hurricanes. Despite losing to Virginia Tech, Miami will be ready for the Sooners, and Oklahoma knows it will be difficult to go to Miami and come out with a victory. Can the Sooners march out of Miami with a victory? I think they can, but it depends on how OU’s defense plays and whether Landry can keep up his good playing.