January 02, 2008 07:54 am
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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Perhaps Oklahoma still has the slightest chance to win an Associated Press national title. Maybe if, defensively depleted, the Sooners still shut out West Virginia, score at will and LSU and Ohio State play a dud.
Then you’ve got good guy Bill Stewart taking over for heartless Rich Rodriguez. Who knows if Stewart can win his way out of the “interim” tag, but whatever, it’s hard not to root for the guy.
DeMarcus Granger’s poor judgment and criminal act has raised questions about his future with the program and the Sooners’ ability to stuff the Mountaineer running attack.
That attack is led by Pat White, who clearly has OU’s attention. The West Virginia quarterback is dangerous in a way the Sooners haven’t faced. On the other side of the field, White’s counterpart, Sam Bradford, is just plain dangerous.
Even quietly so.
Look at it this way.
Bradford has been so good this season, he’s reached the rarest of levels. The one where he’s being taken for granted.
Indeed, of all the storylines circling the Fiesta Bowl, Bradford’s may end up getting the most play. All he has to do is complete about 70 percent of his passes for about 250 yards, maybe three or four for touchdowns with no more than a single pick. Basically, what he’s been doing all season long.
This time a year ago, even Paul Thompson was getting more attention than Bradford. It stands to reason. The Sooners’ winning the Big 12 the way they did, with Thompson thrust behind center the way he was, it’s understandable.
Still, a year later, the Putnam City North redshirt freshman quarterback is receiving short shrift. Still a few hours before the kick, let that be remedied.
First, the testimonies.
n “You always have a chance with Sam,” said Malcolm Kelly, outside the Cotton Bowl.
n “He handles things like Jason (White) did in year three and year four,” offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said early in the season.
n “If something good happens, he’s not overly excited,” tight end Joe Jon Finley said. “If something bad happens, he doesn’t get too upset about it … that’s what you want out of your quarterback.”
n “Sam’s been everything we wanted and needed him to be and more,” Bob Stoops said. “We’ve got such total confidence in him that we’re treating him like a senior.”
Now, the stats.
He’s thrown 308 passes, completed 216, 34 (an NCAA freshman record) for touchdowns against seven interceptions. No quarterback in matches his 180.5 passing efficiency rating.
“That little quarterback is a dandy,” Stewart said. “He is a player and he is going to be real special. He is going to be one heck of a challenge to our defense.”
Bradford has been aided all season by an offensive line that has only given up a Big 12 best 11 sacks, as well as a trio of running backs that have given the Sooners unpredictable balance. And there may not be a better five-receiver group than Kelly, Juaquin Iglesias, Manuel Johnson, Finley and Jermaine Gresham.
But Bradford shouldn’t be penalized for his good fortune. He has made them better, too. His uncanny accuracy has made catching the ball easy.
To proclaim such a season unprecedented by a freshman quarterback may well be correct. If not, his reaction to it all has to be.
The first time Bradford spoke to reporters in a press conference setting, he arrived in flip flops on a 45-degree morning. Once there, he told us how laid back — and — competitive he was.
“When it’s not exactly right,” Wilson said, “he takes it real personally. There’s an exactness.”
That makes sense.
Because he’s been exactly what the Sooners needed. And still he has three seasons to go.
But that’s for later. Momentarily, there is only tonight. And tonight, as luck would have it, there is only OU and West Virginia.
Sam Bradford could be the talk of college football.
The way he’s played all season, it won’t even take anything special.
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