By John Shinn

Transcript Sports Writer

Paul Thompson had his chance against Texas Christian. Now, it’s Rhett Bomar’s turn.

Monday, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops announced Bomar will be the starting quarterback when OU faces Tulsa at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Owen Field. The statement came after the Sooners’ first practice since Saturday’s 17-10 loss to the Horned Frogs.

“We’re going to give Rhett Bomar a chance to start and see where he takes it,” Stoops said.

“By no means am I sitting here saying that Paul Thompson is responsible for the way we played Saturday. That’s not the case. We had a lot of guys, mostly older guys, play as poorly as I have seen them play. We feel Rhett deserves an opportunity.”

Thompson was under center for most of the TCU game and OU’s offense struggled. Thompson was 11-for-25 on his passing attempts.

He also threw an interception and had two fumbles.

Offensive coordinator Chuck Long said the decision wasn’t based strictly on Thompson’s play.

The coaching staff entered the game planning to play Bomar, a redshirt freshman, more. He played late in the second quarter and early in the fourth. But was under center for only 11 plays.

“He was very limited in the game and we felt like he deserves a better chance,” Long said. “So, we’re going to start him in this game and go from there. We’ll keep it open-ended and see what happens in the football game.”

The reactions of the quarterbacks was very similar to Aug. 25, when OU announced Thompson would be the starter.

Bomar, who completed 2-of-5 passes against TCU, was elated to get his chance to run the offense.

“This is the kind of opportunity I’ve been working for my whole life,” Bomar said. “I thought I could have played better, but I think I did all right as a whole. You need a continued number of reps to really get into a rhythm. This will be my first time to get significant playing time.”

Thompson was disappointed he will have to spend some time on the bench.