Published: October 07, 2007 01:12 am            

Still in the hunt

DALLAS — Under a hot, gray October sky, the south end of the Cotton Bowl was in a state of hysteria. Not the heat and humidity that turned the eight-decade old stadium into a Turkish bath house nor the thunderstorms that loomed overhead could curtail Oklahoma’s party.

There was celebrating to do and it was going to be done after the 10th-ranked Sooners’ 28-21 victory over No. 19 Texas.

The season that went into critical condition after an upset loss to Colorado was back in good condition.

The Red River Rivalry grew into more than a heated matchup between two of college football’s most historic programs. Bragging rights puts the hostility into the fans. The teams play for bigger stakes.

Seasons were on the line in Saturday’s 102nd meeting between the schools. Both were coming off conference losses. Another pounded a death nail into the loser’s Big 12 title hopes.

“We knew what we had to do,” OU defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said.

What the Sooners had to do was return to the form that put them into national championship consideration the first four weeks of the season. In other words, OU’s stars had to come out. Even with the cloudy skies, they shinned brightly.

Sam Bradford, who became OU’s first freshman quarterback to win his OU-Texas debut since Justin Fuente in 1997, regained his star status and freshman running back DeMarco Murray joined him.

Murray rushed for a game-high 128 yards and put a jolt into the Sooners with a 65-yard touchdown late in the third quarter.

Bradford was nearly flawless, throwing for 244 yards and three touchdowns to push the Sooners to the victory that they had to have.

“His demeanor never changes,” OU wide receiver Malcolm Kelly said of Bradford. “He has the right attitude and says, ‘Let’s get this … let’s get it done.’ No matter how bad it gets, his demeanor never changes. He knows we always have a chance.”

OU (5-1, 1-1 Big 12) gave itself a chance by returning to an old recipe that always works against the Longhorns. Play clean and don’t make the critical mistakes.

The Sooners had nine penalties for 87 yards, but didn’t commit a turnover. The Longhorns (4-2, 0-2) gave two up and that was the difference.

With the game tied 14-14, Texas’ Jamaal Charles had a chance to put the Longhorns back on top. He’d already broken through OU’s line and had the end zone in sight when OU linebacker Curtis Lofton ripped the ball from his arm. Texas never threatened to take the lead again.

“I thought that was probably the play of the game,” OU coach Bob Stoops said.

It certainly turned OU’s fortunes around.

Five minutes later, Murray dashed through a huge hole and hurdled OU tight end Joe Jon Finely for a 65-yard touchdown and a 21-14 lead.

There was a see-saw effect throughout Saturday’s slugfest.

OU took the first lead on Bradford’s 1-yard toss to Jermaine Gresham late in first quarter. Texas responded with 6-yard touchdown toss from Colt McCoy to Jordan Shipley.

The Longhorns had the lead with just under 7 minutes left in the first half when McCoy hit Jermichael Finley for a 22-yard touchdown.

Finley was a one-man wrecking crew in the first half, logging three catches for 135 yards. But he disappeared after the break, pulling down just one more catch.

“We just switched up our coverages,” Stoops said. “We were in good coverages early. We kind of sucked up on the play-action a little too much and they had us in the hole.”

Texas drew back to even with Vondrell McGee’s 1-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter.

But that’s where the momentum quit swinging back and forth.

The Sooners quest to break the stalemate started at the their own 6. But Bradford hit Juaquin Iglesias, who caught six passes for 99 yards, to convert a third down and Chris Brown bolted up the middle to convert another.

After 11 bruising plays, the Sooners were at the Texas 35 when Bradford dropped and saw Kelly wide open heading toward the end zone.

Kelly, who didn’t catch a pass in the Colorado game, marched into the end zone to give the Sooners a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

“It’s always good when you have him involved in the game,” Bradford said. “He made some catches that were just unreal. Anytime you throw to Malcolm, you like your chances.”

McCoy didn’t have that luxury. He was stellar, throwing for 324 yards and two touchdowns. But Reggie Smith’s interception on the Longhorns’ ensuing drive pretty much doomed them.

Texas never snapped the ball in OU’s territory again.

“Oklahoma is a great football team and you’ve got to give them credit,” McCoy said. “They played really well defensively and offensively. It was a great game.”

It was also the game OU regained its stature as kingpin of the Big 12 south. The fans were going nuts because OU had just beaten Texas, but those celebrating on the field knew they had done more than beaten a rival.

They’d just one their season back.

John Shinn

366-3536

jshinn@normantranscript.com

        

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