Having a good day in the Red River Rivalry can turn a budding young player into a star. Oklahoma running back DeMarco Murray found that out in his last trip to the Cotton Bowl.

Then a redshirt freshman, he vaulted into Sooner lore with 128-yard rushing performance in last year’s 28-21 victory over the Longhorns. His leap over OU tight end Joe John Finley during a 65-yard touchdown run was the indelible image from that game.

“It was a great run,” OU center Jon Cooper said. “He is an explosive player, and he did that a lot. Hopefully we can get him some more big runs this year.”

They’ll be needed. Two fail-safe statistics predict the outcome of just about every OU-Texas game. The team that runs the ball the best and turns it over least wins the overwhelming majority of the time.

Murray, and backfield cohorts Chris Brown and Mossis Madu, are big reasons the top-ranked Sooners (5-0, 1-0 Big 12) are favored to leave Dallas unscathed. But to do it, they’ll need Murray to return to last season’s form.

Make no mistake, Murray hasn’t slumped through the first five games of the season. He’s rushed for 431 yards the thus far, scored five touchdowns and averaged 5.1 yards per carry.

But he’s looked like a different kind of runner. He’s been grinding more than galloping.

“I find myself looking for that big one and I’m missing it,” Murray said.

Home runs have been few and far between. Take away a 49-yard run in the season opener, and Murray’s longest run is 14 yards against Cincinnati. Over the last two games against TCU and Baylor, he hasn’t had a run longer than 9 yards.

But no one in OU’s camp is complaining. Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson is a big proponent of running backs who will lower their head and get a tough yard when little else is there. He’s seen a lot of that from Murray.

“Everybody is talking about how he looks a step slower,” Wilson said, “but last week (against Baylor) he had 26 carries on the turf and was physical as heck.”

Murray said nothing is bothering him physically. It’s an important question considering he had offseason surgery to repair a dislocated knee cap he suffered late last season. He did say missing spring practice and parts of the preseason have left some rust.

“It takes a toll on you when you’re trying to get your speed for four quarters and 60 minutes of playing,” Murray said. “I feel like I’m getting back to my old self.”

“Anytime someone is hurt, how do you get better? I don’t mean well or healthy. I mean better, how do you improve?” Wilson said. “I don’t care who it is. As well as Sam Bradford is playing, he can play better. I said it a few years ago about Adrian Peterson, he’s a great player and he can play better. Who can’t? Tiger (Woods) works every day to get better. It’s hard to get better when you miss practice?”

Perhaps he’s catching up on all the carries he missed throughout the spring and August. Saturday would be a good day to return to form. A good argument can be made that Murray was the difference last season in the Cotton Bowl.