On his first carry, a second-and-10 from the Husker 36, he darted up the middle through a gapping hole, made one defender miss and carried Nebraska cornerback Zackary Bowman the final 5 yards for a touchdown.

“On that run, I was determined to get into the end zone,” Peterson said.

He added a 2-yard dash early in the second quarter that paced OU to a 14-0 lead.

He spent the rest of the game battering at the Nebraska defense. He was held was in check in the second half. All but 25 of Peterson’s yards came in the first half.

But by then, he had already carried the Sooners most of the way to Saturday’s win.

It was a big game and one in which OU needed its stars to come out. Peterson shined brighter than any Saturday.

After the game, he grinned as reporters and autograph seekers engulfed him. He gave a notice to OU’s remaining foes.

“Hopefully, with a week off, I’ll be back to 100 percent.”