Ground control

Clay Horning
The Norman Transcript

November 26, 2006 12:56 am

— Bob Stoops said Allen Patrick looked better and better as the week went along. It seemed like he was well enough to play, but still, “not totally.”
Patrick said he didn’t know.
He guessed it was the adrenaline.
Anayway, whatever it was that made Patrick go — maybe it was just Patrick — it was a big reason Oklahoma escaped Boone Pickens Stadium with a 27-21 victory over Bedlam rival Oklahoma State.
Running backs coach Cale Gundy agreed with Patrick.
“He’s got a lot of heart,” Gundy said. “He practiced every day last week and when we took the brace off him by Wednesday, he felt a lot better … The adrenaline was the x-factor.”
Patrick ran for 163 yards on 23 carries. Splitting carries with Chris Brown, he was part of a running game that picked up 238 of the Sooners’ 315 yards. He scored a touchdown. And he started fast.
On OU’s very first play from scrimmage, Patrick hit a seam and was off for 27 yards. After missing consecutive games against Texas Tech and Baylor with a sprained ankle, he recorded his longest run of the season the first time he touched the ball.
As he would prove later, he was just getting warmed up.
Even if didn’t look that way.
After that first play from scrimmage, Stoops had a short conversation with Patrick.
“I asked him, ‘Did you hurt it?” Stoops said. “And he said, ‘Yeah.’”
Patrick was out of the game for several plays, but soon returned.
“The pain just went away,” he said.
The healing powers of the Bedlam series.
Patrick’s first run spearheaded the Sooners’ first scoring drive.
After the pain dissipated, he ran for 17 more of the 63-yard drive that culminated in the first of Brown’s two touchdowns.
The next drive he spearheaded was the Sooners’ first drive of the second half.
On the first play after the second-half kick, Patrick exploded through the middle of the line and was off for a 65-yard touchdown.
Asked about the play, he sounded like he’d planned it.
“We kind of needed a big play,” Patrick said. “I saw nothing but orange down there.”
The end zones at Boone Pickens Stadium are orange.
The way he exploded into the open field, there might be a strong and bright light at the end of the tunnel should Adrian Peterson opt for the NFL draft following the season.
“If you lose a guy like A.D., there’s going to be a drop off,” Gundy said. “But A.P.’s pretty good … I think he has a chance to be really good.”
Speaking of his running backs, OU offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson mentioned one of Brown’s strengths being an ability to skillfully, maybe surgically, pick his path. Patrick, though, is a different kind of runner.
“He’s a decisive, fast guy,” Wilson said. “He does hit those creases and runs through that trash fast.”
Recruited to play defensive back, Patrick was moved to running back for depth when Peterson was hurt last season. Getting a chance to start after Peterson broke his collarbone against Iowa State, Patrick ran for 100 yards against Colorado, 157 against Missouri and 173 against Texas A&M. All told, he has run for 665 yards on 143 carries.
Depending on Peterson’s availability, he may have an outside chance at a 1,000 yard season, needing 335 yards with two games to play.
Two more games like Saturday’s and he’s there.
“He was fabulous,” Stoops said. “He was awesome.”

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