Saturday, September 22, 2007

OKLAHOMA ROMPS TULSA


TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- With so much talent, No. 4 Oklahoma can take turns scoring touchdowns.

Allen Patrick ran for 145 yards and two TDs, Sam Bradford threw two long touchdown passes to Juaquin Iglesias and the Sooners outraced Tulsa 62-21 Friday night.

DeMarco Murray made it into the end zone three times for the highest-scoring team in the nation -- twice on runs and once on a kickoff return.

"We've just got a lot of playmakers on the offensive side of the ball -- a lot of them. A lot of people who whenever they touch the ball, you never know what they're going to do," Murray said. "Anyone can get six points whenever they touch it."

The Sooners (4-0) have put up at least 50 points in all four games. That's only the second time in school history they've had such a streak -- they also did it in 2003, capped by a 65-13 romp over Texas.

"We didn't think it was going to be like that, especially with some question at quarterback," Iglesias said. "We still had confidence in him, but the way he's playing now and the way we are playing around him, it's like we can't really be stopped right now."

After Tulsa quickly moved downfield following an interception for an early lead, the Sooners scored on five straight first-half possessions. Patrick high-stepped into the end zone on a 29-yard burst for a touchdown, and later pushed through from the 1 to make it 35-14.

Paul Smith threw for two scores and ran for another to lead Tulsa (2-1), which scored more touchdowns than Oklahoma's first three opponents combined. But the Golden Hurricane's spread scheme -- brought from Arkansas by offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn -- couldn't keep up with all the Sooners' talent on offense.

Oklahoma racked up 553 yards of total offense, including 285 on the ground.

"We've got to play better defense than what we're playing," Tulsa coach Todd Graham said. "They're going to have rushing yards, but we can't continually give up the big play."

The Sooners are averaging 61.5 points and 562 yards per game.

"I don't care what scores are or what statistics say," Sooners coach Bob Stoops said. "Everybody's statistics at this point of the year are very skewed because of strength of schedule and this, that and the other. So I don't pay any attention to it.

"To me, it's about are we improving and getting better?"

The Sooners play next week at Colorado, then take on No. 7 Texas.

After throwing an interception on the first possession of his first road game, Bradford settled in to throw for 244 yards on 16-for-22 passing.

Bradford connected with Iglesias for a 46-yard score down the left sideline, getting cornerback Charles Davis to bite on a pump fake before delivering the deep ball. Bradford also squeezed in a 21-yard scoring pass to tight end Jermaine Gresham between two defenders.

Iglesias later shrugged off three tacklers for a 40-yard score that made it 48-21 early in the fourth quarter.

"I know when we get the ball in to any one of those guys' hands, they're bound to take it to the house sometime," Bradford said. "That's kind of what I'm trying to do right now."

"I don't know if it's easy, but it's definitely fun watching those guys make plays."

Oklahoma moved to 10-8 in Friday games. The Sooners hadn't played on a Friday since the 2002 season opener, also at Tulsa. The crowd was split about 50-50 between fans clad in Tulsa blue and Sooners crimson.

Tulsa, which came in ranked fourth in the nation in total offense, showed early on it could move the ball against a Sooners defense that was ranked second in the country.

Smith capped a seven-play drive with a 15-yard TD pass to Jesse Meyer to give Tulsa an early 7-0 lead, and the Golden Hurricane were in range for a long field goal on their second drive when linebacker Chris Chamberlain lined up at quarterback and got stuffed on fourth-and-1.

Patrick tied the game on Oklahoma's ensuing possession, and the Sooners just kept scoring.

Brennan Marion caught a 48-yard touchdown pass to get Tulsa back within 21-14, but that's as close as it got.

Smith, coming off a career-best 454-yard, five-touchdown performance against BYU, finished with 350 yards on 22-for-32 passing. Meyer caught seven passes for a career-high 114 yards.

"This might sound nuts, but we were planning on being 3-0," Smith said. "We've still got a great opportunity to have a great season here and that's everybody's plan: to go be 13-1.

"To lose to a team like that, we're not going to be too down because we know they're a great team."

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