John Shinn
Oklahoma won’t have to deal with a streak of season-opening losses in 2006. But it does have a have streak of lackluster season-opening play to contend with.
The 10th-ranked Sooners committed four turnovers, but still managed to top Alabama-Birmingham 24-17 Saturday night at Owen Field.
OU has Adrian Peterson to thank for that.
The junior Heisman Trophy candidate scored a pair touchdowns, rushing for 139 yards and added a dazzling 69-yard touchdown reception on a swing pass from Paul Thompson.
“We have to get him the ball,” OU coach Bob Stoops said. “There’s no question about that.”
Eventually, the Sooners (1-0) did.
After a first-half performance that appeared eerily similar to last season’s 17-10 loss to TCU, OU turned to Peterson almost exclusively.
“We played the first half a little too tight,” Peterson said. “I had to come in the second half and get something done.”
Peterson got the ball only nine times in the first half, but OU fed him the ball 11 straight times after the half. His sixth straight carry resulted in a 4-yard touchdown run for a 14-7 Sooner lead.
However, OU was a long way from perfect.
Paul Thompson, who made his first start at quarterback since being benched after the 2005 opener, threw for 227 yards and was 14-for-24 through the air. But he also threw a pair of first-half interceptions, killing a pair of scoring opportunities.
“The turnovers were the issue in the first half,” Stoops said. “When you turn the ball over in the red zone, you’re just cutting your foot off. We’re right there for points and we throw two interceptions. Those hurt … When we’re in the end zone we have to get points.”
OU didn’t and the Blazers hung around until the end because of them.
UAB pulled starting quarterback Chris Williams after two series without a first down, and junior Sam Hunt proved to be an effective replacement.
Hunt rushed for 65 yards and threw for another 149, including a 24-yard touchdown pass to Corey White.
“Sam is Sam and you saw what he is,” UAB coach Watson Brown said. “He is tough as nails and I thought he had great poise for a kid that was playing his first game.”
He entered in the second quarter and engineered a 15-play, 80-yard scoring drive White capped with a 5-yard touchdown run.
Later, White added a touchdown on a 24-yard screen pass from Hunt, and the Blazers led 17-14 after a Peterson fumble led to a 32-yard field goal by Swayze Waters with 4:16 to play.
Thompson wasn’t nearly as effective.
He opened 8-for-10 and led the Sooners on a two-play 46-yard scoring drive on their second possession. Both plays were passes to tight end Joe Jon Finley with the second going for a 21-yard touchdown.
Thompson’s production dropped off from there. He had two throws picked off in the final five minutes of the first half — one on a deflection off Iglesias’ hands as he leaped to catch a high pass and another as Chris Felder slid in front of Iglesias at the UAB 3 to prevent a touchdown.
In the second half, he put the ball in the air only five times.
But Stoops was far from critical of his play.
“I was very pleased with Paul,” OU coach Bob Stoops said. “I thought he managed everything well. He was clean at the line of scrimmage. His management of the game was very good. He made a lot of nice throws.”
The last one was a swing pass to Peterson the running back took down the west boundary for a 69-yard touchdown to put the Sooners up for good.
Garrett Hartley capped the scoring with a 30-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
The performance was far from a dominant one, but the Sooners had no problem accepting it and moving on to next week’s opponent — Washington.
“They understand we have to be better and we have mistakes to correct,” Stoops said. “But there’s a big difference. It’s a lot more fun to be criticized when you win than it is when you lose. There’s a big difference.
“We felt we could play better in a lot of areas and we didn’t and we still won. We’re not far off and that’s what I’m pleased about.”
John Shinn366-3536jshinn@normantranscript.com
