When it comes to Red River Rivalry memories, Adrian Peterson’s cover both ends of the spectrum.
His first appearance was in 2004 when as a freshman he galloped for 225 yards and led OU to a 12-0 victory. It was a mesmerizing performance which rocketed him from prep phenomenon to bona fide college football star.
Peterson’s memories are simple from his first Oklahoma-Texas game.
“Just going out there and running the ball hard and taking care of my assignments,” Peterson recalled from that rainy afternoon in the Cotton Bowl.
He did a lot more than that. He carried the ball 32 times to wear down a very talented Texas defense. In the process, he vaulted into the Heisman Trophy race and eventually finished second in the balloting.
But the other side of the coin came last season.
Peterson was still nursing an ankle injury suffered in the previous game against Kansas State. He suited up, but after three carries, his day was done. And Texas cruised to a 45-12 victory.
Peterson’s Heisman hopes and any chance of OU winning a Big 12 title were also ripped away.
It would be easy for him to try to erase last season’s game from his mind. After all, it was the second-lowest rushing output in his three-year career.
But he doesn’t.
“You have to think about the good and the bad,” he said.
But new memories and perhaps another run at the Heisman will be created when the 14th-ranked Sooners (3-1) face the seventh-ranked Longhorns (4-1) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Peterson knows games like Saturday’s make statements — good or bad. Another dominant performance could put him in position to become OU’s fifth Heisman winner. A lackluster game could leave him on the outside looking in.
“Obviously it’s big and I see that like everybody else,” he said, “but I don’t look at it that way. I think that’s putting pressure on yourself. You go out there and do what you’re capable of doing and everything else takes care of itself.”
The Sooners are ready to exploit everything Peterson brings to the table. OU coach Bob Stoops said Peterson’s value can’t be measured in rushing yards or carries. He plays a part in everything the Sooners do.
“I know this — if I’m the defensive coordinator and he’s not playing, the game has changed,” Stoops said. “It changes everything. I say it all the time, he’s as valuable without the football as he is with it, because of the threat of him getting it.
“The play-action passes or faking it to him here or there gets people on edge, or they get to chasing him and then he doesn’t have it. It changes things.”
Not having him last year was like going to war without any ammunition. Peterson was the only proven threat at OU’s disposal. Without him, the Longhorns smothered what remained.
Texas coach Mack Brown said Peterson is in an elite class.
“He’s just such a force,” Brown said. “He’s in great shape. He starts the game with a tenacious attitude and gets better and better. The most amazing thing to me is he’s so tough and he’s so competitive. He doesn’t fumble the ball. He doesn’t get discouraged. He’s a better player in the fourth quarter now than he is in the first.
“When you look at turnovers maybe being the biggest factor in who wins a college football game, he’s got really good ball security. And the second thing is he’s making explosive plays. In every ballgame, he’s making four or five explosive runs, they’re long runs that change a game. Give him credit for those two things. They’re game changers.”
Peterson’s presence and lack of it was a huge factor in the last two times the Sooners and Longhorns have gotten together.
That won’t change Saturday.
John Shinn366-3536jshinn@normantranscript.com
OU Sports
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