Clay Horning
Oklahoma was up to its usual shenanigans Saturday afternoon at Owen Field.
Dominant for a while, and then not so much.
So much so, that even on a day the Sooners incurred no turnovers, got to Cyclone quarterback Bret Meyer for three sacks, intercepted two passes and committed only three penalties worth 35 yards, Bob Stoops was rightly not pleased after what appeared to be a shoulder shrug of a 34-9 victory over Iowa State.
“We just hurt ourselves too much,” he said, referencing any number of dropped passes, missed assignments or simple lethargy that led to just 73 yards of offense between the end of the first half and Adrian Peterson’s 53-yard gallop with 6:35 to play. “And that’s what we’ve been fighting against … I just can’t stand that kind of sloppy play.”
So that was the story for about 20 minutes, until Stoops returned to the Big Red Room lectern and explained Peterson was out for the season with a broken collarbone, with only the possibility of returning for whatever bowl game the Sooners might be headed toward.
Of course, that assumes OU wins two or three more games without the nation’s best running back. Still a likely bet, but not nearly so ironclad.
As one sportswriter said to another after the game, “This puts a whole new spin on Bedlam,” only to be given the reply, “This puts a whole new spin on Baylor.”
Really, it puts a whole new spin on everything.
Peterson’s loss could be the Sooners’ long-term gain.
Gone for the next six games, perhaps the young runner, who sits fourth all-time among Sooner rushers after getting to the Cyclones for 183 yards, will be unwilling to let his college playing days end so abruptly, surprise everybody and come back next season.
Then again, it’s hard to go out on a higher note than a 53-yard touchdown and even something as temporary as a broken clavicle may only serve as all the more reason Peterson should bolt for Sundays and paychecks as soon as humanly possible.
But speculation on the topic is about as meaningful as the next thing uttered by the the Vice President of the United States. Because there’s no sense to make of it. The matter will be resolved when it’s resolved, which in Peterson’s case, is some time after that bowl game the Sooners may reach in which he might play.
More pressing, back at Owen Field, is what comes next.
If ever OU had all the reason in the world to figure things out, put on its collective game face and treat discipline and focus as something as necessary as breathing rather than items on a buffet line of characteristics to be exhibited on a whim, it has it now.
As receiver Malcolm Kelly said so well, “Everybody here came to play football and that’s what we’re going to have to do.”
But for two separate bolts from the guy with the busted collar, his very first run, of 40 yards, and his very last, of 53, the best thing going for the Sooners against the Cyclones was the way Paul Thompson came out firing, completing 14 of 17 first-half passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns.
Just as the players around him have to play for four quarters, so too must Thompson. But with Peterson out, it must be nice to know the quarterback’s very best just got better.
And Allen Patrick at least showed enough promise as a runner to get himself moved from the secondary to the backfield.
Then there’s offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson, who has a little bit of mad scientist in him, who’s bound to treat the worst news a Sooner fan could possibly imagine as an opportunity, a quest and an adventure.
As for the defense, what happened Saturday was another step in the right direction. In fact, the only guy who really got burned was the only guy who’d yet to be burned, and it would appear likely Reggie Smith comes back strong. The way his return game went, he better.
So the Sooner Nation can rejoice in the knowledge that all is not lost, that much remains possible, that Peterson may come back and, if he doesn’t, it’s a head start on next season, which all along appeared more challenging than this one.
Of course, that was before the best running back in college football broke his collarbone.
Clay Horning366-3526cfhorning@normantranscript.com
