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October 14, 2007

Coming up big

John Shinn

• OU’s running game sputtered until Brown got his touches



Oklahoma prides itself on being able to run the ball under just about any circumstances. Against nine-man fronts or when a defense absolutely knows it’s coming, it doesn’t matter.

So when the third quarter ended and the Sooners’ 20 rushing attempts had netted only 40 yards, there was cause for alarm.

Why not abandon it?

Sam Bradford was hot once again, throwing for 235 yards and completing 20-of-27 attempts by the end of third quarter.

But there was a reason OU kept banging away.

“You have to,” Sooner coach Bob Stoops said. “It’s part of what we do.”

It was also a big reason No. 6 OU turned back No. 11 Missouri 41-31 Saturday night at Owen Field.

After three quarters of rushing futility, everything clicked in the fourth quarter. Sophomore running back Chris Brown, who rushed for a game-high 67 yards and three touchdowns, had a lot to do with it.

He’d alternated with Allen Patrick throughout the first three quarters with little to show for it. Between them, they had just 30 yards when the fourth quarter began and the Sooners trailed 24-23.

Despite the deficit, Brown saw something from the guys in the black helmets across the line of scrimmage.

“They were kind of tired and you could see it in their faces,” Brown said. “We just had to stick with it.”

The reason why was evident on OU’s first possession of the fourth quarter. After a couple passes moved the Sooners to the Missouri 33, Brown took over.

Six straight plays finished with the ball in his hands.

A 3-yard run down to the 30. A huge third-down conversion on a pass from Bradford pushed the ball to the 18. A 12-yard burst after a false start shoved the Sooners back to the 11.

Another 10-yard burst followed right before Brown busted through for a 1-yard touchdown run.

It was football at its most brutish simplicity.

The only shocking part was it was Brown, the third-team running back, doing the bashing. Patrick did it the second half of last season and early this season. DeMarco Murray wore down Texas last week.

Saturday it was Brown’s turn.

“Someone has to make some big plays, someone has to step up,” he said. “Each game it might be someone different. It doesn’t matter who it is. It’s all about winning here.”

Brown stepped up and the futile rushing efforts of the first three quarters paid off late. And OU kept on winning.

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