While Alabama, coming from parts unknown, continues to look a lot like Oklahoma’s last national championship team, even under direction of the coach who swiped the 2003 national title out of Sooner hands, this year’s Sooners continue a march of their own.
The latest impression, Saturday night’s 35-10 victory over TCU, is how this team offers just a little more each and every week.
The thumbnail sketch of the No. 1-in-waiting Sooners’ latest exhibition stops and starts with Sam Bradford and Manny Johnson, who combined for almost half of Bradford’s throwing yards, a Sooner record 212 of Bradford’s personal best 411.
It’s a great place to start and yet it’s only a start.
It doesn’t even tell Bradford’s full story.
Completing 19 of 34 tosses and incurring his season’s first four sacks, the Sooner signal-caller was under pressure a good part of the night. Though he won lopsidedly, he’s surely feeling Saturday night this Sunday morning … even on a night he threatened OU’s single-game passing mark of 429 yards.
That is, on the hard end of his most physical game to date, he had maybe his biggest game to date.
Nor does the Cliff’s Notes version of events represent the Sooner defense, which yielded 10 points to a team that had been averaging 43 and would only have yielded seven but for Aaron Brown’s 75-yard kick return.
The previous time out, at Washington, OU knew it had a question to answer about taking its best game on the road. The players even kicked Bob Stoops out of the pregame locker room to talk it over. Then went about emphatically answering the question.
Saturday, the Sooners entered question-mark free and on the verge of becoming the nation’s top-ranked team, yet played as though they’d dreamt up queries of their own just so they’d having something new to answer.
When it was over, they hadn’t stopped.
“As far as the second half, and the second quarter,” Bradford said, “there’s a lot of things that we’re going to have to come out and correct.”
The more you watch and the more you listen, the more it looks like that zero at the end of their season mark may stay put.
“Heck, the way things are going,” Stoops said, “you have to be at your best every week.”
Only four games into the season, this team seems to exceed it’s best every week. Or, at least, find something to do better than it’s ever done before.
On that count, Saturday night’s answer was big plays and almost all of them belonged to Bradford and Johnson.
So OU can hum like a machine or quick-strike a tough foe down. And, just in case Johnson hadn’t run wild after each of his five receptions, there was the defense making big plays of its own to keep the Horned Frogs from hopping.
Linebackers Ryan Reynolds, Kennan Clayton and Travis Lewis each had eight tackles and combined on three for losses. Lendy Holmes led with six solos and two fumble recoveries and Adrian Taylor, getting more snaps in DeMarcus Granger’s absence, finished with four tackles, one for a loss of 8.
Center Jon Cooper was stopped on his way out and wouldn’t quite go for the metaphysical response when asked if this team’s shaping up into something “special,” but he did notice something.
“We hadn’t faced much adversity yet and we faced some today. Especially as an offense; the defense really bailed us out. They played spectacularly,” he said. “As an offense, hopefully we can come out and have a great week of practice and kind of learn from what happened.”
In the end, he was just like Bradford: 35-10 over the nation’s 24th-ranked and most defensively stingy team still wasn’t enough; or it was only good enough as a vehicle to go get better.
“They are a great team,” TCU quarterback Andy Dalton said.
And with absolutely none of the arrogance a declaration like this might convey, while seemingly everybody (but Alabama) has proven more than mortal, they keep getting better.
OU Sports
No question about it
- OU Sports
-
-
It’s a recipe for success
Oklahoma softball coach Patty Gasso was answering questions Saturday after her Sooners clinched another return to the Women’s College World Series when, without really meaning to, she began to make it clear her job has, sort of, become ...
-
Tigers deny Sooners’ Big 12 title hopes
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma wanted to win its first Big 12 tournament in 16 years on Sunday. Missouri needed to win it to get in the NCAA Tournament. Need topped desire at Bricktown Ballpark....
-
Sooners make winning look easy
As Oklahoma’s players locked arms around the pitching circle, coming together for what passed as a celebration following Saturday’s 7-1 NCAA Super Regional-clinching victory over Arizona, three gloves remained near second base....
-
There are no easy outs in the lineup
Looking for a gameplan to stop Oklahoma? Well, one may or may not be available, but walking two of the first three Sooners you face certainly isn’t part of it. Just ask Arizona’s Kenzie Fowler....
-
Sooners will play for Big 12 championship
OKLAHOMA CITY, — It’s been 16 years since Oklahoma won the Big 12 tournament. It’s closer now than its ever been to ending the streak. The Sooners rolled through Baylor, 7-2, on Saturday at Bricktown Ballpark to advance to the tournament’s ...
-
Sooners send five more to nationals
AUSTIN, Texas — Oklahoma track and field teams had five more individuals qualify for the NCAA Championship on Saturday evening at the NCAA West Preliminary. The men’s 4x100-meter relay team also advanced to the national semifinals....
-
OU sophomore Jao-Javanil wins NCAA golf title
FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Oklahoma’s Chirapat Jao-Javanil made Oklahoma golf history Friday, becoming the first Sooner, man or woman, to win an individual NCAA national championship....
-
Pitching staff is exactly where Golloway wants it to be
When the Big 12 tournament began, Oklahoma felt like it had the pitching staff to make a deep run. Dillon Overton, Jordan John, Jonathan Gray and Damien Magnifico gave them four quality starters and a closer — Steven Okert — capable of ...
-
Sooners shut out Wildcats, need one more win for WCWS entry
Oklahoma might have scored more runs, not committed an error and starting pitcher Keilani Ricketts could have been just a little more efficient along the way....
-
Sooners send 4 more to NCAAs
AUSTIN, Texas – Oklahoma’s track and field teams added four individuals to the list of Sooners advancing to the NCAA championship Friday at the NCAA West Preliminary. In addition to the four new qualifiers, Brittany Borman advanced to the ...
- More OU Sports Headlines
-
It’s a recipe for success
