By John Shinn
Oklahoma has played all season like a magical aura surrounds them at Owen Field. No matter how they've looked the week before or how many injuries they've suffered, the Sooners play like they're invincible when they play at this field.
They certainly looked that way in Saturday's 27-0 Bedlam romp over No. 11 Oklahoma State.
"We had fans behind us and it gives us a little adrenaline," OU wide receiver Ryan Broyles said.
Or a bunch depending on how you want to look at the Sooners this season.
The victory, which was OU's 30th straight at home, lifted it to 7-5 and 5-3 in the Big 12. All but one of those conference victories came on its home turf. But it's hard to argue, Saturday's performance stood out above all the rest.
There's no masking the Sooners' historic dominance, winning 81 of the 104 meetings and the last seven over their in-state rival. But Saturday's game has huge implications for the Cowboys. A victory likely would have set them up for an at-large berth in a BCS bowl game.
Those hopes ended after they crashed into the wall they didn't see coming in Norman.
The Sooner defense, which was trying to make amends for last week's 41-13 loss at Texas Tech, was dominant to say the least.
The Cowboys, who entered the game averaging over 32 points a game, never threatened to score. They only gained 109 total yards and averaged a minuscule 2.1 yards per play.
"We had a lot to prove today, especially for the seniors," OU defensive end Jeremy Beal said. "We've had a difficult year and we just wanted to come out on top with a great win."
OU thought it would have to win with defense Saturday. That was no secret, but even OU coach Bob Stoops admitted his faith in what his offense could do was hanging by a thread when the day began.
Left tackle Trent Williams suffered a concussion Tuesday. The hope was he would be healthy enough to play Saturday. Those thoughts ended about 90 minutes before kickoff.
Williams' absence marked the 10th different Sooner starter to miss a game due to injury this season and eighth on the offensive line.
"I gotta admit, I was doing my darnedest to stay positive. But it was tough. I can't lie about it," OU coach Bob Stoops said.
The Sooners didn't play like a team that had deficiencies. OU plugged tight end Eric Mensik in at tackle and played one of it's best games of the season.
DeMarco Murray rushed for two touchdowns and the Sooners actually controlled the game by running the ball. Murray, Chris Brown and Jermie Calhoun combined for 175 yards on the ground.
Sooner quarterback Landry Jones didn't throw a touchdown pass, but he didn't throw an interception either in a 20-for-37 afternoon that went for 224 yards.
Nine of Jones' completions went to Broyles, who didn't find the end zone with any of them. The sophomore, however, had a huge day returning punts.
His eight returns went for 209 yards, including an 87-yard return midway through the fourth quarter that alleviated any doubt about whether OU's dominance at Owen Field or over OSU would continue.
The Cowboys (9-3, 6-2) only had four total yards in the second half. Quarterback Zac Robinson had an awful day completing just 9 of 21 passes that went for just 44 yards.
There was no room to run on the ground either. Running backs Keith Toston and Kendall Hunter combined for just 68 yards on 20 carries.
Robinson, who's been one of the best quarterbacks in the Big 12 the last two seasons, played despite suffering a shoulder injury two weeks ago against Texas Tech.
OSU coach Mike Gundy said Robinson's health wasn't the issue Saturday.
"Zac wasn't 100 percent, but that certainly isn't an excuse for what happened," he said.
The Sooners were just too much and closed the regular season by giving a dead-on impersonation of the team they were thought to be back in August before the injuries piled up.
"This win was big for us," Jones said. "Finishing the year like that, finishing it off for the seniors; it was just a big win for us to go out there and play the way that we played."
John Shinn 366-3536 jshinn@normantranscript.com
