Nov. 8, 2008
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Sam Bradford threw touchdown passes to four different receivers, Chris Brown ran for three scores and No. 4 Oklahoma started fast again and routed Texas A&M 66-28 on Saturday.
DeMarco Murray, Matt Clapp, Ryan Broyles and Juaquin Iglesias had TD catches and Bradford had a touchdown run for the Sooners (9-1, 5-1 Big 12), who set a single-game scoring record for an opponent at Kyle Field.
The Sooners have scored 231 points in four games since a 45-35 loss to Texas. Their defense was equally impressive in this one, holding the Aggies (4-6, 2-4) to 26 rushing yards and forcing four turnovers.
Cyrus Gray scored on a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and set an A&M record with 261 kick return yards. But receiving lots of kickoffs was bad news for the Aggies, who were held to 278 total yards and dropped to 2-5 at home this season.
The Sooners have always struggled at Kyle Field and an unranked A&M team beat No. 1 Oklahoma 30-26 here in 2002. But Oklahoma had no problems in this one, leading 38-14 at halftime and 66-21 after three quarters.
Bradford completed 22 of 33 passes for 320 yards and tied a school record with his eighth 300-yard game of the season. Murray rushed for 123 yards and Brown ran for 117 against the Big 12's second-worst rushing defense.
Oklahoma outscored its first nine opponents 180-27 in the first quarter and needed only 90 seconds to score on the Aggies.
Murray broke a 70-yard run on the Sooners' second play from scrimmage and Bradford scrambled for a 15-yard touchdown with 13:31 left in the quarter. Oklahoma scored on its first possession for the ninth time in 10 games.
The Aggies went three-and-out on their first series and Murray caught Bradford's 35th touchdown pass of the season with 8:05 left in the first quarter.
On Oklahoma's next series, Bradford found Jermaine Gresham for a 23-yard gain to the A&M 22 and Brown scored with 5:44 remaining in the quarter. The 49-second possession was Oklahoma's 13th touchdown drive this season that lasted under a minute.
The Sooners outgained A&M 238-13 in the quarter. A&M coach Mike Sherman gathered his team for a fiery pep talk before the second quarter began, but it didn't make a difference - Bradford threw a 28-yard TD pass to Clapp with 14:27 left in the half to make it 28-0.
Gray returned the ensuing kickoff 67 yards to set up Jerrod Johnson's 20-yard touchdown pass to Jamie McCoy.
Johnson dived into the end zone with 5:11 left in the half to cut Oklahoma's lead to 28-14.
The Aggies were barely stemming the tide.
Broyles took a short pass from Bradford, evaded five A&M defenders and got to the 5, setting up another touchdown for Brown. Oklahoma got the ball back with 34 seconds left and Stevens kicked a 42-yard field goal on the second-to-last play of the half.
The Sooners had 423 yards and 18 first downs in the half, while the Aggies had minus-11 yards rushing and went 2-of-10 on third downs.
Johnson threw his first interception in 213 attempts, tying the Big 12 record, in the third quarter when Oklahoma linebacker Keenan Clayton picked off a pass.
Brown's 28-yard TD run with 8:39 left in the third quarter pushed Oklahoma over 50 points for the sixth time this season. The Sooners topped 500 yards for the seventh time this year.
Joey Halzle replaced Bradford early in the fourth quarter.
Stephen McGee replaced Johnson with 6:23 left in the third quarter. McGee, a senior, won the starting quarterback job in the fall, but he's missed all but one play in the last five games with a shoulder injury.
NOTES...
JOHNSON CONNECTS ON 19TH
Sophomore quarterback Jerrod Johnson matched the school record for season touchdown passes with his 19th on a 20-yard strike to tight end Jamie McCoy. Johnson tied the mark originally set by Gary Kubiak in 1982 and matched by Dustin Long in 2002.
TOUCHDOWN RESPONSIBILITY FOR JJ
Jerrod Johnson had a rushing touchdown and threw for another to increase his touchdown responsibly total for the season to 22, matching the school record set by Reggie McNeal in 2004.
INTERCEPTION-FREE STREAK ENDS
Jerrod Johnson increased his interception-free streak to 213 pass attempts before throwing a pickoff on a tipped ball in the third quarter. Johnson's 213-attempt streak matched the Big 12 record set by A&M's Reggie McNeal and tied by Kansas' Todd Reesing.
McCOY MATCHES TIGHT END TD RECORD
In his first season at the position, junior Jamie McCoy matched A&M's tight end record for touchdown receptions in a season with his fifth. McCoy scored on a 20-yard strike from Johnson.
GRAY SETS KICKOFF RETURN RECORD
True freshman Cyrus Gray set an A&M single game record for kickoff return yardage with 261 on seven returns (previous record was 193 by Carl Roaches against Boston College in 1973). It was the second most kickoff return yards in a game in Big 12 history behind Iowa State's Leonard Johnson, who had 319 return yards against Oklahoma State on Nov. 1.
• Gray's 97-yarder for his first career touchdown return was the first by an Aggie since Kerry Franks' 99-yarder against Texas Tech in 2006.
• Gray had 294 all-purpose yards was a career-high and was the most by an Aggie since Leeland McElroy set a school record with 359 all-purpose yards against LSU in 1995.
• For the season, Gray has set school records for season kickoff returns (41) and season kickoff return yards (988). The Big 12 record for kickoff return yards in a season is 994 by Nebraska's Josh Davis in 2002.
• Gray's 1,382 all-purpose yards this season are the third most by a freshman in school history. The freshman record is 1,551 by Dante Hall in 1996.
HITTING A HALF-MILLION
Today's attendance of 85,603 pushed Texas A&M's season total to more than a half million for the fifth time in school history. A&M's final 2008 home attendance total was 575,351 for a seven-game average of 82,193, third best in school history.
RANDOM NOTES
• Today's home finale was the earliest for A&M since 1966, when the Aggies finished their home schedule on Oct. 29, 1966 with a 34-0 loss to No. 9 Arkansas.
• Senior Nick LaMantia received the 29th 12th Man start of his career on "Senior Day," a school record.
• Game captains were seniors Nick LaMantia. The Aggies won the toss and deferred their choice to the second half.
• With the 66-28 win, Oklahoma improved to 70-14 against Big 12 opponents and 9-1 against Texas A&M under 10th-year head coach Bob Stoops. Oklahoma improved the overall series record to 17-10 and 4-5 in College Station. The Sooners have won the last six games in the series.
• Oklahoma's 66 points marked the most ever scored by an A&M opponent at Kyle Field. The previous high was 57 points by Texas in 1977. OU also owns the record for most points ever scored against A&M with 77-0 home win in 2003.
• Today's 66-point effort marked the second time this season and fourth overall time under Stoops that OU has scored 50 or more points in three consecutive games.
• OU eclipsed the 600-yard mark in total yardage for the second time this season and the 500-yard mark for the seventh time this season with 653 total yards Saturday. The game marked the 33rd under Stoops for OU to eclipse the 500-yard total.
• Oklahoma's 328 rushing yards marked a team season high Saturday. The previous high was 274 against Washington. It was the most by OU since running for 343 yards against Utah State in 2007.
• Oklahoma had four scoring drives of less than a minute on Saturday. OU now has 16 scoring drives on the season lasting less than a minute.
• OU scored on its first drive for the ninth time this season, eight of those drives resulting in touchdowns.
• OU's 423 yards in the first half was the fourth time in the Stoops' era that it had eclipsed the 400-yard mark in a half. Two prior occurrences came last season (North Texas and Utah State) and the third this year against Kansas (419 yards). OU also rolled up 399 first half yards against Kansas State.
• With DeMarco Murray's 123 yards and Chris Brown's 117 yards, the duo recorded its third game of the season with both eclipsing the century mark.
Sam Bradford
• With 13:31 remaining in the first quarter, Sam Bradford picked up his fourth career rushing touchdown, all coming this year, with a bootleg from 15 yards out. The run marked a career long for Bradford whose previous long was 13 yards against Kansas. Bradford finished with a career-high 23 yards rushing.
• Bradford threw for 320 yards, his eighth 300-yard plus effort of the season, tying the single-season record held by his position coach, Josh Heupel. Bradford also has 10 300-plus games in his career, second behind Heupel (14).
• Bradford also moved up to No. 4 on the OU single-season passing list 3,406 yards, eclipsing his 3,121 in 2007 and Jason White's 3,205 in 2004. Josh Heupel is third on the list with 3,606 yards in 2000.
• With 22 completions Saturday, Bradford moved up to No. 4 on the OU career completions list with 461, passing current OU RBs coach Cale Gundy who had 460.
• Bradford moved to second all-time for TD passes in a season with 38. He sits only behind Jason White's 40 in 2003.
DeMarco Murray
• Sophomore RB DeMarco Murray recorded his fourth career receiving TD, all coming in the last three games, with a 15-yard grab with 8:05 remaining in the first quarter.
• Murray accumulated 124 yards on the ground Saturday, his fourth 100-yard game of the season and sixth of his career. Murray's career high is 128 yards against Texas in 2007.
• With a career-high seven catches Saturday, DeMarco Murray now has 26 receptions on the season, good for fourth all-time for receptions in a season by a running back. Quentin Griffin has the top three spots with 64 (2001), 51 (2000) and 35 (2002) catches in a single season.
• Murray's 63 receiving yards also tied a career high for the back. Murray had previously accomplished the feat against Kansas State on Oct.. 25.
• Murray's 242 all-purpose yards on Saturday moved to the sophomore up to No. 10 on the OU all-purpose yards in a season list with 1,660 all-purpose yards.
Frank Alexander
• Filling in for the injured Auston English, redshirt-freshman DE Frank Alexander recorded his first career start. The Louisiana native finished with two tackles and one pass broken up.
Austin Box
• Redshirt-freshman LB Austin Box picked off his first career pass in the third quarter leading to an OU TD. The Enid, Okla., native also had eight total tackles, the second-most of his career behind the nine against Kansas State.
Chris Brown
• With his 117 yards, junior RB Chris Brown reeled off his fourth career 100-yard game and third of the season. Brown's career high of 169 yards came against Baylor in 2006.
• Brown also tied a career high with three rushing TDs. The junior had previously done so in multiple games.
Lendy Holmes
• Senior DB Lendy Holmes recovered his third fumble of the season late in the game putting him in a tie for second for most fumble recoveries by a DB in a season. Seven other Sooner DBs have accomplished the feat. Holmes also moves into a tie for third with five career fumble recoveries by a DB with five.
Travis Lewis
• Redshirt freshman Travis Lewis racked up 12 tackles Saturday, his fourth double-digit tackle game of the season. Lewis eclipses the century mark with 105 tackles this season, which ranks second all-time for OU freshman behind Brian Bosworth's 133 in 1984.
By the Numbers
90 - Oklahoma marched 90 yards on four plays in its opening scoring drive. The drive marked the third of the season over 90 yards, the longest, 97, coming last week against Nebraska.
70 - DeMarco Murray's 70-yard run early in the first quarter marked a season-long run for Oklahoma. Murray held the previous long of 49 versus Chattanooga.
60 - With its 66 points, OU recorded its 10th game of over 60 points under Stoops, six of which have been against Big 12 opponents.
28 - Junior FB Matt Clapp recorded a 28-yard catch and run 33 seconds into the second quarter for his third career TD, all receptions this season. The play also marked a career long play for Clapp.
21 - With 21 first quarter points, OU eclipsed the 20-point mark in a quarter for the 10th time this season, six of those coming in the first quarter.
14 - Senior punter Mike Knall booted two punts down inside the 20 of Texas A&M. Knall now has 14 punts downed inside the 20 on the season.
6 - Six different players scored offensive TDs Saturday against Texas A&M. It marked the fourth time this season for the feat to be accomplished.
2 - Dominique Franks recorded a defensive TD for the second consecutive TD when he returned a botched pitch 39 yards late in the third quarter. It marked OU's first fumble recovery for a TD since Curtis Lofton did so against Missouri in 2007 and the 10th longest fumble return in program history.
Quotes
HEAD COACH Mike Sherman
They are a good team, and we didn't help ourselves. I thought they were the best team I'd seen on film going into this game, and they proved that to me today. Other than Cyrus' [Gray] 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, there weren't a lot of positives on A&M's side of the ledger.
(On what he would say to the seniors on the team after the loss) "I apologized to them for the fact that we lost. I really wanted to have a great showing for them today, but I just apologized to them that we couldn't send them off from Kyle Field with a victory."
(On Oklahoma's offense) "Their offense is good because they're proficient in both areas-they can run and they can throw it. I think in the end that they're going to be difficult to beat because they're proficient and diligent in both areas."
LB Matt Featherston
"Oklahoma is a top-five school in the nation. We just had to buckle down and play better. They just executed better than we did and that's why we lost this game."
(on having a losing record at home) "A loss is a loss, home or away. We still have a lot of football left to play this year."
RB/KR Cyrus Gray
(on his 98-yard kickoff return) "Our kickoff return team blocked very well. Everything was blocked right; I just had to do what I was supposed to and take it to the house. I was aware [that OU struggles with kickoff returns]. We watched a lot of film on kickoff return and coach just told us to trust each other."
QB Stephen McGee
"To be honest with you, I didn't even know I was going to go into the game any unless Jerrod (Johnson) got hurt. I don't know if I'm 100 percent right now, that's why was kind of amazed. I feel like I can make all of my throws, but as far as taking a hit..."
(on his final game at Kyle Field) "I count it as a blessing. God's been really good to me. I got to my senior year and got hurt...it's really tough to swallow. God's really taught me a lot this year. But in these last two games, I just want to do my best and be a good example for the other guys. It's been a tough road for me. You guys know that. I had my sights set on the very highest. But now when I look back, it's not about wins and losses. When I look at myself in the mirror 50 years from now, I know that I'll be able to say that I did my best, and I did it right."
HEAD COACH BOB STOOPS:
"Coming in here is never easy and it never has been. To put it all together and play as sound as we did is great. Running the ball as well as we did tonight made some other things open up. We missed a couple of opportunities in the first half but our overall performance was good. We were getting stops on defense and executing offensively. Overall, we were complete -- we had good pressure, our run defense, our pass defense, and we came up big with turnovers. (on approachng open week) We are really banged up. It's obvious we're playing without some of our best players. It's going to be good to rest up some of these players. (on play of English and Alexander) They played great. We gave them game balls. They played well. To Auston, it comes natural. I'm excited about the guys up front. That group of guys blocked well. (on Dominique Franks' TD) Dom's an excellent athlete. A&M gave us an unusual formation and we handled it well. They made a bad pitch and fortunately we got it. Sam Bradford couldn't have played better. His accuracy, his poise -- we couldn't have asked for anything else. And we had no turnovers. Everything was just as smooth as it could be."
QUARTERBACK SAM BRADFORD:
"It was a great win for us on the road. The running game was great. The five guys up front did a great job. We felt everything we did was right. We were really balanced with the running and passing games. We left a lot of points out on the field in the first half but we were really happy to score 38. Our team is in a great position. We still have a lot of our goals out in front of us. We knew this was a loud stadium and if we came out and jumped on them early it would quiet it down. Our attitude is better this year. It's something we talked about this summer -- being tougher on the road. I feel like we made a commitment to that. There is a different mindset with this team."
MIDDLE LINEBAKER AUSTIN BOX:
"I feel more comfortable every game. We held A&M under 300 yards and that's a team goal we set every week. There are some things we need to clean up. We can always get better."
RUNNING BACK DEMARCO MURRAY:
"Our offensive line did a great job opening holes and they gave me touches. I felt good today. I had a little more patience and I hit the hole hard. I watched a lot of film and evaluated myself. The past couple of games I felt really good. As a group, we did good but we still feel like we could do a lot better. I feel good about our fast-tempo offense."