JEFF LATZKE / The Associated Press | Posted: Sunday, November 26, 2006 6:00 pm
Through injury, instant replay and an investigation, Oklahoma is one step away from turning a season of controversy into a season of championships.
After back-to-back losses by defending national champion Texas, the Sooners won the Big 12 South with a 27-21 win against Oklahoma State in the Bedlam game. Next up is a trip to Kansas City, Mo., next week with another longtime rival, Nebraska, the only team standing in the way of the school’s fourth Big 12 championship.
“That was our goal all year,” said tailback Allen Patrick, who’s proven to be a fitting replacement for injured starter Adrian Peterson. “It just so happened we had controversy all through the year and it came down to the last game. And here we go, we’re back in it.”
Oklahoma (10-2, 7-1 Big 12) overcame the dismissal of starting quarterback Rhett Bomar and lineman J.D. Quinn for breaking NCAA rules, resulting in an investigation. The Sooners then had to bounce back after victory was snatched away by a blown call and instant replay review in a 34-33 loss at Oregon.
The Red River rivalry went to Texas, usually a sure sign that the South title would be out of reach for the Sooners. And then a week later, Peterson — a Heisman contender — was lost for the rest of the regular season with a broken collarbone.
Coach Bob Stoops is still uncertain whether the 2004 Heisman runner-up will be ready to play Saturday against the 19th-ranked Cornhuskers (9-3, 6-2). But without him, Oklahoma is 6-0 and back in the hunt for another BCS bowl game. And at No. 8, the Sooners have their highest ranking of the season.
“We finally came to a family. Everybody’s playing together,” Patrick said. “It don’t matter who’s playing or who’s hurt or who’s out. Everybody’s going to go in and do their job.”
Patrick had another big day with 163 yards rushing, including a 65-yard score, and freshman Chris Brown added two more touchdown runs in the Bedlam game. With a little help from Jacob Gutierrez, the duo has kept Oklahoma’s rushing attack going even more smoothly than when Peterson was in the game.
In their four Big 12 road wins — all without Peterson — the Sooners averaged 46 carries for 232 yards. They had only averaged 172 yards with Peterson, with the most coming in a 207-yard performance against Oregon. They eclipsed that total in all four Big 12 road wins.
For the season, Oklahoma has 2,264 yards rushing and 2,184 yards through the air.
“We’re balanced and we’ll take advantage of what we feel we have, what we feel the opportunities are,” Stoops said. “When we feel the opportunities are there to throw it, we’re going to throw it too.”
Since the 28-10 loss to Texas, Oklahoma has won seven in a row — even better than their run of six wins in seven games after last season’s Red River defeat. Before that, the Sooners had beaten Texas five times in a row.
“Last year, we made a good run after the Texas game. We felt that it would be important for us to do that again this year,” Thompson said. “We knew we had it in us, we knew we had the guys, with more experience, a little bit older than we were last year. I definitely believed we could get to where we’re at.”
But the Sooners aren’t happy just getting to the Big 12 championship game.
“That’s only part of it,” Stoops said. “What really matters is winning it.”