Bedlam blowout
BY JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer
Sunday, November 29, 2009
8/15/10 at 8:48 AM
NORMAN — The crystal gleamed in the afternoon sun, shining and sparkling and sending flashes of light that twinkled in the eyes of adoring fans.
As Sooner Nation descended from their seats to bask in the sprinkled light of another home victory — another Bedlam victory — Gerald McCoy gripped the trophy with his meaty hands and held it overhead, smiling, skipping, running, waving.
Senior Brian Jackson watched McCoy's circuit with a satisfied nod.
"Nice glass bowl," Jackson said.
As McCoy finished his victory lap, he stopped briefly and punched the sky, savoring the last drop of Oklahoma's 27-0 destruction of No. 11-ranked Oklahoma State.
"That was a lot of fun. A lot of fun," McCoy said. "Our fans, they deserved it. I just wanted to share the win with them. Because they've been with us through all we've faced this year. I felt we owed it to them to show some love, because they helped us out."
The gathering of 85,606 — a Bedlam record — urged the Sooners out of a mucky season and on to their 30th consecutive home triumph. It's the longest active streak in the nation and the best in school history.
OU used a punishing defense, Tress Way's 59-yard punting average, an unflinching ferocity on kickoff and punt coverage teams, and an indefatigable Ryan Broyles for another home blowout.
Oklahoma State (9-3 overall, 6-2 Big 12) came into the game averaging 400.5 yards per game total offense, including a league-best 203.5 yards per game rushing. But against OU, the Cowboys managed only 109 total yards, just 62 on the ground.
"One of our better defensive performances probably since we've been here," said OU coach Bob Stoops.
Oklahoma (7-5, 5-3) lost another starting offensive lineman earlier in the week — senior All-Big 12 left tackle Trent Williams didn't suit up because of a concussion — but he was hardly missed as right tackle Cory Brandon moved to the left side and tight end Eric Mensik stepped in on the right. Walk-on Brian Lepak was already replacing starter Ben Habern at center.
"I was a little nervous," Mensik said. " I was surprised at how good I actually did. I did believe in myself. I knew I could do it."
Said Stoops, "I was proud of 'em with the difficult circumstances, to be able to hold up like they did."
OU piled up 367 yards total offense. Quarterback Landry Jones fought 20-mph winds to complete 20-of-37 passes for 224 yards. DeMarco Murray (72 yards, two touchdowns) and Chris Brown (58 yards) did the ground work.
And Broyles was virtually unstoppable, catching nine passes for 103 yards and returning eight punts for 209 yards. That included an 87-yard touchdown runback that made it 27-0 midway through the fourth quarter. In all, Broyles finished with 316 all-purpose yards, third-best in school history.
"It always begins with competitiveness," Stoops said. "He has a great deal of that. And he's just got those moves to make people miss him."
Although the Cowboys finish the year second in the Big 12 South, the Sooners were an 8-point favorite. It's no mystery why: In four Bedlam contests at Owen Field since 2003, the average score is OU 43, OSU 10.
Saturday marked OU's first shutout in the series since a 31-0 victory in 1993. It was also the Sooners' third shutout this season, the program's best since the 1986 team shut out five foes.
Oklahoma suffered a collapse last week in a 41-13 loss at Texas Tech. This week, in the season finale, OU's defense was as good as ever.
"Last week," McCoy said, "that wasn't us."
OSU runners were pounded for just 2.1 yards per carry. Quarterback Zac Robinson was sacked twice, completed 9-of-21 passes for 44 yards, threw an interception and netted minus-6 rushing yards.
"Our guys played in an extremely desperate way, when we were on edge all week," defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. "Guys had a miserable week. We did (challenge them) as coaches, and our players really responded to the challenge."
The fumble-filled first quarter was scoreless. But with OU leading 3-0 in the second quarter, Broyles got free on a 47-yard reception, and Murray launched himself from the 5-yard line for a TD and a 10-0 halftime lead.
On its opening drive of the third quarter, OU overcame 25 yards in penalties during a season-long 18-play march that took nearly seven minutes and ended with Patrick O'Hara's second field goal and a 13-0 lead.
Two minutes later, Jonathan Nelson intercepted Robinson and ran it back 37 yards to the OSU 13. Murray scored in two plays and the Sooners led 20-0.
"It would have been easy," said Stoops, "to have not had such a strong attitude out there today."
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John E. Hoover 581-8384
john.hoover@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
OU's Ryan Broyles breaks the tackle attempt of the last man to beat, OSU punter Quinn Sharp, as he returns a punt for a touchdown in the fourth quarter Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Broyles had 316 all-purpose yards against the Cowboys. STEPHEN HOLMAN / Tulsa World
OU's DeMarco Murray dives into the end zone to score Saturday. Stephen Pingry / Tulsa World
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