Tulsa World: Bradford completes OSU's QB gauntlet

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Bradford completes OSU's QB gauntlet

By DAVE SITTLER World Sports Columnist
Published: 11/27/2008 2:29 AM
Last Modified: 11/27/2008 3:21 AM

STILLWATER — Baseball had Murderers' Row, the NFL had the Fearsome Foursome and Big 12 Conference football has a combination of both.

The league's four Heisman Trophy-caliber quarterbacks can strike fear into the most confident defensive coordinators, and be absolute murder when it comes to designing a game plan.

In alphabetical order, the four horseman (hey, they're studs) of the Big 12 include: Sam Bradford, Oklahoma; Chase Daniel, Missouri; Graham Harrell, Texas Tech and Colt McCoy, Texas.

As the luck of the schedule would have it, Oklahoma State assistant Tim Beckman is one of the few Big 12 defensive coordinators faced with the difficult challenge of facing all four this season.

It's three down and Bradford to go for Beckman, who will spend Thanksgiving Day designing schemes to counter the Sooners' sophomore standout in Saturday's 7 p.m. Bedlam Bowl at Boone Pickens Stadium.

Unlike many of his peers around the conference, Beckman figured out a way to stymie one of the Big Four and slow down another.

In OSU's stunning 28-23 victory at then-No. 3 Missouri last month, the Cowboys ended Daniel's Heisman hopes, intercepting three of the Tiger senior's passes. OSU's defense also picked off one of McCoy's passes in a bitter 28-24 loss at then-No. 1 ranked Texas.

Only Harrell dominated the Cowboys, throwing for 456 yards and six touchdowns as then-No. 2 Tech rolled to a 56-20 win in Lubbock.

Now comes Bradford. Some polls have him leading the

Heisman race after OU whipped Tech and Harrell last week, when Bradford's performance increased his overall season passing statistics to 3,710 yards and a nation-leading 42 touchdowns.

"This is only the fourth Heisman candidate we're playing," said Beckman, with an emphasis on "only." "Sam rates right up with Chase, Colt and Graham. They are four great ones."

Chase, Colt, Graham & Sam sounds like the name of a band (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, anyone?). And like any talented group, they all possess different skills.

"Each has his own traits," Beckman said. "Sam's a great commander on the football field. He has great touch with his passes, be it an outside pass or a deep pass.

"He's surrounded with outstanding players, and does what he's asked to do and fits their scheme very well."

Ah, yes, OU's scheme. Beckman also happens to be the Big 12 defensive coordinator most familiar with the no-huddle, wide-open spread attack Sooner offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson unleashed on the conference this season.

Beckman was defensive coordinator at Bowling Green in 2001, when the Falcons went into Chicago and scored a 43-42 upset win over Northwestern when Wilson was the Wildcats' offensive coordinator.

After the game, then-Bowling Green head coach Urban Meyer said of Wilson's no-huddle, quick-strike offense, which rolled up 624 yards: "You can't practice that. It's every 15 seconds you have a play. It's a fast tempo."

Wilson approached OU head coach Bob Stoops after last season and suggested the Sooners switch to the scheme he ran with such success at Northwestern that Stoops hired him in 2002. Although Stoops was skeptical at first, the change has produced one of this season's most prolific offenses.

With Bradford directing things with the maturity of a fifth-year seniors, OU leads the Big 12 in total offense (556.6 yards a game) and scoring offense (52.6 per contest).

"They are doing basically the same things that Kevin Wilson did at Northwestern," Beckman said. "Coach Wilson and the offensive staff do a good job of changing the speed of the game. It's real, real fast."

Now in his second season coordinating OSU's defense, Beckman went against Wilson for a second time in last season's Bedlam Bowl at OU. Even though OU hadn't implemented the no-huddle scheme, the Sooners still rang up 487 yards of total offense in a 49-17 win.

That means in two matchups with Wilson, Beckman's defenses have allowed 1,111 yards and 91 points. And now Beckman must come up with a plan to stop an offense that has averaged more than 62 points in its last four games.

"They've got a lot of tools," said Beckman, "a lot of players who can make plays."

So, what changes will Beckman install this week in an effort to slowdown the monster Wilson has created and Bradford runs to precision? None.

"The game plan hasn't changed from Day 1 at Washington State," Beckman said of the season-opening win over the Cougars. "It comes down to the basics of football — you have to tackle in space and you've got to get off blocks and create a pass rush.

"Our kids will have a plan, and they are excited about being on center stage again to have this opportunity."

If OSU shuts down this final fearsome member of the Big 12's quarterback foursome, the Cowboys will murder OU's hope to keep alive its drive to conference and national titles. By DAVE SITTLER World Sports Columnist

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