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Pokes make Sooners work for their win

 
By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist
Published: 11/30/2008  2:26 AM
Last Modified: 11/30/2008  2:35 AM

 STILLWATER — Somebody needed to make a stop in the second half of a pulsating Bedlam game on Saturday night.

The first defensive stop was made by Oklahoma late in the fourth quarter.

That proved to be the difference in a wild Bedlam game that showcased unbridled offense in OU's 61-41 victory at Boone Pickens Stadium.

This was no runaway victory for the Sooners, who are hoping for some love from the BCS standings on Sunday.

Instead, this was a fantastic back-and-forth game between teams with superstar offenses.

This was a 44-41 game with less than eight minutes to go.

But, it was Oklahoma's defense that would finally step up and make the plays to win the game.

The Sooners, finishing 11-1, first got a touchdown pass with about seven minutes to go for a 51-41 lead.

Then, came the stop. It was a sack of Zac Robinson, who eluded OU defenders most of the night. That put OSU in a big hole and the Cowboys were forced to punt.

On its next possession, OU applied the clincher. The short punt meant OU needed just 46 yards to score the field goal and take a 54-41 lead.

The final touchdown was Mike Gundy's fault. OU appeared ready to run out the clock until Gundy, for some unknown reason, called a timeout. The Sooners scored on the next play.

Up until those final moments, OSU was the equal of OU.

The Cowboys bashed the Sooners for 452 yards (7.0 yards per snap).

However, Oklahoma was unstoppable after a somewhat slow start. OU scored on seven straight possessions, including five in the second half.

That would have been plenty against most teams.

Against the Cowboys, it was just barely enough.

OSU scored touchdowns on its first four possessions of the second half, including the final one, a 90-yard kickoff return by Perrish Cox with about 10 minutes to go that cut the lead to 44-41.

Robinson was a star for the Cowboys, passing for 254 yards and running for 90.

Dez Bryant was equally good, catching six passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns. His final TD, and two-point conversion, cut the lead to 37-34 and were both sensational.

But that was not enough because OSU's defense simply could not stop Sam Bradford. Bradford threw for 370 yards and four touchdowns.

OSU's defense never slowed the Sooners in the second half. That came after a good start when the Cowboys forced OU to punt on three of its first four possessions.

Oklahoma State would not go away in the first half either, although it trailed 21-13.

The Cowboys simply could not punch in chances and failed to stop OU's final drive just before halftime.

Otherwise, the Cowboys moved the ball (197 yards) and gave themselves plenty of chances to lead.

The Cowboys did lead for six minutes during the second quarter at 10-7.

Yet, Oklahoma took advantage of OSU's biggest mistake of the first half and it appeared it might be the start of OU's usual fast start.

Robinson was intercepted barely two minutes into the game and OU had the ball at the OSU 22. That took just two plays for a 7-0 lead. OSU answered immediately with a field goal.

Then, it got interesting.

The Sooners had been pretty much unstoppable for the past month. However, OSU forced the Sooners into two straight punts (three in the first quarter) and that was enough to give the Cowboys a shot at the lead.

State took advantage, going 82 yards in 10 plays. Robinson's 22-yard pass to Kendall Hunter gave OSU a 10-7 lead.

Now, it was OU's turn to answer and it did for a 14-10 lead at the end of a methodical 14-play drive.

Again, OSU went down the field and appeared in good shape, But, OU's defense forced a 44-yard field goal to preserve a 14-13 lead.

But, the Sooners were up for one final drive to get the eight-point lead just before halftime. The touchdown came on a 3-yard pass to Jermaine Gresham just 13 seconds before halftime.

But the Cowboys had accomplished one of their goals in the first half. Oklahoma had run away for quick starts and big lead in the past month.

On this night, OU had the lead by halftime but had been forced to work hard to get it.
By JOHN KLEIN Senior Sports Columnist

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COMMENTS 
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5 comments have been made for this team so far. Tell us what you think below!
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Report Comment
Norman Bates, Bates Motel (11/30/2008 9:03:16 AM)
Typical pokie state apologist article. Oooooohhhhhhh, we made 'em werk fer it, ern't we spe-shell.
Report Comment
Bobby O'Shea, (11/30/2008 10:24:54 AM)
Great game...both teams should be proud...hell, the whole Big 12 South should be proud. Hoping for some love from the pollsters today.
Report Comment
Native, (11/30/2008 12:43:22 PM)
Norman, you are the perfect example of ou loser fans in the fact that you cannot even win sporting contests with class! Why are you even on this board commenting? It is fans like yourself that create the hatred in Bedlam. Nuff said!
Report Comment
Boomerfan, (11/30/2008 2:15:36 PM)
HEY NATIVE
I coudn't agree more. Hoever it works both ways.
I didn't know OSU fans were Texas Longhorn lackeys. Holding up signs for the Longhorns in the background of Game Day was a classic example of some, not all, OSU fans obsession of OU football being so good for so long in Oklahoma.
I support OSU when they play anyone else besides OU. I like the fact that OSU has come such a long way in football.
Maybe someday some of the fans of both schools will come a long way also.
Report Comment
dave from afton, (12/1/2008 8:28:37 AM)
Bring Alabama, Florida, Penn State and USC to a neutral field and let them play OU, Texas, Texas Tech and OSU. Last team standing will be from the Big 12 South.We got more talent in the South than any other conference and guess what? We are not going away. Get used to it America, especially those grubs from ESPN.
 

 
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