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Posted on Sun, Oct. 11, 2009

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Bradford works out kinks in win over Baylor

By Associated Press

Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford wasn't sure how his injured shoulder would hold up to a full day's work.

After 49 throws in No. 19 Oklahoma's 33-7 win against Baylor on Saturday in Norman, Okla., Bradford is ready for next week's rivalry game against No. 2 Texas in Dallas.

"I think that's something that we were all curious around here is how I would react to 3 1/2-4 hours in my pads, on and off, not throwing the whole time, kind of sitting on the bench, coming back and making some throws," Bradford said. "I felt like my arm responded great, and I felt good out there."

Bradford threw for 389 yards and a touchdown after missing the last month with a sprained AC joint in his right, throwing shoulder. It was the 14th 300-yard passing game of his career, matching the school record set by 2000 Heisman runner-up Josh Heupel.

And he could have had even bigger numbers if the Sooners' receivers didn't have trouble handling his passes. Bradford had a career-high 22 incomplete passes, most of them coming on flat-out drops or passes that at least hit his receivers' hands.

"To have been off as much as he has and go out there in his first go at it to play as well as he did, I thought he played great," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "He stays away from the poor, the negative plays or the bad plays and he had a great night.

"If you add in seven, eight, nine drops — you could cut that and say there's five legitimate that are dead right in their hands — he has an incredible night."

There had been concern that Bradford's shoulder wouldn't have the stamina to hold up to a full game, but he ended up matching the second-most passes he'd thrown in his career with a 27-for-49 performance. The only time he had attempted more passes was when he threw 53 against Kansas last season. He had never had more than 19 incomplete passes in a game.

"I was disappointed in the drops, but again I think a lot of that is just inexperience," Stoops said. "We've got all kinds of yardage and big plays if we'd just catch the ball better. I'm hopeful and I believe that the ability is there. It's just time, time on the field for those guys to make improvement and make those plays when they're there to make."

Bradford skipped part of Oklahoma's pregame routine while the rest of the team's quarterbacks were practicing throwing and then jogged to the locker room while his teammates were stretching as he tried to keep from wearing his arm out before the game even started.

Then came a real scare when trainers huddled around Bradford after he stepped awkwardly on an incomplete pass on his first drive and aggravated a right calf strain that first bothered him in two-a-days.

Bradford, who didn't miss a play, called that injury "no big deal." The shoulder is looking that way, too, after he went through a month of frustration not knowing exactly when he'd be able to come back.

"It's extremely gratifying just to get back on the field, just to be out there with the guys that I've put in so much work with in the offseason," Bradford said. "Just the simple things — handoffs, everything out there. It's just exciting to be back really."

Brown's touchdown runs of 1 and 4 yards in the second quarter put Oklahoma up 14-0, but the Sooners (3-2, 1-0 Big 12) couldn't get into the end zone on their first four trips inside the 20-yard line in the second half.

Jimmy Stevens hit four field goals to tie a school record held by Jeremy Alexander and Garrett Hartley before Bradford finally connected with Adron Tennell in the back of the end zone for a 3-yard score with 4:03 to play.

"I felt good just the way my arm responded, the way I was able to play four quarters and the way I was able to make some throws in the fourth quarter that had some heat on them," Bradford said.

Brandon Caleb caught seven passes for a career-best 139 yards after moving inside to replace injured slot receiver Ryan Broyles, who is out 2-4 weeks with a hairline fracture of his left shoulder blade. DeMarco Murray added 113 yards rushing on a season-high 24 carries.

Oklahoma racked up a season-high 592 yards, with 203 on the ground to go with Bradford's big day.

"Sam has that inspiration on the team. He's a captain and everyone follows him and vibes off of him, and it's definitely a good thing that he's coming back," receiver Cameron Kenney said. "He just made good plays today, and he was just real relaxed."

Third-stringer Nick Florence started at quarterback for Baylor (3-2, 0-1) for the second straight week, following a season-ending knee injury to Robert Griffin III. He threw for 220 yards on 22-for-41 passing with one touchdown and one interception.

BayOkl

First downs1034

Rushes-yards17-650-197

Passing262389

Comp-Att-Int23-43-227-49-0

Return Yards0112

Punts-Avg. 8-47.13-40.0

Fumbles-Lost1-02-0

Penalties-Yards11-797-110

Time of Possession27:2732:33

Baylor070 0— 7 Oklahoma0149 10— 33

Second Quarter

Okl—C.Brown 1 run (Stevens kick), 8:26.

Okl—C.Brown 4 run (Stevens kick), 3:48.

Bay—Judy 3 pass from Florence (Parks kick), 2:10.

Third Quarter

Okl—FG Stevens 35, 9:25.

Okl—FG Stevens 25, 4:47.

Okl—FG Stevens 21, :51.

Fourth Quarter

Okl—FG Stevens 24, 10:05.

Okl—Tennell 3 pass from Bradford (Stevens kick), 4:03.

A—84,478.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing—Baylor, Ganaway 4-8, Salubi 4-7, Wright 1-(minus 1), Finley 2-(minus 1), Florence 6-(minus 7). Oklahoma, Murray 24-107, C.Brown 19-70, Tennell 1-18, J.Miller 1-10, Team 2-(minus 3), Bradford 3-(minus 5).

Passing—Baylor, Florence 22-41-1-220, Szymanski 1-2-1-42. Oklahoma, Bradford 27-49-0-389.

Receiving—Baylor, E.Smith 6-71, Sampson 4-13, Gettis 3-53, B.Taylor 2-43, Salubi 2-28, Wright 2-16, Akers 2-13, Jefferson 1-22, Judy 1-3. Oklahoma, Caleb 7-139, D.Miller 5-67, Kenney 3-41, J.Reynolds 3-39, Murray 3-36, Tennell 2-29, C.Brown 2-8, Ratterree 1-20, Eldridge 1-10.

No. 15 Oklahoma State 36, Texas A&M 31 — Oklahoma State salvaged a bad week with a huge victory.

Zac Robinson threw two touchdown passes and the 15th-ranked Cowboys overcame the absence of their top two playmakers to beat Texas A&M 36-31 in College Station, Texas.

Oklahoma State (4-1, 1-0 Big 12) played without All-America receiver Dez Bryant, who was ruled ineligible by the school this week for lying to the NCAA about contact he made with a former NFL player. Oklahoma State was also missing Kendall Hunter, the Big 12's leading rusher in 2008, who sat out with an ankle injury.

Robinson completed 14 of 25 passes for 279 yards, Keith Toston ran for 130 yards and Butler Community College product Beau Johnson ran for two scores as the Cowboys won at Kyle Field for only the second time since 1983.

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said the win was equal in importance, all things considered, to the Cowboys' season-opening 24-10 win over then-No. 13 Georgia.

"I'd say it's pretty comparable," Gundy said. "The players practiced as good on Wednesday and Thursday as they did all year. They can be very resilient at times."

On top of the news about Bryant and injuries to Hunter and other key players, Robinson found out on Wednesday that his 87-year-old grandfather had died of cancer.

"It was a heck of a week," Robinson said. "Any time there are distractions and things that go on that you can't control, you find out a lot about yourself and your team. I couldn't be more proud of how everybody responded to it, stayed loose and just kind of kept playing."

Jerrod Johnson threw three touchdown passes for the Aggies (3-2, 0-1) and set a Big 12 record by extending his streak of consecutive passes without an interception to 228. But Johnson faced constant pressure and was sacked four times and the Aggies, who came in with the nation's second-ranked offense, were held to 382 yards.

OkStTAM

First downs2126

Rushes-yards48-16941-109

Passing279273

Comp-Att-Int14-25-122-42-0

Return Yards1343

Punts-Avg. 5-44.45-38.4

Fumbles-Lost0-02-1

Penalties-Yards11-1184-30

Time of Possession31:3528:25

Oklahoma St. 7715 7—36 Texas A&M0157 9—31

First Quarter

OkSt—Z.Robinson 3 run (D.Bailey kick), 6:18.

Second Quarter

TAM—Nwachukwu 28 pass from J.Johnson (Tannehill run), 10:51.

TAM—J.McCoy 15 pass from J.Johnson (Bullock kick), 6:49.

OkSt—Anyiam 27 pass from Z.Robinson (D.Bailey kick), 4:52.

Third Quarter

OkSt—T.Moore 51 pass from Z.Robinson (D.Bailey kick), 8:42.

TAM—Michael 4 run (Bullock kick), 4:59.

OkSt—B.Johnson 1 run (Toston run), 2:55.

Fourth Quarter

TAM—FG Bullock 50, 14:56.

OkSt—B.Johnson 1 run (D.Bailey kick), 7:15.

TAM—Morrow 3 pass from J.Johnson (pass failed), 3:35.

A—76,153.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing—Oklahoma St., Toston 26-130, B.Johnson 8-27, Anyiam 1-13, Z.Robinson 10-8, Team 3-(minus 9). Texas A&M, Gray 16-49, Michael 9-30, J.McCoy 4-24, Nwachukwu 1-3, J.Johnson 11-3.

Passing—Oklahoma St., Z.Robinson 14-25-1-279. Texas A&M, J.Johnson 22-42-0-273.

Receiving—Oklahoma St., Anyiam 3-58, Fooks 3-38, B.Johnson 3-13, Toston 2-74, T.Moore 1-51, Blackmon 1-32, Youman 1-13. Texas A&M, Nwachukwu 8-141, Morrow 4-47, Tannehill 3-41, Gray 3-27, Michael 2-(minus 4), J.McCoy 1-15, T.McCoy 1-6.