Oklahoma thrashes Texas Tech 65-21

Sorry for the lack of updates, but here is my latest article.

It was supposed to be a game of two teams battling it out at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. It was supposed to be a game that would be considered a classic. It was supposed to be a game that would be replayed on television over and over again. None of those happened Saturday night as the Oklahoma Sooners dismantled the Texas Tech Red Raiders 65-21.

Oklahoma drove 73 yards down field on their first drive of the game for a DeMarco Murray touchdown run. Murray, a sophomore running back, ran for 48 yards on the drive and sophomore quarterback Sam Bradford threw for 22 yards. Murray’s night would not be finished.
Sophomore defensive end Adrian Taylor and sophomore defensive tackle Gerald McCoy sacked Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell for 12 and 7 yards respectively on their next drive. After the ensuing punt, Bradford and junior tight end Jermaine Gresham hooked up for a 42-yard reception. Junior running back Chris Brown ended that 76-yard drive with a 4 yard touchdown run, extending the Sooner lead to 14-0.

Texas Tech drove down field in the red zone on their following drive, but did not convert a 4th and 3, turning the ball over to the Sooners. DeMarco Murray was a key player on the ensuing drive. Murray ran the ball 23 yards on a 1st down and also caught a Sam Bradford pass for a 31 yard reception. Bradford passed the ball to Gresham again on the drive, but this time for a 19 yard touchdown catch. Gresham’s touchdown put the Sooners ahead 21-0 with 10:58 left in the 1st half.

Texas Tech continued to struggle as they failed to convert another 4th down. After the failed 4th down conversion, Sam Bradford continued to shine. Bradford scrambled twice for gains of 13 and 8 yards. Bradford also threw the ball to senior wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias for a 28 yard touchdown, increasing the Texas Tech deficit to 4 touchdowns!

The Red Raiders finally showed some signs of life when Harrell threw the ball 34 yards to senior wide receiver Eric Morris. Two plays later, Harrell and freshman wide receiver Tramain Swindall put the Red Raiders on the scoreboard with a 25 yard touchdown pass.

However, the Red Raiders could not gain momentum. Murray and Brown continued to establish a solid running game for Oklahoma. Murray ran for 28 yards and Brown ran for 37 yards on the next drive that ended in a Chris Brown touchdown, making the Sooner lead back to 4 touchdowns. When it had seemed as if the lead could not have been any bigger, freshman linebacker Travis Lewis intercepted a Harrell pass and returned it to the Texas Tech 2 yard line. Murray ran up the middle for another touchdown. At halftime, Oklahoma was up 42-7, a monumental amount of points scored in one half.

The 2nd half was much like the 1st half. Oklahoma scored a field goal on their first drive of the half. Sophomore linebacker Keenan Clayton returned a fumble by Texas Tech senior running back Shannon Woods to the Texas Tech 3 yard line to end a potential Red Raider run. Two plays later, Chris Brown ran the ball into the end zone again to continue the Texas Tech nightmare. With 1:38 left to go in the 3rd quarter, Bradford launched a deep ball down field that was caught by senior wide receiver Manuel Johnson for a 66 yard touchdown pass. Oklahoma continued to pour it on with a Ryan Broyles 26 yard touchdown catch from Sam Bradford, increasing the lead to 65-14.

Sam Bradford increased his chances at winning the Heisman Trophy with his 4 touchdown game. Bradford was 14/19 with 304 passing yards. Bradford now has 42 passing touchdowns on the season. DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown combined for 233 of the Sooners’ 299 rushing yards and a whopping 5 touchdowns! Jermaine Gresham caught 5 passes for 95 yards with 1 touchdown. Gresham has 10 touchdowns in the 2008 campaign now. Kicker Jimmy Stevens kicked 1 field goal and 8 extra points in the game.

As for the Red Raiders, Graham Harrell was 30/51 in his passes with 317 yards in the air. Harrell also threw 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. The Red Raider run game was shut down by Oklahoma’s defense. Graham Harrell’s running abilities were not shown as he contributed negative yardage on the ground. The Red Raiders cumulated 19 carries for 24 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Michael Crabtree’s Heisman campaign also likely ended with his poor performance. Crabtree had no touchdowns and only 62 receiving yards with 6 catches.

Texas Tech fell to 10-1 with the loss, likely ruining their chance at playing for the National Championship game in January. Oklahoma’s odds are still alive with the victory as they too are 10-1. Texas Tech will face Baylor next week while Oklahoma will face Oklahoma State.