Oklahoma hands Tigers first loss of the season Saturday night.
| |
|
 |
| |
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
F
|
|
MU
|
7
|
3
|
14
|
7
|
31
|
|
OU
|
10
|
7
|
6
|
18
|
41
|
|
| Stats
Comparison |
OU
|
MU
|
| 1st Downs |
21
|
24
|
| Total Yards |
384
|
418
|
| Passing |
266
|
361
|
| Rushing |
118
|
57
|
| Penalties |
4-20
|
5-25
|
| 3rd Down Conversions |
10-14
|
9-16
|
| 4th Down Conversions |
0-0
|
1-1
|
| Turnovers |
2
|
4
|
| Time of Possession |
29:33
|
30:27
|
|
| Passing |
C/Att
|
Yds
|
TD
|
Int
|
| OU - Bradford |
24/34 |
266 |
2 |
0 |
| MU - Daniel |
37/47 |
361 |
1 |
2 |
| Rushing |
Car
|
Yds
|
TD
|
Long
|
| OU - Brown |
13 |
67 |
3 |
17 |
| MU - Maclin |
4 |
32 |
2 |
14 |
| Receiving |
Rec
|
Yds
|
TD
|
Long
|
| OU - Iglesias |
7 |
77 |
1 |
30 |
| MU - Coffman |
10 |
102 |
0 |
16 |
|
|
|
|
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) --
A matchup between two of the nation's top passers
came down to who could run the ball down the stretch.
Chris Brown proved to be the man for Oklahoma.
Brown ran for three second-half touchdowns, Curtis
Lofton returned a fumble for a score and the No. 6
Sooners knocked No. 11 Missouri from the ranks of the
unbeaten with a 41-31 victory Saturday night.
"The fourth quarter, that's all we preach around
here," said Brown, Oklahoma's third-leading rusher
behind DeMarco Murray and Allen Patrick. "The
difference from this year and last year, we're more
of a fourth quarter team. We can go the distance and
get the job done."
Brown put the Sooners (6-1, 2-1 Big 12) ahead to
stay with his 1-yard touchdown run with 12:26 remaining,
and Lofton scooped up a botched handoff and returned
it 15 yards for a score 46 seconds later as Oklahoma
kept the Tigers from entering the national title picture.
Brown, who finished with 67 yards on 13 carries,
sealed the win with a 23-yard TD run with 2:39 remaining.
"I thought Chris Brown was sensational in the
fourth quarter," Sooners coach Bob Stoops said. "Everybody
has their opinions on who should be playing. I think
Chris showed tonight why he deserves his snaps as well."
Missouri (5-1, 1-1) had lost 16 straight games in
Norman dating back to 1966, but put up a fight in this
one.
Quarterback Chase Daniel, who ranks third in the
nation in total offense with a 380-yard average, was
equally good as a setup man for the Tigers. He delivered
key blocks on both touchdown runs by NCAA all-purpose
yardage leader Jeremy Maclin, and then pitched the
ball to Jimmy Jackson on a 4-yard option run that put
Missouri up 24-23 late in the third quarter.
After that, Brown and Oklahoma's running game --
which had totaled only 40 yards in the first three
quarters -- took over. Brown finished the ensuing drive
with three rushes for 23 yards and the go-ahead score.
"It just shows a lot about our offensive linemen
and our running backs. It just shows that they're willing
to go after it for four quarters," said Oklahoma
quarterback Sam Bradford, who came in as the nation's
top-rated passer. "I think eventually we may have
wore them down a little bit just getting after them,
and it just got going in the fourth quarter."
Daniel botched a handoff to Maclin on Missouri's
second play from scrimmage after Brown's score, and
it resulted in disaster for the Tigers, looking for
their fifth 6-0 start in school history.
"It was just a mix-up," Daniel said. "We
can't make those costly turnovers."
Missouri's next drive fizzled after a 5-yard loss
on a reverse and the second sack of the game by Auston
English -- the Big 12's sack leader -- and Daniel threw
his second interception of the game to wash away any
remaining hope.
"In big games like this, generally the team
that makes the fewest mistakes is going to win, and
that's what happened," Tigers coach Gary Pinkel
said. "With games of this magnitude, mistakes
are generally going to dictate how the game is going
to come out."
Daniel still threw for more than 300 yards for the
eighth time in his last nine games. He finished with
361 yards on 37-for-47 passing with his only touchdown
coming on a 5-yard toss to Martin Rucker with 12 seconds
remaining.
The Tigers, who'd had at least 195 yards rushing
in their previous four games, managed only 57 with
starting running back Tony Temple sidelined by a sprained
ankle.
Instead, the Sooners were able to get their ground
game going first after Brown finally got in the mix.
And who knows how high they'll climb after losses by
top-ranked LSU and No. 2 California?
"We know we've got to win every week. We can't
worry about what someone else is doing. We've got to
worry about winning," Brown said.
Bradford completed 24-of-34 passes for 266 yards
and two touchdowns for Oklahoma, which won its 15th
straight home game.
A series of turnovers turned momentum back and forth
through the second half.
Missouri was driving for a potential tying score
when Maclin lined up at quarterback instead of Daniel
and rolled to his right before throwing an interception
to Reggie Smith. Oklahoma responded with a 56-yard
drive and extended its lead to 23-10 on Brown's first
TD run from 4 yards. Garrett Hartley bounced the extra-point
try off the left upright.
That left the door open for Missouri to take the
lead when Iglesias fumbled for the second time while
returning a kickoff following Maclin's second touchdown
run.
Jackson converted that takeaway into a score and
Jeff Wolfert's extra point gave the Tigers a brief
lead.