Bradford uses criticism as motivation

Dec 7, 2008 - 6:48 AM By Jim Ralabate PA SportsTicker College Football Editor

Sam Bradford had grown tired of all the recent criticism directed at Oklahoma.

Over the last few weeks, the Sooners had become an easy target for BCS bashers arguing that Oklahoma did not deserve a chance to compete for the national championship.

After all, the Sooners had lost their head-to-head meeting with rival Texas, which entered this weekend behind Oklahoma for the coveted No. 2 spot in the BCS standings.

So with the entire college football world watching on Saturday, Bradford and the Sooners more than proved that they belonged in the Big 12 title game. And the national championship game, too.

"We were tired of listening to everyone talk about how we didn't deserve to be in this game," Bradford said after leading the second-ranked Sooners to a 62-21 stomping of Missouri at Arrowhead Stadium.

"Nobody's given us a lot of credit for what we've done this year, so we wanted to come into this game and make a statement."

That statement was an exclamation point - Bradford and the red-hot Sooners will be a daunting opponent against whomever they face in next month's national title game at Dolphin Stadium.

Bradford completed 34-of-49 passes against the overmatched Tigers for 384 yards and two touchdowns, punctuating his record-setting sophomore season at Oklahoma.

It marked an NCAA-record fifth straight game that Oklahoma scored at least 60 points. The Sooners also set a Football Bowl Subdivision record by finishing this season with a whopping 702 total points.

Rather than talking about Oklahoma's assault on the record book, Bradford instead focused on the widespread perception that the Sooners somehow were not worthy of participating for the Big 12 and national championships.

"(The criticism) was a big part of what got us motivated for this game," Bradford said. "We heard all the media talking about how we didn't deserve to be here. ... So to come out and play the way we did was a great feeling."

Despite erasing all doubt as to who the better team was against Missouri, the Sooners undoubtedly will still have to listen to the debates regarding the snubbed Longhorns and the inherent problems with the BCS.

By virtue of its superior BCS rankings, Oklahoma edged Texas and Texas Tech in a three-way tiebreaker that determined the Big 12 South champion.

Although they posted a 45-35 victory over Oklahoma in the annual Red River Rivalry game, the Longhorns fell out of favor with the BCS pollsters after losing a heartbreaking 39-33 decision at Texas Tech on November 1.

So while Mack Brown, Colt McCoy and the rest of Longhorn nation watched, the Sooners capped their record-setting season by winning their third consecutive conference title.

And once again, Bradford was the catalyst for Oklahoma's high-powered offense, orchestrating scoring drives on 10 of the Sooners' 11 possessions. The Sooners raced to a 38-7 halftime lead in a prime-time game that quickly deteriorated into a laugher.

"Sam Bradford again was just sensational," Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops said.

Now the only question left facing the Sooners is where they will be ranked in Sunday's final BCS standings.

Despite entering the weekend at No. 2, Oklahoma could potentially get leapfrogged by Florida, which ended top-ranked Alabama's undefeated season by beating the Crimson Tide, 31-20, in the SEC championship game.

The Gators, who also have rolled their opposition in recent months, carried the No. 4 BCS ranking into the contest.

Should the impressive win over Alabama vault Florida into the top ranking in the BCS?

"I don't see how we could not be No. 1 tomorrow," Bradford said. "It's out of our hands, but we've done all we can do."