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Bradford sets school passing record as Oklahoma rolls

Oct 19, 2008 - 1:29 AM NORMAN, Oklahoma (Ticker) -- Even without one of its top weapons for most of the game, Oklahoma's offense left Kansas gasping for air.

Sam Bradford passed for a school-record 468 yards Saturday as the sixth-ranked Sooners rebounded from last week's loss to Texas to defeat No. 15 Kansas, 45-31, in a Big 12 Conference shootout.

Manuel Johnson, the Sooners' leading receiver, left just five plays into the contest with a left arm injury and did not return. It hardly mattered, as Juaquin Iglesias picked up the slack with 12 receptions for 191 yards.

Bradford tossed only three touchdowns after throwing five in last week's 45-35 loss to the Longhorns, but he completed 36-of-53 passes against the Jayhawks, helping Oklahoma (6-1, 2-1 Big 12 South) amass nearly 700 yards in total offense and run 97 plays.

"It's not our style to concentrate on one guy," Sooners coach Bob Stoops said. "We feel our best asset is using all of them and making them defend all of them. Sam does a great job with his reads and getting the ball to the guy who is most open."



A sophomore, Bradford broke Josh Heupel's previous school mark of 429 yards passing set against Louisville in 1999.

"It's not surprising anymore, if you give (Bradford) the time," Stoops added. "He throws so many great balls. It's a rarity when you see one that isn't perfect. I thought everyone else around him really executed well and he delivered like he always does."

Oklahoma's overall total of 674 yards fell well short of the school record of 875 yards established against Colorado in 1980.

Despite running nearly 100 players, Oklahoma did not commit a turnover, and the Sooners' offensive prowess left Kansas coach Mark Mangino shaking his head.

"I am really impressed with Sam Bradford because he is everything they said he would be and more," Mangino said. "He has pinpoint accuracy and poise. He scrambled on a couple of big plays.

"Juaquin Iglesias is a tough guy to deal with and Quinten Chaney (six receptions for 105 yards) and Jermaine Gresham (five for 55 yards) are as well. They just have a lot of depth on offense. They do a good job of shuttling guys on and off the field, and we just couldn't keep up."

Kansas (5-2, 2-1 North) gained nearly 500 yards, but the Jayhawks never led after Oklahoma grabbed a 14-7 lead on Bradford's 3-yard TD pass to DeMarco Murray on the first play of the second quarter.

The first half evolved into a duel between Iglesias (10 catches for 178 yards) and Kansas' Dezmon Briscoe, who had nine receptions for 173 yards in the opening half. Briscoe finished with 12 receptions for a school-record 269 yards and two scores.

But in a game in which the teams combined for more than 1,100 yards, Oklahoma's defense stiffened in the second half, and the Sooners were able to wear down the shell-shocked Jayhawks.

Trailing, 24-17, at the intermission, Kansas had the first possession of the second half but was forced to punt after picking up one first down.

Oklahoma needed just three plays to extend its lead, as Bradford's 35-yard completion toCheney set up his 6-yard TD strike to Gresham, the Sooners' tight end.

Quarterback Todd Reesing brought Kansas right back, engineering a six-yard, 82-yard drive that took less than two minutes. The Jayhawks closed within 31-24 on Jake Sharp's 17-yard TD run with more than 11 minutes left in the third quarter.

But Kansas was blanked until Reesing tossed a meaningless 17-yard TD pass to Briscoe with under a minute remaining in the contest.

"In the end, they had more firepower than we did and scored more points than we did," Reesing said. "Today, they were the better team."

After pulling within 31-24, Kansas was forced to punt on four straight possessions, with the Sooners sacking Reesing three times during that span.

Oklahoma played without junior linebacker Ryan Reynolds, who is out for the season after suffering a knee injury last week. He was replaced by senior Nic Harris, who started at middle linebacker and had five tackles.

"Harris handled the change really well and will only get better," Stoops said. "I thought he really handled it well. It takes a lot of guts on his part for him to step up in there and be willing to do it."

Oklahoma regained its two-score advantage on Murray's 7-yard run with 6:14 left in the third quarter, then made it 45-24 on Bradford's 2-yard TD toss to Kolby Smith three minutes into the final period.

Reesing completed 24-of-41 passes for 341 yards but also threw two interceptions.

"I thought that he played very well and he proved that he should be in the company of all the fine quarterbacks in the conference and in the country as well," Mangino said.

While Bradford picked apart the Jayhawks' secondary, the Sooners balanced the passing attack by also rushing for 217 yards.