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Sooners trounce Texas

Oct 8, 2011 - 8:27 PM Dallas, TX (Sports Network) - This year, just call it the Red River Rout.

The 106th renewal of the Oklahoma-Texas series was considerably one-sided on Saturday at the Cotton Bowl, as the third-ranked Sooners got three touchdown passes from Landry Jones and a school-record three defensive scores in a 55-17 blowout of the 11th-ranked Longhorns.

Jones completed 31-of-50 passes for 367 yards. Ryan Broyles was his favorite target with nine catches for 122 yards and Jaz Reynolds added six receptions for 92 yards while two of Kenny Stills' five grabs resulted in touchdowns.

Dom Whaley added a 64-yard rushing touchdown for the Sooners (5-0, 2-0 Big 12), who have won each of their five games by at least double digits. Despite the unblemished mark, Oklahoma has fallen in the eyes of the media voters. The Sooners were ranked No. 1 to start the season, but have dropped a spot each of the past two weeks and now sit behind SEC powers LSU and Alabama.

Jones' three TD passes came during a 28-point second quarter that turned a 6-3 Oklahoma lead into a 34-10 halftime cushion. The Sooner defense also picked off two David Ash passes during the dominant stanza, one of which was returned for a touchdown.

Ash split time at quarterback with Case McCoy and neither fared too well. Ash completed 11-of-20 passes for 107 yards with a touchdown, while McCoy connected on 9-of-16 throws for 116 yards. The two were under constant pressure all day from a Sooner defense that compiled eight sacks.

The Longhorns (4-1, 1-1) turned it over five times overall, leading to 31 Oklahoma points. The first Texas touchdown came on a 100-yard kickoff return by Fozzy Whittaker in the second quarter.

Oklahoma drove inside the Texas 10-yard line with each of its first two possessions, but came away with only six points on a pair of short field goals from Mike Hunnicutt. The second kick came after a McCoy fumble and Texas answered the second make with a 46-yard Justin Tucker field goal for a 6-3 difference late in the first quarter.

The ball never hit the 10-yard line on the next Sooner series. Instead, Jones found Stills with a 19-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second quarter for a 13-3 edge.

Ash was picked off by Tony Jefferson just three plays later, setting up the Oklahoma offense at the Texas 33. Jones finished an eight-play set with a five-yard touchdown pass to Broyles for a 17-point cushion.

After a series of punts, Ash was intercepted again. This time Demontre Hurst stepped in front of an ill-advised pass and returned it 55 yards for the score and a 27-3 margin.

Whittaker, though, breathed some life into the beleaguered Longhorns with a 100-yard kickoff return. He raced straight up the middle and eluded a few tackles before sailing to the end zone.

The momentum didn't carry to the Texas defense, as Jones shredded it with a seven-play, 83-yard drive for another touchdown just 31 seconds before the break. After a quarterback sneak on 3rd-and-1 kept the series alive, Jones easily found his three favorite receivers for the remaining yardage.

Reynolds raced 16 yards with a screen pass to midfield, Broyles hauled in a 36-yard toss down the middle and Stills outleaped a defender at the goal line for a 14-yard touchdown to send Oklahoma to the locker room with a comfortable 34-10 advantage.

The Oklahoma defense struck again just over a minute into the second half to continue Texas' misery. McCoy lost control as he was being dragged down and David King scooped up the loose ball and rumbled 19 yards into the end zone.

Whaley's 64-yard burst made it 48-10 midway through the third and the Texas offense finally appeared set to find the end zone soon after reaching the Oklahoma 14. However, Ash dropped a snap for a four-yard loss, then was sacked for a loss of 15 and had the ball knocked away on the next play. Texas managed to recover the fumble, back at its own 47 for a total loss of 39 yards on three successive plays.

Oklahoma's third defensive score came with 11:22 remaining, as Jamell Fleming stripped Texas receiver Mike Davis after a reception and raced 56 yards the other way to make it 55-10.

The Texas offense finally reached the end zone with just over 2 1/2 minutes left when Ash hit Jaxon Shipley with a four-yard pass.

Game Notes

Oklahoma outgained Texas, 453-259, despite the Longhorns owning possession for nearly 38 minutes...The largest Oklahoma margin of victory in the series is 52 points -- a 65-13 thrashing in 2003...Texas still leads the all-time series, 59-42-5, although Oklahoma owns a 9-7 edge since the Big 12 was formed in 1996...It marked the 25th time in the series that both teams entered the contest unbeaten...The teams have met at the Cotton Bowl every year since 1929.