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Bradford, Murray lead Oklahoma to opening rout

Sep 2, 2007 - 5:45 AM NORMAN, Oklahoma (Ticker) -- Sam Bradford and DeMarco Murray put on an offensive show for Oklahoma on Saturday.

Both redshirt freshmen, Bradford and Murray had sparkling college debuts to lead the eighth-ranked Sooners to a 79-10 victory over North Texas in the season opener for both teams.

Bradford was just recently named the starting quarterback for the Sooners, beating out junior college transfer Joey Halzle and true freshman Keith Nichol for the starting job.

He made coach Bob Stoops' decision look like a brilliant one as he completed 21-of-23 passes for 363 yards and three touchdowns. Bradford threw a 15-yard TD pass to Jermaine Gresham to open the scoring and hit Malcolm Kelly for a pair of scores in the second quarter as the Sooners (1-0) opened up a 49-0 lead.

"I thought he was fantastic, I mean his whole demeanor was great. His presence in the huddle, kept going out and controlling the game," Stoops said of Bradford. "He threw the ball fantastic, from the deep balls to some of those quick bubble screens that he put right on the money."

Bradford did most of his damage in the first half when he set an Oklahoma record for passing yards in a half with 350. The previous record was held by Josh Heupel, who threw for 313 in the first half against Baylor in 2000.

"Everybody played really well tonight. The O-line, the running backs, receivers, the whole offense played well, the defense played well, everyone played great tonight," Bradford said. "We have a great team. They have been great all week and really supportive. I think it was really comforting knowing they were out there with me."

With Oklahoma looking to replace star running back Adrian Peterson, Murray took the opportunity of playing against an outmanned North Texas defense to state his case for the job.

Murray accounted for the rest of the scoring in the opening half, ripping off a 44-yard TD run in the first quarter to make it 14-0 and adding TD runs of 1, 2 and 1 yard.

He added a 3-yard TD run early in the third to make it 56-0 before Stoops called off the dogs. Murray finished with 85 yards on 17 carries for the Sooners.

The win was Oklahoma's biggest in a season opener since a 73-3 victory over New Mexico in 1989. The 79 points were the Sooners' second-highest point total since 1919.

"I was pleased with the overall play. I was also pleased with the backup play. The second- and third-teamers all really played well," Stoops said. "I have been saying all along, this team is very attentive, they are really prideful with their practice and their play. I thought overall, the second half has a tendency to get sloppy, that didn't happen here."

Todd Dodge, a highly successful high school coach in Texas, got a rude welcome in his first game as coach of the Mean Green (0-1). The Sooners outgained the Mean Green, 674-260, including a 273-29 edge on the ground.

"I just talked to my team and I told them that obviously Oklahoma is a great football team and they are very, very impressive. When you play a great team like that you always have a chance of having a disappointment," Dodge said.

North Texas averted a shutout with a 29-yard field goal by Thomas Moreland midway through the third quarter. Giovanni Vizza connected with Casey Fitzgerald for a 69-yard touchdown reception at the start of the fourth quarter for the Mean Green.

Fitzgerald had a career-high seven catches for 126 yards.