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Bradford throws five TDs as Oklahoma drubs Miami

Sep 8, 2007 - 9:45 PM NORMAN, Oklahoma (Ticker) -- Two games into his career, Oklahoma redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Bradford looks like a seasoned veteran.

Bradford tied a school record with five touchdown passes - three to Malcolm Kelly - to lead the fifth-ranked Sooners to a surprisingly easy 51-13 rout of Miami on Saturday.

In his first two starts, Bradford has been nearly flawless directing the Sooners' high-powered offense, completing 40-of-48 passes for 568 yards and eight touchdowns.

"Coming in, we knew that if we ran the offense the way we are capable of, we were going to move the ball," Bradford said. "Each day we're becoming more comfortable in the system."

Five of Bradford's touchdowns this season have gone to Kelly, a speedy junior receiver who hauled in TD receptions of 23, 24 and 30 yards against the Hurricanes (1-1).

"It feels good to have success against a quality opponent," Kelly said. "We felt like coming into this game we were well prepared, which showed."

In the first meeting between the teams since Miami beat Oklahoma in the 1987 Orange Bowl to win the national championship, the Hurricanes had no answer for the Sooners' speed.

Miami was outscored, 30-3, in the second half and suffered its worst loss since a 66-13 defeat at Syracuse on November 28, 1998.

In last week's season-opening 79-10 romp of North Texas, Bradford completed 21-of-23 passes for 363 yards and tied a school record with 18 straight completions.

The Sooners (2-0) figured to have a tougher time against Miami, and the Hurricanes were in the game for two-plus quarters, cutting an early 18-point deficit to 21-13 early in the third period.

But Bradford answered his first major test, giving the Sooners a 28-13 lead on a six-TD pass to Jermaine Gresham. He finished 19-of-25 for 205 yards.

"They (Miami) didn't quit and they kept fighting, but there were too many big plays," Hurricanes coach Randy Shannon said. "When you give up too many big plays, you can't be successful."

After Garrett Hartley kicked a 30-yard field goal, Bradford threw TD strikes of 30 yards to Kelly and nine yards to Dane Zaslaw to turn the game into a rout.

Backup Joey Halzle got into the act late in the fourth quarter, firing a 61-yard TD to Adron Tennell.

"The season is still young," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "This is what I hoped for. This is how we expected to play."

In addition to its defensive concerns, Miami also may have issues at quarterback as Kirby Freeman was benched early in the second quarter.

Freeman won the job during fall practice but completed just 9-of-21 passes in last week's 31-3 win over Marshall and continued to struggle against the Sooners.

With Freeman at the helm, the Hurricanes managed only 38 total yards and fell behind, 21-3, when Oklahoma defensive back Reggie Smith returned a fumble by Javarris James 61 yards for a touchdown with 12:29 left in the first half.

Kyle Wright, last year's starter until breaking his right thumb on November 4 against Virginia Tech, took over for Freeman and provided a brief spark.

On his first possession, Wright engineered an 18-play drive, converting three third downs and one fourth down. Wright capped the nearly seven-minute march with a six-yard TD toss to Ryan Hill.

But the Hurricanes could not stop the Sooners in the second half, as Oklahoma finished with a 411-139 edge in total offense.

"There are things that have to get corrected and have to get done, and we will get them done," Shannon said.

Freeman completed just 3-of-9 passes for 17 yards while Wright was 7-of-14 for 65 yards.