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Murray, Bradford lead Oklahoma past Baylor

Nov 11, 2007 - 4:51 AM NORMAN, Oklahoma (Ticker) -- Even in an unpredictable season, Oklahoma beating Baylor is a virtual certainty.

DeMarco Murray scored four touchdowns - one on a kickoff return - as the fourth-ranked Sooners defeated the Bears, 52-21, Saturday in a Big 12 Conference contest.

Sam Bradford completed 20-of-25 passes for 353 yards and three touchdowns, helping Oklahoma (9-1, 5-1 Big 12 South) improve to 17-0 against Baylor and remain one-half game ahead of Texas (5-2) in the division.

"Sam Bradford was exceptional again today," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "Those deep balls could not have been any better. If you look at his completions and his yards per attempt, he is doing pretty amazing. Manuel Johnson had a fantastic night. It's good to see him do so well. DeMarco Murray again was just fabulous. Those guys were really solid."

Still, it was not quite as easy as Sooners coach Stoops might have liked or the score indicated.

Oklahoma allowed the lowly Bears to move the ball, surrendering 450 total yards, including 170 on the ground.

"Defensively, we had some breakdowns and gave up a lot of yards," Stoops said. "I'm glad I do not have to see us give up that many yards every week. It hasn't been us, and we will see some things where we can do better."

Baylor quarterback Blake Szymanski completed 25-of-42 passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns, while Brandon Whitaker rushed for 149 yards and a score on just 15 carries.

The Bears stayed close for most of the first half, closing within 21-14 on Szymanski's 75-yard TD strike to Thomas White with a minute remaining in the second quarter.

"We busted the coverage," Stoops said. "We were supposed to be playing four deep and one of our safeties didn't communicate well and was playing the flats. It hadn't happened before, and we can't let it happen again."

But Murray delivered the back-breaker for Baylor, returning the ensuing kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown and a 28-14 halftime lead.

Murray dazzled the crowd with an electrifying run after fumbling the kickoff. He picked up the ball inside his 10, ran five yards to the left, cut back to the right and raced untouched for the final 70 yards.

"I over pursued the ball and it bounced back. I tried to get a good hop but as soon as I got it I went left, then reversed field and had some the blocks," Murray said. "I figured I could get outside them I could make something happen. They did a great job of blocking. I kept thinking just keep running. I felt my hamstrings burning a little bit, just like some workouts, just keep running and try to make it into the end zone."

Oklahoma settled the issue in the third quarter, with Bradford and Manuel Johnson combining for TD passes of 60 and 13 yards to extend the Sooners' cushion to 42-14.

"He had a big night. He played great tonight," Bradford said. "Mani has been playing hard all season and it was great to finally get him the ball on some of those deeper routes and see him get to come through and make plays like that tonight. He did a great job of getting open and when he had a chance to make the plays tonight he made them."

Murray, who rushed for 93 yards on 13 carries, capped the scoring with a 21-yard TD run with 2:48 remaining in the contest. He reached the end zone on runs of 25 and one yard in the first half.

"I was just trying to make something happen," Murray said of his 25-yard score. "Every time I get the ball I try to make something big happen. It was just great blocking by the O-line and receivers and I was able to make it happen."

With coach Guy Morriss' job reportedly in jeopardy, Baylor suffered its seventh straight loss (3-8, 0-7 Big 12 South).

"They played hard and they played with a lot of emotion," Morriss said. "Unfortunately, we didn't execute quite as well as we had hoped to and gave up too many plays on the defensive side of the ball."

The Bears grabbed a 7-0 lead on Whitaker's 46-yard TD with 4:56 left in the first quarter. But Murray scored on his 25-yard run and Bradford tossed a 51-yard TD pas to Malcom Kelly in a 68-second span late in the first period to give Oklahoma a 14-7 lead.

The Sooners made it 21-7 on Murray's one-yard TD run with 10:24 remaining in the half.