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Oklahoma looks to bounce back against Kansas

Oct 18, 2008 - 10:14 AM (15) Kansas (5-1) at (6) Oklahoma (5-1), 3:30 pm EDT

NORMAN, Oklahoma (Ticker) -- One week after losing to Texas in the Red River Rivalry, sixth-ranked Oklahoma will try go get back on the winning track Saturday when its hosts 15th-ranked Kansas in a Big 12 Conference battle.

The Sooners (5-1, 1-1 Big 12 South) entered the game against the Longhorns as the top-ranked team in the country but had their national title hopes take a serious hit after a 45-35 loss to their rivals.

The good news out of that loss was the continued success of Oklahoma's offense. Sam Bradford tied a career high with five touchdown passes and completed 28-of-39 attempts for 387 yards, the sixth straight time the sophomore has surpassed 300 yards this season.

Bradford has thrown 59 career touchdown passes, breaking Rex Grossman's previous mark of 55 by a freshman and sophomore in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

The bad news for the Sooners, besides the defeat, was the loss of linebacker Ryan Reynolds, their leading tackler, who suffered a season-ending torn ACL in the third quarter.

Working in the Sooners' favor is that they bring a 21-game home field winning streak into Saturday's game. That streak equals the second-longest streak in school history. Ironically, a similar streak was in place in 1975 when Kansas visited and pulled the upset.

The Jayhawks (5-1, 2-0 Big 12 North) did not need another furious comeback to defeat an unranked opponent last week in a 30-14 rout of Colorado.

Running back Jake Sharp ran for three touchdowns, including a pair in the fourth quarter to blow the game open late.

It was the second straight hard-fought victory in two weeks over an unranked opponent for Kansas. Two weeks ago, the Jayhawks fell behind, 20-0, at the half to Iowa State before rallying for a 35-33 victory.

Not to be overshadowed by Sharp's performance was the effort of the Jayhawks' defense, which held Colorado to 233 yards of total offense - nearly 100 yards shy of its 325 per game average.

Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing completed 27-of-34 passes for 256 yards and a touchdown against the Buffaloes. The junior is 171-of-239 for 1,980 yards and 15 touchdowns against just three interceptions this season.

The Jayhawks have won 20 of their last 23 games, including nine of the last 10 Big 12 games.

The last time these teams met, Oklahoma turned two quick turnovers into 10 points just five minutes into the game en route to a 19-3 victory at Kansas on October 15, 2005.

The teams have split the last four meetings in Norman, with the Sooners winning the last two.