BYU upsets Oklahoma, 14-13
In a mistake-riddled game, the Oklahoma Sooners saw their dreams of a national championship virtually evaporate in a one-point loss against BYU Saturday.
It was the second loss in a row for OU, which dropped a heartbreaker to Florida in the national championship game last season.
Fumbles, penalties and dropped passes doomed the OU offense to mediocrity. Quarterback Sam Bradford, who won the Heisman Trophy last season, was knocked out of the game when hit by a BYU defender who raced through a porous offensive line. Bradford missed the entire second half and it is uncertain when he can return from his shoulder injury.
The Sooners host Idaho State - one of the worst teams in the country - Saturday in their home opener in Norman.
“We did some good things, but at the end of the game, when we had to make a play, we didn’t make it,” OU coach Bob Stoops said after the game.
“We kicked ourselves in the butt a couple times,” said OU running back Chris Brown in an understatment.
A host of offsides and holding penalties put the OU offense in third-and-long predictaments..
“You get into these situations, 1st and 20, 1st and 25, you don’t have much chance,” Stoops said.
The game was played at the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The OU defense held the high-powered BYU offense to two touchdowns but couldn’t stop quarterback Max Hall when it counted.
“To come to this stadium, to open it up and play Oklahoma with a Heisman quarterback and one of the best defenses in the country, it’s unbelievable for us to come out and pull off a win,” Hall said. “It’s a special night. I’ll never forget it and it’s something that I will always have.”
OU lost four of five starters on the offensive line and the new line performed well below expectations.
“I haven’t looked at it, but I’m pretty sure we had over 100 yards in penalties,” said offensive lineman Brian Simmons. “We just made too many mistakes, shot ourselves in the foot and when it came time to make a play, we couldn’t even call a timeout to get things going.”
The offense also had lost All-American tight end Jermaine Gresham to a knee injury. It is uncertain how long Gresham will be sidelined.
“It hurts,” said defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. “Who likes to lose? Nobody likes to lose. We have to bounce back…We can’t worry about this.”
Redshirt freshman quarterback Landry Jones - one of the most highly recruited high school players in the nation two years ago - filled in for Bradford.
“I was really proud of Landry,” coach Bob Stoops. “I loved his demeanor. He took control of the huddle. He handled the situation as well as he possibly could.”
Jones connected on his first completion, a 13-yard completion to Brandon Caleb. Jones finished the game 6-for-12 with 51 yards passing.
With the loss, Oklahoma moved to 9-2 in season openers under Stoops. In the history of the program, OU is 87-22-6 in season openers including 43-13-1 when opening the season away from Norman. The Sooners are also 5-5 in season openers vs. ranked opponents. Under Stoops, OU is now 37-11 vs. non-conference opponents, 17-12 on neutral fields and 33-13 against ranked opponents.
Bradford became Oklahoma’s all-time leading passer with his 96 yards Saturday, giving the junior a career total of 7,937 yards. Bradford eclipsed Jason White’s previous record of 7,922 yards set from 1999-2004 when he completed an 18-yard pass to Brandon Caleb late in the first half. It was his last completion of the game.
Bradford left the game in the second quarter after suffering a sprained AC joint. It marked just the second game that Bradford had to leave a game early due to the injury, the previous a 34-27 loss at Texas Tech in 2007.
The Oklahoma offense debuted its Wildcat formation for the first time Saturday against BYU. The first play in the formation saw running back Chris Brown take a snap out of the shotgun and option off to wide receiver Ryan Broyles on the end around for a gain of five yards.
Freshman punter Tress Way made his OU debut Saturday and finished with seven punts for 311 yards. Way had three punts over 50 yards with a long of 52 yards.