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BOX SCORE
STILLWATER, Okla. -- Top-ranked Oklahoma isn't exactly
rolling into the postseason.
An offense rated at or near the top of the national scoring
charts all year struggled for the second straight week Saturday in
a 12-7 victory over Oklahoma State.
Josh Heupel was 19-of-36 for 154 yards -- his lowest total in 23
games as a Sooner -- with two interceptions. His 248 yards against
Texas Tech a week earlier had been his season low.
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Sat, November 25
This was not the performance of a number one team. Coming into this football game Oklahoma really needed to make a statement going into the Big 12 Championship game. They didn't do it. It was their worst offensive production of the season and it couldn't come at a worse time.
Teams seem to be making adjustments to the Sooners' high-powered offense. The Cowboys backed out their secondary and played a lot less man coverage. They didn't blitz as much and tried to keep everything inside. Josh Heuepel seemed to wait forever today for receivers to come open. Oklahoma just hasn't shown patience offensively over the past two weeks.
How this affects the actual BCS rankings is unclear. Their computer rankings may drop but their position in the polls probably won't. Regardless, they did not play like the best team in the country today.
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Oklahoma's point total was its lowest in 26 games since a 29-0
loss to Texas A&M in 1998.
"Fortunately, we made enough big plays to win the game,
especially down the stretch," coach Bob Stoops said. "Give
Oklahoma State credit. We will and I will."
The Sooners (11-0, 8-0 Big 12) completed their first perfect
regular season since 1987. They play Kansas State next week in the
Big 12 title game, where a victory would send them to the Orange
Bowl to play for the national championship.
Oklahoma State (3-8, 1-7) put up a great effort in Bob Simmons'
final game as coach, but came up short in the closing minutes.
"That's what we wanted to do, was have a chance to win in the
fourth quarter and put ourselves in position," said Simmons, who
is resigning under pressure after six seasons. "We came up
short."
Oklahoma drove 99 yards for a touchdown on its first possession
of the game, then played sporadically the rest of the way.
But Heupel came up with two big plays that allowed Oklahoma to
run out the clock. Facing third-and-11 at the Oklahoma 11 with two
minutes left, he completed a 12-yard pass to Curtis Fagan for a
first down. Then on third-and-2 with 38 seconds remaining, he ran
for 4 yards.
"The difference between being successful and not successful is
a very thin line," Heupel said. "We were on the wrong side of it
today for the most part. We need to get things corrected and get
ready to go next week."
Oklahoma had held Oklahoma State in check before freshman Tatum
Bell took a pitch around the left side and raced 60 yards for a
touchdown that made it 12-7 late in the third quarter.
The Sooners appeared to take control again on the next
possession, using a nice run-pass mix to drive from their 21 to the
Cowboys' 19. But the drive stalled with two incompletions -- one of
them a drop on what would have been a first-down catch -- and Tim
Duncan missed a 45-yard field goal.
The Cowboys used a 22-yard punt return by Gabe Lindsay to begin
their final drive at the Oklahoma 39. They moved inside the 10-yard
line before an illegal procedure penalty on third-and-goal pushed
them back. On fourth-and-goal from the 12, Aso Pogi threw in the
end zone for Marcellus Rivers, but cornerback Derrick Strait broke
up the play.
"To find ways to win close ball games shows a lot of toughness
and character," Stoops said. "I'm proud of our guys, in a
difficult situation the way they made plays and found a way to win
the entire day."
Heupel was 5-of-7 for 49 yards on Oklahoma's first possession,
including a 3-yard TD pass to Curtis Fagan. Quentin Griffin, who
had 115 yards on 21 carries, had a 39-yarder to put the Sooners
deep in OSU territory.
The Sooners got a field goal and safety in the second quarter,
when two other drives ended with Heupel's interceptions. The field
goal was set up by an interception and 35-yard return by J.T.
Thatcher. The safety came late in the quarter when Pogi was called
for intentional grounding in the end zone while being tackled by
linebacker Rocky Calmus.
Heupel threw his first interception near midfield on the next
drive, but Oklahoma got the ball back one play later when
linebacker Torrance Marshall picked off Pogi.
The Sooners then drove to the 15 before Heupel was intercepted
again.
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ALSO SEE
College Football Scoreboard
Oklahoma Clubhouse
Oklahoma State Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Bob Stoops says his Sooners made plays down the stretch to beat Oklahoma State.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Josh Heupel comments on being 11-0.
wav: 99 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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