Bradford tosses 389 yards in return from injury as OU blasts Baylor

 

 

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• Oklahoma Rolls As Bradford Returns

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• OU's Bradford skips part of pregame warmups

Top 25 Overview

It was over when... Sam Bradford returned to the lineup. There was no way he or OU would struggle with Baylor. Gameball goes to... Bradford, who threw for 389 yards and one TD in his return from a shoulder injury. Stat of the game... 8. Oklahoma's D gets credit for holding Baylor to just 8 rushing yards on the day. Complete Top 25 Overview

Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	10	34
Total Yards	268	592
Passing	262	389
Rushing	6	203
Penalties	11-79	7-110
3rd Down Conversions	3-16	7-17
4th Down Conversions	2-3	1-3
Turnovers	2	0
Possession	27:27	32:33

Air/Ground Leaders
Baylor Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Florence 22/41 220 1 1 Szymanski 1/2 42 0 1	Oklahoma Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Bradford 27/49 389 1 0
Baylor Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Ganaway 4 8 0 3 Salubi 4 7 0 5	Oklahoma Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Murray 24 113 0 15 Brown 19 70 2 14
Baylor Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Smith 6 71 0 35 Gettis 3 53 0 42	Oklahoma Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Caleb 7 139 0 49 Miller 5 67 0 37

Scoring Summary
SECOND QUARTER				BAY	OKLA
	TD	08:26	Chris Brown 1 Yd Run (Jimmy Stevens Kick)	0	7
	TD	03:48	Chris Brown 4 Yd Run (Jimmy Stevens Kick)	0	14
	TD	02:10	Andrew Judy 3 Yd Pass From Nick Florence (Ben Parks Kick)	7	14
THIRD QUARTER				BAY	OKLA
	FG	09:25	Jimmy Stevens 35 Yd	7	17
	FG	04:47	Jimmy Stevens 25 Yd	7	20
	FG	00:51	Jimmy Stevens 21 Yd	7	23
FOURTH QUARTER				BAY	OKLA
	FG	10:05	Jimmy Stevens 24 Yd	7	26
	TD	04:03	Adron Tennell 3 Yd Pass From Sam Bradford (Jimmy Stevens Kick)	7	33

NORMAN, Okla. -- Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford wasn't sure how his injured shoulder would hold up to a full day's work.

After 49 throws in No. 19 Oklahoma's 33-7 win against Baylor on Saturday, Bradford is ready for next week's rivalry game against No. 2 Texas in Dallas.

Fast Facts

• Oklahoma improved to 3-2 -- 19-0 all-time against Baylor. Oklahoma is the only Big 12 team Baylor has not beaten.

• The Sooners extended their school-record home win streak to 27 games.

• Sam Bradford made his return from his shoulder injury, completing 27 of 49 passes for 389 yards and a touchdown. The 49 passes attempts matched the second most of his career.

-- ESPN Stats & Information

"I think that's something that we were all curious around here is how I would react to 3 1/2-4 hours in my pads, on and off, not throwing the whole time, kind of sitting on the bench, coming back and making some throws," Bradford said. "I felt like my arm responded great, and I felt good out there."

Bradford threw for 389 yards and a touchdown after missing the last month with a sprained AC joint in his right, throwing shoulder. It was the 14th 300-yard passing game of his career, matching the school record set by 2000 Heisman runner-up Josh Heupel.

And he could have had even bigger numbers if the Sooners' receivers didn't have trouble handling his passes. Bradford had a career-high 22 incomplete passes, most of them coming on flat-out drops or passes that at least hit his receivers' hands.

Griffin: Bradford Sizzles

Sam Bradford's first contest back after his season-opening injury represented a tangible starting-over point for the Sooners, writes Tim Griffin. Blog
• Big 12 blog

"To have been off as much as he has and go out there in his first go at it to play as well as he did, I thought he played great," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "He stays away from the poor, the negative plays or the bad plays and he had a great night.

"If you add in seven, eight, nine drops -- you could cut that and say there's five legitimate that are dead right in their hands -- he has an incredible night."

There had been concern that Bradford's shoulder wouldn't have the stamina to hold up to a full game, but he ended up matching the second-most passes he'd thrown in his career with a 27-for-49 performance. The only time he had attempted more passes was when he threw 53 against Kansas last season. He had never had more than 19 incomplete passes in a game.

"I was disappointed in the drops, but again I think a lot of that is just inexperience," Stoops said. "We've got all kinds of yardage and big plays if we'd just catch the ball better. I'm hopeful and I believe that the ability is there. It's just time, time on the field for those guys to make improvement and make those plays when they're there to make."

Bradford skipped part of Oklahoma's pregame routine while the rest of the team's quarterbacks were practicing throwing and then jogged to the locker room while his teammates were stretching as he tried to keep from wearing his arm out before the game even started.

Then came a real scare when trainers huddled around Bradford after he stepped awkwardly on an incomplete pass on his first drive and aggravated a right calf strain that first bothered him in two-a-days.

Bradford, who didn't miss a play, called that injury "no big deal." The shoulder is looking that way, too, after he went through a month of frustration not knowing exactly when he'd be able to come back.

"It's extremely gratifying just to get back on the field, just to be out there with the guys that I've put in so much work with in the offseason," Bradford said. "Just the simple things -- handoffs, everything out there. It's just exciting to be back really."

Brown's touchdown runs of 1 and 4 yards in the second quarter put Oklahoma up 14-0, but the Sooners (3-2, 1-0 Big 12) couldn't get into the end zone on their first four trips inside the 20-yard line in the second half.

Jimmy Stevens hit four field goals to tie a school record held by Jeremy Alexander and Garrett Hartley before Bradford finally connected with Adron Tennell in the back of the end zone for a 3-yard score with 4:03 to play.

"I felt good just the way my arm responded, the way I was able to play four quarters and the way I was able to make some throws in the fourth quarter that had some heat on them," Bradford said.

Brandon Caleb caught seven passes for a career-best 139 yards after moving inside to replace injured slot receiver Ryan Broyles, who is out 2-4 weeks with a hairline fracture of his left shoulder blade. DeMarco Murray added 107 yards rushing on a season-high 24 carries.

Oklahoma racked up a season-high 592 yards, with 203 on the ground to go with Bradford's big day.

"Sam has that inspiration on the team. He's a captain and everyone follows him and vibes off of him, and it's definitely a good thing that he's coming back," receiver Cameron Kenney said. "He just made good plays today, and he was just real relaxed."

Third-stringer Nick Florence started at quarterback for Baylor (3-2, 0-1) for the second straight week, following a season-ending knee injury to Robert Griffin III. He threw for 220 yards on 22-for-41 passing with one touchdown and one interception.

Blake Szymanski, the backup who had sat out last week with a bruised shoulder, replaced him on Baylor's final series in the fourth quarter and threw a 42-yard completion and an interception in the back of the end zone on consecutive plays.

Jay Finley, the Bears' top rusher, also returned after missing two games with an ankle injury but had just two carries for minus-1 yard.

The Sooners have won all 19 games in their series against Baylor and won for the 27th straight time at home.

"Of course, there's room for improvement," Bears coach Art Briles said. "We knew today would be a measuring stick. We knew today would be a chance to show how good our guys can be."