The news just seems to keep getting worse for the Oklahoma Sooners.Coach Bob Stoops confirmed Monday that leading receiver Ryan Broyles (right) will miss the next four to six weeks with a broken left shoulder. Broyles, who has caught 23 passes for 346 yards and seven touchdowns, broke his shoulder during Saturday's 21-20 loss at Miami.
The Sooners are still awaiting word on when Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Sam Bradford can return to action. He has been out since suffering a shoulder sprain during the season-opening loss to BYU. Stoops acknowledged Bradford's progress last week when he began working with the team for the first time, but it was determined he wasn't healthy enough to return to the lineup against the Hurricanes.
There is a chance he could be back this week for the Sooners' Big 12 opener against Baylor. But Stoops says he hasn't made that determination and declined to speculate about his chances of playing this week during Monday's Big 12 Coaches Conference Call.
"The plans are the same as last week," Stoops said. "Until he's capable and fully capable, that's what we will do."
Additionally, OU lost All-American tight end Jermaine Gresham for the year before the season began due to a knee injury.
Now, throw in the fact that the 19th-Sooners (2-2) have lost two non-conference games, which has all but put them out of contention for the BCS national title chase before they can even begin Big 12 play.
It's obviously been a rough start to the season for a team that has won the last three Big 12 championships, and entered the year as the co-preseason favorite to win the Big 12 South with Texas. The Sooners came in to 2009 as the preseason No.3-ranked team in the country.
"They've hung in there pretty well," Stoops said of his team. "In the end you deal with the circumstances and the hand you are dealt and they understand that.
"We won't make excuses. Other guys have to step in and step up and make plays."
