NCAA Football

Oklahoma Grounds Overrated Kansas

Posted Oct 24, 2009 7:08PM By Terrance Harris (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Kansas, Oklahoma, Big 12

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So much for Todd Reesing and the whole Heisman Trophy conversation. The same can be said for the 25th-ranked Kansas Jayhawks and their once-promising season.

On an afternoon when the Jayhawks had a chance to make a major statement against a respectable Oklahoma team, they simply showed they aren't ready for the big time in a 35-13 drubbing in front of their home crowd at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

Reesing, third in the country in passing yardage per game coming into the contest, threw three interceptions during the Jayhawks' first three possessions . Oklahoma defensive back Dominique Franks was the recipient of the third, which he promptly returned 85 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter to help the Sooners take a 14-6 lead into halftime.

Kansas (5-2, 1-2 Big 12), which was expected to be one of the top two teams in the Big 12 North this season, has now dropped two straight and it doesn't get any easier with tough road games at Texas Tech and Kansas State coming up in the next two weeks. The only saving grace for the Jayhawks is the entire North seems to be a mess with Nebraska, the preseason favorite, losing for the second straight week Saturday, while Kansas State and Iowa State are appearing to be the top two teams in the weaker North division.
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The Sooners(4-3, 2-1), meanwhile, bounced back after a disheartening loss last week against rival Texas. Redshirt freshman quarterback Landry Jones, filling in for injured Sam Bradford again, completed 26 of 38 passes for 251 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. One of his favorite targets Saturday was Ryan Broyles, who had 11 catches for 121 yards.

But the day belonged to running back Chris Brown, who accounted for three of the Sooners touchdowns, while rushing rushing for 66 yards on 22 carries in an afternoon Oklahoma was without his cohort DeMarco Murray.

Defensively, the Sooners shut down Kansas' celebrated trio. The Jayhawks had to settle for two first-half field goals before Reesing scored on a run late in the game. Big 12 leading receiver Dezmon Briscoe was held to seven catches for 61 yards, which is well below his season average of 134.2 per game. Star receiver Kerry Meier also found it difficult against the Sooners athletic secondary with eight catches for 54 yards on the day.

The Sooners, who have lost three games to ranked opponents by a combined five points this season, are out of the BCS national championship picture. But they still have an outside chance of claiming their third South division title should they continue winning and the third-ranked Longhorns lose twice in conference play.

Tags: dezmon+briscoe, kerry+meier, Landry+Jones, Sam+Bradford, Todd+Reesing

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