Texas A&M can't defeat Oklahoma

Texas A&M can't defeat Oklahoma
By Cody Hale

COLLEGE STATION - There wasn't a doubt in Adrian Peterson's mind about what to do next.

Though he wasn't able to be in uniform after breaking his collarbone against Iowa State, Adrian Peterson echoed the sentiments of the entire offense. On Saturday night, it might as well have been Peterson calling the shots.

After running back Allen Patrick was stuffed on third down by Texas A&M, Peterson immediately found who he was looking for - Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops.

"You better go for that, Coach; you better go for that," Adrian Peterson yelled.

Stoops took the advice, and it paid off.

Quarterback Paul Thompson converted on fourth-and-inches to seal Oklahoma's 17-16 win in front of 85,697 raucous fans at Kyle Field. It appeared as if Thompson wasn't going to get the first down, after he was immediately hit at the line of scrimmage, but a second effort was all the Sooners needed.

"Whenever we ran the play on third down, I knew we had fourth down in our pocket," Thompson said. "We didn't want to give the ball back and allow them to score."

But going for it on fourth down wasn't Stoops' first intention.

"I went through a range of what to do, and there was a certain point early on when I thought we would just punt it," Stoops said. "The second I said punt it, I looked at the offensive guys in their eyes, then I thought, 'I can't punt it.'"

The Sooners (7-2, 4-1 Big 12) won their fourth straight in Stoops' 100th game at Oklahoma and extended their current winning streak to four games over the Aggies (8-2, 4-2).

"There was a lot of excitement, and it was a great atmosphere to compete in," Stoops said. "We had a fun night out there with everyone competing."

Oklahoma's first drive saw four-straight rushing plays with Patrick, and he was able to punch in the first touchdown of the game from the 1-yard line, racking up 54 yards on the first drive alone.

"We came out there to run the ball," Patrick said. "I think we're coming together, and we're ready to make things happen."

The Aggies made it clear they would try and establish the running game, throwing only one pass on their first drive. Texas A&M only managed a field goal, cutting the Sooners lead to 7-3.

Patrick continued to prove he's capable of replacing Peterson rushing for 46 yards on Oklahoma's next possession. Thompson ran it in from 7 yards out to go up 14-3 at the end of the first quarter.

"The first two drives [of the game], we were rolling," Thompson said. "We felt really good about where we were at."

Patrick gained 101 yards in the first quarter alone and finished with 132 in the first half as Oklahoma went in with a 14-10 lead. The Sooners rushed for 224 yards on the night - their second highest total of the season - but it was Oklahoma's defense that set up the Sooners only points in the second half.

Late in the third quarter, Marcus Walker intercepted a Stephen McGee pass and returned it 19 yards to the 6-yard line. The offense stalled, and Oklahoma kicked a 23-yard field goal to take a 17-10 lead. The Aggies closed the gap to 17-13 on a 19-yard field goal by Layne Neumann and got within a point less than four minutes later on a 39-yard field goal.

"You've got a good feeling if you get the three points with the way our defense had played," Aggie head coach Dennis Franchione said. "If we get one stop, we're going to have the ball around our 40-yard line, and it's not going to take much for us to get in field-goal range to win the game."

It's that one stop the Aggies couldn't make, and Oklahoma capitalized.

"It was just one of those things where you just don't think you're going to come up short, and it hurts when you do," Aggies safety Melvin Bullitt said. "The whole time you believe you're going to win, and it's just like somebody breaking your heart."

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