Sooners take a few lumps, but keep rolling

Sooners take a few lumps, but keep rolling

The Oklahoma football team is more than just Adrian Peterson.

In fact, the Sooners have been better without their star tailback.

The No. 8-ranked Sooners (10-2) are 6-0 since Adrian Peterson broke his collarbone Oct. 14 and play for the Big 12 championship against Nebraska on Saturday in Kansas City, Mo.

The winner will play 10th-ranked Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1 in Glendale, Ariz.

"The top back in the nation goes out, and you continue to pick up the slack," Oklahoma quarterback Paul Thompson told the Oklahoman newspaper. "To be honest, I was shocked. We're still moving this thing.

"… You don't expect to lose a back like Adrian and continue to have as much progress as we've had."

The Sooners have thrived without Adrian Peterson — who would have been a Heisman Trophy finalist — because they're a well-rounded, deep team, and perhaps because adversity is nothing new.This is the team that lost starting quarterback Rhett Bomar before fall camp because he received extra benefits from his summer job. Plus, the Sooners lost a non-conference game at Oregon when the officiating was so bad the Pac-10 had to issue an apology.

"You have guys that are about the right things and trust in one another," coach Bob Stoops said. "They realize, ‘Hey, there's a bunch of us here. We can overcome this.' This team has definitely been that way."

The Sooners qualified for the Big 12 title game when Texas lost its last two regular-season games. The Sooners had lost to Texas 28-10 on Oct. 7, seemingly ending their conference title hopes.

"You always feel that door is open," Stoops said. "You don't ever shut it. We always felt there was a chance, and fortunately it worked out for us."

The Sooners' late-season charge — they've won seven straight — could be a product of their youth. Thirteen of the 22 position players who started last week against Oklahoma State are sophomores or younger.

Four starters on the offensive line are sophomores or freshmen, and none of them redshirted.

The Sooners were 8-4 last year after losing the previous two national title games. They were expected to contend for the title again this year until the Bomar fiasco.

Expectations dropped each time something went wrong, but now the Sooners are on the verge of their 40th conference championship.

"I think we were maybe underappreciated with the strength of our team and the overall depth of the team and the strength of the youth on the team," said Stoops, who won Oklahoma's seventh national title in 2000. "All of that was maybe a little undervalued and everyone wanted to focus on just Adrian."

Adrian Peterson rushed for 935 yards and 10 touchdowns in the first six games — he's still the second-leading rusher in the Big 12 — but the Sooners were just 4-2.

Since then, the Sooners have not only won every game but averaged more rushing yards per game (208.8) than with Adrian Peterson (171.7), who is expected to return for the bowl game.

Junior Allen Patrick (4.7 yards per carry), freshman Chris Brown (5.4) and junior Jacob Gutierrez (4.9) have replaced Adrian Peterson.

More importantly, senior quarterback Paul Thompson has turned in an MVP-type performance. He moved to wide receiver last year then back to quarterback in fall camp to replace Bomar.

Thompson completes 61.5 percent of his passes. He has tossed 18 touchdown passes and seven interceptions, and he can run.

In many ways, he's to Oklahoma what Jared Zabransky is to Boise State — a steady, dual-threat director of the offense who complements a dominant ground game.

Thompson has earned praise for his poise.

"That's just my personality," he told The Associated Press. "… If I'm panicking, if I'm uncomfortable, then guys might start to worry a little bit."

Sophomore wide receiver Malcolm Kelly gives Thompson added reason to feel at ease. Kelly, who is 6-foot-4, has 52 catches and eight touchdowns — averaging 16.4 yards per catch.

And the Sooners have a typical Stoops defense.

After a sluggish start, the Sooners have limited opponents to 13.4 points, 76.8 rushing yards and 232 total yards in the past nine games.

The Sooners also have grabbed almost two turnovers per game during that span.

Linebacker Rufus Alexander was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.

"You can't make mistakes against them," Nebraska quarterback Zac Taylor said. "They'll make you pay. You just have to play smart and take what they give you. They don't run anything real complicated, but they are very good at what they do."

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