As the Fiesta Bowl approaches I'm preparing myself for life without football for the next seven months, save for a small taste in the spring. Oklahoma's win over Gonzaga in basketball provides a glimmer of hope that basketball may carry us over well into the month of March.
However, as it stands now we lose Sooner football in a week and a half but here at the Machine we are going to do our absolute best to make football a year round event, beginning with a review of the 2007 football season.
The North Texas game gave us our first glance at two Sooners who became freshmen superstars in 2007. Sam Bradford burst on the scene by completing 21 of his 23 passes for 363 yards and 3 touchdowns. Meanwhile DeMarco Murray's debut was spectacular in itself as he ran for 87 yards and 5 touchdowns.
| 1st Quarter Offensive Plays | ||
| Down/Dist, Yrd. Line | Time | Play Result |
| 1st-10, OU 31 | 14:54 | S. Bradford rushed to the right for 1 yard gain |
| 2nd-9, OU 32 | 14:48 | S. Bradford passed to J. Iglesias to the left for 12 yard gain |
| 1st-10, OU 44 | 14:40 | J. Iglesias rushed to the right for 41 yard gain |
| 1st-10, UNT 15 | 14:33 | S. Bradford passed to J. Gresham to the left for 15 yard touchdown. G. Hartley made PAT |
| 1st-10, OU 32 | 13:26 | D. Murray rushed up the middle for no gain |
| 2nd-10, OU 33 | 12:57 | D. Murray rushed up the middle for 6 yard gain |
| 3rd-4, OU 39 | 12:24 | S. Bradford passed to J. Iglesias to the left for 17 yard gain |
| 1st-10, UNT 44 | 12:02 | S. Bradford incomplete pass down the middle |
| 2nd-10, UNT 44 | 11:54 | D. Murray rushed to the left for 44 yard touchdown. G. Hartley made PAT |
| 1st-10, OU 16 | 9:41 | D. Murray rushed up the middle for no gain |
| 2nd-10, OKLA16 | 9:11 | D. Murray rushed to the left for 3 yard gain |
| 3rd-7, OU 19 | 8:31 | S. Bradford incomplete pass to the left |
| 4th-7, OU 19 | 8:24 | M. Cohen punt. E. Roman returned punt for 7 yards |
| 1st-10, OU 26 | 6:24 | OU committed 5 yard penalty |
| 1st-15, OU 21 | 6:24 | S. Bradford passed to M. Kelly down the middle for 24 yard gain |
| 1st-10, OU 45 | 5:59 | S. Bradford passed to J. Iglesias to the right for 52 yard gain |
| 1st-3, UNT 3 | 5:45 | D. Murray rushed up the middle for no gain |
| 2nd-3, UNT 3 | 5:09 | D. Murray rushed up the middle for 1 yard gain |
| 3rd-2, UNT 2 | 4:29 | D. Murray rushed up the middle for 1 yard gain |
| 4th-1, UNT 1 | 3:55 | D. Murray rushed to the right for 1 yard touchdown. G. Hartley made PAT |
| 1st-10, OU 13 | 2:17 | S. Bradford passed to J. Gresham to the left for 7 yard gain. J. Gresham fumbled. A. Weathers recovered fumble |
| 1st-10, OU 29 | 1:21 | M. Madu rushed to the left for 7 yard gain |
| 2nd-3, OU 36 | 0:35 | OU penalty |
| 3rd-3, OU 36 | 0:35 | S. Bradford passed to M. Kelly to the right for 5 yard gain |
| 1st-10, OU 41 | 0:16 | S. Bradford passed to J. Finley to the right for 12 yard gain |
| Score at the End of the 1st: OU 21 – North Texas 0 |
Leading 21-0 and on the move once again Oklahoma’s first quarter of the season was more than just a solid effort especially when you consider that the starting running back, Allen Patrick, was out with an injury and the back up, Chris Brown, was serving a one game suspension. OU had one drive end with a punt and another on a fumble but with a freshman quarterback and two freshman running backs leading Oklahoma’s offensive attack three touchdowns on the first five possessions was impressive.
| 2nd Quarter Offensive Plays | ||
| Down/Dist, Yrd. Line | Time | Play Result |
| 1st-10, UNT 47 | 15:00 | S. Bradford passed to J. Iglesias to the right for 11 yard gain |
| 1st-10, UNT 36 | 14:48 | M. Madu rushed up the middle for 4 yard loss |
| 2nd-14, UNT 40 | 14:48 | S. Bradford passed to M. Madu down the middle for 4 yard gain |
| 3rd-10, UNT 36 | 14:10 | S. Bradford passed to J. Iglesias to the right for 12 yard gain |
| 1st-10, UNT 24 | 13:47 | J. Gutierrez rushed up the middle for 4 yard gain |
| 2nd-6, UNT 20 | 13:10 | J. Gutierrez rushed up the middle for 8 yard gain |
| 1st-10, UNT12 | 12:46 | J. Gutierrez rushed to the left for 1 yard loss |
| 2nd-11, UNT 13 | 12:10 | S. Bradford rushed up the middle for 11 yard gain |
| 1st-2, UNT 2 | 11:46 | D. Murray rushed up the middle for 2 yard touchdown. G. Hartley made PAT |
| 1st-10, OU 24 | 9:00 | S. Bradford passed to D. Murray to the right for 6 yard gain |
| 2nd-4, OU 30 | 8:22 | S. Bradford passed to M. Johnson to the left for 6 yard gain |
| 1st-10, OU 36 | 7:58 | S. Bradford passed to M. Kelly to the right for 64 yard touchdown. G. Hartley made PAT |
| 1st-10, OU 31 | 6:05 | D. Murray rushed up the middle for 2 yard gain |
| 2nd-8, OU 33 | 5:30 | S. Bradford passed to D. Murray to the right for 7 yard gain |
| 3rd-1, OU 40 | 4:49 | D. Murray rushed up the middle for 3 yard gain |
| 1st-10, OU 43 | 4:28 | S. Bradford passed to J. Gresham to the left for 42 yard gain |
| 1st-10, UNT 15 | 4:22 | S. Bradford passed to J. Iglesias to the left for 13 yard gain |
| 1st-2, UNT 2 | 3:59 | D. Murray rushed up the middle for no gain |
| 2nd-2, UNT 2 | 3:41 | D. Murray rushed up the middle for 1 yard gain |
| 3rd-1, UNT 1 | 3:06 | D. Murray rushed up the middle for 1 yard touchdown. G. Hartley made PAT |
| 1st-10, UNT 42 | 1:39 | S. Bradford passed to M. Madu down the middle for 7 yard gain |
| 2nd-3, UNT 35 | 1:17 | S. Bradford passed to J. Iglesias to the right for 11 yard gain |
| 1st-10, UNT 24 | 1:10 | S. Bradford passed to M. Kelly to the left for 24 yard touchdown. G. Hartley made PAT |
| Score at the End of the 2nd: OU 49 – North Texas 0 |
Oklahoma’s offensive machine got started in the first quarter but was running at full throttle during the second quarter. OU scored a touchdown on every second quarter possession and OU fans had come to the realization that they had something special in Sam Bradford.
| 3rd Quarter Offensive Plays | ||
| Down/Dist, Yrd. Line | Time | Play Result |
| 1st-10, UNT 20 | 14:10 | D. Murray rushed to the right for 17 yard gain |
| 1st-3, UNT 3 | 13:48 | D. Murray rushed to the right for 3 yard touchdown. G. Hartley made PAT |
| 1st-10, OU 26 | 11:20 | M. Madu rushed to the left for 3 yard gain |
| 2nd-7, OU 29 | 10:37 | OKLA committed 15 yard penalty |
| 2nd-21, OU 15 | 10:37 | S. Bradford passed to M. Madu down the middle for 12 yard gain |
| 3rd-9, OU 27 | 9:42 | J. Halzle passed to A. Tennell to the right for 8 yard gain |
| 4th-1, OU 35 | 9:10 | M. Cohen punt. E. Roman returned punt for no gain. UNT committed 8 yard penalty |
| 1st-10, OU 32 | 5:02 | M. Madu rushed to the right for no gain |
| 2nd-10, OU 32 | 4:27 | M. Madu rushed to the left for no gain |
| 3rd-10, OU 32 | 3:49 | J. Halzle passed to A. Tennell down the middle for 16 yard gain |
| 1st-10, OU 48 | 3:31 | J. Gutierrez rushed to the left for 1 yard gain |
| 2nd-9, OU 49 | 2:54 | OKLA committed 5 yard penalty |
| 2nd-14, OU 44 | 2:54 | J. Halzle passed to A. Tennell to the right for 10 yard gain |
| 3rd-4, UNT 46 | 2:33 | J. Halzle incomplete pass to the right |
| 4th-4, UNT 46 | 2:29 | M. Knall punt. E. Roman returned punt for no gain |
| Score at the End of the 3rd: OU 63 – North Texas 3 |
The combination of Oklahoma losing focus and backup quarterback Joey Halzle coming into the game resulted in the offense significantly slowing down. The Sooners did increase their lead over North Texas by 11 points scoring touchdowns both on offense and defense.
| 4th Quarter Offensive Plays | ||
| Down/Dist, Yrd. Line | Time | Play Result |
| 1st-10, OU 34 | 14:21 | M. Madu rushed to the left for 55 yard gain |
| 1st-10, UNT 11 | 14:11 | J. Gutierrez rushed to the left for 5 yard gain |
| 2nd-5, UNT 6 | 13:34 | J. Gutierrez rushed to the left for 5 yard gain |
| 1st-1, UNT 1 | 13:06 | M. Madu rushed up the middle for 1 yard touchdown. G. Hartley made PAT |
| 1st-10, UNT 18 | 12:21 | K. Nichol rushed to the right for 8 yard gain |
| 2nd-2, UNT 10 | 11:47 | J. Gutierrez rushed up the middle for 4 yard gain |
| 1st-6, UNT6 | 11:30 | J. Gutierrez rushed to the right for 5 yard gain |
| 2nd-1, UNT1 | 10:58 | J. Gutierrez rushed up the middle for 1 yard touchdown. G. Hartley made PAT |
| 1st-10, UNT 41 | 9:05 | OKLA committed 10 yard penalty |
| 1st-20, OU 49 | 8:57 | M. Madu rushed up the middle for 2 yard gain |
| 2nd-18, UNT 49 | 7:48 | K. Nichol passed to C. Whitson to the left for 4 yard gain |
| 3rd-14, UNT 45 | 7:03 | M. Madu rushed to the left for 24 yard gain |
| 1st-10, UNT 21 | 6:33 | J. Gutierrez rushed up the middle for 1 yard gain |
| 2nd-9, UNT 20 | 5:52 | C. Whitson rushed up the middle for no gain |
| 3rd-9, UNT 20 | 5:00 | OKLA committed 5 yard penalty |
| 3rd-14, UNT 25 | 4:42 | C. Whitson rushed to the right for 2 yard gain |
| 4th-12, UNT 23 | 4:00 | C. Whitson rushed up the middle for 4 yard gain |
| Final Score:OU 79 – North Texas 10 |
The end result for Oklahoma’s offense would be 668 total net yards resulting in a buzz around the stadium and on radio stations after the game that just about anything could be possible for the Sooners this football season. If we only knew!