Sooners

PASSING

           Att.   Comp.    Yds.   TDs   Int.

White       354     231   2,961    33      6
Grady        14      12      63     1      0

RUSHING

           Att.    Yds.    Avg.   TDs   Long

Peterson    314   1,843     5.9    15     80
K. Jones    125     504     4.0     5     26
Choice       22     100     4.5     0     14

RECEIVING

            No.    Yds.    Avg.   TDs   Long

Clayton      62     855    13.8     8     61
Wilson       43     601    14.0     9     41
B. Jones     25     332    13.3     3     69
Bradley      21     425    20.2     7     72
K. Jones     20     166     8.3     0     23
Peoples      19     206    10.8     2     28

TEAM

First downs: 291 Rushing att.-yards: 525-2,581 Rushing yards per game: 215.1 Att.-Comp.-Int.: 370-244-6 Passing yards: 3,054 Passing yards per game: 254,5 Field goal att.-made: 16-8 Punts-avg.: 49-40.9 Fumbles-lost: 17-7 Penalties-yards: 82-703 Sacks by-yards: 38-249 Third-down conversion percentage: .550 Points per game: 36.1 Points allowed per game: 13.7

Season results

vs. Bowling Green   W   40-24
vs. Houston         W   63-13
vs. Oregon          W   31-7
vs. Texas Tech      W   28-13
vs. TEXAS           W   12-0
at Kansas State     W   31-21
vs. Kansas          W   41-10
at Oklahoma State   W   38-35
at TEXAS A&M        W   42-35
vs. Nebraska        W   30-3
at Baylor           W   35-0
vs. COLORADO        W   42-3

Despite Jason White's two interceptions and a fumble, the Longhorns couldn't find a way to score. The Sooners sacked quarterback Vince Young three times, twice knocking Texas out of field-goal range. Adrian Peterson was a revelation, rushing for 225 yards.

With the help of a fake punt, the Aggies took a 28-21 lead into half-time, but White showed why he is a Heisman winner, throwing three of his school-record five touchdown passes in the second half.

OU showed up for the Big 12 title game ready to make people forget what had happened one year before. The offensive balance was perfect: Peterson notched three TDs, and so did White, who found wideout Mark Clayton for two of them.

SCOUTS VIEWS Observations from the sidelines

Oklahoma's defense is really helped by their edge rushers. Dan Cody plays with tremendous energy and is a relentless pass rusher. He plays about as hard as anybody I have ever seen. He's a rangy guy, and you can get under his pads some, but he has long arms that can keep you away. Their front line is good, but I don't think it's as good as last year's was. They miss Tommie Harris and Dusty Dvoracek. Some of those difference-makers up front are pretty young.... They've had some injuries in the secondary, and it's going to be important for cornerback Antonio Perkins (knee) to be healthy and able to cover well.... Lance Mitchell has been excellent at linebacker. He runs around well, throws his body around and gives them quickness. This kid is everything that Teddy Lehman was and more. He's faster than Lehman, and you can't get a body on him. I think he's even better than Texas' Derrick Johnson.... Adrian Paterson is like a junior, bodywise and abilitywise at running back. It's frightening to think what he could become after an offseason conditioning program and a spring practice.

... The Sooners changed their whole offensive scheme because of Peterson. He is running the ball downhill, and they have more of a toughness. You have to give credit to Bob Stoops and his coaches. They figured out how best to use Peterson. I don't know if the rest of the league has figured it out, but when Peterson is in the game, they're not throwing it too much.... They don't run much play-action with Peterson. They'll do power, toss sweep, a little bit of inside zone and screen passes. And then when you pack the box on them, you have to deal with Mark Clayton and those other receivers. Even a guy like Travis Wilson is a good receiver. ... If they have a weakness, it's at quarterback. Believe it or not, Jason White can't get out of trouble. If you can get heat on him and blitz him, he's in trouble. He's a classic dropback type of guy. If you get your hands on their receivers and knock them off a bit, you can get to him.... It will be interesting to see what USC coach Pete Carroll will come up with. If you look at that Texas game, other than Peterson, they didn't have much offense. But there have been games when White has just taken over. Sometimes, it's just a matter of what they need, passing or running.

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COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning