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NORMAN, Okla. - Third-ranked Oklahoma was as good as advertised on Saturday afternoon as it rolled to a 54-3 win against Utah State at Memorial Stadium. The Sooners, who are now 4-0 all-time against Utah State, improve to 3-0 on the year with the win, while Utah State falls to 0-3 on the season with the loss.
Oklahoma scored touchdowns on each of its first three possessions to take a 21-0 lead early in the second period before Utah State's Roy Hurst recorded his first interception of the season, giving the Aggies the ball at its own 41 yard-line. Following the pick, USU inserted sophomore quarterback Jase McCormick and the offense put together its best drive of the game going 46 yards in 10 plays before stalling at the OU 13. Freshman kicker Peter Caldwell then converted a 30-yard field to give the Aggies its first points of the game.
McCormick, who was playing in his first-ever game at Utah State, completed a 21-yard pass to senior Tarell Richards on the drive and also gained eight yards on the ground.
Following Utah State's field goal, Oklahoma needed just one play to regain the momentum as Allen Patrick ran 69 yards to put the Sooners up 28-3. OU added 10 more points in the quarter to make the score 38-3 at the break.
The big plays continued for Oklahoma in the third quarter as DeMarco Murray scored on a 92-yard run to increase the score to 45-3. OU then added a 53-yard field goal from Garret Hartley, followed by a 45-yard interception return for a score by Curtis Lofton to push the margin to 51 with 4:09 remaining in the third quarter.
Despite the lopsided score, Utah State continued to play hard and the Aggie defense keep the high-powered Sooner offense off the scoreboard in the final period as it caused a fumble, stopped OU on a fourth and one at the Utah State 29, and forced Oklahoma to put on consecutive series with a pair of three and outs.
Overall, Oklahoma rolled up 617 yards of total offense (343 rushing, 274 passing) as compared to 153 yards for Utah State (66 rushing, 87 passing). OU also had 24 first downs in the contest as compared to eight for USU. Neither team converted many third downs as OU was 4-of-12, while USU was 3-of-14.
On offense, Utah State was led by senior quarterback Leon Jackson III who was 9-of-14 passing for 65 yards, while senior wide receiver Kevin Robinson had 121 yards of total offense with 38 receiving yards on eight catches and 83 return yards, including 71 on three kickoffs. Junior linebacker Derrick Cumbee led the Aggie defense with eight tackles, including 1.5 for loss.
Oklahoma's offense was led by freshman quarterback Sam Bradford who completed 19-of-26 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns, while junior wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias had 123 receiving yards on eight receptions. The Sooners also had two 100-yard rushers in the game as senior Allen Patrick recorded 113 yards on eight carries, while freshman DeMarco Murray had 100 yards on four carries.
Utah State will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 22 when it begins Western Athletic Conference play at home against San Jose State at 6 p.m. in its annual homecoming game. The contest will be televised regionally by ESPN.
