COLUMBIA, Missouri - It took some trickery to keep
the luster on next week's Red River Rivalry.
Matt McCoy threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Chris
Chester on a fake field goal with 6:33 remaining as third-ranked
Oklahoma remained unbeaten with a 31-24 Big 12 Conference
victory over stubborn Missouri.
One week ahead of their annual showdown with second-ranked
Texas, the Sooners (5-0, 1-0 Big 12 South) were given all they
could handle by a Missouri team that was beaten handily by
Bowling Green three weeks ago.
Trailing 24-23, Oklahoma lined up for a potential go-ahead
31-yard field goal. But McCoy, a junior safety who doubles as
holder, rolled out and found Chester for his first collegiate
touchdown pass.
"It's something we prepared for all week and something we always
do," Chester said. "It was a pretty gutsy call, and I'm really
excited about making the catch, especially because I bobbled it
a bit."
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said he went for the fake because he
did not have confidence in his kicking game.
"I didn't feel that any kickers were kicking very well off the
grass as high as it was, as wet as it was," he explained. "I
felt that the opportunity was there, not just to Chester, but
the kicker would have been wide-open. I did not want to leave
it in the hands of a young kicker."
"That was a great call by Oklahoma because it worked," Missouri
coach Gary Pinkel said. "We had two guys in position, but they
just didn't make the play. They made the play, that's why
they're undefeated right now."
Quarterback Brad Smith, who accounted for 391 yards of total
offense, led the Tigers into Oklahoma territory in the final
minute but was sacked on 4th-and-6 from the 35.
"We're disappointed and we're certainly frustrated," Pinkel
said. "When you get a chance to win a football game, a close
game, you can't turn the ball over, you can't give up big plays.
There are a lot of things we did that you can't do to win a
game like this."
Texas also got a scare before holding on for a 17-15 victory
over Oklahoma State.
Smith rushed for a career-high 213 yards and two touchdowns on
26 carries, breaking the school record for a quarterback set by
Corby Jones in 1996. He became the first player to top 200
yards against Oklahoma since Texas' Hodges Mitchell on October
9, 1999.
"I just do what the team needs me to do," said Smith, a redshirt
freshman. "If I have to make a big play, I'll try. I'm
grateful for the opportunity, for playing well against a great
team, but the loss is all the matters in the end."
"Yeah, Brad Smith amazes me," Pinkel said. "He's 18 years old.
This is his fifth game. He's playing against some pretty good
guys. He's been amazing for about a year and a half now. But
he forced a couple of balls in critical situations. I'll still
suggest he'll learn from that. His upside is pretty
remarkable."
The Sooners took advantage of good field position to score first
late in the first quarter. They moved 45 yards in just four
plays and grabbed a 7-0 lead on a two-yard run by redshirt
freshman Kejuan Jones.
Oklahoma limited the Tigers to 26 yards in the first quarter,
then extended its lead six minutes into the second on a 20-yard
field goal by Trey DiCarlo.
Missouri's Mike Matheny hit the left upright with a 26-yard
field goal attempt, but the Tigers got on the board the next
time they had the ball as Smith broke over right tackle and
raced 25 yards to make it 10-7 at halftime.
The Sooners struck quickly in the second half, stretching their
lead to 17-7 on a 65-yard strike from Nate Hybl to Curtis Fagan
on their fifth play from scrimmage. After forcing Missouri to
punt, they threatened to pull away as Quentin Griffin rambled 53
yards for a touchdown to make it 23-7.
Griffin paced Oklahoma with 105 yards on 16 carries.
The Tigers responded with the next 17 points.
Smith accounted for all the offense on a 77-yard drive, capping
it with a 23-yard toss to Justin Gage. A 38-yard field goal by
Matheny got Missouri within 23-17 heading to the fourth quarter.
"When things got tough out there, especially in the third
quarter when they took a sizeable lead, that tested our
character," Pinkel said. "I was pleased from that standpoint.
We fought to the end against a real good team."
After DiCarlo missed a 43-yard field goal attempt 2 1/2 minutes
into the final period, the Tigers faced 74 yards in barely two
minutes and grabbed their first lead on a 25-yard burst by
Smith.
"He was big-time," McCoy said of Smith. "He was just so mobile
and makes so many plays. He's a great quarterback and he's
going to win a lot of games for that team."
Hybl was 20-for-32 for 303 yards and hit Curtis Fagan for the
two-point conversion after the fake field goal put the Sooners
in front.
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