Brooks leads No. 7 Oklahoma past No. 21 Oklahoma State
The Associated Press - December 2, 2019 7:59 am
By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts was a one-man show.
Kennedy Brooks proved otherwise. He rushed for 160 yards and a touchdown to help No. 7 Oklahoma beat No. 21 Oklahoma State 34-16 on Saturday night.
“I didn’t agree a whole lot with the one-man show thing,” Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said. “However we get defined, as long as we’re winning and offensively, we’re scoring enough points to win — that’s all I care.”
In his past four games, Brooks has rushed for 534 yards and averaged 6.7 yards per carry.
“Kennedy is a great ballplayer, and he has done well long before I came here,” Hurts said. “I think we’ve got a lot of good players, and we ride the player who has the hot hand. Ultimately, it’s about winning games. I think everyone kind of contributes to that.”
Gundy said the Cowboys focused on Hurts, which left Brooks with room to run.
“He played pretty good,” Gundy said. “He was rushing through big holes, not getting touched for six, seven yards.”
Hurts passed for 163 yards and a touchdown, rushed for 63 yards and a score and caught a 4-yard touchdown pass for the Sooners (11-1, 8-1 Big 12, No. 7 CFP) in their fifth straight victory in the series.
Oklahoma has won 21 consecutive November games dating to 2014. The Sooners will play Baylor in the Big 12 championship game next Saturday.
Oklahoma State’s Chuba Hubbard, the nation’s leading rusher, ran for 104 yards and a touchdown for his 10th consecutive game with at least 100 yards rushing.
He fell well short of his usual production — he entered the night averaging 166.5 yards rushing per game.
“I thought he had a little room early,” Riley said. “We made some adjustments as the game went on. I thought our defensive line was very disruptive cleaning running lanes. The few times he did get loose, I felt we did a good job of bringing him down to the ground, and we didn’t let him pop a big one.”
The Cowboys (8-4, 5-4, No. 21 CFP) had their four-game winning streak snapped.
Oklahoma held Oklahoma State to 335 yards. Parnell Motley led the way for the Sooners with an interception, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Oklahoma State’s Matt Ammendola made a 25-yard field goal at the end of the first half to cut Oklahoma’s lead to 20-13.
Oklahoma went ahead 27-16 on a 93-yard drive that Brooks capped with a 3-yard touchdown run.
With Oklahoma still up 27-16, Oklahoma State took a chance by going for it on fourth-and-three at the Oklahoma 27, but Dru Brown’s pass fell incomplete. Oklahoma stopped the Cowboys again on fourth down in the fourth quarter.
“We made too many mistakes,” Hubbard said. “I’m not taking anything away from Oklahoma. They played a great game, balled out and did everything right, which paid off for them.”
THE TAKEAWAY
Oklahoma: The Sooners put together another strong defensive performance. The Sooners held the Cowboys to one touchdown and forced them to kick field goals three times, including twice after Oklahoma State drove inside the Oklahoma 10-yard line.
“You can’t kick field goals against an offense that can score like they can,” Gundy said.
Oklahoma State: The Cowboys still can’t get past the Sooners. Gundy fell to 2-13 in his career against Oklahoma.
ALMOST 2,000
Hubbard increased his season yardage total to 1,936 yards, the second-highest total in Oklahoma State history. Barry Sanders ran for 2,850 yards during his Heisman Trophy-winning 1988 season.
RARE COMPANY
Hurts became the second Oklahoma player to rush for a touchdown, pass for a touchdown and catch a touchdown pass in the same game. Tommy McDonald did it against Colorado in 1956.
EJECTED
Oklahoma State safety Tre Sterling was ejected early in the fourth quarter for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Oklahoma’s Charleston Rambo. By rule, he will miss the first half of Oklahoma State’s bowl game.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Thanks to Auburn beating Alabama, the Sooners are in position to move up. Oklahoma State might not move much because Cincinnati, Iowa State and Virginia Tech also lost.
STILL PERFECT
Oklahoma kicker Gabe Brkic made two field goals and four extra points to remain perfect for the season. He has made all 14 of his field goals and all 45 of his extra points this season.
UP NEXT
Oklahoma State will play in a bowl game.
Oklahoma will play Baylor in the Big 12 championship game next Saturday.
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