Sooners Post Big Win in Tallahassee

Sooners 23, Florida State 13


Big Game Bob is Back


Bob Stoops would never admit it, but you know it bugged him.

Big Game Bob had gone Bust.

After multiple BCS losses and latter-day road game collapses, OU and Bob Stoops faced the national stage again. The stage was set for the Sooners to, once again, fail.

Not tonight.

In a game that lived to every bit of its two weeks of hype, Stoops took his #1 ranked Sooners and topped the Seminoles on a loud, crazy, balmy Saturday night in Tallahassee, with a national TV audience watching. And guess what - while everyone watching expected a shootout of offensive fireworks, the Sooners and the 'Noles cooked up an old fashioned defensive dogfight.

There had to be special satisfaction for Stoops in that defense starred in this game - enough to make Momma Stoops proud. Moreover, the Sooners added in just enough offense at just the right time to secure a win against what could have been the toughest defense they'll face all season.

This was the biggest win for Stoops arguably since the 2000 title game, and the Sooners walked away as double-digit winners - not that it was pretty, or any rerun of last year's 47-17 walloping OU applied to FSU's backsides. This was an old fashioned defensive slugfest, with FSU and Oklahoma's defenses responding to punch and counterpunch seemingly all night. And when its seemed FSU was on the verge of turning the game their way, even with a backup quarterback in to replace the injured E.J. Manuel, there came Landry Jones.

Aside from a brilliant opening drive that staked the Sooners to an early 7-0 lead, Jones was rattled and confused most of the night, tossing two ugly interceptions amid a furious FSU defense that never allowed OU to gain any rhythm. With the defense holding FSU and the Sooners taking the ball midway through the 4th quarter and the game tied at 13, it was time for the Oklahoma offense to show up.

Show up it did.

With 7:00 to play, Jones shook off those two early interceptions and broke the tie for good with a 37-yard touchdown toss to Kenny Stills, who made a dazzling catch on the underthrown ball before cradling it safely behind Greg Reid to put OU up 20-13.

Jimmy Stevens toed a shaky 31-yard field goal with 2 minutes left following an interception to put the game out of reach at 23-13.

Oklahoma now looks ahead to a schedule where it will be favored in every game it plays the rest of the way, with the hope of a national title berth at the end of the road.

And Big Game Bob couldn't be happier.