Miami's defense is Bradford's next big test
The real ‘Mean Green' resides in Florida
Miami's defense is Bradford's next big test
By Jake Trotter
Comments 
0
Published: September 2, 2007
NORMAN — In a week, Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford may go from seeing college football's worst defense to one of its best.
More Info
OU quarterback Sam Bradford completed 21 of 23 passes for 363 yards and three touchdowns.
By STEVE SISNEY, THE OKLAHOMAN
NewsOK Related Articles
- Dominant Debut: OU wins opener in rout
09/02/2007 NORMAN – Saturday delivered September and all that goes with it. In Norman, for Sooner fans, it brought the promise of a fresh football season. And a...
But if Bradford plays half as well as he did Saturday night, OU should be 2-0.
The redshirt freshman completed 21 of 23 passes for 363 yards and three touchdowns in a record-setting, near-flawless debut as the
Sooners hammered North
Texas 79-10 in front of 84,472 at Owen Field.
"You can't get too caught up in the numbers,” Bradford said. "But had I come out and played poorly, I probably wouldn't have had as much confidence going into (
Miami).”
Confidence, he'll need, because next week Bradford will face the real Mean Green.
In its opener, Miami's defense overwhelmed
Marshall — colossally better than North Texas — collecting six sacks and four interceptions to coast past the
Thundering Herd, 31-3.
On one play, Miami's freak of a defensive end — 6-foot-8, 282-pound Calais Campbell — snatched an interception at point-blank distance.
With one hand.
Said one Marshall player after the game: "We couldn't contain him.”
Most of Miami's components are new this year, except for the defense, which returned seven starters — including the entire secondary — from a unit that ranked seventh in the country in yardage allowed last season.
That's why Bradford's performance against a helpless North Texas defense — which would've had problemsslowing down
Southlake Carroll High School — revealed little about how good OU's offense can be.
"There wasn't a lot of coverage disguises,” offensive coordinator
Kevin Wilson said. "So for a quarterback, it was kind of easy.”
That's why Bradford's performance against a worthy Miami defense will reveal a lot — like how close the Sooners are to competing for a national title.
But even against air — which is about what he faced in North Texas — Bradford's displays of accuracy and production were spectacular, especially for a quarterback who had never before taken a snap.
His 350 first-half yards broke
Josh Heupel'sschool record set in 2000 for passing yards in a half.
His 18 straight completions tied
Jason White's school record set in 2004 for consecutive completions.
Coach Bob Stoops had no answer after the game when asked to list what Bradford did wrong.
"Not a lot,” he said.
"But we have to keep a perspective and realize we have a lot to do.”
Bradfordhas improvement to make. But ifhe proves to be half as good as Heupel or White, OU could be
New Orleans-bound in January.
And at worst, undefeated after Miami.
Leave a Comment
Sports Photo Galleriesview all
Prev
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
Thank you for joining our conversations on newsok. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Log in below or sign up (it's free).