BCS National Championship: OU’s offense for the ages goes flat

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — As the last seconds ticked away, quarterback Sam Bradford stood on the sidelines. Helmet on. Arms folded.

When it mattered most, Oklahoma's record-setting scoring machine sputtered in the BCS National Championship at Dolphin Stadium as Florida rolled past the Sooners, 24-14.

“Obviously it's very disappointing to end the season on a loss, especially in a game that we felt like we had a chance to win,” Bradford said. “In the first half, we squandered some opportunities to score points.

“That really hurt.”

Twice in the second quarter, college football's No. 1 red-zone offense drove the ball inside the Gator 10-yard line.

Total, the Sooners came up with zero points, proving to be the difference in the two-possession game.

“It broke us,” said guard Brandon Walker.

Following an interception by Gerald McCoy that gave the Sooners field position at the Florida 26-yard line, running back Chris Brown pounded the Gators for 25 yards on three carries down to 1.

But on back-to-back plays, the Sooners couldn't block backup defensive tackle Torrey Davis.

On third-and-goal, Davis slipped through the line and popped Brown for no gain.

Then on fourth-and-goal, Davis sliced through guard Brian Simmons and center Jon Cooper and dropped Brown two yards behind the line of scrimmage — the 12th time in 81 tries all season the Sooners didn't score a touchdown with the ball inside the opponent's 20-yard line.

“That just wasn't us. It was real frustrating,” said left tackle Phil Loadholt.

“They just won the line of scrimmage,” said offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson, who noted after the game that maybe a play-action pass would have been the better call in that situation with Florida selling out against the run.

Page 1 of 2

1 2 Next