OU notebook

Published: September 9, 2007

Oklahoma hadn't finished its first offensive series before all three running backs, Allen Patrick, Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray had gotten on the field.

But Patrick, the returning starter, had only seven carries on the day and just two after the first quarter.

OU coach Bob Stoops said the senior tailback was suffering from "real minor cramping.”

"It's a positive when you can throw these other guys in there, and they keep coming at you,” he said. "But, no, (Patrick) is fine.”

Patrick missed last week because of a sprained ankle.

•Praise for the kicker: OU kicker Garrett Hartley has negated the danger of this year's rule change, moving kickoffs back from the 35-yard line to the 30.

Hartley had three touchbacks and averaged 69.1 yards on nine kickoffs Saturday.

"It's real valuable, and I knock wood that it stays that way,” Stoops said. "I hope it will be an advantage for us with our overall team speed and with a strong kicker in Garrett. He's kicked the ball great.”

•Game balls: Other than Patrick, Stoops said heat-related problems were not an issue, which is why his first game ball went to strength and conditioning coach Jerry Schmidt and his staff.

"Our conditioning was excellent,” Stoops said. "It was as hot and muggy as I've experienced out there. We really handled it in a great way. Hardly any cramping.”

•Driver's seat: Just before halftime, Miami scored its lone touchdown, putting together an 18-play, 52-yard drive that chewed up 6 minutes, 36 seconds.

During their march, the Hurricanes converted three third-down plays for first downs, converted two fourth downs into first downs, and ran eight plays inside the 10-yard line before scoring a touchdown to make it 21-10.

By comparison, in the entire second quarter, OU gained just 13 yards and didn't have one first down.

•Title contender? Miami coach Randy Shannon on whether OU is a national title contender: "I don't know. I don't know who else is on their schedule. I know they've got a very good team at this point in time.”

•Worthless penalty: Miami's Chris Zellner was flagged for holding on a Hurricanes kickoff return, which is not an atypical penalty.

But on this occasion, the kickoff went into the end zone and was ruled a touchback. And the foul occurred on Oklahoma's 45-yard line.

The penalty resulted as part of a ploy to negate OU's best threat on kickoff coverage, Jacob Gutierrez. On each kickoff, two Hurricane players were tasked with blocking Gutierrez near midfield.

•New starters: Three starting positions changed from the opener to Saturday's game for the Sooners.

Junior defensive tackle Cory Bennett replaced sophomore DeMarcus Granger. Sophomore offensive lineman Trent Williams started at right tackle in place of junior Branndon Braxton. And Patrick, the senior tailback who was injured last week, replaced the freshman Murray.

•Tidbits: It was the most points against Miami since Syracuse's 66-13 victory in 1998. ... OU quarterback Sam Bradford became only the second quarterback to throw five TD passes against Miami (UCLA's Cade McNown in 1998). ... OU's 130 points in its first two games is the second-highest total in consecutive games since 141 against Kansas (64) and Missouri (77) in 1986.

By Scott Wright and John Rohde

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