Wildcats Edged By Oklahoma, 38-37
Sep 29, 2001 | Football
Sept 29, 2001
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By OWEN CANFIELD
AP Sports Writer
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops wanted more big plays fromhis receivers. He got them from Antwone Savage, and the third-ranked Soonersare still unbeaten.
Savage caught two long scoring passes and threw a touchdown pass of his ownon a razzle-dazzle fake punt, helping Oklahoma build a three-touchdown leadbefore holding on to beat No. 11 Kansas State 38-37 on Saturday.
On an afternoon of big plays by both offenses, the Sooners Oklahoma beat theWildcats for the third straight time. OU won 41-31 in Manhattan, Kan., lastOctober, and 27-24 in the Big 12 title game in December.
"We found a way to make enough plays to win the football game, and that'sspecial," coach Bob Stoops said. "We're not concerned around here whether wewin 13-2 or 50-49 or 38-37. Whatever it takes, find a way to win."
The Sooners (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) have now won 17 in a row, the longest streakin the nation, and have won 16 straight at home.
Kansas State (2-1) hurt itself with 17 penalties for 139 yards, and ended a32-game September winning streak that dated to 1991. But the Wildcats went downfighting.
After falling behind 35-14 midway through the third quarter, they ralliedbehind the play of quarterback Ell Roberson, eventually pulling within thefinal margin with seven seconds remaining. But Roberson's final pass, frommidfield, was knocked down at about the 5-yard line as time ran out.
"It's college football," coach Bill Snyder said. "There isn't a surpriseleft in college football."
Kansas State succeeded in shutting down Oklahoma's running game, holding theSooners to 9 yards rushing. But Nate Hybl, despite being intercepted threetimes, threw for 283 yards to Savage and other receivers who got open againstthe Wildcats' man-to-man coverage.
Oklahoma didn't let tailback Josh Scobey get going, but Roberson made up forthat by running for 115 yards and three scores, and throwing for 257 yards andanother TD.
Savage caught TD passes of 63 and 75 yards, and threw a 33-yarder off a fakepunt in the second quarter. The 75-yard play, on which Savage shook free fromcornerback DeMarcus Faggins after making the catch, gave the Sooners thethree-touchdown cushion with 7:15 left in the third.
Then Roberson led the Wildcats back with two straight scoring drives. On thefirst, he ran for 16 yards, Rock Cartwright ran for 27, and two plays laterRoberson scored on a 37-yard run, breaking several tackles along the way.
An interception and return by Jon McGraw gave the Wildcats the ball at theOklahoma 17, and Roberson scored on a sneak five plays later. The point-afterkick was blocked, making the score 35-27.
"We told our defense if you get us the ball, we're going to do the best wecan to get it in the end zone," Roberson said. "They kept giving us the balland we just drove down and tried to do the best we could."
Oklahoma, which made only one first down on its first five possessions ofthe second half, put together a 16-play, 71-yard drive in the fourth quarterthat ended with Tim Duncan's 33-yard field goal. Kansas State was hit with twopass interference calls on the drive.
Roberson wasn't finished. He found Ricky Lloyd behind the coverage and hithim with a 57-yard TD pass. A 2-point conversion pass to Aaron Lockett made it38-35 with 2:02 to play.
Oklahoma punter Jeff Ferguson ran out of the end zone for a safety withseven seconds left, making it 38-37. Kansas State took over at the 50 afterthat, but didn't score on its final play.
"They switched some things up and tried some new things," Oklahomalinebacker Rocky Calmus said. "We underestimated Ell Roberson's arm a littlebit. We just gave up a lot of big plays and had too many mental breakdowns ondefense."
Oklahoma had taken a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, scoring on an 18-yardfumble return by safety Roy Williams and the 63-yard completion from Hybl toSavage.
Kansas State got a 7-yard TD run by Scobey and a 22-yard scoring run byRoberson in the second quarter, but Oklahoma also scored twice. The second cameon the fake punt in the final two minutes of the half.
Third-string quarterback Hunter Wall lined up as the up back in puntformation. He took the snap, then threw a long lateral pass to Savage. Savage,who played some quarterback in high school, threw it back to Wall, who had aline of blockers to lead him to the end zone.
"We've got a lot of quarterbacks at receiver, we really do," Stoops said."About three or four of those guys can really throw the football."
The Sooners hadn't played since beating North Texas 37-10 on Sept. 8. TheirSept. 15 game against Tulsa was postponed due to the Sept. 11 terroristattacks, and they had an open date last week.
