What we learned
Oklahoma: The Sooners really miss Antonio Perkins. It's an oversimplification, but one could argue that the absence of their star cornerback/punt returner, who's out with a strained MCL, cost OU 21 points on Saturday. How? Oklahoma State's first touchdown came after Mark Clayton, Perkins' replacement on punt returns, foolishly decided to try fielding a ball that was bouncing awkwardly in front of him. He muffed it, the Cowboys took over at the Sooners' 14 and scored two plays later. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State QB Donovan Woods continually picked on cornerback Eric Bassey, who prior to Perkins' injury had lost his starting job to Chijoke Onyenegecha, and succeeded on both a 39-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline to Prentiss Elliott and a 32-yard fade to D'Juan Woods that set up the Cowboys with first and goal at the 3. They scored two plays later.
"We missed him, his experience back there [on punt returns] and his experience at corner as well," OU coach Bob Stoops said of Perkins, who's expected back for the Nov. 13 Nebraska game at the earliest. "We have to play with what we've got."
Oklahoma State: As Donovan Woods goes, so go the Cowboys. The sophomore quarterback is still very much a work in progress, and it showed in the first half. Even when he had time to throw, he misfired, overthrowing his receivers by a country mile and barely avoiding a couple of costly picks. He started the game 2-of-9 for 13 yards. But the talent is definitely there, and Woods showed it in the second half. Known more as a runner, Woods has a strong arm, as evidenced when he completed several long balls to keep the Cowboys battling back. In the second half, he was 6-of-12 for 194 yards. It was much the same way a week earlier against Missouri, when Woods' second-half passing keyed a 17-point Cowboys comeback. Woods wasn't asked to do much earlier in the season, when Oklahoma State simply overpowered people with Vernand Morency. The running back is still the heart of the Cowboys' offense, but as they make their way through the Big 12 it's imperative they have a more balanced attack.
"Donovan is a great quarterback. How can you deny that?" said Cowboys coach Les Miles. "When it is tight and tough, he is gold."
Player who impressed me
Mark Bradley, WR, Oklahoma: The Sooners have so many weapons on offense that it's hard to keep track of them. Bradley, a senior who walked on last year after transferring from Arkansas Pine-Bluff, entered Saturday's game with just seven catches for 100 yards. By halftime, he'd eclipsed that yardage total (128) and scored as many touchdowns (three) as he had in his career to date. Showing off the speed that's also made him a track standout, Bradley, the son of former Oklahoma QB Danny Bradley, first bobbled, then caught a short Jason White pass late in the second quarter, then, with his momentum already carrying him, put on the jets to race 72 yards for the touchdown. White also found Bradley for a diving, 23-yard catch in the end zone and a short fade route for his other score. He was more quiet in the second half, when the Sooners stuck mostly to the run, but his impact was felt.
"Mark Bradley, early on, was really awesome," Stoops said.
Locker room confidential
White credited his senior-dominated offensive line for giving him ridiculous protection all game (he was sacked just once). "On the touchdown to Bradley right before the half, I went through every one of my reads, then went back to Bradley, and I still didn't get touched," White said. ... OU co-defensive coordinator Brent Venables thought the Cowboys may have gotten too cute on offense in the first half, when they managed just 78 yards. "They threw the kitchen sink at us in the first half, and I think they did a lot of things they weren't used to doing," he said. ... Miles said he had confidence in kicker Jason Ricks attempting a game-tying 49-yard field goal despite the fact the freshman's longest make on the season was from 38. "He has a strong leg, he can hit it from that distance," said Miles. "He kicked the game winner on the road [last week at Missouri]. He didn't hit it today, he will hit it tomorrow." ... One of Oklahoma's touchdowns was debatable. On Mark Clayton's 50-yard punt return to put the Sooners up 28-14, replays showed a fairly blatant block-in-the-back that wasn't called. ... Stoops didn't take kindly to a reporter asking, "What is it about Oklahoma State that gives your team so much trouble?" The Cowboys are the only conference foe to defeat Stoops twice. His reply? "What do you mean? It was 52-9 last year." ... Oklahoma State great Barry Sanders watched the game from a luxury box along with several other former players.
The Big Picture
For the fourth time in five years, Oklahoma enters November undefeated. At No. 2 in the BCS rankings and their computer standing only gaining strength with consecutive road games against ranked opponents, the Sooners, once again, likely control their own destiny for a spot in the national championship game. But this season is different in that, for the first time, their biggest question marks are on defense. When the Sooners won their only national title under Stoops in 2000, the Josh Heupel-led offense faded down the stretch, but the defense seemed to get more dominant by the week. For this year's stretch run, White and Peterson will likely have to continue putting up big numbers because the defense is definitely vulnerable.
Despite the loss, Oklahoma State again showed the dramatic improvement it's made as a program in four seasons under Miles. Morency is a big-time running back, Woods and his equally young receivers are progressing nicely and the defense, though it struggled against OU's powerful offense, is for the most part adequate. A year after winning nine games and reaching the Cotton Bowl, the Cowboys are all but eliminated from contention in their division but will almost certainly head to a decent bowl. They are, however, staring at a likely third loss next week at Texas.
