All Day Samaje! : Sooners Running Back Runs Wild Against Texas Tech

  As the afternoon turned into evening last Saturday, down in Lubbock, Texas, the Oklahoma Sooners were putting the finishing touches upon a 42-30 game they had control of against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Early on in the third quarter, the Sooners looked like they might be falling to the lesser Raiders when they were down 7-21, but then offensive coordinator, Josh Heupel, found his rythem through the running attack of Samaje Perine. Perine, who led Oklahoma to a victory against West Virginia with over 200 rushing yards, duplicated his effort, averaging 8.5 yards a carry for 213 total rushing yards to go along with 3 touchdowns. The Red Raiders defense had no answer, and with the OU defense picking it up in the second half, Texas Tech didn't have a prayer in coming back. What started to look like a huge win this season for Tech head coach, Cliff Kingsbury, ended up being a win for a Sooners team that needed one to get themselves back on track. 

  When OU took the field that afternoon, starting quarterback, Trevor Knight, was deemed unfit to perform, so back-up quarterback, Cody Thomas, took the offensive reigns for the Sooners. In the first half, OU was looking to pass the ball, and Thomas ended up throwing 3 interceptions before halftime! Once Oklahoma discovered that Perine looked more and more like a monster truck running over Tech defenders, Thomas threw the ball only a handful of time, and had no turnovers. OU needed that win very much, and with Kansas this Saturday, it looks like the Sooners might be in prime position for one of the better bowl games meant for teams that just missed the top 4 spots in the playoff. With 3 losses and TCU beating Kansas 34-30, OU is officially out of contention when it comes to winning the Big 12, and a 9-win season isn't exactly what the fans and coaches had hoped for this season.

Oklahoma running back, Samaje Perine (32), finds
space in the open field against Texas Tech on Saturday.
The Sooners beat the Red Raiders, 42-30.

  If 9 wins is unacceptable for fans, how would they feel about 8? or 7? The Jayhawks are coming off a game where they had a top 10 team on the ropes, and the way their quarterback is playing, it looks like Kansas maybe in prime position to at least make the game watchable. Trevor Knight is out again for the Sooners, so Cody Thomas will be looking to add another victory to his undefeated record (1-0), and Samaje Perine will hope to get the load of the carries. The only issue that presents itself to me, is the fact that the Kansas defense is not as porous as Texas Tech's, so the running game may not be as successful as the Sooners would need in order to move the ball with relative ease against this Jayhawk team. Thomas may have to be forced to throw the football, and with 3 picks thrown by him this past Saturday, the confidence in his decision making and accuracy is in question. If Thomas plays the remainder of this year for OU, 7 wins could be something not far-fetched for Oklahoma. No is expecting the Sooners to blow a home game against lowly Kansas, but a loss in Bedlam could be possible. Surely, if Thomas handily beats OSU (if he's called on to start again) then it's just very apparent to how big a problem the Cowboys might have up in Stillwater, but that's a topic for discussion down the line. 

  In all reality, the Sooners should whoop up on the Jayhawks and be able to coast into Bedlam. The Jayhawks have only won 1 conference game that was against a hapless Iowa State program, but you never know what can happen when your starting quarterback is sitting on the bench. Even still, Kansas is bad, and OSU is nowhere near being considered a formidable opponent, so OU might have 9 wins when the season is all over and done with. That's just something to think about as the Sooners host Kansas at 11:00 AM CT on FOX Sports 1.