Sooners take care of Cincy 52-26

OU overcame a shaky second quarter to thump the Cincinnati Bearcats 52-26. The Sooners came out strong in the first quarter via two great offensive scoring drives, each capped off by Sam Bradford touchdown throws. The second quarter became a little scary when Cincinnati came within 8 points after picking off Bradford twice. Cincinnati also got help from their special teams with great kickoff returns from record-setting specialist Mardy Gilyard.


BRADFORD HAD A BIG DAY
PASSING THE BALL

But in the end, the Bearcats couldn't pull off the upset. OU made the right adjustments at halftime and came out strong once again the third quarter. Overall it was an outstanding performance by Sam Bradford who threw for career high 395 yards and 5 touchdowns. Tight end Jermaine Gresham continued his dominance with two touchdown receptions and finished with 93 yard on 7 catches.

The offensive breakout player of the game was by far Ryan Broyles. Broyles lived up to the hype he was given by coaches in the preseason. His first two collegiate catches were very memorable. First he caught a short pass by Bradford and took it down the sideline for an impressive thirty-yard plus gain. A few plays later, he caught a 27 yard pass for a OU's first touchdown of the game. Broyles finished with a game-high 141 receiving yards. His most impressive catch was a jump ball caught over two defenders for 43 yards. What a debut! This guy is going to be awesome.


RYAN BROYLES HAD A BREAKOUT GAME IN HIS SOONER DEBUT

On the defensive side, OU played just as well. They weren't given much to work with after two interceptions and bad field position from several great Cincinnati kickoff returns. But the defense held when they needed to and played very well. Dominique Franks came up with a huge end zone interception in the first half. The potential touchdown would have made the halftime score very close.

Defensive stars included defensive end Jeremy Beal, who was in the backfield all day and finished with 10 tackles, and redshirt freshman Travis Lewis with 12 tackles. Lewis was the Ryan Broyles of the defense, having a coming-out party with an impressive game. Lewis now has the potential to be the regular starter and may have solidified the spot over Austin Box. Box, a player I thought would be the starter this week was limited in action. Coaches may still be holding him back a little after having knee surgery. But Lewis, so far, has been solid in only his first two games as a Sooner.

Overall, this was a great win for the Sooners. The offense was dominant against a very good Big East defense. And the defense played solidly versus a good spread offense. Cincinnati should win a few games this year and Oklahoma will be able to point to this game as a quality non-conference win.

Sooners Thump Cincinnati, 52-26...soonersports.com

Broyles sparks OU in impressive debut...newsok.com

Sooners pull away from Cincinnati for a 52-26 win...tulsaworld.com

Oklahoma's Broyles breaks out in romp over Cincinnati...
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