Ryan Broyles added three touchdown catches to his career total and became the all-time touchdown reception leader in school history as the BCS No. 16 Sooners clobbered the Texas Red Raiders 45-7 on a chilly Saturday afternoon here in Norman.
It was a complete game by the Sooners. The only question mark left afterward was whether Broyles, who now has 32 career TD receptions, has moved ahead of Mark Clayton as the best ever Oklahoma receiver.
Oklahoma has now won 36 straight home games — the longest active streak in the nation.
Broyles caught eight passes for 119 yards and broke Mark Clayton’s career records for receptions and touchdown catches at Oklahoma (8-2, 4-2 Big 12). He also eclipsed his own mark for catches in a season and now holds almost every significant receiving record at the school.
“That’s a good feeling,” Broyles said. “It feels even better to win on top of that.”
Broyles had the biggest receiving day in Oklahoma history in his previous game on Owen Field, and on Saturday — in addition to the new marks he set — matched Clayton’s career records with eight 100-yard games in a season and 15 in a career.
“I’ve said everything you can say about Ryan,” coach Bob Stoops said. “He’s a great player. I love his competitiveness, his toughness. He just has a knack for adjusting to the football like nobody I’ve ever seen, finding the ball and turning for it, and he’s got the surest hands of anybody I’ve been around. He just has a great knack for making big plays and consistent, tough plays.”
Broyles tumbled backward into the end zone after an acrobatic 29-yard catch in the second quarter and later added an 18-yard touchdown reception and a leaping 8-yard TD grab on a fade route as the Sooners scored 38 unanswered points after trading touchdowns early.
(H)e’s got the surest hands of anybody I’ve been around. He just has a great knack for making big plays and consistent, tough plays — Coach Bob Stoops on Ryan Broyles.
Texas Tech (5-5, 3-5) finished its opening possession by scoring on Detron Lewis‘ touchdown pass to fellow receiver Darrin Moore out of the wildcat formation, then got shut out the rest of the way. The Red Raiders were stopped on fourth-and-1 in Oklahoma territory twice in the first 18 minutes and then lost all their offensive momentum.
“Offensively, we were horrible on third and fourth down. That’s what killed us,” said Baron Batch, who led Tech with 91 yards rushing. “We didn’t ever sustain a real drive. We’d have big plays but had a hard time stringing together big drives.”
Quarterback Landry Jones surpassed 300 yards passing for the seventh time this season, completing 22 of 29 for 317 yards. He also had a 12-yard touchdown pass to DeMarco Murray on Oklahoma’s first possession and a 59-yard score on a deep ball to Kenny Stills.
After relying largely on bubble screens that got stuffed in a 33-19 loss at Texas A&M, the Sooners went more vertical in their passing game against the Red Raiders.
“I was excited that we were going to take more shots down the field this week, and to see us doing those things and actually hit one was really good for our offense,” Jones said.
Texas Tech’s defense allowed season-best 95 yards passing by Blaine Gabbert in an upset of then-No. 14 Missouri last week, but couldn’t do it again. Jones threw for 276 yards and four touchdowns in the first half against the defense that ranks third-to-last in the nation against the pass, guiding the Sooners to a 38-7 advantage.
It was the third straight blowout by the home team in the series. The Sooners came up with a memorable 65-21 rout against the No. 2 Red Raiders two years ago, derailing Tech’s bid at perfection in the next-to-last game of the regular season.
The Red Raiders got a measure of revenge last season with a 41-13 victory in the rematch, celebrating to the same song — House of Pain’s “Jump Around” — that the Sooners jubilantly bounced to in 2008.
The stakes weren’t nearly so high in this one. Oklahoma bounced back from its fourth straight conference road loss to stretch the nation’s longest home winning streak to 36, in the process keeping alive its chances of winning the Big 12 South title.
“It’s pretty special,” said Jeremy Beal, one of 19 Oklahoma seniors who played their last game on Owen Field. “I’ve never lost at home and it’s a great feeling to go through that.”
Tech, which has been eligible for a bowl game each of the last 16 years, remained one win shy of bowl eligibility with only nonconference home games against Weber State and Houston left on the schedule.
“That was our last conference game and we go 3-5,” first-year coach Tommy Tuberville said. “I thought we had a chance to win four or five if we played well and stayed injury-free.”
The Sooners got a scare when Murray went to the locker room in the second quarter with bruised ribs. He returned briefly in the second half and Stoops said he should be able to play moving forward. He had protective padding under his shirt during postgame interviews.
Starting defensive tackle Adrian Taylor was lost for the season when he tore his right Achilles tendon and had to be wheeled off the field in the second quarter. Taylor had come back from a gruesome-looking left ankle dislocation sustained in the Sun Bowl in December.
Stoops said Oklahoma’s other starting defensive tackle, Casey Walker, may be able to return next week after missing the last six games.
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