Sooners Beat ISU But Lose To Kharma » Brats & Beer

October 14, 2006
posted under: Adrian Peterson, Iowa State football

Football is a violent game, yes, and no one wants to see anyone get injured. That said, it looks like maybe the Sooners got served a little hard justice this afternoon when Heisman candidate running back Adrian Peterson got hurt late in the fourth quarter of Oklahoma’s 34-9 smackdown of Iowa State.

With the game well in hand in the second half, OU head coach Bob Stoops left his star runing back in the game well into the fourth quarter, and I can only imagine the reason was to get him some stats. ISU had done an admirable job of containing Oklahoma’s explosive offense, keeping Peterson from ripping off an ESPN highlight run most of the day. Late in the fourth quarter, he finally got his run, a 53-yard scamper for a touchdown, but at the end of run, diving into the end zone, Peterson broke his collar bone and will likely miss the rest of the season.

I appologize if this sounds like I’m gloating, I’m not, but I do find it somewhat fitting for OU that they’ll be without their star player all because Stoops wanted to run up the score and get a big play out of his running back. You can say I’m a bad person for saying this, though, I’ll accept that.

However, it was a disappointing afternoon for the Cyclones, not because anyone expected them to win down in Norman, but because the defense did actually play pretty well. They gave up 24 points in the first half, yes, but they also limited Oklahoma to just four of 12 on third downs. The offense, though, failed to capitalize on those opportunities. ISU converted on just one of 12 third down opportunities and only three possesions went for any distance: One was the drive for a touchdown, another ended in an interception, and the third was Stevie Hicks’ 58-yard run that ended the first half.

Next year, coach McCarney needs to focus on recruiting quality offensive linemen who can open holes for the running game and protect the quarterback. Until that happens, ISU will continue to be an also ran, no matter how many improvements they make to Jack Trice Stadium.