A Sooner statement

NORMAN, Okla. — OUch. Before the start of the 2007 season, conventional wisdom held that college football featured only one truly elite team: Southern California.

Given what transpired in Norman yesterday, the Trojans might have company.

Fifth-ranked Oklahoma made a statement yesterday against Miami, demolishing the Hurricanes 51-13 before a record crowd of 85,357 crimson and cream zealots at Memorial Stadium.

Former Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer used to revel in scoring “half-a-hundred” on an opponent. But Switzer’s Sooners rarely strapped half-a-hundred on an opponent of Miami’s stature.

“I guess it’s hard to know if they’re really that bad or we’re really that good,” mused Oklahoma cornerback Marcus Walker. “You definitely don’t expect to beat a team as talented as Miami like that.”

Miami is a shadow of the team that opened this decade on a tear and collected its fifth national title in 2001 behind one of the most dominating defenses ever assembled at the college level. The Hurricanes have been on a slow slide ever since. Deposed coach Larry Coker left first-year man Randy Shannon with no defensive depth and no legitimate quarterback.

But Miami is still far from ACC fodder. Both defensive end Calais Campbell and free safety Kenny Phillips are virtual All-America locks. And Miami began the Shannon era with a 31-3 pasting of Marshall last week, obliterating the same Thundering Herd that pushed No. 3 West Virginia for three quarters yesterday.

Miami has quarterback issues, but the Hurricanes (1-1) aren’t that bad. What the college football community witnessed yesterday implies that the Sooners (2-0) could be that good.

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops always puts together one of the game’s best defenses. But in recent seasons, the Sooners have lacked an abundance of playmakers, especially at quarterback.

Not this season. The major question mark surrounding the Sooners entering 2007 was how would redshirt freshman Sam Bradford perform at quarterback. It has taken the 6-foot-4, 214-pound product from Oklahoma City all of two games to silence the skeptics in a state loaded with pigskin perfectionists.

Bradford debuted by completing 21 of 23 passes for 363 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions in a 79-10 rout of North Texas. And he followed that up with an even more impressive encore against the normally stingy Hurricanes, a team that returned seven starters from a defense that gave up more than 17 points twice last season.

Yesterday, Bradford shredded the vaunted Miami secondary, completing 19 of 25 passes for 205 yards, five touchdowns (which tied a school record) and no interceptions. Oklahoma’s first two scores came on connections between Bradford and 6-foot-4 junior wideout Malcolm Kelly. Oklahoma scored on its first possession when Bradford hit Kelly in stride on a skinny post from 23 yards out.

Later in the quarter Kelly beat freshman corner DeMarcus Van Dyke on a slant route, and Bradford delivered a perfect strike from 24 yards to put Oklahoma ahead 14-3.

“We’ve had some ups and downs at quarterback since I got here, but Sam is the real deal,” said Kelly, who finished with three scores and 102 receiving yards. “He throws an extremely catchable ball, and he can thread it in against very tight coverage … The other thing you notice about him is how calm and steady he is in the huddle no matter the circumstances — practice, games, whatever. He’s so mature in there that you forget he’s a freshman.”

Miami finished with only 139 yards of total offense, but the Hurricanes capitalized on a pair of Oklahoma mistakes just before and after the half to pull within 21-13 early in the third quarter. But Bradford and Co. answered Miami’s field goal to start the third quarter scoring with a 30-point onslaught to close the game. Oklahoma’s first score of the second half came on a short crossing-route connection between Bradford and massive tight end Jermaine Gresham, a blossoming sophomore with an almost unfair combination of size (6-foot-6, 260 pounds), speed and soft hands.

From there, the rout was on, as Miami went three-and-out time and again behind pass-allergic quarterbacks Kirby Freeman (three of 9 for 17 yards) and Kyle Wright (seven of 14 for 65 yards) and a nonexistent running game, and the Sooners poured on the points behind Bradford and a dominating offensive line.

“I hardly got touched out there today,” Bradford said. “Our offensive line was absolutely unreal.”

Frankly, the entire performance bordered on the surreal, as Oklahoma put the worst beating on a Miami team in a decade — dating back to a 66-13 loss at Syracuse in 1998.

“It’s early, but I think the pieces are here for something real special to happen this season,” said Oklahoma senior strong safety D.J. Wolfe, who had eight tackles and led a Sooner defense that held Miami to zero or negative yardage on 19 of its 35 rushing attempts. “We’re going to stay humble and stay hungry, but I think we delivered a little message today.”