All is well in Norman one game after the Sooners’ struggling season debut against Utah State.
Sophomore quarterback Landry Jones’ career day resulted in a 47-17 routing of the Florida State Seminoles.
OU’s season opener against Utah State was memorable for many Sooner fans for all the wrong reasons. The secondary looked questionable, as did the defensive line and Jones.
But against the Seminoles, the New Mexico native looked more confident, the offense more fluid and the defense more tenacious as the Sooners rolled past Florida State for a convincing win over the nation’s No. 17-ranked team.
On the day, Jones was 30-40 for 380 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. Each of his touchdown tosses went to a different receiver.
Jones’ 321 passing yards in the first half is the second most in one half behind former Sooner quarterback Sam Bradford’s 350 yards in the first half against North Texas in 2007.
For Jones, the performance was among the best he’s had while at Oklahoma. But for the young quarterback, his team’s effort did not come as a surprise.
“We knew we were capable of doing that,” he said. “We’ve seen it on tape you know, the Stanford game going all the way back to the Sun Bowl and tonight we came out and executed.”
Coach Bob Stoops was happy with his team’s effort and performance against the Seminoles.
“Today was pleasing overall,” Stoops said. “It’s exciting to come out in a big atmosphere like that. Offensively we took care of the football, good balance, and defensively, after the first drive we really settled in and played great football. So it was a good solid game overall.”
The offense racked up 487 yards of total offense, and the defense held FSU to 345 yards and just 10 points until a last-effort, deep touchdown with under 10 seconds to go in the fourth.
Junior Ryan Broyles led all receivers with 12 receptions, 124 yards and one touchdown. Senior Cameron Kenney gained 73 yards and a touchdown, while the other two touchdowns were grabbed by tight ends James Hanna and Trent Ratterree — both grabbing their first touchdown catches of their careers.
While his offense produced big numbers, Stoops said it was a tough spot to be put in because his brother, Mike Stoops, was just hired by FSU coach Jimbo Fisher as defensive coordinator.
“It’s a rotten place to be you know, because I appreciate the way we played, but you cannot separate blood,” Bob Stoops said. “I just don’t like it and I knew that going into the game that I didn’t, and I’m positive of it now after the game.”
Jones and the receiving corps were not the only players who looked better than last week. The secondary stepped up and only allowed Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder to hit 11 of his 28 attempts for 113 yards, two interceptions and no touchdowns.
The defense sacked Ponder three times and limited him to 23 rushing yards. At the end of the game, OU had posted 487 yards of total offense to the Seminole’s 345 — 153 of which came in the fourth quarter with the game dwindling to an end.
With the victory over Florida State, the No. 10-ranked Sooners now turn their attention toward Air Force, which is scheduled Sept. 18 at Owen Field. The Falcons downed the Brigham Young Cougars Saturday 35-14 and bring a completely different offense than Utah State or Florida State did.
“Next week will be as tough or tougher than what we played today because we are coming off of this,” offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said.