OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -For the second time in a month, Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford found himself standing on the sidelines as the final seconds ticked off the clock in a one-point Oklahoma loss.
Helpless to do anything about it, his dreams of playing for another national championship have likely been dashed – and just before he was expected to return from a shoulder injury.
Bradford smiled briefly after Miami quarterback Jacory Harris kneeled down to drain the last 40 seconds off the clock Saturday night in the Hurricanes’ 21-20 win against the Sooners.
It’s anyone’s guess whether Bradford’s presence would have made the difference in a pair of losses to BYU and Miami. But one thing is clear: Oklahoma is in desperate need of some clutch plays.
The Sooners (2-2), who fell 11 spots to No. 19 on Sunday, haven’t overcome a fourth-quarter deficit since 2007 against Missouri, when they trailed 24-23 after three quarters.
ops said. “Either way, we need to keep pushing for that.”
Jimmy Stevens’ field goal cut Oklahoma’s deficit to one with 4:18 left, as Stoops counted on his defense to get the ball back again to set up a game-winning score.
But the same unit that allowed BYU to mount a 16-play drive for its winning score and vowed never again to let that happen couldn’t get a stop. Miami picked up four first downs, three with relative ease on first-down plays, to run out the clock.
“We needed a stop and we didn’t get it,” defensive captain Gerald McCoy said. “They put the game in our hands and we just didn’t take advantage. We didn’t do what we were supposed to do.”
For better or worse, the Sooners lack experience in close games. They’ve had their fair share of blowouts during Stoops’ tenure, including back-to-back shutouts this season in which they outscored Idaho State and Tulsa 109-0.
M 35-31 in 2000 after trailing by 11.
es, who led the nation with seven receiving TDs after three weeks, joined them on the sideline Saturday night, his left arm in a sling after he apparently broke his shoulder.
The defense, though, has remained healthy – and Stoops doesn’t want to use the injuries as an excuse anyway.
“I’m not going to sit here and accept it,” Stoops said. “It makes things more challenging and different. As I told the team, were not going to sit here and talk about that’s why we can’t win. In the end, we have to be able to overcome injuries, regardless of who they are. … We have eight Big 12 games coming in a row and they aren’t changing, so we have got to find a way to overcome it.”
To make a run at a fourth straight Big 12 title, the Sooners will need to address some of the same areas they struggled with against BYU. The offensive line had another rash of untimely penalties, and Oklahoma never threatened the Hurricanes with a vertical passing game.
The most critical mistake against Miami came when fullback Matt Clapp didn’t get a piece of blitzing cornerback Brandon Harris, who sacked Landry Jones and forced a fumble that led to Miami’s go-ahead score just after halftime.
“Everyone’s disappointed in the loss, no one likes to lose here,” Jones said. “We’ve just got to get ready for Baylor next week, and come out there and play our hardest and take care of business.”
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AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this report from Miami Gardens, Fla.
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