NCAAF: NORTH TEXAS at OKLAHOMA <div class="pre">** CONFIRMED ** NCAAF NORTH TEXAS 10 OKLAHOMA (8) 79 FINAL</div>
NORMAN, Oklahoma (Ticker) -- Sam Bradford and DeMarco Murrayput on an offensive show for Oklahoma on Saturday. Both redshirt freshmen, Bradford and Murray had sparklingcollege debuts to lead the eighth-ranked Sooners to a 79-10victory over North Texas in the season opener for both teams. Bradford was just recently named the starting quarterback forthe Sooners, beating out junior college transfer Joey Halzle andtrue freshman Keith Nichol for the starting job. He made coach Bob Stoops' decision look like a brilliant one ashe completed 21-of-23 passes for 363 yards and three touchdowns.Bradford threw a 15-yard TD pass to Jermaine Gresham to openthe scoring and hit Malcolm Kelly for a pair of scores in thesecond quarter as the Sooners (1-0) opened up a 49-0 lead. "I thought he was fantastic, I mean his whole demeanor wasgreat. His presence in the huddle, kept going out andcontrolling the game," Stoops said of Bradford. "He threw theball fantastic, from the deep balls to some of those quickbubble screens that he put right on the money." Bradford did most of his damage in the first half when he set anOklahoma record for passing yards in a half with 350. Theprevious record was held by Josh Heupel, who threw for 313 inthe first half against Baylor in 2000. "Everybody played really well tonight. The O-line, the runningbacks, receivers, the whole offense played well, the defenseplayed well, everyone played great tonight," Bradford said. "Wehave a great team. They have been great all week and reallysupportive. I think it was really comforting knowing they wereout there with me." With Oklahoma looking to replace star running back AdrianPeterson, Murray took the opportunity of playing against anoutmanned North Texas defense to state his case for the job. Murray accounted for the rest of the scoring in the openinghalf, ripping off a 44-yard TD run in the first quarter to makeit 14-0 and adding TD runs of 1, 2 and 1 yard. He added a 3-yard TD run early in the third to make it 56-0before Stoops called off the dogs. Murray finished with 85yards on 17 carries for the Sooners. The win was Oklahoma's biggest in a season opener since a 73-3victory over New Mexico in 1989. The 79 points were theSooners' second-highest point total since 1919. "I was pleased with the overall play. I was also pleased withthe backup play. The second- and third-teamers all reallyplayed well," Stoops said. "I have been saying all along, thisteam is very attentive, they are really prideful with theirpractice and their play. I thought overall, the second half hasa tendency to get sloppy, that didn't happen here." Todd Dodge, a highly successful high school coach in Texas, gota rude welcome in his first game as coach of the Mean Green(0-1). The Sooners outgained the Mean Green, 674-260, includinga 273-29 edge on the ground. "I just talked to my team and I told them that obviouslyOklahoma is a great football team and they are very, veryimpressive. When you play a great team like that you alwayshave a chance of having a disappointment," Dodge said. North Texas averted a shutout with a 29-yard field goal byThomas Moreland midway through the third quarter. GiovanniVizza connected with Casey Fitzgerald for a 69-yard touchdownreception at the start of the fourth quarter for the Mean Green. Fitzgerald had a career-high seven catches for 126 yards.
